The Ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro - The Highest Peak in Africa

Liz McCarty and her husband, Howard Jones began a climb of Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro on July 21, 2002.  On the 28th, they stood triumphantly on Uhuru Peak, 19,344 feet skyward.  From jungle to ice and snow and back again, a climb of Kilimanjaro is full of surprises.  A few pictures from the climb follow.

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As we began our ascent of Kilimanjaro, we walked through a dense, but beautiful jungle.  At night, exotic Colobus monkeys produced a chorus of sound that was both eerie and awesome.  When they would go quiet, we were awakened by the unearthly sounds of hyraxes gradually rising to a crescendo and then fading into the darkness of the night.

On the second day of the climb, we gradually worked our way toward the Shira Plateau.  As we gained altitude, the jungle slowly thinned.  Here's a photo in the transition zone.  The colors were gorgeous, especially in the light of early morning.

Mountain Madness guided our trip with help from a company called African Environments.  It was "first class" all the way.  With only nine climbers, we had 51 porters, six kitchen staff and four guides.  One of our favorites was "egg man".  He started out the climb with roughly a thousand eggs on his head.  After every breakfast, his load gradually diminished.  He's shown here carrying his partial load up the mountain.

By the end of the second day, we'd gained enough altitude that temperatures were becoming quite cool at night.  The profile of the famous mountain was ever present as is seen behind Liz.  The mountain's appearance would change drastically as we continued our ascent from here.

As we prepared for dinner on the third day, Liz got out her company banner and asked some of the porters to hold it for a picture.  Clearly, we got plenty of help.  These guys were always smiling, laughing and ready to assist in any way possible.  We couldn't have asked for a better group.

By the time we'd reached 16,000 feet, the mountain's appearance had changed dramatically.  We were getting close to the snow and ice, evenings were getting quite cold and the winds were reminding us that great mountains, even near the equator, could be very inhospitable places.  Here Liz stands with the rock walls and ledges leading to the summit plateau behind her.

The following day was a long one.  We climbed up some pretty steep and treacherous rock faces.  When we finally breached the wall, we were treated to true alpine beauty.  Although they're diminishing in size, Kili's glaciers are still major league.  Liz is dwarfed standing against this wall of ice on the Furtwangler Glacier.

After reaching our high camp at 18,500 feet, we found our training regimens had paid dividends.  While some rested for their summit attempt the following day, we felt strong and anxious to work.  We set off alone and finally reached Kilimanjaro's "second highest summit".  At 19,144 feet, the high point overlooking the Reusch Crater gave us some spectacular views.  It also gave us some spectacularly unpleasant odors.  The volcano remains active and continues to spew large amounts of hydrogen sulfide into the air.  The leeward wall of the crater was yellow and completely coated with sulfur.  Don't be mislead by this picture of Howard standing on the edge of the crater.  It makes the crater look like a small hole in the ground.  In reality, it's about three quarters of a mile across.

Our summit attempt came in the pre-dawn hours of the following day.  As we climbed the last 300 foot rock wall leading to the highest point in Africa, the sun began to rise and cast a shadow of this great mountain across the horizon.  If you look closely, you'll see the shadow cutting across another of Africa's great mountains, Mount Meru.  Despite its nearly 15,000 foot elevation, it appears small from this vantage point.

At 7:20 a.m. on the morning of July 28, 2002, Liz McCarty and Howard Jones stood proudly on the highest point on the African continent, one of the world's "Seven Summits".  Although it wasn't the highest mountain Howard's climbed, climbing it with his wife made it his happiest.

The views from the summit were fabulous.  Here's a view of "southern ice field" shortly after sunrise.  It shows another of Kilimanjaro's features that make it one of the world's most diverse mountain environments.

The first day of the descent was mostly through rock and scree.  It can be tough on old knees, but buoyed by the enthusiasm of reaching the summit, we climbed, slid and trudged on down nearly 9,000 feet that day.  Here we paused for a picture and a brief rest.

The second and final day of the down-climb was the most memorable.  We passed into the jungle zone and rain forest.  The views were surreal as we entered the transition zone.

It seemed like a hundred miles of mud and jungle.  The trails was a tangle of muddy tree roots.  At times, it was steep and muddy and we had all we could do to stay upright.  Here Liz can be seen working her way through the dense vegetation.  It was a lot of hard work, but frankly, it was for the most part fun and an experience that will forever bring smiles to our faces.

We were pleased to find a small clearing and took advantage of it to catch of brief respite.  It almost appears as if Liz is giving a talk to John Hill flanked by Ellias and another guide, but she's probably just cleaning off some of the mud. (Notice she missed a spot on the back side.)

Finally down and smiling!  Howard and Liz agree with all the other climbers, our lead guide Ben has done a tremendous job.  If you're considering a trip to Kilimanjaro, you can do no better than to hook up with these guides.

As we leave Kilimanjaro, we look back to see it one more time as darkness overtakes us.  Its majesty is more understood and appreciated for our experiences.

The tradition of the farewell dinner is enjoyed by all back in Arusha, Tanzania.  We all went our separate ways, but we're forever bound by the experience shared on one of the world's most magical mountains and the great experiences with the wonderful people of Tanzania.

Just before leaving the dinner, Howard went to take one last picture of Liz.  As the shutter was pressed, an unexpected visitor landed on the top of the wine bottle to bid us good-bye.  An unusual end to an unusual trip.