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February 13

Margherita Peak Climb

It was still dark when I was awakened by Richard starting the fire to make some tea. Joel was up soon too. He told me he had been too cold to sleep well. I ate a plate of bread with tea, and dressed for the Margherita climb. I put on most of my layers, including my rain suit for wind protection. I didn't want to carry a pack, so I stuffed everything in my pockets or hung them from my belt: water bottle, camera, film, extra batteries, gloves, a balaclava, and sunglasses. I had almost forgotten the sunglasses, since I never wear them, but Joel reminded me. They would be important since almost the whole route is on ice. Joel brought a pack of cookies for me as well. I wore double socks for protection on the ice, but Joel barely had one pair, with large holes, to wear under his rubber boots.

On Stanley Plateau

The sky was orange in the east as we set out, and I finished a roll of film before we got to the glacier. I changed rolls in the semi-darkness, and Joel helped me put on my crampons. He also made a body harness out of the ends of the climbing rope, and we each put this on. Then we started up the glacier, which was steeper than it looked from the hut. I felt a bit like a dog on a leash, and Joel's normally deliberate pace didn't seem so slow now. He rested whenever I asked. Eventually, the ice became level, and we crossed the Stanley Plateau, a wide snowfield, toward the summits clearly visible ahead in the bright morning sunlight.

View of Bujuku Lake

Mount Speke was visible across the valley to the right. I could see footprints through the snow ahead to the right, ascending toward Margherita steeply from below. I thought that was a more difficult route from another hut. Then we turned right and started descending very steeply, quickly losing much of the elevation we had gained from the hut. Joel showed me how to dig in the ice with my heel points, but I suggested going slow, since I didn't really trust them, and it was a long way down. I asked if we would come back this way, and Joel said yes. We were making a detour around Alexandra, the secondary peak on Mt. Stanley.

Savoia and Stanley Plateau

We soon started climbing again, on the path I had seen from the plateau. This climb was steeper than the one from the hut. Joel pointed out several narrow crevasses to beware of. He had explained how to belay in case one of us fell into one, but there were only two of us, and I had no experience with crevasses, so it was important not to fall into one.

We eventually reached the saddle between Margherita and Alexandra, on the border between Uganda and Zaire. As we began the final ascent toward Margherita from the shadowy Zaire side, the ice became much steeper. Joel showed me how to use the point of my ice axe to pull myself up. At the top of the short climb, we came to a wide crevasse. Thin ice covered much of it, and Joel probed the ice, trying to find a solid spot. He selected a place to cross, and we did so quickly. This part made me rather nervous.

Mt. Speke

Alexandra Peak

It was then a short climb to the wind-blown, rocky top of Margherita peak. We removed our crampons and scrambled up the rock, which was a bit exposed but not too difficult to climb. The wind picked up sharply as we approached the 5109 meter (16,760 foot) summit, and I put on my balaclava. The views from the top were superb, with only a few light clouds blowing by. We took pictures of each other on the peak. We were at 5109 meters (16,760 feet), on the highest non-volcanic peak in Africa. Only Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya are higher. This summit is on the Uganda-Zaire border, and is the highest point in both countries. There was little to see on the Zaire side, because it was hazy to the west.

Climbing around Alexandra

It was cold and windy on top, so we didn't stay long. Our descent was quick. I soon realized that I had forgotten one important item: my gaiters. My crampons shredded my nylon rain pants on the way down. We stopped to eat cookies before the final steep ascent I was dreading, as we climbed back around Alexandra peak. This climb actually wasn't as bad as I expected. The only problem was that the snow was starting to become slushy, making it difficult to get good footing on the steep slope. We passed an impressive ice-cave to our right.

It was starting to get cloudy now, with limited visibility as we crossed the wide Stanley Plateau and made our final descent across melting ice, which seemed steeper than I recalled. Joel shouted down, and the porters answered from the hut. I was greeted with corn flakes in hot milk and a plate of fried eggs when I arrived at 11:30. I noticed that in the darkness this morning, I had loaded both my cameras with slide film. This was disappointing, since it is hard (and expensive) to get a good print from a slide.

It took an hour to eat and pack, and then we descended through the clouds toward Kitandara Hut, our destination for the night. The rocks, tarns, sparse vegetation, and clouds reminded me of some of the alpine areas in New Zealand. The route across the rocky ridges was mostly unmarked until the junction with the main trail.

After crossing Scott-Elliot Pass, the highest point on the main Rwenzori circuit, we could see the Kitandara Lakes far below, and we descended steeply toward them. Kitandara Hut is near the second of these lakes. Jagged peaks were visible in the distance through the clouds. To my dismay, we started climbing again when we reached the valley. The forests were similar to those in the Bujuku valley, with a lot of giant groundsel. The final descent to the first lake was beautiful - this lake was surrounded by lush vegetation, and more beautiful than Bujuku Lake. Getting around the lake was easy, and we soon came to Kitandara Hut on the shore of the second lake.

Kitandara Lake

This was a beautiful location, which appeared lush and tropical, aside from the 40 degree F temperature at 13,200 feet. I quickly finished the slide film in my Nikon, since I wanted to get print film in it again and take some pictures of the beautiful lakes. The clouds had mostly passed, and it was sunny now. Richard fixed me spaghetti with peas while Joel read my trekking book. I wasn't very hungry, and the pasta got cold fast, so I ate less than half. I hope Richard wasn't too insulted.

Anyway, I was more interested in taking some pictures now, since the lake was beautiful in the late afternoon sun. I set off for a walk along the lake with my cameras, and took a lot of pictures. When I returned, Richard made me tea. I left my trekking book with him overnight to read. I would hang my food tonight, because there were plenty of mice about. I wasn't completely successful this time, since the mice here could climb the rope.

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