Page 16 - 2001/02 AMA Winter

Scaling the soggy peaks in UK can be challenging any time; 'dragging' the RLC TA kicking and screaming to
Chamonix this summer was tremendous; but providing the instructor cover for 11 Royal Engineers to pop up Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest point on the African continent, was ... well ... something else! As a senior colleague pointed out, 13 years of co-ordinating Ex Deep Ranger and having gained all these mountaineering qualifica­ tions, mostly courtesy of HM Forces, there have to be some perks. My only organisational
much as a nail file on you threat­ ened a life sentence. In Nairobi, security was... interesting, but not as intriguing as the form filling necessary for passage through Kenya, then again for Tanzania; reminding me of a good day at the DHSS office. Furthermore, the frontier was an
Major Wilsons descent from Kill Summit, with Mawemzi peak behind.
contribution to this expedition
was a risk assessment presen­
tationtoS02G3PAT4Div...a
novelty. My RLC TA instructor
mates couldn't oblige these
guys on this occasion so I just
had to succumb to the pressure
and assist! Join the Army
Mountaineering Assn. and you
get these kind of opportunities. experience not to be missed
and an ostrich at a speed I dare only imagine. Seven hours later we arrived at the Kilimanjaro Lodge, Moshi, home for 3 of our 11 nights in Africa.
The first four days were to be taken up on the acclimatisation peak of Mt Meru, a very respectable 4566m in height and renowned for being more 'inter­ esting and less commercialised' in comparison to its larger neighbour. Steep grassland and bush from the start at Momela Gate, took us past grazing cape buffalo and giraffe to Miriakamba Hut for night one. As well as the tour company rep. Gideon, and 14 porters, we had an armed guide (in case of encounters with elephants)! Accomodation much like the alpine huts in Europe, toilets about the same quality and meals like something out of... Africa I suppose. Day two was spent in the mountain rainforest ascending steeply to the Saddle Hut at 3570m. Lots of elephant poo and monkeys, before we broke out into giant heather that makes Scotland's hills look like a walk in the park. Everyone was wheezing well by the time we reached the Hut. Fitness ironically doesn't come into this high altitude trekking half as much as pacing yourself and "poley poley" (Swahili for 'slowly slowly') proved to be sacro­ sanct. Another phrase was "akuna matata" meaning 'no problem’, which became increasingly relevant as we realised that however keen we were, the locals worked to 'African time' and it put a whole new perspective on the TA phi­ losophy of 'rush and wait'.
Sleeping at 1700hrs is difficult but the guys seemed to manage it no problem, typical regular soldiers I guess! We were awoken at 2400hrs to commence the final stage to the summit of Meru in darkness. An interesting expe­ rience with a headtorch, scram­ bling over what in UK would be Grade 1 ground up a ridge around the volcano crater rim to reach the sum m it at dawn. Four regrettably succumbed to altitude sickness(AMS), but for­ tunately with enough porters to accompany them back down to the Hut, the remainder didn't have to abandon the climb. Photos of dawn over 'Kili' were impressive and returning in daylight, I now know why they do the Meru final ascent at night. Any sensible unpre­ pared tourist would sack it long before the top given the 12
From RHQ 1 RSME, Chatham, Kent, one CO, ten men and me, left for Gatwick on 17 Sep 01 for departure to Nairobi. After the trauma of New York and the Pentagon, security was a nightmare and having so
with every conceivable type of vehicle and character seeking access across the border. The dry heat hits you as the tour bus gained momentum alarmingly on the straight road across the African plains, negotiating donkeys, cattle, sheep, goats