The Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb 2010 (post 8 of 12)

This is the eighth of twelve posts on the December 2010 Mt. Kilimanjaro climb.

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Thursday 9 December 2010
Jaffar is in good spirits which, without argument, is the best tool for conquering Kilimanjaro.

When I got out of my tent, I caught a glimpse of Kibo peak, our destination. Kibo has an unusually large quantity of snow cover. I estimated the snow cover, in some sections, was as low as 4,000m. If there is a bonus for climbing during the rainy season, the extra snow cover (also seen on Kilimanjaro’s other peak, Mawenzi, on December 6) has to be it.

As with the past climbs, our group remains the slowest; we maintain a slow but steady pace. The other important principle of climbing Kilimanjaro is taking matters as slowly as possible to conserve much-needed energy for the difficult sections, advice that is especially important for novice climbers.

There is little to write about today except that it is Tanzania’s 49^th independence anniversary commemorations. On TBC radio, the public broadcaster, a primary school student was interviewed and asked what he remembered of Tanzania’s history.

“Vita vya Kagera.” [The Kagera War – the 1978-79 war between Tanzania and Uganda]

 “Vilikuwa mwaka gani?” [When was the war fought?]

“Sikumbuki…” [I don’t remember]

“Vilikuwa mwaka ‘78 na ’79. Unakumbuka chanzo cha vita hivyo?” [They were in ’78 and ’79. Do you remember the cause of the war?]

“Idi Amin alikuwa mkolofi. Sasa Nyelele alikuwa hapendi ukolofi, ndiyo ikabidi wapigane.” [Idi Amin was a troublesome person. Nyerere did not like trouble, so they had to fight].



In my tent, after the hike from Shira 1 to Shira 2 camp where I tuned in to the radio broadcast on Tanzania's 49th commemorations of its independence.

Ever since Jaffar’s first visit to Tanzania, I have consistently avoided dwelling on the past and attempted to focus on the future, but history has a habit of cropping up unexpectedly, even on a Kilimanjaro climb with Jaffar Amin!

Also on the radio today was a rebroadcast of Lt. Alex Nyirenda’s live broadcast from Uhuru Peak on the eve of Independence, 49 years ago.

Next: Tragic news from Moshi.

Posts related to this one:
http://blogkili.blogspot.com/2011/03/the-mwalimu-nyereremt-kilimanjaro.html
http://blogkili.blogspot.com/2011/05/the-mwalimu-nyereremt-kilimanjaro.html