When most people talk about going on vacation their plans include visits to relatives or baking on a beach somewhere. But two physical education lecturers from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran had a different idea. They wanted an adventure — something to really write home about — and so Harry de Roo and Dr. Ergun Yurdadon decided to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
“I like adventure holidays,” explained de Roo. “I enjoy doing physical things. I spent four years cycling around the world and I enjoy getting back to nature. I wanted to climb Kilimanjaro not just for the challenge but also to experience the peace and tranquillity, which are normally missing from everyday life.”
De Roo needed a partner for the adventure and he approached Yurdadon to join him in the climb.
“I like backpacking and camping so when Harry asked if I’d like to try Kilimanjaro I was enthusiastic,” said Yurdadon. “My approach to life is philosophical. I need to have soul-searching and insightful thinking as a part of my days. Civilization, concrete buildings and noise don’t create the right atmosphere for insightful thinking.”
So Yurdadon and de Roo researched the trip, purchased their tickets, packed their gear and on Feb. 14, 2002 they set off for Kilimanjaro. As their plans had become known, considerable interest in the trip was generated. It was soon obvious that the two lecturers would be going on a scouting mission in order to lead other local groups in the future. As gestures of community service, Emirates Airline, Laith Sports Center and Desert Designs, a local heritage boutique, signed on as partial sponsors of the trip.
Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and one of the largest freestanding mountains in the world. Kilimanjaro stands 205 miles south of the equator, on the northern boundary of Tanzania. Starting out from a rolling plain close to the Indian Ocean, the mountain rises to a barren, frozen 1 1/2 mile high peak. It is made up of three extinct volcanoes: Kibo 19,340 feet (5,895 meters), Mawenzi 16,896 feet (5,149 meters) and Shira 13,000 feet (3,962 meters).
The upper reaches of the mountain have become a protected natural treasure. Kilimanjaro National Park takes in the area above 8,850 feet (2,700 meters), on the mountain. It includes the moorland and highland zones, Shira Plateau, Kibo and Mawenzi peaks. In addition, the park has six corridors or rights of way through the Kilimanjaro Forest Reserve. The forest reserve, which is also a game reserve, was established in 1921; the park was established in 1973 and officially opened in 1977. The best months of the year to climb Kilimanjaro are January and February. The worst of the rainy season is in May and June, with climbing halted. Trips up the mountain start again in July.
“We brought all our own gear with us, including clothes, climbing equipment and sleeping bags,” said de Roo. “While it does create an excess baggage situation, it really is necessary. Some tour operators advertise that they will rent gear but when we arrived, we found that such equipment was in very poor condition, probably discarded by other trekkers as too used to be worth taking back home.”
De Roo was very fit and in peak physical condition as they approached the mountain. Yurdadon was at a disadvantage. He had been fighting off influenza prior to their departure from Dhahran and in fact had almost canceled the trip. In the end, he moved forward with their plans, hoping that with a few days of rest, his physical condition would improve.
The climb up Kilimanjaro began well. The first day found Yurdadon and de Roo making their way through warm, dry plains with average temperatures of 85 degrees Fahrenheit and ascending into a wide belt of wet tropical forest. However, they knew that the equatorial conditions wouldn’t last. On the second day, every hour climbing would mean a move into colder, drier weather. The men had to bring a wide range of clothing to handle the changing temperatures. At the mountain’s peak they would be facing Arctic conditions.
“On the first day we met up with our porters and guide,” said de Roo. “We had been advised to book everything from transportation to lodging and meals in advance and we did. We had even the smallest details of the trip confirmed in writing. This is important. Don’t assume that anything is included unless it is clearly listed in writing. Remember this is a trek where even the drinking water has to be carried up the mountain.”
The men had signed up for a trip package that included tents and meals. More luxurious packages are available where climbers stay in huts and even sit at tables for meals, instead of sitting on the ground. The more luxuries required, the higher the cost of the trip. Porters carry all the gear from tents to tables up the mountain, usually before the main group, so the camp is set up when the climbers arrive at the end of each day.
After the first eight hours of climbing, both de Roo and Yurdadon were still fit. The hike through the rain forest had been a beautiful experience. Camp was made at the rain forest’s edge. The men were surprised to find the mountain was not the deserted place they had expected. Sixty tourists per day are allowed to start the trek up four possible routes. Rangers register the people at each camp daily and they also issue certificates of completion of ascent for those climbers who reach the mountain’s peak. Each tourist must hire at least six native porters and a guide. The porters carry all the equipment, supplies and water up the mountain, and bring the equipment and trash back out.
“The second morning we went through the lower levels of alpine desert,” said Yurdadon. “There was a lot of rubble from volcanic eruptions. It was quite beautiful to watch the fog passing over the summit and we experienced dramatic temperature changes during the day. We were taking the Machame route, which is scenic but physically demanding, requiring a walk of about 70 km in six days — 4 1/2 days up the mountain, 1 1/2 days down. There is another easier trek taken by most climbers called the Manangu route, but it’s mostly desert and doesn’t allow climbers to fully experience the natural beauty of Kilimanjaro.”
It was on this second day, where the trek was 12 km, up to a height of 3,600 meters, that Yurdadon’s health failed. He became affected by the altitude and couldn’t go on. Unfortunately, for some time he couldn’t go back either.
“There are no professional evacuation services to pull you off the mountain and no physicians to provide emergency treatment,” Yurdadon explained. “After I got sick, the porters helped me walk the three kilometers to a hut where I waited 2 1/2 hours for a jeep to come to take me off the mountain. By chance there was a physician in the hut who was part of another group and he was treating his friend, who also had altitude sickness. I was really in poor shape with vomiting, shortness of breath and in severe pain in my head and limbs. The medication the physician gave me helped enough so that I could walk the kilometer out to the track to meet the jeep when it arrived. Then I had to face the horrifying seven-hour journey back to the lodge at the base camp, riding in a shaking, jolting jeep.”
Without his companion, de Roo continued on to the summit. The third day de Roo and his guide climbed the route up to 4,600 meters and then came back down to spend the night at 3,900 to acclimatize. Due to the cold, thin air, de Roo was finding it hard to breathe and the pace had slowed. The fourth day the conditions were even tougher.
“First thing in the morning we had to traverse a steep path straight up 100 meters single file,” said de Roo. “The wind was blowing hard by the time we got into camp at 3 p.m. I was exhausted but there was no way to sleep. The wind was howling against the tent and I was checking my watch every hour. Finally at midnight the guide came to rouse me and after drinking some hot soup, it was time to move.”
The assault on the snow-covered summit began in darkness with just torches to light the way. The idea was for the climbers to reach the peak of Kilimanjaro at sunrise. As the trail got steeper de Roo began to feel dizzy and nauseous. He continued on but was extremely tired and cold. His water bottle froze. His batteries died. It was a struggle. Even so, de Roo and his guide reached the peak at 5:45 a.m. — nearly 45 minutes before sunrise. It was too cold to wait for the first rays of light, so they took a photo and descended. The return journey to the main lodge took just a day and a half.
Both de Roo and Yurdadon were pleased with the overall experience and said that they are planning to bring other groups and make the climb again. For anyone who would like to attempt such a trek, their advice is to be in the best possible health and be prepared both physically and mentally for the potential calamities of the trip.
“It is important to understand,” said Yurdadon, “that in the developing world personal ingenuity, courage and a sense of humor are necessities in times of adversity.”
