Mt. Kilimanjaro & Prouty Mountaineering – Barafu Camp & Kilimanjaro Summit

       

Barafu Camp and Kilimanjaro Summit

8 miles, 5,895 meters, 493 mb pressure

The Prouty Mountaineering Program
(the first Prouty Challenge Event benefitting Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center)

December 19, 2012

Wes Chapman

 

The team launches for the summit – 2:00 AM

Properly executed, the summit push on Kili begins with a cold hike in the dark, and ends at the summit in delight. Our team got an intentionally late start, hoping to spend the day in the crater, and return to Barafu camp, rather than continue down to Mweka Camp at 10,000 feet. We had built the luxury of a spare day into the schedule, and it also afforded the chance for a second summit day if we got shut down by inclement weather or illness.

The worry on Kilimanjaro is always the potential for acute mountain sickness, (AMS); a very bad actor that can result in high altitude cerebral edema (HACE), or high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). These two conditions combine to make Kili a fairly dangerous climb – only because of the altitude. It is impossible to predict who will be susceptible to AMS, and 4 of our 5 team members had never climbed above 14,500 feet – we were in new territory. Our team was either taking acetazolamide or dexamethasone for the amelioration of the typical symptoms of headache, nausea, sleeplessness, loss of appetite and related AMS maladies.

The key determinant in AMS is the absolute reduction in air pressure – not any relative change in % oxygen in the atmosphere, which remains constant at 21% up to 69,000 ft. Two of the major physiological changes caused by altitude are the acidification of the blood due to changes in CO² concentration, and an increase in edema, due to poorly understood changes in capillary function. These conditions always become much more dangerous above “extreme altitude” of 5,500 meters – just below the summit of Uhuru Peak at 5,895 meters on Kilimanjaro. We measured the air pressure at the summit at 493 mbars, just about half of the normal pressure of 1013.25 mbars at sea level.

The hike up Kilimanjaro in the dark is cold and a bit dull, but is a real test of the cardiovascular system. The climb up from Barafu is pretty consistently steep, gaining over 4,000 feet in 2 miles. Sunrise broke over a cloudy and breezy morning, and found us just below the 19,000 foot level at the crater rim at Stella Point. Fortunately, everybody in our party was in really good health, and we pressed on to the summit before the storm hit.

For those who push to physical failure on the mountain, the only alternative is a one way trip on a one wheeled cart. This is a long trip over bad trail, and ensures that if you weren’t seriously hurt when you started, you will be when you finish. Our last day saw three unfortunate climbers exit the mountain via the cart – and directly to Arusha hospital.

 

Jeff illustrates the hard way down – the one wheeled cart

 

Mt. Mawenzi in the clouds at sunrise

Rick enjoying the happy prospect of the summit just below Stella Point

 

Stella Point – a flat walk to the summit

Uhuru summit on the crater rim

 

Glaciers near the summit

The weather on the summit was very windy, and a bit foreboding of snow and ice to come in the afternoon. We hustled to get the team banners, recently augmented by the yellow ribbons, hung in the breeze. As always, any climb above 17,500 feet is a treat for me, and this was particularly sweet.

A great moment for the team on the summit

The trip down came sooner than expected – our arrival was shortly followed by the arrival of a bit of blowing ice and snow – and our plans for a day in the crater were terminated. While we missed a bit of adventure, we attained the real goal – the summit – and the happy prospect of an afternoon nap overwhelmed any disappointed. We headed down at a trot.

That evening, the storm blew in with a vengeance – and found us in the mess tent enjoying a warm candle light dinner while the storm hammered away outside. Suddenly, through the tent flap stepped a young European woman, and she said, “help – please”. It sounds like the plot to an Agatha Christie novel, but it actually happened.

We determined that she was about frozen solid – her hands no longer worked – and she was drenched to the skin; we’re talking a pretty solid case of hypothermia. We got her out of her soaked clothes, and some warm soup into her – she had been on the trail for 9 hours and was a mess. Her name was Levina – a Dutch woman – and she was completing a 4 month trip to Africa with a budget rate trip up Kili, and was paying the price. After about 45 minutes we released her back to her guide, with the promise that she come by in the morning to confirm that she was OK.

