Day 8 - Turtles - Hiking From Gilman's Point to Uhuru Summit and Down to Crater Camp - 29 Sep 2014

Almost immediately upon gaining the rim of Kibo's crater, the Turtles are enveloped in mist and fog and an occasional snow flurry.  This continues until they reach Stella Point

 

Lead Turtle, Tom Reveley, was so encouraged by the appearance of this large sign he wanted to believe we had  reached the summit.  Not so... so he motored on. 



Our guides and porters did a great job of motivating the climbers with songs and banter and good advice at each step of the way.




Another view into the crater at its extreme eastern edge.

There is a lot of variable terrain within the main crater.  There is one glacier on the glacier floor near Crater Camp.  Elsewhere, there are patches of snow, but mostly bare rock and volcanic ash.  The steam is simply moisture evaporating from the crater floor as the day progresses and the air warms up. 

Personal porter Hussein at Gilman's Point.

We resume our climb toward Stella Point. Visibility is still very poor.  The ground is frozen, but not slippery.

Occasional flurries of snow hit us, but very little of it sticks.

Where the snow falls and is protected from the wind it lingers longer.

Serendipity.  Even before we get to Stella Point the sky to the north is clearing and we enjoy great views of the North Rim and parts of the Northern Icefield

A closer view of the eastern end of the Northern Icefield. 

A view straight down into the crater below us.  Nothing growing here.

A view toward the west in the direction of Crater Camp.  Still foggy there.  We will hike out this way to Stella Point on our way down the mountain on Day 9.



Looking north again.  The clouds are coming quickly toward us and will envelope us again soon until we reach higher on the summit ridge.

Looking toward Crater Camp again after some clearing.

We arrive at Stella Point and seek shelter from the wind in the lee of this rock.

Stella Point. We will get a group picture here on our way down.

Looking westward with portions of Furtwangler Glacier sitting on the crater floor in the distance.  Crater Camp is located close to the base of the steep cliff in the distance on the left. It is an easy walk from Crater Camp to the face of Furtwangler Glacier.  Several days before our arrival, a Guiness World Record was established by two English cricket teams for the highest cricket game ever played! 

Stella Point is below and behind us off to the right of this photo.  We are now on the summit ridge headed toward Uhuru Peak. Along the way, we will pass several of the glaciers in the Southern Icefield and we are fortunate to have the clouds lift as we pass them.

First close-up view of one of the South Rim glaciers, probably Rebmann or possibly Decken Glacier.

Fresh snow gives this glacier a fantastic appearance.  Some other glaciers we see later on the route did not get a dusting of fresh snow and some of these appeared to carry a lot of windblown volcanic ash in their layers of ice.

Looking toward the south. 

Looking back in the direction of Gilman's Point. 

Possibly Decken Glacier or Kersten Glacier on the South Rim.  We are steadily approaching Uhuru and fortunately we still enjoy good visibility.

Gary Drobnack and Hussein H Hussein.  It is getting "warmer" and feels like it's time to shed the hood.

Enjoying lots of sunshine high on the South Rim.

One step at a time.

We pause to catch our breath.  Deo on the left, then Tom Reveley, Jennifer Gladwell, and Hussein.

Tom Miller. Forester.  Weyerhaeuser retiree.  Now lives in Mobile, AL.

Gary Drobnack busy taking photos.

A better view of Furtwangler Glacier in the crater. 

Hussein is celebrating his second journey to the summit of Uhuru Peak.  He is studying for a career in wildlife tourism when not employed as a porter.

Although it is very cold, there is a pond of water on the uphill side of this glacier.

Assistant guide Nestor.

Another view of the Northern Icefield from the South Rim.  The far slope leads upward to the rim of Reusch Crater and the Ash Pit.  Both are very circular features within the otherwise irregular Kibo Crater rim.  There are fumaroles smelling of sulfur that emanate from Reusch Crater.  The high point on the rim of Reusch Crater is only 200 feet. lower than Uhuru Peak.  Reuss Crater's diameter is almost 1 km across.

We enjoy dramatic contrasts of light and dark as we move higher and as the sun sinks lower.



Each layer of ice in this very thick glacier carries a lot of windblown ash and dust it received during the dry part of each year over many, many years.

Most likely the upper end of Heim and Kersten Glaciers.

Looking back in the direction of Gilman's Point as we approach the summit of Uhuru.

Hussein.

As we approach the summit, a large cairn points the way.  The shadow of the large sign on the summit is visible just to the right of the cairn.



Close-up of the large cairn nearest the summit.

A few new glaciers appear to our left as we close in on the summit.

We are starting to loose the sunshine as we get closer.

All the sudden the fog is very thick and we have to use flash to get decent pictures in front of the sign at the Top of Africa.

Idaho Vandals flag raised by Tom 1 and Tom 2 on Uhuru Peak.

 

Tom Reveley on the left is especially overjoyed to have made it to the top under his own steam.  About a week before departing the US, while training on the Pacific Crest Trail, he injured his knee and his participation was doubtful right up to the last day.

 

L-R Jennifer Lindwall, David Still, & Gary Drobnack raise Seahawk's 12th Man Flag.

Gary Drobnack holding the flag that he and Dick McLean carried with them on all their major summits together in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state.  Dick passed away earlier in 2014, but before he died he gave Gary this flag and a momento to be left on Kilimanjaro.  On Mt Adams, Baker, Glacier, and Rainier we'd write the name of the peak, the date, and sign our names.  Kilimanjaro is our last summit together.  And that is what the flag now reflects.

Jennifer Lindwall had no problem making it to the top!  Piece of cake.

Tom Miller

Group photo of the Turtles L-R Tom Reveley, Tom Miller, Jennifer Lindwall, David Still, and Gary Drobnack.  At this point, it was starting to get dark and windy so we hurried to depart and get down to Crater Camp 600 feet below the summit.

The sun is  now low in the sky.

The fog and snow flurried close in on us.

This is the summit in our rear view mirror.

We encountered the occasional patch of snow, nothing that presented any obstacles.  The track was firm albeit frozen in some place.  It was not slippery.

We are about to lose the light just as we start to drop off the summit ridge into Kibo Crater.  We bundled up some more after donning our headlamps and all made it down safely, although some were too tired to eat when we got down.  The night in Crater Camp was our coldest night by far and the water bottles filled with hot water every night just before going to bed were most welcome and did a lot to keep us warm.  The water bottles outside our sleeping bags froze partially.

 

At the end of Day 8, all 12 of the Mufindi Mountaineers team had successfully made the summit of Uhuru Peak and went safely to bed. 

During the night, one of the porters became ill and one of the guides and several porters had to take him down the mountain in the dark before his condition, which was altitude-related, got worse. This meant heavier loads for the remaining porters.

On the morning of Day 9, we will start early again as we will descend 14,000 feet in just two days time.  Watch out toes and knees!