The Climb

I made it!

Here is the story (and photographic evidence!)

Day 1:

In hindsight, Kieran and I were really quite blase in our approach to climbing Mt Meru. That quickly became apparent to us when we arrived and groups started emerging from buses with goggles, matching outfits, and all the paraphernalia required to climb Everest. One group even sat on the ground in the carpark to do their stretches.

We had little to no gear but were full of optimism. It didn't look that high.

As I mentioned before, we had to walk with a ranger through the forest in case we came across some aggressive animals. We were put into groups and then set off for the 5hr hike to Momela Hut. We seemed to be with some quite serious hikers, judging by the size of their boots and calves.

But we were undeterred. This is Kieran following the group wearing the trousers he wears to the hospital everyday and joggers.

The forest was really beautiful and changed alot as we ascended. We got a few touristy shots on the way.

Throughout the day we saw blue monkeys, colibos monkeys (black and white), buffalo and warthogs. But I was most excited about spotting giraffes! They were perfect and even seemed to smile at the camera.

Luckily the ranger didn't need to shoot anything. Actually, he hasn't fired a gun since he became a ranger. He did look cool though. 

The huts were basic but ok - porters and chaos everywhere. They reminded me of European ski lodges although that could have been because there seemed to be Germans everywhere.

 

 

 

 

 Day 2

This involved hiking up to the second camp, Saddle Hut, at 3500m. It wasn't too challenging. Then we went on a short trek up to Little Mt Meru to help with acclimatisation. One of our porters acted as our guide and was happy enough to pose for a few photos.

Here I am. The peak of the 'real' mountain is looming behind the clouds in the background.

 Day 3

Easily on of the biggest days I've had in a long time. It started at 12:30am. We were to leave the camp at 1am to hike up to the peak for sunrise. It was cold and wet to begin with but once we passed the cloud level we were walking under the light of a full moon and it was magic.

Kieran and I were one of the last groups to leave. I had on nearly every piece of clothing I had brought (T-shirts and singlets...no thermals or fleece) and Kieran went up in those trousers plus a windbreaker. We didn't have any beanies or gloves - I wore some socks on my hands. But we made it. AND we made it faster than any of those other professional looking people. Unfortunately though, I don't have many pictures from the top as my fingers wouldn't work properly. He is one though, to prove I was there. That's Mt Kilimanjaro in the background.

 

The rest of these shots were from the way down. This was the best bit of the climb. It was so spectacular.

This next shot was from 3800m. You can see the camp in the bottom left corner. It took us about 3hrs to get from the top back to there - mainly because we kept stopping to take photos. Most groups then stay at this hut or the next before going down the mountain the next day. Not us though. We thought we could manage the whole thing in one go. So after a quick brunch, we descended all the way to the bottom. 3000m in one day. My knees felt like concrete at the end of it but it was worth it to get home to a hot shower.

 So that's it - adventure done!

Till next time x