Kilimanjaro trek day 4 – Barranco Camp to Barafu Camp

08.December:
When we woke this morning we were faced with the Great Barranco Wall – an imposing sight just above our camp. The chilled air was fresh and clean and the visibility was perfect. In front of us was an ocean of clouds, in the back the Kibo mountain towered and to our left hand side the Great Barranco Wall, which we would start the day off by tackling.

an ocean of clouds in front of our camp

Christian getting ready for the day 4 hike

When taking on the Great Barranco Wall, the trail we chose was very steep and for the first time on our hike so far we had to do some actual climbing. As I was carrying my water bottle in one of my hands, I was climbing with one hand while using a couple of fingers on the other hand while clinging on to the bottle – not recommended :p So next time around I will use an isolated camel back for sure to keep my hands free. While climbing, the view of Kibo just kept getting better. The scenery was simply amazing!

the Kibo massif

a top of the Great Barranco Wall

After reaching the top of the Great Barranco Wall we continued down into the Karanga Valley. When we reached the bottom of the valley the mist came in and clouded our vision once again. A small river/creek at the bottom of the Karanga valley was the last spot for filling our water bottles to stack up for the hike for the next two days. From this place the temperature would only grow colder and the landscape would become drier and emptier. After reaching the top on the opposite side of the Karanga Valley, the landscape changed from montane semi-desert into alpine desert. At this top we settled down for about thirty minutes to have some lunch.

walking through the misty wasteland

After lunch, we started walking the steep path to the Barafu camp. During the first forty minutes or so we were surrounded by thick mist and we had to trhow on our shell jackets not to get wet. It gradually became colder as we gained altitude and the landscape we walked through was very exposed leaving us as an easy target for the wind. When the mist finally let go of us, a clear blue sky was revealed and once again we got a view of Kibo to our left.

the view while the mist is about to let go

short break before the last leg to the Barafu Camp

We reached the Barafu camp at 4550 m.a.s.l. after hiking for about four hours through 13 km. The camp itself was on a ridge in an narrow and exposed flat area and the gale winds from that come of the mountain peaks were ever present. It was by far the coldest and highest camp so far – no wonder it’s called Barafu as Barafu means “ice” in Swahili. From the camp site we could see both peaks of both Kibo and Mawenzi.

After walking around on the camp site I got to know a couple guys from South Africa. These guys were very friendly and talkative. It turned out that they were part of a South African reality show called “Manhunt” (somewhat like 71° Nord). After a little chat they brought me along to their main tent and introduced me to the rest of the contestants, the producer and the TV-hostess and the camera crew. They were a lively bunch of great people. They offered me some of their tasty food and we had fun joking around and sharing stories. It turned out that they started out as 15 people, but were now down to 12. The were shooting for scenes for the show and the main challenge was climbing Kilimanjaro. The show was set to air sometime in February 2010.

some of the guys from the reality show "Manhunt"

some of the good people I got to know

After hanging out with the South African guys for a while I headed over to my tent to relax for a little while. Around 6 pm the sun started to set and I went out to check it out. The view from the ridge (on which our camp site was located) was perfect. This sunset, at 4550 m.a.s.l. while standing on a rocky ledge next to our campsite alone and above the clouds, was probably the best sunset I’ve ever witnessed.

sunset at the Barafu Camp

A bit later we grabbed some dinner and went back into our tents to sleep. It was difficult to get a proper sleep, but at least we had some rest before taking on the final and most challenging 1345 m push to the summit 4-5 hours later at 11.50 am.

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