10 Days to the Summit

Our last training walk and we are at Shongweni on an overcast but beautiful Sunday. The trail here is closed so we have had to make our own hike through the bush. Actually it has been great fun and are now half way round and testing the blog update system.

The principle is that I email this message to my daughter, Cherri, as we break for lunch and she updates the blog. Lets see how that works.

We will break for a few days and then off on Wednesday.

11 Days to the Summit

It was our last evening training walk last night before we leave next week. We will have a longish hike on Sunday and that will be it for training. Two or three days rest then we are off. It we are not fit enough now we will never be.

As a group we all get on very well and are always chatting as we walk but last night we were surprisingly quiet on the outward leg. All deep in our own thoughts of the hike up Kilimanjaro and the potential problems we may face. Sheila and I have been avid readers of the Kili Climbing exploits that are so prevalent on the net. Everybody seems very keen to describe in detail the worst moments, the hardest climbs, the coldest weather and the most revolting long drop toilets. I guess the principle here is that if it was that bad then it was that much more amazing that they got to the top. So our thoughts right now are for the hardships we may face and the pain we will inevitably have to endure if we are to make the summit.

But what about those many thousands of hikers who don’t make it? Where are their stories on the internet? There are many different numbers quoted in various publications about how many people climb the mountain each year and how many make it. The Tanzanian authorities know of course, but they aren’t telling so it seems that there are between 20,000 and 35,000 people who attempt the climb each year and between 50% and 65% make it. That means between 7,000 and 17,500 people don’t get to the top each year. A sobering thought after they have spent so much time and money in the attempt. The most likely to fail apparently, are young fit men. AMS gets them because they try to go to quickly, don’t eat the right food and generally don’t treat the climb with the respect it deserves.

We have also heard stories of people crawling up the mountain on the last day as they drag themselves towards the summit. Taking in 50% less oxygen, panting like a steam train with the mother of all hangovers that is AMS (altitude sickness). Your muscles screaming at you to stop and only the last few drops of your positive mental attitude driving you on. Then of course, there are at least 10 people each year who die in the attempt to get to the top. Altitude sickness is a killer if it is not treated or ignored.

So our thought on the outward journey were on these things. We stopped after an hour and a half at my favourite break spot overlooking the bush and onwards to the sea. The mood lightened as we sat and eat out energy bars and apples, talking about the final purchases (surely there can’t be anything more to purchase) and the detailed plans. I took the inevitable pictures and then we started the one hour walk back.

The mood was much less sombre on the inward journey. We sang songs and made up words telling of successful days ahead. We were stopped on the way by a young man wishing us well on the trip ahead. He had, apparently, read the story in the newspaper and recognised us on the road.

14 Days to go to the Summit

Last night we walked for two and a half hours in the rain. We have avoided rainy evenings to train in the past, but it was good to test out the rainwear. The rucksack covers are really bright -luminous actually (see picture). I guess that is so we don’t lose each other in the clouds!


We have also learnt to appreciate the wonderful flora that we have, even in built up areas like Durban. I can’t wait to see all the different plants and flowers in the 4 different climates that we walk through up Kilimanjaro.



This flame lily is in Virginia Bush and the beautiful display of lilies was on the side on the road. It is amazing what you miss when you drive everywhere.

15 Days to go to the Summit

Do you remember holidays when you were young? In my family as a child, for as long as I can remember, we had a two week holiday every year without fail. It was organised well in advance, always by the seaside, (the destination changing as my father earned more) and we all looked forward to it for months. We would discuss what we were going to do while we were away, buy new cloths for the occasion, each of the children would have some new toy to take with them and we would pack and repack a week in advance. These holidays lasted until I was old enough to prefer staying with my girlfriend at home, but I remember them all as if they happened yesterday.

That tradition of annual holidays has slipped away… until now. Climbing Kilimanjaro is just the same. We have been planning this “holiday” for months now. We know every detail, have discussed every eventuality, trained daily to be fit enough, bought new cloths, and Sheila and I have bought each other a new “toy” to take with us for the three days in Zanzibar after the climb. Our bags have been packed for weeks with the specialised clothes we have bought for the trip and we discuss the trip for at least an hour every night.

Not only that… How many of you have planned a holiday in such detail that you have a blog to record the occasion? Such Fun!

We have a week to go before we leave so we are walking every night. I know we are fit enough but the feeling is that if we work harder now it will be easier on that dreaded last few meters to the summit from midnight on the 23^rd January.

