One of the great things about running RJ7 is that we get to work with such a variety of good causes. Our most recent trip up Kilimanjaro was for the fantastic Pilgrim Bandits charity, which supports amputees and injured servicemen. They’d recruited a huge team of 26 willing trekkers, including four amputees, Duncan Bannatyne of “The Dragon’s Den” and Miss Commonwealth Hayley Mac alongside the other hardy volunteers raising funds.
The plan was straightforward: climb to the top of Kilimanjaro via a 7 day trek on the very popular Machame Route. The Machame Route is the most popular way up Kili, and with good reason; it’s a stunning path and also provides plenty of time to acclimatise.
After a long journey from around the UK, the team assembled in the relative calm of our hotel in Arusha, and we had a full evening sorting kit and re-packing ready for Day 1 on the mountain. After months of fundraising and training, it was time to get going and the next morning we drove to Machame Gate from where we would start our climb.
The first two days on the mountain were tough. We had a mixture of weather from bright hot sunshine, through to some pretty heavy showers. On the plus side, it’s a good way for everyone to make the most of all the kit they bought for the trip! Day 1 took us up to 2,800m, and day 2 up to 3,800m.
Over the next couple of days we made great progress up to 4,600m at Lava Tower, before descending to Barranco Camp, nestled beneath the imposing Barranco Wall. This was my seventh Kilimanjaro climb and the amputees were out front all the way up the wall. It was the fastest ascent I’d ever done, 1hr45mins! Above the wall was a long traverse and steep descent into the Karanga Valley before a sharp climb in to camp for lunch and a restful afternoon. Karanga Camp is just shy of 4,100m and the views are outstanding.
Above Karanga, the air gets thinner and the going gets slower. I was keen for the team to use a higher camp than usual to mount the summit attempt. Most teams stop at Barafu (4,600m) and leave from there at Midnight. Our plan was to use Kosovo Camp (c.4,800m). Between Barafu and Kosovo is a set of steep slabs of rock which would be far more difficult to climb at night for the amputees than during the day. So I headed up to Barafu to persuade the rangers to let us use this unusual camp. The main group were about 2hrs behind but soon enough all were at our High Camp and resting before the summit bid.
The alarm started to beep at 10:45pm and I was shocked to see it had been snowing heavily throughout the evening. I crunched around camp shaking tents for everyone to get up and into the mess tent for an 11:30 departure.
The weather was unusually bad and everyone was huddled with their hoods up and wearing their biggest jackets and gloves. I was hopeful that the weather might improve throughout the day.
The hours before dawn are the darkest and the coldest, and the prospect of an imminently rising sun is enough to just about spur on the team to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
The first people to reach the summit were Duncan, Hollie and myself, at around 5:30am after quite a dash to catch them at Stella Point! Helping Duncan around to the top, we reached the famous (and new) green sign in complete darkness.
Once we’d taken some photos, they quickly descended and I started to meet people on their final steps around the crater rim. I love seeing people as they spot the summit and realise it’s within reach. People get pretty emotional up there and I was certainly guilty of that. Luckily, as the next team members reached the top, it had started to get light, and the sunrise revealed a stunning blanket of snow.
Over the next couple of hours, the rest of the team arrived at Uhuru Peak and we started to assemble under the sign with all important Pilgrim Bandits flag.
The charity had also been asked to carry an original Olympic torch to the summit. Whilst I was at the peak with charity patron Jon Sandford Hart, we found an ingenious use for the torch. Toasted marshmallows at 5,895m!
After another hour, Ricky Hatton arrived on the summit, supported by his dedicated gang. It was a massive effort from him and the team.
Soon enough, it was time to start the long descent to the Park Gate. The path is never-ending, and tough enough for tired trekkers with two real legs. With that in mind, Jon jumped in our custom made cargo fibre buggy developed by Sunseeker, and adopted a kamikaze approach to driving it down the hill.
By some miracle, he didn’t injure himself and we all made it down to the bottom of the mountain in one piece…
Then it was back to the hotel for the long-awaited showers, a swim in the pool, a cocktail part and big dinner before a night in a real bed and a room with four walls.
Overall, it was a very successful climb. The amputees set a new World Record for the fastest ascent on crutches. Tens of thousands of pounds was raised for the charity.
It’s not too late to donate. Click HERE to pledge your support. If you want to follow in the teams footsteps, the next Pilgrim Bandits Kilimanjaro climb is taking place in September. Details HERE.
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