Kilimanjaro
2006
Summit 1 – AFRICA – Kilimanjaro – 5,895M
Kilimanjaro – May 2006
In May 2006 just 2 weeks after completing the infamous 250 km marathon de Sables I was on my way to my first ever mountain, I hadn’t even been up Snowdon.
4 very good friends of mine, Peter Ryder, Hugh Sigrist, Justin Baptie and Kiwi Phil and I had put together a private trip to the Serengeti then on to Kilimanjaro and then onto the most important part of our tour, 3 days drinking in Zanzibar. On 23rd May 2006 I stood on the top of Kilimanjaro alongside Pete and Phil and I knew then I was hooked on mountaineering.
I knew I had to climb Mt. Everest and set about putting a CV in climbing together that would ensure I was capable and competent to do so.
Kilimanjaro is composed of three distinct volcanic cones: Kibo 5,895 m (19,341 ft); Mawenzi 5,149 m (16,893 ft); and Shira 3,962 m (13,000 ft). Uhuru Peak is the highest summit on Kibo’s crater rim.
Kilimanjaro is a giant stratovolcano.
Two of its three peaks, Mawenzi and Shira, are extinct while Kibo (the highest peak) is dormant and could erupt again. The last major eruption has been dated to 360,000 years ago, while the most recent activity was recorded just 200 years ago.
Although it is dormant, Kibo has fumaroles that emit gas in the crater. Several collapses and landslides have occurred on Kibo in the past, one creating the area known as the Western Breach.
MARK PINNOCK
Mountain Climber, Distance Runner, Motivational Speaker, Entrepreneur and Successful Businessman.
Email: markpinnock1@gmail.com