Rwenzori

We awoke at 3 am. The much anticipated day, what we had all payed big money for, and some trained for, the trip to the summit of the Rwenzoris: 5,109 m Margherita Peak. I had prepared my body and mind for this physical challenge for months - nothing could spoil it.

One of the classic characters on our team was Tom. Currently reading the complete works of Shakespeare on his Kindle, Tom seemed to have incredible mental endurance. Despite not having trained in any particular way for this climb, his tenacity and sheer zest for mountain glory proved sufficient for the campaign.

"Want some sunscreen?" asked out guide. "No thanks, I like to live dangerously" replied Tom. "You like to have a red face?" I asked. Banter aside, things were about to get real as we got up to the glacier.

We started climbing with headlamps at precisely 4 am, hoping to reach the summit after 5 strenuous hours of steep climbing and roped glacier travel. Five days of approach had gotten us well-acclimatized for this as our bone marrow trickled out a few extra red blood cells with each day. After summiting, we would start the descent to base camp, then another 5 km or so to the next camp from 5,109 m to about 4,000 m or so. We carried on, my group taking the lead. In behind, a young swiss/NZ couple who seemed to know a thing or two about mountaineering and bringing up the rear, a Swiss father and son team, led by Vulcer who is 72 years old. He would be the 3rd oldest person to reach Margherita Peak.

A typical segment of the trail

A White-necked Raven presides over the camp

White-necked Raven, our familiar companion

Swiss father and son begin ascending the second glacier

Getting suited up

This trek is known to be significantly more challenging than Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya (Africa's 2 highest mountains), despite Mt. Stanley only receiving a few hundred visitors each year. Still, hike participants in general agreed that this was much harder than they expected. With no turning back, maintaining positivity and morale was our best weapon.

We came to our second glacier, a very steep one at 4,900 m where the air gets a little thin. Myself, having only traversed my first glacier 30 minutes earlier, was no veteran but I was relishing my first experience, getting right into the techniques. "This is one of the best days of my life!" I yelled.

To give you an idea...

First, our guide, then Tom, then me, our fate connected by one rope. I have to admit I was a little nervous. After only 2m of roped travel on the steepest section of glacier, Tom's crampon came off resulting in a brief hair-raising moment before Richard swooped down to jimmy-tie his crampon with a shoe lace and save the day.

I expressed my concerns to our guide but he reassured me in very African style, and we were at it again. In moments such as these, one must simply say TIA and get on with it. I thought about he fine print of my insurance where it says something about not covering mountaineering...

Anyway, we made it, behind us, the NZ/Swiss couple were discussing technique with their own guide. "Moses, this is too much rope between us, what if you were to fall?" It's ok, I'm not going to fall" replied Moses somewhat cockily. "Not even the best mountaineer says that" yelled John. I have to say, I did laugh but at the same time but it added a little hairiness to the whole vibe of the glacier traverse/climb. From what I gather, the glacier travel was pretty straightforward traditionally, but higher temperatures/climate change have caused rapid melting, resulting in all sorts of new crevasses and rapidly heating/cooling snow that becomes quite crusty and difficult to penetrate with an axe. Sadly, in some years from now there will be no more glaciers on the Rwenzoris.

The summit came into sight, I requested my guide's permission to be "unleashed" (hehe), and I bolted the last 100m to the top. I was a true king on that day. My concerns for our imminent death disappeared as I basked in the glory of the alpine sun and the clouds cleared to herald our arrival at this legendary summit.

Typical altimontane vegetation with Giant Lobelias

Lord-of-the-Rings-epic

Above the clouds

"One of the best days of my life"

The descent - note the large crevasses created by the rapid melting of the glacier

The way back started with a haemoglobin-induced high during which I ran a couple of kilometers through boggy terrain, stopping only to photograph the occasional Scarlet-tufted Malachite or Rwenzori Sunbird.

Scarlet-tufted Malachite Sunbird

Rwenzori Double-collared Sunbird

The following day, however, the mileage had caught up with my legs. On the second-last day, I did something I'd sworn against: asked the guide how much longer we had left! It turned out, only a km, making my request a wasted one. We reached our target camp shattered. Huddling around some chocolate bars and sheltering ourselves from the rain, we discussed strategy (stay the night or press on). Again, surprisingly, I think I was the only person to vote stay! Yes, this physical challenge truly was putting me to the test. We trudged on in our wellie boots, our knee menisci deteriorating with each step. 

Rwenzori Turaco - finally!!!

Fortunately, the decision to press on paid dividends in terms of birds. The next camp turned out to be in optimal habitat/elevation for the Rwenzori Turaco, the most awesome Rwenzori bird which had eluded us for 7 days. It took a lot of patience and required sacrificing breakfast but I managed to capture the beast, after waiting for 30 minutes motionless beside the tree he was calling from. What a perfect ending to an epic trek with some fantastic characters! As a bonus, one of the guides saved me a plate of scrambled eggs which may as well have been served at the finest Michelin-starred restaurant. Hunger is truly the best seasoning, as they say.