Rwenzoris – Kitandara Hut (4023m)

From Sean: “Yesterday we had an epic sixteen hour round trip from the time we left Elena Hut to the summit and back down to Kitandara Hut.  We moved through a number of technical sections to get to the summit – navigating the glacier and crossing crevasses which made it quite treacherous.  Eventually we climbed round to Mt Alexandra and came across steep drop offs on either side – it took us an hour to get through and an hour to get back just over one technical section.  We were out of our comfort zones but everyone just put their heads down and we got through it.

The Rwenzoris is an amazing place – you feel an incredible sense of adventure, being here absolutely alone, feeling like you’re the only adventure and pioneer on earth, but it’s a seriously testing climb.  The thrash down to Kitandara Hut was rough because there is nothing worse than night bogging.  We only reached the hut after dark – everybody was exhausted.  We had a quick meal of spaghetti, we hit the sack and slept right through – had a lie in and are only leaving at 9am. 

This morning, we’re refreshed, fully stoked and excited to have summited.  From my side, this mountain is so diverse and so incredibly challenging…but it’s absolutely awesome going from the bog to the alpine region up into the snow and eventually getting onto the Congo border.  Andrew, Lance, Athol, Russell and I have all been to the Congo so it was quite a thing for us, knowing what’s on the other side, knowing the thick wilderness of Africa is right there.  It’s been an incredibly wild experience for us…

Today, we’re off to Guy Yeoman Hut (3505m).  Every single garment that we own is completely soaked and thick with mud – all we are doing now is rotating clothes that were dirty on day one to replace the ones that we used yesterday and trying to find the ones with least amount of mud on them.  Can’t wait for a hot bath”

(Pics courtesy Christine Bro)