I managed to get hold of the Stedman book on trekking up Kilimanjaro and I recommend it to anybody thinking of doing the same. Of course, I can’t tell you how accurate it is until I come done on the 24^th but it is a great read.

I am still working on converting one of my walking poles to a camera tripod. I have a light aluminium tripod that travelled Africa with me but it is bulky and slow to erect. I have a feeling I will need something instant to catch that special picture. I will let you know how it works out.

17 Days to go to the summit

Are you taking the pill? When I was much younger and single, this question had quite a different meaning and a positive answer promised good things for the near future.

The pill on my mind today is quite a different prophylactic called Diamox and when taken at the rate of three a day will, apparently, reduce the effects of AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). We are still discussing the relative merits of taking “The Pill” or not but I went ahead and bought some anyway. My first surprise came when I got to the till at the pharmacy. R1700.00! And this was for the generic equivalent. I would probably have had to sell my car to buy the real thing. If they work, (there is some debate on this matter) and if we get AMS (not everybody is susceptible) I am sure this amount will be considered to be a good investment, but it is possible that we may not use them at all.

The argument seems to go like this:

Diamox is a prophylactic (preventative measure) but it is also a diuretic (takes water out of the body). Most of the specialists tell us that the best way to avoid AMS is to drink lots of water so the Diamox will counteract this solution.

If we take Diamox and then get AMS we will have nothing to treat it with because we are already taking the treatment.

Unfortunately medicine is not an exact science. The effects of AMS seem to be like the mother of all hangovers, made worse, apparently, by drinking alcohol on the way up.

The way we are talking at the moment, John and Sheila want to take the tablets from day one, but I want to avoid the tablets unless I need them. I will keep you posted.

20 Days to go

I love living in Durban. Having spent the first 38 years of my life in the UK, the weather is just right for me here. It doesn’t have the pace of Johannesburg which suits me fine and I am 20 minutes away from an airport to take me anywhere I need to work. I love Durban… but.

To climb Kilimanjaro, or apparently any height above 2,400 meters, we will need to manage AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) and people from the coast are more susceptible than people from higher altitudes, say Johannesburg. The theory is that you climb high and sleep low, getting higher and higher as you go.

To counteract the effect of living in Durban we have decided to get to the highest possible point in South Africa and stay over night on the way to Johannesburg, and then fly to Tanzania. I have booked the three of us in backpackers accommodation (might as well get used to it) at the top of Sani Pass (2874 meters) on the 16th January. We will stay with my daughter in Johannesburg (1800 meters) on the 17th and stay over night in Moshi Tanzania (1800 meters) on the 18th and then start the climb. With a bit of luck that will help us to acclimatise

The Photo Routine. We are getting into a habit now. Every time the cameras come out we know how to get the best of the photography. Sheila is very good at reminding us “Sunglasses off so that the camera can see your eyes, Caps turned round so there is no shadow on the face and stomachs in!”

John and I went for an excellent walk around Virginia Bush last night. Two and a half hours at a fairly steady pace. Sheila couldn’t come as she had to do the airport run. You will notice from the picture that we forgot the last part the photo routine.

We have been blessed with wonderful children two of whom (Cherri and Keylim) live and work in Johannesburg (Cherri with her husband Mark). It was delightful to have all three of them for the Christmas Season but surely they can arrange to travel together. No…. Six flights! And. Of course, 6 flights mean 6 trips to the airport. Oh well….

21 Days to go

Christmas has come and gone and we have missed out on the regular training sessions. John went with his family to Cape Town to spend Christmas with his daughter and Sheila and I had hundreds here so it was harder to walk.

John did manage 18 km to Hout Bay but we hadn’t walked at all until yesterday evening. Saturday was very hot so we decided to wait until 16:30 and walk from then. Two and a half hours around the streets of Durban was fun. We always seem to have things to chat about and plan for. I am beginning to wonder what we will do after Kilimanjaro. Will we still walk in the evenings? Somehow I doubt it, which will be a shame because we all enjoy the exercise and the camaraderie.

It is amazing what you can see when you are walking. What about this metal man with his dog outside a house.

The moon was full last week. The next time it is a full moon we will be summiting Kilimanjaro. I am beginning to get excited. I have posted a picture of the moon last night, New Years Eve.(I can’t get over what an amazing camera this is) It was lovely clear evening here in Durban and we celebrated with the family.

31 Days to go

The test for the training to climb Kilimanjaro is to see if we can walk for 7 hours up fairly steep hills and still be prepared to walk the next day. We have just taken the test….. and passed!

