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It was under this pretext that I recently agreed to join a small team of novice climbers to tackle the Machame Route of the highest mountain in Africa, and the highest freestanding mountain in the world, Mount Kilimanjaro.
Contrary to my preconception, the mountain was no walk in the park. Any thoughts that it would be easy were instantly dashed by the stark reality of a six-day rapid ascent up one of the hardest routes on the "hill".
So, why did I do it? Trust me, that question popped up in my mind more than a few times throughout the week of hiking.
I guess, for me, it’s about trying something new. I returned to Africa, a country I love, to test myself, exploring my capabilities and trying to do something that would benefit someone else at the same time – namely the kids at the Rose Road Association.
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It’s an amazing thing to be able to do and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I am glad I did it and proud I succeeded, but I’m not going to pretend it’s changed my life, made me a better person, or is something I would love to do again.
I won’t lie. Much of the experience was horrible, hard, cold, unforgiving and no fun at all.
Hampered by poor visibility, we were cheated out of the views across Africa which I assumed would come as standard. Along with the foggy aspects came damp and dank sleeping conditions in sometimes sub-zero temperatures.
The physical aspect of the challenge was tedious, relentless and unforgiving. I am now in the market for a new set of knee caps to replace the ones I left up there.
However, the most significant challenge of the climb came from the speed at which we attempted the ascent.
With little time to acclimatise to the altitude, we found nausea, headaches, confusion and breathing problems kick in very quickly.
We lost our first climber to altitude sickness after just three days and a second climber on day five.
This was a huge shame for them and for us - each time you lost momentum, focus and a friend to share the experience with.
I learnt that it doesn’t matter how fit you are or how much planning and training you do before the climb. Altitude sickness is something that at best will slow you down and at worst can kill you.
For me, the higher we climbed the more headaches I endured, but these never proved to be too much to cope with. If we had chosen a longer route and spent eight days climbing I think we may have all made the summit, and I would suggest to anyone considering the trip that they do just that. It’s better to take your time.
Two rules for success on Kilimanjaro:
1. ‘Pole pole’. That’s the only phrase – and philosophy – you need to know to conquer Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro. Pronounced pol-lay, repeated twice over, this Swahili phrase means ‘slowly’.
2. Drink a hell of a lot of water.
Thanks to the experience of our local guides we were able to manage the issues thrown up each day. My friend Tom Moffat and I reached the top largely due to their patience and knowledge.
Our guides have lived in Moshi, the local town by Mt Kilimanjaro, all of their lives. Our head guide Joseph was 55 and had climbed the mountain over 300 times. His nephew, Frank, had climbed over 100 times. Along with the wider team of porters, cooks and aids, we felt we were in the best possible hands.
If you climb Mount Kilimanjaro, be happy if you have a very old head guide who makes you go ‘pole pole’ all the way. It just might be the difference between success and failure.
The way it works is simple. You get up, have a good breakfast to fill you with energy, then you start walking. Most days we walked, climbed and stumbled for about five to six hours. While you walk, the team of porters strip down camp, pack everything up and then run to the next location with amazing speed and efficiency. By the time you make it to camp your tent is up and tea is ready. Now that’s service!
Facilities are obviously sparse. Drop toilets are the best you can hope for and there’s no running water or showers.
The food was surprisingly plentiful and good. Our team prepared a three-course meal each evening served in a mess tent. But, don’t get too excited, soup played a major part in our week.
As the week progressed we found ourselves with less and less energy. By the last couple of days we would fall into bed and sleep as soon as we reached camp.
That being said, we managed to create ‘Kilimanjaro cricket’ on day two. Keping things fun, upbeat and silly was a great way to stay positive when faced with, what felt like, never-ending climbing.
The week culminated in the summit attempt. For this we were woken at midnight, fixed our head torches and then started to climb the hardest part of the mountain.
Why in the dark? It’s madness, but the aim is to hit the summit as the sun comes up.
There are no nice words I can use to describe this last climb so I will skip the pain and talk about the pleasure.
As we finally reached the top we turned to see the creamiest sunrise I have ever seen. I know I am not supposed to admit it but I was very close to crying.
I would have done so from the exertion and the achievement, but most of all the sight of the snow capped summit that we had spent six days trekking to reach.
When you get to the top there are another two hours to reach the full summit but, with the energy of the sun, we made this last push and finally reached Urhuru peak at about 8am.
Hugs, high fives and splitting headaches all-round were punctuated by big smiles and self-congratulations.
We sat there for 5 minutes before turning on our heels and making our way back down, waving goodbye to Mount Kilimanjaro.
Getting home turned out to be just as hard as climbing the mountain. A 10 hour trip turned into 29 hours of travel due to delays in Amsterdam and Gatwick – great to be back in Europe.
Things got worse when growing fever and sickness over three days ended with me having blood tests in A&E. I am pleased to say I don’t have malaria or typhoid (or as many suggested, Ebola) and I am now on the mend.
My homecoming only goes to show just how intense a time it had been. I had used up everything I had to get to the top.
An adventure like this really puts things into perspective. It’s not changed my life but I think it will be a long time before I say “I am absolutely exhausted” again.
(Check out the highlights and view pictures and films here. You can donate to my charity here).
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