Alpine glow on the Hill as we depart

 

Levina gets new boots – from Kelly

 

Levina with Kelly – a new adopted teammate

The descent day dawned clear, cold and beautiful. Levina came by, and was suffering from what appeared to be edema of the entire body – even her boots didn’t fit. Kelly/Jeff arranged a complicated trade – putting reasonably fitting boots on everybody. A little dexamethasone and she was headed down and on the way to a speedy and complete recovery. With much help from the team at East Africa Voyage, we adopted Levina for the rest of the trip, for the benefit and entertainment of all involved – she was really quite a fearless character.

The 2012 Kili Team comes off the Hill

Mt. Mawenzi as we depart

Somehow, pulling Levina into the team made the symmetry of the trip perfect; as we scattered to the four winds for the Holiday. One last night, and one last team photo, and we were gone.

The entire Team on the last day

Adios, from Kileman-Jaro

Mt. Kilimanjaro & Prouty Mountaineering – Shira and Lava Towers Camps on the Machame Trail

Shira Camp and Lava Towers Camp

8 miles, 3750 meters & 6 miles 4505 meters 582 mb pressure

The Prouty Mountaineering Program
(the first Prouty Challenge Event benefitting Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center)

December 16, 2012

Wes Chapman

Alpine Glow at Shira Camp

The hike from Machame Camp to Shira ascends from 10,000 feet to 12,205 over rough volcanic terrain – principally welded ash flows – and transits the alpine heather zone into the moorland. This was our first day hiking at altitude, and we all felt it – despite the wonders of Diamox. The flora is something directly out of Dr. Seuss – like the top heavy Senecio Kilimanjari. It was clear that we weren’t in Kansas anymore. The moorland is typically shrouded in mist throughout the day, and the weather only added to the strangeness of the place.

Brad with a Senecio Kilimanjari

Porters on the rugged trail to Shira Camp

Food – a special consideration at altitude

The hike took around 5 hours, and we arrived to a hot meal in a cool and desolate alpine environment. Food is a critical element to a successful climb, and the lead guide, Kapanya, took proper alpine nutrition very seriously. Climbers burn a lot of calories, around 500 – 800 per hour (not altitude adjusted), and most people lose 8-10 pounds when climbing this Hill.

 

Kapanya really focused on Kelly’s nutritional needs, which ultimately became a standing joke enjoyed by one and all at the meals. Kelly is a dedicated and successful long distance athlete, and felt that she had a pretty good handle on her nutritional needs. Kapanya, on the other hand, is an old school alpine veteran, and likes his climbers very well fed. The net result was that she was encouraged to eat more than most of the guys – she surely did not suffer from a caloric deficit.

Kelly enjoying a second serving

Food and eating are funny things – they are really primal functions that tie people together in emotions dictated by both instinct and custom. We ate a lot on this trip, and ate very different meals than the 42 staff that supported our climb. If these guys were either hungry or resentful about the food we could have confronted a fairly ugly situation, and Kapanya was masterful in navigating those difficult waters. East Africa Voyages feeds everybody really well, so the volume was not the issue, and Kapanya made sure that he ate the polenta with the staff at most meals, as well as eating with us.

Inside the cook tent

Unlimited Polenta

Sunset on Kilimanjaro through the clouds at Shira Camp

The weather on Kilimanjaro in the months of December and January is in flux between the rainy and dry seasons – the days start clear, and the weather blows in each afternoon. This makes morning photography doubly important – by the afternoon you are shooting pictures in the bottom of a can of grey paint.

Mt. Meru at daybreak from Shira Camp

Dawn broke clear and cold, but with summit clouds foreboding a bit of weather. We headed up to the Lava Towers Camp. This is a short day – only 4-5 hours, but Lava Towers is fairly high – 15,257 ft. – and we expected some issues with altitude sickness, and a fairly chilly evening.

The trail crossed multiple beds of former glaciers on the way – smooth and fairly bare, with small lateral moraines along the sides. It was very clear that these were as much snow fields as real ice glaciers, and never more than 50 feet thick. The combination of higher temperatures and lower rainfall proved fatal very quickly.

Vacant glacial bed

As the moorland grades into alpine desert only a few grasses and sedges mix with the lichen. Some of the lichen grow spectacularly on the mineral rich volcanic terrain. There was a surprising amount of apparent wind (aeolian) erosion of the softer layers of volcanic rock, resulting in some fairly interesting top heavy formations.

Aeolian erosion and lichen on a mixed volcanic formation

We were the only people at Lava Towers, which afforded a dead still night, and spectacular sunrise over the Hill. The night was quite cold, and the ground froze hard by morning. By this point all that could take Diamox were doing so to combat the potential altitude sickness. Unfortunately, Diamox is also a powerful diuretic, necessitating a lot of water – both filtered and treated with iodine – and chilly nocturnal bathroom breaks.