Monday was a public holiday in South Africa so we took this opportunity of looking for a really demanding walk. John picked us up at 5am and we motored for 3 hours to get to the Drakensburg. With a short break for breakfast we arrived at Giants Castle and we were ready to walk at 9am. There was a little tension in the air as we knew it would be a long day. We were carrying our regulation three liters of water, all the emergence stuff, two walking polls each and waterproof clothing just in case. We decided to walk out towards the Langalibalele Pass, cut across country and walk back from Bannerman’s Hut. This should be a 9hour 30minute walk with plenty of steep hills on the way. I figured we needed to test ourselves, and we did.

The way up is very steep and it seemed to take us forever. I was beginning to worry about time and considered turning around after 4 hours walking because we hadn’t managed half way by then. The group opinion was to go on. It should be down hill and easier to make up time traveling back.

We climbed higher that we have before (2,200 meters) and the flora was quite different. There had been a lot of rain recently so the rivers were full as well. One of the rivers we had to cross would have been impossible had the water been just a little higher. My new camera was working overtime and I took a movie as well to get some practice with camera angles. I must say the results are excellent.

In the end we arrived back at 18:45, and after a brief break made for the gate. Unfortunately the gate was locked by the time we got there but a guard let us out anyway. (Make mental note to be out of the park by 19:00 next time)

We were all exhausted by the time we got back to the car and the 3 hour drive home was very draining. Having been up at 04:30, driven three and a half hours to get there, walked for over nine hours, it was pretty silly to be driving in the dark for another three hours.

We all agreed, however, that this was a great day out and well within our capabilities. Next stop Kilimanjaro!

34 Days to go

The Flu or not the Flu.

We were all set to go to the Drakensburg last Monday (Public Holiday in SA). Sheila had spent Sunday doing the last of the Christmas Shopping (although I am sure there will be a few things that we just have to rush out for on Christmas Eve), and I prepared the rucksacks, washed and filled the new Camelbak water bags, and generally looked forward to the long walk in the Drakensburg. Sheila was sick when she got home from shopping and later we decided to give the Drakensburg a miss. Later still I rang John and told him that I would go but at 04:15 am on Monday I had succumbed to the bug, so we really had to cancel. Sheila and I have felt bad all week and only now coming round. We have decided to go on Saturday. I hope we will both be well then.

I have spent some of the week watching the other Kilimanjaro videos on Youtube. These are very interesting and have given me an idea how best to film the event (and what not to do as well). One Video used the music from the beginning of the Lord of the Rings movie (not right at the beginning, but where Gandalf arrives). I am sure there are some copyright issues that still have to be sorted in Youtube, but the music was perfect for the video.

One video showed a hapless couple who seemed to have rain the whole way and then couldn't stay at the top to take pictures because the mist came down and they couldn't see a thing. This is now my worst nightmare. To get all that way to see the view and pick a bad day…...

38 Days to go

To Gu or not to Gu?

I think we have most of the major stuff now. We went out today and bought what I hope is the last of the clothing that we will need. I will be doing a complete list of what we purchased and the prices later. It will be interesting to do another list when we are back of what we actually needed. I feel very much in the hands of the 4 main shops in South Africa that sell this stuff. Do we really need all of it? I will never know. One thing's for certain. I don't want to get nearly there at -20C and wish we had bought something that seemed a waste of money in the Durban Sunshine. So we have everything... and then some!

Anyway, back to my first statement. We have satisfied or outside needs. We will be warm at the top! but what about what goes on the inside? Everybody we have talked to suggest that we take a good supply of our favorite snack, energy bar, Hawaiian Mix, Tex, or whatever, but what about the energy glup that comes in a sachet and supplies you with the extra energy to get to the top. (So it says on the packet). This has got to be another one of those expensive cons..... Hasn't it?

This morning I picket up 6 different brands of energy glup, "GU" being the most famous (and, of course, the most expensive) Now if we take it like it says on the packet we will need 6 each a day at prices up to R15.99 each. Surely we don't need to spend another R1,000 on this stuff? And which brand to choose? The ingredients look really interesting but it could be written in Greek for all that it means to me. I have purchased a product called "Breakthru" which seems to have the same amount of Kj as the ones 3 times the price and we will try them on Monday in the Drakensburg. I haven't tasted it yet, it probably tastes like s**t. I will let you know.

