Saturday, August 18, 2007

Mt. Stanley (5109m)

The third highest mountain in Africa (after Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya) was the main goal of this trip. I had caught cold the previous day and fallen behind the planned schedule. The previous day we only moved from Bujuku to Elena Hut and to be honest, that was one of the most difficult days as I was still carrying the rucksack.

The visibility on the summit day was better from the beginning than with Mt. Speke. We got several clear glimpses of Alexandra and Margherita Peaks while crossing the Stanley Plateau and reached the summit just in time to enjoy some 30 minutes of relatively clear weather before the mist rolled in.

Ropes were used in this climb much more than on Mt. Speke but only if there hadn't been fixed ladder at the foot of Margherita Peak it would have been a challenging climb. The descent was easy and the wind was light all the way. One significant thing along the way was that on this bit there was not a single area of bog unlike in all other sections of the Trail.
Mt. Stanley

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