Multiple summit clouds – contra-indication for weather

The next two days we head to Barafu Camp, and climb the Barrranco Wall – not much of a wall really, but enough to get the blood pumping at 15,000 feet.

Adios from Lava Towers Camp

Mt. Kilimanjaro – Arusha National Park & Machame Camp

Arusha national Park & Machame Camp

10 miles, 2950 meters

The Prouty Mountaineering Program
(the first Prouty Challenge Event benefitting Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center)

December 13, 2012

Wes Chapman

Mt. Meru Inside Arusha National Park

Miraculously, our team all arrived on time at Kilimanjaro Airport in Arusha, Tanzania – leaving the luxury of an open rest day before the climb. Arusha is a city of almost a million people today, growing from a local village over the last half century, propelled by jobs in tourism, agriculture and manufacturing. It is also home to the Dik-Dik Hotel, a small Swiss owned gem that is the rallying point for our team of 5 climbers before and after the climb. The first team action in Tanzania was a unanimous vote to spend the unexpected free day touring the Arusha National Park.

The city has slowly grown to nearly swallow parts of the adjacent 552 sq. mi. eponymous park and wild game refuge. Arusha Park enjoys a tremendous diversity and density of wild animals including zebras, giraffes, waterbucks, reedbucks, klipspringers, hippos, buffaloes, elephants, hyenas, mongooses, dik-diks, warthogs, baboons and vervet and colobus monkeys.

 

The Snows of Kilimanjaro 2012 from Arusha National Park

The main geographic features of the Park include Ngurdoto Crater (a collapsed volcanic feature) and the alkali Momela Lakes to the east. To the west is 14,990 foot tall Mt Meru. The two areas are joined by a narrow strip, with Momela Gate at its center. The park’s altitude, which varies from 1500m to more than 4500m, has a variety of vegetation zones supporting numerous animal species. Included in the plant species is a giant parasitic fig tree, considered holy objects by the Masai. These trees can grow to tremendous sizes, as seen in the photo below.

 

A giant fig tree easily contains the entire team

Ngurdoto Crater is surrounded by forest, while the crater floor is a swamp. West of the crater is Serengeti Ndogo (Little Serengeti), an extensive area of open grassland and the only place in the park where herds of Burchell’s zebras can be found.

Zebras & a Giraffe in the Park

The Momela Lakes, like many in the Rift Valley, are shallow and alkaline and attract a wide variety of wader birds, particularly flamingos. The lakes are fed by underground streams; due to their varying mineral content, each lake supports a different type of algal growth, which gives them different colors. Bird life also varies quite distinctly from one lake to another, even where they are only separated by a narrow strip of land. Mt Meru is a mixture of lush forest and bare rock with a spectacular crater.

Rafts of pink flamingos on the Momela Lakes

The next day dawned with the nervousness of a big climb – all of our team members are experienced climbers and hikers, but hiking above 14,500 ft. is new ground for most. The first day is through the Machame gate, and up a good road, and then a very well maintained path for 10 miles to 10,100 feet and the Machame Camp.

The 2012 team, led by head guide Kapanya on the left

The wonders of Kilimanjaro hiking were obvious the first day – we have 42 porters and guides for a team of 5, and all of our gear, other than daily on-trail necessities, are carried by porters. Throw in a hot lunch by the trail and it sets a standard pretty hard to imagine for those who hike in New England.

Lunch by the trail

On this hike we pass through four distinct ecological zones dictated by altitude – tropical rain forest  sub-alpine heather, moorland, and finally alpine. The first day saw the transition from rain forest to heather around 9,000 feet. The explosion of plant species associated with this transition is incredible.

Bio-diversity by the Machame trail

 

Kelly gets a pack adjustment by Kapanya

Jeff Goodell teaches fifth grade in Newbury Vermont, and got a terrific sendoff from his students including the hat below, celebrating the dragon mascot for the Newbury Knights. Included in the send-off package were several of the pins in the hat, and promotional bumper stickers from Vermont – quite a cross cultural exchange. Jeff has as extensive climbing background, dating back to his college days in Vermont, and he confesses to going to Black Mountain – one of my favorites – for training hikes after school. He really wanted to get a blog out for his class and community, so I hope that this one makes it!!