The next decision is whether to take Diomax? This is a tablet that is meant to help with the symptoms of Altitude Sickness. Now if there is one thing that might prevent us from getting to the top it is the Nausea and Headache that comes with high altitudes. It's not just the pain, Altitude sickness is a killer so we have to be careful.

Then there is the snack bars to take. Which is your favorite brand? This may not be important to you but in the back of my mind I am imagining myself 5000 km from the nearest Engen Onestop, with a snack bar I am sick off.

One Last thing.... if you are in SA and you are thinking of doing this hike, consider looking in Mr Price Sports for some of the clothing before you spend R300.00 for teeshirt. Okay... they won't be able to help with the really specialisd stuff, but you could save at least R1,000 by visiting there first.

By the way. The picture is the flag that Chantell made for us. This ones going to the top and will be waived as the Sun raises..... with a bit of luck!

42 days to go

Just a quick note to say that the video is now available on You Tube. Click on this link to get there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTuU22Eaepk

A really big thank you to The Missing Link Team who donated their time and expertise to produce the video. Lets hope it will encourage more people to get involved.

45 Days to go

Had a great training hike today in Paradise Valley. It is not a very long walk (only about 90 minutes) so we did it twice. There is a good steep hill about half way round, just what we need to train our legs to climb.

We had a chat about Kili on the break and I was interested to hear that Sheila and John are beginning to get concerned. There is no doubt that it will be both physically and mentally challenging to do the climb but I haven't started to concern myself with that yet. Too many other things to think about. We have had so much advice from people who have made the climb I hope we don't forget anything. All the shops have lists of the things we need to get to the top. Frankly I think they overdo the stuff that they are very happy to sell us but I will only know that when we have done the trip.

We are now using a bladder in the rucksack that holds the water. This makes sense of course, as we don't have to stop to get a water bottle out of the pack. The first water bladders we purchased tasted of plastic despite the fact that we were told that they wouldn't. Mine also had a leak and the mouth piece didn't seal. I have taken it back, but they are thinking about what to do with it. We will see.

I also decided to buy myself a really good camera at the weekend. When I was in the Grand Canyon last month I took pictures with my compact 6 megapixle camera and a friend took some with his top of the range SLR. The difference was so dramatic I knew I would have to buy a new camera... but which to buy?

My son Chait is a specialist so I chatted to him and looked around. I didn't want a big SLR but I did want all the features, so we ended up with the best compact available, the Canon G9. 12 megapixles, 6 times optical zoom and the quality of the pictures is just amazing. Of course the guy behind the camera is still the same so I will need to get some training if I am to use it properly.

47 Days to go

Two hours walking last night. Nothing very exciting happened but it was very tiring after speaking all day. Nothing much to report then, except this picture taken at the local McDonald's. Maybe it is just me but this sign seems to suggest that the parking space is for a big Scotsman who enjoys eating customers.

48 Days to go

Less that 50 days now and we are really working hard on the fund raising but alas, not so hard on the training. Yesterday I flew to Johannesburg to meet with the Reach for a Dream guys and be interviewed for an advert that the really great people at Missing Link are doing. It never fails to amaze me how many fantastic people there are in the world, all of whom seem to be prepared to give their time and money without any possibility of reward. Thanks to Sean and his team for doing a great job yesterday.

I have committed to getting this blog updated twice a day with pictures and a story while we are actually climbing, so this will be the place to be between the 18th and the 23rd of January. In the mean time I would really like to get involved with a radio station, who would welcome the sort of daily input I could offer from the mountain as well as an interview at the summit. This would really help to bring in more pledges of funds for the Reach for a Dream Foundation. If you can help with this sort of contact this would be great.

No training since Sunday so no really exciting pictures of the team, but I thought I would post a picture of me and my grandson during our training on Sunday. (I am the one on the right).

51 Days to go

Lots of interesting things happening this week. Rich Mulholand has offered to create a video to publicise the climb for Reach for a Dream on the internet which is wonderful news. This will help to get the word out to a much larger audience. I am flying to Johannesburg on Tuesday to be interviewed for the video along with the RFAD team.

We have also been training of course. This afternoon we went to Virginia Bush again to get in as much hill work as possible. It is lovely in the bush and although it is not far from home it is quiet and beautiful. I took the video camera with me to get some footage to take with me on Tuesday. I am thinking of making a video of the whole thing from training to climb. Might be fun.

Chantell has also kindly personalised our kit with the new logo and created a fantastic flag to take with us to the top. Thanks Chantell.