FRONTLINE
GROUP MEMBERS SUM UP THEIR KILI EXPERIENCE
Brian Young, G Adventures
“My stand-out moment was the welcome back into camp by the G team.”
Jacqueline Dobson, Barrhead Travel
Jacqueline Dobson, Barrhead, and Lisa McAuley, dnata Travel
“A fantastic experience, but the hardest thing I have ever done.”
Lisa McAuley,
Gold Medal and Travel 2 “Most definitely a once-in-a- lifetime experience and one that earns huge bragging rights.”
Andy Harmer, Clia
“A difficult and relentless week. But the memory I will take away is the bond that I developed with my fellow hikers.”
checkpoint, at 4,600m, tests how people cope with higher altitude. The rain returned soon after we set off and it was a gruelling, five-hour trudge. Andy Harmer felt increasingly unwell as the elevation increased, but a two-hour descent to Barranco Camp at 3,900m to sleep (greeted by singing from our ‘Kili Kings’), and he was back to his jovial self.
HITTING THE WALL Day
three...the infamous Barranco Wall. Shrouded in mist the previous evening, we hadn’t seen how sheer and daunting this natural structure was. And we had to climb it. And the rocks were wet. Everyone’s adrenaline was pumping. We had to hug the overhanging Kissing Rock so tightly as we edged past, you can see how it got its name. Kudos to the vertigo sufferers – Jacqueline, Lisa and Brian – for whom the ordeal was terrifying. We reached Karanga Camp at 3,995m before
trekking for another four hours to Barafu Camp (Base Camp) at 4,800m. I don’t think anyone ate much dinner as we listened to our summit night briefing. “This is not a joke,” said our head CEO Brunno. “This is a serious mountain. But if the mind is willing, the body will adapt.” Three hours (of mainly panicking) later, dressed in
four layers on my legs, eight on my torso and three on my head, I scoffed three custard creams and set off into the darkness with just my headtorch for light. We walked for an hour, rested for five minutes; walked another hour, and rested again. There was soon snow underfoot and the gradient was steep – the
Miles Morgan, Miles Morgan Travel “I was expecting the physical challenge, but not the relentless rain and cold.”
Chris Mottershead, Barrhead Travel “Brilliant company; amazing experience. Exhausting but exhilarating.”
Sam Conway, Mail Metro Media
“It was more difficult than I had expected but the positives far outweigh the wet and altitude sickness.”
The group scales the Barranco Wall
bobbing lights of other climbers appeared to be directly above us. It was a good thing we couldn’t see what we were scaling. It meant I couldn’t see Sam Conway throwing up behind me (but I could hear him!). My abiding memory was the Kili Kings singing to spur us on – while I barely had the breath to speak. As the sun started to rise, the guides cracked open the ginger tea for those feeling nauseous. The view was magical. Sadly, it was marred by realising that the altitude had affected Andy so severely that he had to be taken down the mountain on medical advice. We pressed on, ascending to Stella Point at 5,756m, now in the blazing sunshine. It was hot and steep, and it felt as if for every step forward, we slid back the same distance. It took hours – and all my energy. Yet we still had another hour to Uhuru Peak at 5,895m. As we edged over the brow and saw the famous sign, it was mix of relief, euphoria and sorrow that Andy wasn’t with us. Everyone shed a tear. It had been brutal. But we had done it.
THE CHARITIES: The #GTrekForGood team has raised more than £20,000 for G Adventures’ social enterprise arm, Planeterra Foundation, which supports tourism projects in communities that the operator sends guests to, and for Abta Lifeline’s appeal to support those affected by the collapse of Thomas Cook.
Lucy Huxley and Andy Harmer, Clia
The ‘Kili Kings’
travelweekly.co.uk
19 DECEMBER 2019
29
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