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A fire-and-ice trip
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Climbing the Kilimanjaro isn't easy. But Sarath C.R., who scaled the peak recently, says it is a matchless experience
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THE JOURNEYMAN Sarath C.R. shows off a map of the Kilimanjaro National Park Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.
A snow-capped peak in the middle of Africa lures the adventurer, even coaxing the not-so-hardcore climber to scale its peak. Kilimanjaro has captivated the romantic imagination of people the world over as the volcano above the clouds.
Sarath C.R. was also one of those fascinated by coffee table books and picture postcard images of zebras and elephants grazing against the backdrop of the Kilimanjaro. The Masai Mara and Serengeti are his annual holiday destinations. And this August, he notched up one of the seven must-do summits (a hardcore traveller's catalogue invariably lists the highest peak on each continent). Chief Naturalist at the Jungle Lodges and Resorts Ltd., Sarath gets to holiday on work anyway! What enviable professions some people find themselves in.
The first sight
However, his first encounter with the mighty mountain wasn't a very happening one. When he went to Kenya in 1998, the clouds only parted briefly to give him a quick peek at the peak. And that's when he decided he had to climb up and see it.
"I went through a lot of planning, preparing and research, but what truly propelled me on was when I saw the register on the route I took. Not a single Indian name was listed in the last one year," says Sarath, aghast at the lack of the adventurous spirit in us. The highest peak in Africa at 5,895 metres, Kilimanjaro is also the world's highest freestanding mountain that does not belong to any range. Its volcano has been dormant and one can trek around the crater. Though it's close to the Equator, it's snow-capped round the year.
And that's what makes the climb all the more challenging — the wide range of habitat and climate one has to go through. Sarath picked the Rongai Route (near the Kenyan border). Less crowded, more picturesque and reopened after years of strife only two years ago, it looked good to him. (By the way, the most popular of routes is nicknamed the Coca-Cola Route!)
"I trained for six months before I could set out on the climb to Mount Kilimanjaro. It took me nearly seven days to climb, starting with the base town of Moshi." He started building up his stamina and did a lot of cycling — sometimes up to 40 km a day. He would also walk for nearly four hours every day with a 12-kilo backpack while he was at work in Bandipur or walk on the treadmill with his backpack to be prepared for the rigours of the climb. He also cycled up good old Nandi Hills here twice — and all this while he was trying to get over a knee injury.
Back in Kenya, a member of the Chagga tribe from the region was his mountain guide. His first camp — Camp Simba — was at the edge of the forest, adjacent to the moorlands. However, his adventure was not without its creature comforts. Sarath cheerfully admits that the cook and the butler who accompanied him pampered him thoroughly with soup, peanut butter sandwich, jam — the works — all spread out on a neat picnic towel whether it was in the middle of the forest, the moors or halfway up the mountain.
"I spent a day acclimatising. Even then I had altitude sickness. I went through a bout of headache, nausea, total lack of appetite and sleeplessness," recalls Sarath. But the highlight of the trip was the midnight climb to the peak from the Kibo Hut Camp. The final stretch is an almost vertical incline of mountain stretch at an angle of 35 degrees.
The volcanic scree (rubble) that covers the mountain is loose soil but it freezes in the night temperatures enough to give a hold to climbers. A good reason then to start at midnight. Also, if you climb through the night, you get to watch the magnificent sight of sunrise on the peak with the clouds floating below. "Also, at daytime it can be quite daunting to see how high the peak is and how far away as you climb! You are basically following your guide's footsteps by focussing the torchlight on your headgear on his feet. The only sound is that of footsteps on the rubble and if you lift your head and look around, you see dots of lights of other climbers along the mountainside."
And for the freezing night climb, Sarath had to pile on three layers of thermals, thick pair of trousers, ski pants, three layers of gloves, a balaclava and more. August is the coldest month on the mountain and night temperatures range between minus 15 and minus 20 degrees. "The mantra on this mountain is `poley poley' which means `slowly slowly' in Swahili. And it makes sense to climb slowly because you so easily run out of breath."
But the guides are really trained to watch out for the climbers, make sure they're not feeling too warm or too cold. Sarath's guide even offered hot tea at a height of 5,100 metres during a break. "That was such a welcome surprise... very thoughtful of him... especially when you think you're making good progress but discover you still have a few more hours of climbing to do."
The first point on the peak is Gillman's Point at 5,685 metres while the highest is Uhuru Peak at a cool 19,340 feet. "You walk on the rim of the crater here and the winds became very fierce." So fierce that the placards on the mountaintop, declaring it the Roof of Africa, had been blown off their pole. Sarath was over the moon when he realised he had made it after a rigorous eight-hour climb. But it wasn't all easy. He got dehydrated along the way, the water in his bottle froze, and he couldn't have a bath for seven days. His digital camera decided it didn't want to work and erased images taken over the entire trek. The saving grace was that he did take pictures on the peak using a disposable camera a South African climber offered him along the way! And he celebrated once he got back to base camp with, what else, but a Kilimanjaro Beer.
Clean place
"The whole national park is a clean place. In fact, at the gates, you have to weigh in your luggage and when you return you have to show them the garbage you have brought back and weigh in again. Only a very small margin of difference is allowed." A large number of Australians, Canadians, South Africans and people of other nationalities do the climb every year. "My interest lies more in nature and not in the challenge of climbing a peak. You can do Kilimanjaro without any specific climbing skills." The guided climb cost him around Rs. 55,000 (excluding airfare).
So what next for the adventurer? His plans are all ready and he's started research to pin down his option — maybe a mountain biking tour along the Karakoram Highway or a trans-Andes cycling-trekking holiday, or... .
If you are interested in adventure, you can check out Sarath's travel site www.sarathcr.com.
BHUMIKA K.
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