The hat celebrating Arthur the Newbury Dragon, and a community’s support of Jeff Goodell

Jambo, from Machame Camp, Kileman-Jaro

Adios, from Kilimanjaro

Mt. Kilimanjaro – A Primer, The Prouty Mountaineering Program

             

Mt. Kilimanjaro – A Primer

19,341 Feet

The Prouty Mountaineering Program
(the first Prouty Challenge Event benefitting Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center)

December 9, 2012

Wes Chapman

The Snows of Kilimanjaro, 1937

“Kilimanjaro is a snow covered mountain 19,710 feet high, and is said to be the highest mountain in Africa. Its western summit is called the Masai “Ngaje Ngai”, the house of God. Close to the western summit there is the dried and frozen carcass of a leopard. No one has explained what the leopard was seeking at that altitude.”

Preface of, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Ernest Hemingway, 1938

 

 

I read these words when I was 16, and they poured gasoline on the fires of my youthful climbing ambitions. I’d knocked around the mountains of Maine and New Hampshire, and loved it, but suddenly this was all different – Kilimanjaro was a place apart.  The sheer altitude of the mountain and the mystery of the leopard – a creature out of place – driven by unknowable motivations – I found the entire adventure absolutely compelling.

To my simultaneous joy and misery, I feel the same way today – 41 years and maybe a thousand mountains later. There is something about this Hill that sets a hook you just can’t dislodge.

 

The Snows of Kilimanjaro 2010

Kilimanjaro is uniquely solitary – a mountain of superlatives. It is the tallest standalone mountain on earth, the second tallest of the volcanic 7 summits, and the 4^th most prominent mountain in the world. Kilimanjaro is a very young mountain – only 750,000 years old, formed of a “hot Spot” along the rift zone between the Victoria and Somalia plates. To put the relative youth of the mountain in perspective, there has been human habitation in the area for over 2 million years – this may be the only place on earth where humans antedate the mountain that they live on. The mountain is the classic strato volcano shape, with 3 integrated cones – Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira – and slopes at the angle of repose of 33°.

Kilimanjaro is located in Tanzania, just 3° off the Equator on the Kenyan border. There are 6 major trails to the summit, and the one we are climbing – Machame – is longer, more scenic and steeper in portions than the others – Marangu, Rongai, Lemosho, Shira, and Umbwe.

 

The Machame Route on Kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro is a hike – no mountaineering gear, training or skills are required. As I’m fond of saying, it is the highest mountain in the world that can be readily climbed by middle aged people who have jobs. But the mountain is extremely high, and many more people have died climbing on Kilimanjaro than Everest. While Everest might get 300 climbers in a big year, normally over 20,000 climb Kilimanjaro annually, so the comparison must be probability adjusted. Most of the deaths on Kilimanjaro are from acute mountain sickness – either high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) or high altitude cerebral edema (HACE). With the exception of a few remaining ice climbing routes, it is really hard to be injured or killed in a fall on Kilimanjaro, but almost certain to suffer some ill effects from altitude.

Tanzanian officials report that the success rate of summiting is around 40%, but I feel that is a very low estimate which includes day trippers – I’d guess that more like 75-80% of serious climbers make the summit. The keys are to take enough time on the Hill to acclimate properly – at least 5 days at altitude before the summit push – and walk very slowly – pole pole in Swahili. It also helps to be reasonably physically fit.

There are two seasons for hiking, December – March and May through October. These are dictated by the rainy seasons rather than temperature variation. The temperatures on the Hill are largely a function of elevation – with tropical temperatures and vegetation at the base, and below zero temperatures encountered in the summit crater at night.

 

Camping in the crater of Kilimanjaro at 18,500 ft.

The famous glaciers at the summit are a function of precipitation and temperature, and some combination of higher temperatures and lower precipitation are reducing the glaciers at a rate of 2.5% per annum. The glacial ice has retreated over 80% in the last 100 years, and is estimated to be completely gone in the next 20-25. There has been ice in the crater of Kilimanjaro for at least the last 11,000 years, and with luck, we’ll live to see the last of it.

Kilimanjaro is a classic Afromontane sky island – its unique alpine environment literally grew in place, separated from other high and cold environment. Consequently, it has enormous biodiversity (over 1,200 species of vascular plants) and a number of unique sub-species. It is the highest cloud rainforest in Africa, and offers the climber the odd spectacle of looking down from the high camps on the tops of thunderstorms occurring on the slopes below – very cool. Trade winds blowing from the east over the Indian Ocean cool as they blow up and over the mountain, producing enormous amounts of precipitation – particularly in the rainy season.

