On my latest Mt. Kilimanjaro climb I trekked on the Machame route for the first time. I was accompanied by musician/activist Vitali Maembe.
Here’s the tenth post of my blog log of the climb
Thursday 12 September 2014
Vitali changed the last-day rule on Mt. Kilimanjaro. Normally, it's the team of guides and porters who sing for the climbers. But today it was Vitali who sang for the guides and porters and his punchy lyrics were well-received. Yahoo said earlier: we listen to the porters (sing) everyday; it is better that you sing today.
After we descended to Moshi, I met a seasoned guide who at the top of the Barranco wall had posed with Vitali's guitar. I repeated to him my worry that Uhuru Peak (officially at 5,895m above mean sea level) is not the highest point on Mt. Kilimanjaro. I felt that a point further east appeared much higher. He said he would take measurements on his next climb.
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| Vitali plays one of his songs at the top of the Barranco wall. |
Another guide said he thinks Bismarck Rock, just minutes before reaching Uhuru Peak from Stella Point, is actually higher. He said he raised the matter with the Kilimanjaro Park authorities and has been told [something I also theorized myself] that when Hans Meyer established the current position as being the highest on Kilimanjaro, there was almost full glacial cover of Kibo and that could have indeed been the highest point.
Then the glaciers shrank and Bismarck Rock was exposed and has become the higher point.
Another point made by the Park authorities, he said, is that there is little space to accommodate a large group of climbers congregating at the same time on Bismarck Rock. The current "peak" is flat and wide enough to accommodate a large group of people at the same time.
Related post:
http://blogkili.blogspot.co.ke/2015/07/vitali-maembe-joins-cdea-kilimanjaro.htmlhttp://blogkili.blogspot.co.ke/2014/09/vitali-maembe-joins-cdea-kilimanjaro.html
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