HIGH SIGHT EXPEDITION 2009 TO KILIMANJARO - BLIND CLIMBERS BREAK WORKD RECORD ON KILIMANJARO -
Reported by Debra Bouwer
It
was with great excitement that the High Sight
Expedition of 12 climbers arrived from Australia
to join up with the South African group of 12
and one climber from Belgium. The group of 25
people is comprised of 8 blind, and 17 sighted climbers. After two days acclimatising in
the berg, the team arrived at Johannesburg for
their flight to Kilimanjaro.
Five days later, the team shattered all
previous records, when all 25 made summit and 24
reached the board at Uhuru Peak sending a clear message that if
you want something badly enough, there is no
reason not to pursue your dreams! The expedition
is also about raising funds for and awareness
for the Prevent Blindness Association in
Australia, an Horizon farm Trust in South
Africa. And Nomadic Adventures in proud to be
involved.
Below, follows the daily updates of their
climb.
14 March 2009
- the group have arrived to Mandara Hut - first
night stop at around 5.50pm. When I spoke to
Juma (head guide) a short while ago, they were
all in the dining hall chomping on peanuts,
popcorns, coffee and Milo and there was so much
laughter in the background I could hardly hear
him - so it sounds like they are in high
spirits. He was happy with the pace they went
and said they were quicker than they expected
(though I assure you - with Juma at the helm
they will go pole pole all the way). So,
tomorrow they leave the forest and head on a
nice day towards Horombo, and will get their
first glimpses of Kilimanjaro's Kibo summit
looking above them.
15 March 2009 - So the group have made
Horombo Huts and today will have got their first
real views of the summit of Kilimanjaro, Kibo
with her snow cap. They are still making good
time and got to camp in 6 hours, excluding the
lunch stop. Signal on the mountain is very bad
so it was difficult to glean more information
than this for now. Tomorrow and the next day are
two acclimitisation days for a few treks to
Mawenzi Peaks and acclimitisation
16 March 2009 - The team are all well
today and after breakfast headed from Mandara
hut up to Zebra Rock, a massive rock on the
eastern trail towards Mawenzi Peaks which got
its name from the black and white stripes that
run down the rock. 3 hours later they were back
and camp and all fine - though a few people have
been hit by ASOF today - aka "Altitude Sense of
Humour Failure." (Quite common at altitude)
Weather wise it looks like they will have snow
on summit night (Wednesday night) as snow is
forecast for Wednesday morning, afternoon, and
evening and also, Thursday morning. This will
have an impact on the time that they leave Kibo
camp for summit - though we hope that the
weather clears enough on the early hours of
Thursday morning that they will still get to see
the sunrise. More tomorrow...
17 March 2009 -
After discussions late yesterday afternoon
with team leader (Stephen) at Horombo Huts,
who was doing his own version of the Kili
Signal Jig in a desperate attempt to retain
waning cell phone signal, the group have
opted to head for Kibo one day earlier,
partially in the hopes of heading for summit
without the predicted snow fall and hence a
nice clear sunrise, and partially to ensure
that the non-sighted climbers have more time
to descend off the mountain.
So, the team are
currently heading for Kibo which
means that today they will ascend
from Horombo through the moorland
and after about an hour will pass
the last water point. Here porters
stock up with water to be carried to
Kibo.
The path will
then even out as they enter into the
alpine desert and the vast expanse
of the saddle. The going from here
is relatively gentle as they near
Kibo – a total altitude gain of
980m. For the first time, they will
get a close up view of the zig zag
path that they will follow all the
way to summit.
Tonight, they
will rise around 22h00 and start
their climb towards UhuruPeak,
stopping for a break at HansMeyerCave and continuing on
towards Gilman’s Point. At this
stage, the long steep section is
over. They will then head
progressively around the crater rim,
joining up with the ascent route
from Barafu at Stella Point. From
here the signboard is only 200m in
altitude away.
The Saddle
There is no signal at
Kibo, but if our guides pick up signal
before Kibo they will let us know how the
team is doing. Otherwise, the next news will
only be tomorrow on their descent.
For those of you who like
us will be patiently waiting for news,
please let me know if you do get any sms
from the team at summit so we can share the
news with others (assuming they get signal).
The good news is that
there has been a shift in the weather. They
are likely to get snow at Kibo Huts this
afternoon, but it should clear this evening
and they should have clear skies tomorrow
morning. If it does snow at Kibo and then
clears later this is good news for the team,
as it means that albeit a little colder, the
path will be easier to walk on.
We wish them all a
successful summit in good weather.
18 March 2009
What can I say. A phenomenal achievement has
been made by all! At 07h30 South African
time, 24 of the 25 team of High Sight
Expedition stood at the summit of
Kilimanjaro, Uhuru Peak, Highest Mountain in
Africa, largest volcano and the one of the
closest points in the world to the sun. In
doing so, they broke a record of having 7
non sighted climbers at the summit. Beaming
with pride and excitement they are now on
their way down to Kibo Huts to join with
Rusty, the 8th non-sighted climber, who had
to turn back at Gilmans Point; a brilliant
achievement in itself as the pull up to
Gilmans is long and arduous. So, every
climber will come home with a certificate in
their bags, proving that anything is
possible in life if you just put your mind
to it. I chatted with Juma, head guide a
short while ago - I am not sure who was more
excited, the guides or the climbers. He says
it is heavy going on the descent but all are
well.
Well done to all the climbers and the guides
on the team, support staff of cooks and
porters and for all of those that stayed
behind sending love and support along the
way. Thank you!
19 March 2009
At 17h30 the team arrives safely
back to Mandara after yet another,
very long day. The descent (I find)
is often harder than the ascent,
descending in 1.5 days what one
takes to go up in 4. For the team,
pushing for summit one day earlier
has meant a slower descent which for
the non-sighted has made a world of
a difference. What was alpine desert
on the ascent, was transformed
yesterday after a light snow fall
into a white fairy land.
Tomorrow, will
be a good 6-8 hour trek back through
the Marangu Forest to Marangu gate,
where all 25 team members will be
issued with a certificate for having
climbed Kilimanjaro. Saying goodbye
to fellow team members on Saturday
morning with be particularly
difficult, especially for Severine
who flies out alone. But the
friendships that have been formed in
the last week, will last forever.
20
March 2009
I
believe that this will be my last update
to you, and it gives me great pleasure
to say, you loved ones are safely off
the mountain. By now they will have
either hit the bar for a beer or ice
cold coke, dived into the pool or headed
straight for the showers. They will all
come home with certificates of their
achievement, beaming with price.