 

Guide Seke Godson beside some very old, fast melting ice

Kilimanjaro was first climbed in 1889 by a German geologist, Hans Meyer, and an Austrian mountaineer, Ludwig Purtscheller. Imperial Germany had taken vast areas of East Africa by force of arms in the last half of the 19^th century, and in keeping with the cultural sensitivities of the era, they named the peak Kaiser-Wilhelm-Spitze (Kaiser Wilhelm Peak), a name which stuck until after WW I and the passing of the territory to British rule. .

Tanzania was formed in 1964, through the political merger of the recently independent Tanganyika and the island nation of Zanzibar. Zanzibar was an Arab trading port since the first millennium, and was the center of the Arab slave trade. At its peak in the 19th century, up to 90% of the indigenous population was enslaved. There is a fairly substantial Indian and Portuguese trade influence on the coast as well.

Like many nations in Africa it is defined by European colonial boundaries, and includes over 120 separate ethnic groups – all in a country of 42 million people, roughly the size of Texas and New Mexico combined. Tanzania has two official languages (English and Swahili), with each ethnic group pretty much having its own local tongue. The political system is based on a predictable one party system, but Tanzania sports an amazingly complicated and robust judiciary, with five levels of courts, administering three types of law – English Common Law, Islamic Law and Tribal Law. Topping it all off, Arusha (at the base of Kilimanjaro) serves as the seat for the adjudication of International Crimes for Africa – genocide and the like – and is unfortunately routinely busy.

The economy is typical – supported by mining, agriculture and tourism – both big game safaris and climbing Kilimanjaro. To an amazing degree, Kilimanjaro ties the country together. Tanzanians love this mountain – they renamed the summit Uhuru (freedom) and send runners up to the summit with flaming torches at every conceivable event. It forms the foundation on the nation Coat of Arms – the same way that Mozambique’s includes AK47. People in Tanzania identify with Kilimanjaro in much the same way that the good citizens of Roswell, NM identify with space aliens – it’s who they are and it’s why people come to visit.

Uhuru Peak – Sweet Success, 2010

Finally, the origins of the name Kilimanjaro may shed some light on the mystery of the leopard noted in Hemingway’s iconic preface to The Snows of Kilimanjaro. Kilimanjaro is clearly a composite word, and is the European interpretation of the various words used by the indigenous people for the mountain. “Kilima-Njaro” is a direct modern translation which means mountain of greatness. There are a lot of other possible interpretations in more archaic origins, but my favorite is the combination of “Kileman-Jaro” – mountain that defeats the leopard.

 

Jambo, from Kileman-Jaro

Kilimanjaro and the Prouty Mountaineering Team – Ten Tips for a Successful Summit

Kilimanjaro and the Prouty Mountaineering Team

 

Ten Tips for a Successful Summit

 

Wes Chapman, Jill & Gary Rogers

November 1, 2012

Seke Godson and Wes Chapman, successful and healthy at the summit,

January 2010

 

Preface: Kilimanjaro is one of my favorite mountains – it is the only one of the seven summits that middle-aged people who hold down a job can reasonably hope to climb. While Kilimanjaro is not a technical climb, it is the highest mountain that most who attempt it will ever climb. The trick to a successful outcome is to arrive at the summit healthy, comfortable, and in control. Listed below are ten suggestions compiled with the help of a bunch of my climbing friends who have reached Kili’s summit and descended in good health. I’m climbing Africa’s highest peak again this December, and you can bet that I’ll be checking this list twice.

 

 

 1.     Polepole (slowly, in Swahili): Seke Godson, head guide for East Africa Voyages, tells all his clients that moving “polepole” is the single most important key to success for Kilimanjaro, or any other high altitude adventure. This is the most common phrase that you will hear from all the guides and porters as you move up Kili. Polepole. Heed it! Let’s face it, most of the folks that take on this climb are driven, Type A personalities and need to be constantly reminded to slow down. Moving fast can create a physiological oxygen deficit, which your body has a very difficult time filling at high altitude. If this shoe fits you – like it does me – take a page from the Eagles, and Take it Easy.

 

 

Guide Seke Godson

 

2.      Special Clothing: Wes Chapman is a dedicated fan of two small and inexpensive, but incredibly useful pieces of clothing – the buff and the sun hoodie. The buff is a simple stretchy sleeve, useful as a neck gaiter, breathing filter, hat or whatever. I first saw a sun hoodie in action on Cotopaxi a couple of years ago, and I was sold immediately. They keep out the sun, and weigh nothing. I use a sun hoodie on all high altitude climbs – it is far and away the best protection from high altitude tropical sun. You can buy both of these for less than $50, and you’ll use them until they are worn out. If your high-altitude climbing career ends with Kilimanjaro, attractive young women may find that the buff is a valuable and appreciated top for beachwear. Similarly, the hoodie is appreciated beachwear for old guys like me.

