Monday 20 August 2001
MACHAME CAMP to SHIRA CAMP
Our porter/waiter Philip generally woke us up in the mornings by bringing bowls of warm water for washing to a large rock outside our tents. We then ate breakfast, received our bag lunches (when applicable—at Karanga and Barafu we ate lunch in camp), packed, then set off, usually in the middle of the crowd ascending with us.
The climb up to the Shira Plateau from Machame Camp was as steep as promised. It follows a rocky ridge that projects off the high plain between Shira and Kibo. The standard time for the ascent is about 4-6 hours.
As we climbed to the Shira Plateau, we could easily spot the devastation wrought by a huge forest fire about 3 years ago. The KINAPA (Kilimanjaro National Park Authority) employees were unable to fully extinguish it until assistance came in the form of the rainy season, some months later. Subsequent to this, campfires were forbidden and portable stoves now do all cooking. The forest, what was left of it, began to give way to bushes and moorland. Helichrysum flowers soon appeared everywhere.Kibo's Western Breach (a collapsed section of the outer crater), Uhuru Point, and some of the summit glaciers came into dramatic view as we climbed up to the plateau.
I tired rather early into the climb while Andrea and the Ivanovs raced on. Despite the crowd Godi and I found some isolated places where we could sit, rest and enjoy the scenery.We eventually stopped at a wide clearing area for lunch along with a number of other hikers. I was by then nauseous and in no mood to eat much of anything other than small bites of lunch. Godi volunteered to carry my camera bag, while Nik carried my backpack for the last 20-30 minutes of the climb to the top of the escarpment. This helped me a bit, but not as much as we thought. The ugliest part of the climb to Shira was that every time one reached a high point on the trail, another huge section of cliff appeared thus dashing all hopes of nearing the top. This sort of unpleasant surprise occurred frequently in the days that followed.
Godi and I finally reached the top where the rest of the group was waiting. A nice view of Kibo’s Western Breach complimented the scenery. From here we descended down the plateau to the main Shira camp (12,595 ft / 3840m). On the way, Ianko and I engaged in a ridiculous conversation concerning world-famous mountaineer Reinhold Messner who made the first ascent of Kilimanjaro’s Western Breach Direct Route back in 1978 (NOTE: this is the extremely technical ascent of the vertical Breach Wall itself, including traverses of the Diamond and Balletto glaciers; not the comparatively easy scramble alongside the remains of the Arrow Glacier which extends down the Breach). Messner described this ascent as his most difficult climb. Turns out that Ianko is not a big fan of Messner’s, going so far as to bestow the Austrian title "Arscloch" upon him. Andrea and I held different opinions, but neither of us could sway Herr Ivanov. Somehow the conversation changed to a bizarre sing-along wherein I would shout out the name of a notable mountain and Ianko would indicate its climbing appeal by stridently shouting back "Yes" or "No". I recall K2 eliciting the loudest response.
We soon came to our tents at Shira Camp. Andrea had correctly forecasted earlier that the plague of dust begins around Shira. It got into everything and did not let-up until we got back to the rain forest enroute to Mweka Gate. Tents were scattered all over the plateau as far as the eye could see. We were told that porters used to sleep and cook in a large cave off to the north, but that practice was now forbidden due to the danger of rock-falls. All around us were brilliant views of Mt. Meru, the remains of Shira Peak itself-—notably the rocky spires known as Shira Cathedral and Shira Needles, and of course, Kibo’s Western Breach. I jumped into the tent for an afternoon nap, but got perhaps half-an-hour sleep, due to interrupting announcements made by a Bulgarian outside the tent. We also discovered that our noisy French neighbors from Machame were a stone’s throw away, though sadly no projectiles were employed in that estimate. I finally figured out that a nap was not to be had so he got up to walk around the plateau a bit, taking photographs and casing tents for unattended money pouches. Nik had gone off somewhere with Andrea and Ianko. Based on the lack of people and the large number of tents, it seemed that many of the other hikers had also retired upon reaching camp. Some of our porters and guides played cards or napped. Most were experts at sitting in and around the tents, bullshitting with other porters and guides. Andrea brought them all boxes of European cigarettes, which were a big hit.
Before dinner the 4 of us went for a walk up the plateau to the east to get a better look at Kibo. Eventually we all drifted back to our camp where Godi produced the Shira Hut logbook for us to sign. Aside from the park gates at Machame and Mweka, we only signed the logbook at Machame and Shira to the best of my recollection. Dinner was served outside the meal tent, next to a rocky outcropping. We had a great view of the sunset as we ate. By now we noticed how quickly the sun sets and the cold arrives. One or two layers of fleece kept us adequately insulated. Other hikers stood silhouetted on promontories, watching the sun set behind Mt. Meru. What a site! A comfortable night’s sleep became the next obstacle on our trip.
Earlier that day, Nik and I realized that the broken zippers on our tent were all but destroyed. We had to jury-rig everything in order to keep out the constant dust and the night’s cold breezes while getting in and out with ease. It was a struggle. Not too long after settling in for the night--for a while at least--Nik declared his imminent demise: "Kolo! I’m dying! I can’t breathe! I have a tremendous headache! I’m going back down to Machame Camp right now." What followed next were several hours of my laying out the pros and cons of descent. Ultimately the idea of Ianko’s attaining the summit without him led Nikola to stay on Kili.
