Page 9 - 2002 AMA Winter

steeper and the huts along the route are for the use of the Tanzanian campsite guardians only resulting in a need to carry tents. The Umbwe Route is steepest trail of the three and recommended for inexperi- climbers. This ensures that not get overused and taineers are able to enjoy the of the forest and the later airy ridges in a solitude, which is one of the reasons that makes it all worth doing. Umbwe is not techni­ cally difficult although it does involve theoccasionaleasyscramblingmove. It affords the dimber with classic views of Kilimanjaro looking up the Great Barranco, and an opportunity to dream, when Messners metres of vertical and overhanging ice,
route joined the South Kibo traverse at the Great Barranco Campsite, and as a consequence we were joined by a number of other parties. However, being well acclimatised, we were able to move quickly enough to avoid the worst of the crowds. To put these people into perspective, at the top of the Great Barranco we stopped to wait for our guide. An American female was overheard saying “that was the hardest hunk of rock I’ve ever climbed", I think I used my hands once on the whole route!
The summit bid is made from the Barafu Camp, which once again is a busy and crowded site, however it buzzes with summit fever. Traditionally, prospective summiteers depart at midnight in order to reach the summit between 6 and 7 am when the sun is rising. Even though we had been consistently faster than all of the average times along the trail, our guide was uneasy about letting us start for the summit any later than midnight. So we consoled ourselves with the fact that at least we wouldn’t be held up by any other groups on the route. We reached the summit at 0515 hours; it was, not surprising­ ly. deserted and we sat there cocooned in our duvet jackets awaiting the sunrise for 45 minutes on the Roof of Africa. As we prepared to leave, the first of the hoards began to arrive. We bounced past them whooping with headrush and glee at the glory of the long scree run that would take us back to the campsite.
As the popularity of mountaineering increases it becomes ever harder to find peace and tranquillity on the more accessible mountains. However with careful route selection and a good accli­ matisation programme, we were able to enjoy Kilimanjaro at its best and in relative solitude.
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