 

 

The many uses of a buff – great in dust storms and hold-ups

 

3.      Gaiters and well-tested Footwear: Gary Rogers remembers that gaiters are essential on the mountain. Though there is little snow any longer on Kili, there are plenty of small stones and dust on the trail. Gaiters will help to keep this detritus out of your hiking boots and enable you to avoid the discomfort and potential blisters it may cause. Jill Rogers advises to make sure you have tested all your sock, liner, and boot combinations on hikes of ten miles or more. If you feel the slightest hot spot anywhere on your feet, ankles, or shins take care of it immediately! Your climbing mates will wait. Besides, they should be moving “polepole” anyway. Carry an assortment of blister bandages and moleskin in your own backpack, stuff that you know sticks and works on you. And don’t forget to pack a little scissors. If you’re certain to get blisters in specific spots, use the bandages preventively.

Gary Rogers sporting gaiters

   Jill Rogers with happy feet

 

4.      Eat with care: Gary Rogers knows from experience that many people have problems eating at high elevation. These problems come in two varieties, and you may suffer from either or both when above 10,000 feet. One problem is loss of appetite. The other is a slowing of the digestive process. Since you will be hiking many hours each day, it is important to eat and drink aplenty. So even if you don’t feel like it, eat every meal. But don’t overdo it by putting a large burden on your belly. Small meals and many snacks throughout the day are my strong recommendation. Also, you may want to carry some medication like Pepto-Bismol to treat minor digestive system upset.

 

 

Lunch on the trail

5.      Personal hygiene: Wes Chapman is highly recommends three practical items – Baby Wipes, Vaseline and Bag Balm. Baby Wipes sound like a fairly disgusting article for the uninitiated, but are simply wonderful on a trip like Kilimanjaro. Remember, you will be eight days without a shower, and there is simply no substitute for cleanliness. Bring and use Baby Wipes and the whole world will look rosier! Vaseline and Bag Balm are both synthetic topical lubricants, with Bag Balm a Vermont concoction for sore cow udders – and it works beautifully.

 

Toilet tent with a view

 

 

6.      Tent Activity: Jill Rogers recalls that the nights in the tent on Kilimanjaro were quite cold and very long. Given the mountain’s location very near the equator, the sun goes down around 6:00 pm at all times of the year. Typically, we went into dinner having our headlights with us and came out in the dark. Then it was off to our tents until sometime after sunrise at 6:00 am. So, make sure to have plenty to read (I recommend a light-weight Kindle) and a few crosswords to tackle, while zippered into your sleeping bag. That’s unless you can sleep straight for ten hours or so. Hot water in a Nalgene can help warm up the inside of your sleeping bag, and if your feet are cold, zip up your parka and pull it up over the bottom of your sleeping bag to cut the cold breezes. Wes and Gary both recommend a Big Agnes sleeping bag and pad system for a good night’s sleep.

 

 

Camp II at 12,500 ft.

 

7.      Pack a flannel pillow case: Elizabeth Spencer advises to bring along a flannel pillow case, fill it with your down outerwear, and enjoy a pleasant night’s sleep. She did this, but had her treasure usurped by the benefactor funding the expedition – her older brother. If you are at risk for confiscation via primogeniture, bring two flannel pillowcases – it’s nice to have a comfortable pillow that feels like a piece of home.

 

8.      Summit Night: Jill Rogers advises to organize your pack well for summit night. You’ll endure many long hours of exertion in the dark and it will likely be very cold. You’ll certainly need to intake energy, but may not feel much like eating. Prepare by having hard candies or packets of GU in an easy-to-reach outside pocket of your coat or front pocket of your pack belt. These items are quick and easy to suck on. Protein bars get too hard in the cold and you’ll get out of breath trying to chew them. Other items to have easily available include a couple of hand warmers, extra batteries for your headlamp, lip balm, toilet paper, and your camera as sunrise approaches. Gary Rogers recommends you keep your shirt on at the summit. The temperatures during your trek to the top on “summit day” may be near or below zero degrees Fahrenheit.  At the summit, though you may be tempted, it is advisable to stay dressed for the photographs.

 

Dawn near Stella Point

 

 

 

Jill prefers a puffy down parka on summit day,

Cotopaxi, July 2011

Gary goes shirtless on Kili’s Uhuru Peak,

September 2008

9.      Use the “rest step”: Seke Godson and the other Kili guides will teach you a valuable technique for climbing the steeper portions of the trail that will help you to preserve energy.  It is called the rest step.  It may be slow, but it really works. Use it! Especially on summit night. Emily Wroe commented about her Kili climb, “I never knew I could walk so slowly and still get somewhere.”

 

 

Practicing the “rest step” on Day 5

 

Emily Wroe in the mountains of Alaska

Mt. Meru framed by glaciers in the crater on Kili

 

10.  Tipping: Wes Chapman, climber and trip leader, knows that tipping on expeditions is an art form, and the simple application of percentage mark-ups from restaurant service doesn’t work at all. From a practical perspective, I figure that $30-40 per person per day is in the “just right” sweet spot. For multi-day trips, another practical method is using a lower and upper limit for the trip of $250 and $500 respectively. US dollars or Euros are usually preferred, but any major currency is normally well received. Bring enough cash! And pass it directly to the head guide for distribution among the assistant guides, cooks, porters, etc. The support teams have fairly detailed pre-arranged distribution plans, and direct distribution will only produce discord. The only exception is a small additional amount may be given directly to the porter who is responsible for your comfort – caring for your tent, gear, breakfast tea, and the like. Also, it is standard practice and thoughtful to leave behind unwanted clothing and gear with the crew, but this should never be considered as a substitute for a cash tip. Often groups have a fun lottery for the guys on the last day and everyone goes home with some useful item for their next trip up the mountain, as well as their tip.

 

Seke Godson (left) and porters singing to clients

Wes Chapman in the crater on Kilimanjaro

Climbing Mt. Hood with Timberline Mountain Guides

Mt. Hood, Oregon

5 miles, 11,249 ft.

May 19^th, 2012

         

Mt. Hood, as seen from Highway 26, approaching from the West

Mt. Hood or Wy’east in Multnomah Indian

Mt Hood is relatively diminutive by the standards of the other major strato volcanoes of the Cascade Range of the northwestern US, but it is the 28^th most prominent mountain in the entire US (a measure of how it stands out topographically from the surrounding Hills) and is simply spectacular. It is heavily glaciated, principally due to the incredible annual snowfall, and is the only place in the lower 48 that offers 12 month skiing. From a visual perspective, Mt. Hood towers above the relatively low-lying area around it, and was and often used in the past as a visual landmark by travelers on the Columbia River. In the words of Lt. William Broughton, who named the mountain after a British Admiral in 1792, “A very high, snowy mountain now appeared rising beautifully conspicuous in the midst of an extensive tract of low or moderately elevated land…”

The actual prominence of Mt. Hood resulted in some extreme mis-estimation of its height. As late as the end of the 19^th century, the height of the mountain was listed as 18,361 ft. (over estimated by 63%), and one Mr. Belden claimed to have climbed the mountain during a hunting trip and determined it to be 19,400 feet upon which “pores oozed blood, eyes bled, and blood rushed from their ears.”

The South face of Hood

Note the chairlift and explosion crater above with large post-eruption plug in the center

Without a doubt, Hood is a dormant volcano, but with large amounts of gas being emitted from the plug in the explosion crater which faces to the south and Timberline Lodge and ski area. There have been earthquake swarms within the last decade, indicating activity in the magma under the mountain, and as a result the mountain can (and does) routinely expand and contract several feet, making reliable measurements of actual height problematic.

The mountain has surely suffered severe erosion, doubtlessly hastened by the volcanic blast (of unknown time frame) leaving the classic explosion crater seen above. The Southern Climbing Route goes up through any of the ice chutes left in the northern edge of the explosion crater. This makes climbing Hood much different than most volcanoes – there is no classic summit crater – only a summit ridge.

Climbers on the Hogsback and heading up the face to the summit

The Indian name, Wy’east, is for one of the sons of the Great Spirit, Wy’east, who ends up in a love triangle and goes to war with his rival, destroying all in his path. The triangle is ultimately resolved, as they classically are, with much death and sorrow, and Hood is erected by The Great Spirit as a monument to his fallen son – probably as good an explanation as any – absent plate tectonics.

Climbing with Timberline Guides

Scouting around, I found that Timberline Mt. Guides was a first rate outfit, and that I probably didn’t want to try an unguided first climb of Hood – around 130 people have died climbing this Hill, and I did want to be number 131. I joined my guide, Geoff Lodge, at 2:15 AM, and we took off into the darkness, the climb starts just above the ski lifts, and heads directly into the explosion crater and onto the backside of the volcanic plug – locally called the Hogsback.

 

Geoff Lodge, of Timberline Mountain Guides, on Mt. Hood

Geoff is a native Oregonian, who got a finance degree, and ended up working for Angelo Mozilo (indirectly) at Countrywide Mortgage. Being a hearty sort, this experience took 18 months to turn his stomach, at which point he chucked corporate life and headed to the mountains – never looking back. Geoff is my kind of guide – 31 years old with a wife and twin 2 year old daughters – he has as much to lose as I do, and hates taking stupid risks. We got along famously – he can climb like crazy and tells a pretty good joke.

Geoff leading up the Chute

The top 200 feet or so of the climb is pretty sporting – going up ice chutes – and the standard route was clogged with up and down climbers, so we headed off to a chute on the right with much less traffic. We hustled up the chute, and onto the summit ridge – only about 150 yards from the actual summit. We were on the top in just over 3 hours. The views were breathtaking – the photos really don’t do them justice. It was a little cold and windy, and the crowds were coming up (almost 10,000 people climb Hood every year – and this was a sunny Saturday) so we reluctantly headed down.

 

Wes on the Summit of Hood

Climbers on the Summit of Hood

Hood’s sunrise shadow from the top of the ice chutes

 

Mt. Adams from the summit of Hood

North crater rim of Hood from the summit

Mt. Jefferson from Mt. Hood

The down climb was fast and we had skis parked at the top of the Palmer lift, for a quick exit. Skiing after a climb like that was more of a challenge than I’d anticipated, but the excellent breakfast buffet and a bed (I’d been about 48 hours with very little sleep at this point) at the Timberline Lodge beckoned.

The Timberline Lodge

I had wanted to stay at the Timberline Lodge principally for convenience – it is right at the base of Hood. I knew it to be an old WPA project from the ‘30’s, and a National historic landmark – but nothing else. I asked for the cheapest room that they had, and they said it was a 6 bed chalet for 125 per night. When I told them that I did not have 5 additional people with me to cover the rest of the $750, they said that it was OK – I could have it for $125, additional people were $35 each if I happened to find any. The only downside – you had to share a bath with another 6 bed chalet – that’s 12 to a toilet – a challenging ratio – but I figured that the best defense is a good offense, and if I needed the toilet, I’d just go early. Devil take the hindmost!

The Timberline Lodge, and the Grotto/chalet wing

It turned out that the chalets were just rooms on the ground floor of the hotel, and chalet must be a synonym for grotto in Oregon, the windows in the rooms were totally blocked by snow – even in late May. Most of the neighbors were pretty quiet – and I was very tired – and the accommodations were fine. When I awoke after a 5 hour nap, I started to explore this truly amazing place.

Greetings from the front door of Timberline Lodge

The Timberline Lodge was completed in 1937 as part of a WPA (Work projects Administration) undertaking that employed hundreds of men and women, and was built almost entirely of local raw materials and scrap, as there was no money for materials – and just subsistence wages for the employed parties. The average age of the workers was 56 – sound familiar? These people were talented, but swallowed up by the collapsing economy. They built Timberline in 18 months – and treated it as a work of art – every joint, timber, hinge and lock forged by hand. The blankets and rugs were woven and hooked by an army of women, and every piece of timber and iron hewn and forged by an army of men.

The art and artisanal influence was enforced by a 70+ year old German man, who had been found living in in piano crate in a Portland shanty-town prior to employment at Timberline. He had started his career working painting faux masterpieces, which he sold outside the great museums of Europe, escaping to America when someone represented one of his works as authentic – imagine that.

Celebration of labor – with a tie to the past

A carved post on the main stairway

A big cat preparing to leave

Hand forged locks and bang-plates in the grotto

The project was completed in 18 months, and opened by FDR himself. It was closed during the War, and reopened under lax supervision thereafter. By 1955 it had deteriorated into a mountainside casino and brothel, and was shut down, only to be reopened by Richard Kohnstamm, whose family still operates it today. The rooms are idiosyncratic, the food OK, but the structure and the functional art that it contains remain a tribute to the skill and determination of the men and women who built it – it is a must see American Icon.

 

Adios from Mt. Hood & Timberline Lodge