Summit Night

Horombo Hut (3705m)

The feeling was extreme, my feet tingled and were beginning to lose their sensation, my cheeks stung as the moisture struck my face, and burning sensation around my ears from the oxygen tubes. I have never experienced my hands being as cold as they were that moment I had lost sensation in my fingers. The sweat built up along my spine and my clothes felt wet. All I could see ahead of me was the silhouetted shadow of the person’s legs in from of me. It wasn't a good feeling, it’s hard to describe, I wanted to continue in one way but in another way no. Could I work through what I was feeling?  

Step after step, the steps seemed so small, I began to become disillusioned and disorientated, so dark was the night. The burning sensation intensified, we stopped for water and I remembered what we were told from the night before "make sure you clear your tubes of water or they will freeze". My water in hydra pack was already beginning to cool in the cold night’s air. We started to walk again, I began to feel worse, my body began to resist, weighted down in some way by force, sweat soaked my back underneath my rucksack. I began to wonder if I felt like this now how would I feel in an hour and the thought of sunrise being five hours away. I stopped and stepped out of line, trying to get my bearings, aware that the group was passing me by, words were spoken to me but they fell so distant for me to understand I just mumbled a response so distorted even I can't recall what I said. Attilio was by my side at this point and I had made my decision "I need to go down" I told him together we almost ran down to base camp the lights from the huts became visible, and then on to our camp. Shortly after I lay in my sleeping back almost fully clothed trying to re-gather my warmth, Still not really thinking clearly, but knowing for certain I had no regrets in my decision to turn back.

Day Four The Final Approach

Mawenzi Tarn Camp

Mawenzi Tarn Camp (4303m) to Kibo Hut (4730m) Day Four

I don't know what time it was when I awoke all I know is that it was 5 degrees in the tent and it didn't matter how uncomfortable I was I didn't want move from this warm place I was in. I could hear the bustle of the camp outside and knew there was no point in waiting. The cool air touched my face as I unzipped the tent and straightened by back I got my first glimpse of the morning the pool of water was frozen and glistened white in the morning light the sun was yet to make its appearance. My boots felt cold almost damp, I disliked having them outer tent all night, the sweat from the days walk and then leaving them to sit out in the cold all night. The morning coffee gave my hands some much needed warmth.

Mawenzi Tarn Camp Sunrise

I knew this was going to be a long day, after the acclimatization yesterday we all knew what laid before us, the long walk over the saddle. I think we all kept our thoughts to ourselves, I longed for a warm hot shower, I had never experienced my hands being the color they were now, it did not matter what I did to keep them clean the dirt and dust was beginning to get ground in. Every one gathered for the usual breakfast after which we packed up and began our days walk, ascending over the ridges which never seemed to end. The slow decent to the saddle ensued, once we reached the saddle it was like walking across a slightly uneven table top overlooking the clouds to the right. Slowly slowly nothing goes quick on the way up slow and steady, I was growing used to the weight of my pack not having my camera on my chest was quite luxury. Atilio lead us across the saddle. We walked in silence with our thoughts to ourselves, so many things I thought about one chain of thought lead to another and then to another. Stopping occasionally for photo opportunities, I loved the feeling of being above the clouds, it’s hard to describe a surreal picture so far away from my everyday life. The sun came and went with the passing clouds, the air was colder than I expected.

Ridges of Mawenzi

Down came the hail, so close we were but it felt so far away, visibility disappeared behind a veil of miniature grey rocks that hammered the hood of my rain jacket, cold wet wind swept through me leaving a chill that reached deep. The slow accent, the Kimbo Hut never seemed to get any closer, what appeared so close before had now almost disappeared behind a fog of grey hail. I pulled my hood up around my face which gave me protection from the pounding hail, all I wanted was to finally be there. Looking up I saw the huts and so many people, the camp was situated in a dip just sheltered from the base camp, our tents were already erected. I felt the cold down to my bones, all I wanted to do was curl up and get warm. Emotions ran high that afternoon and evening it was the first time in the days I had been there that I really missed home, the warmth of being around family, it was a lonely feeling being so far away from that heartwarming smile and that loving hug. I guess it’s only natural to feel emotional at 4730m. 

Day Three The Welcome Walk

Kikelewa Caves Camp (3679m) to Mawenzi Tarn Camp (4303m)  Day Three

Kikelewa Caves Camp

I was not quite sure what to expect when I stepped out of my tent, having arrived after dark the night before. What I saw was not what I expected the terrain was not as treacherous in day light as it was at night. 

 The sun was bright as it broke through the clouds, looking up we could see Mawenzi. Our destination for day three is Mawenzi Tarn Camp (4303m), this days walk was shorter to the previous day which was welcome.

Our walk began as always slow and steady as we approached the ridges of Mawenzi, our path was a gradual incline that took us around the gentler side of the mountain.

Mawenzi Tarn camp

As we crossed over the ridges Mawenzi Tran camp became visible as if the whole camp site was laid in a shallow bowl the mountain acting as the rim, smaller campsites scattered here and there. Situated to one side was a basic looking hut with a radio antenna. Its strange being in the clouds, it’s like experiencing bursts of heavy damp mist that travel around you, one minute visibility relatively clear and the next everything almost disappears. I was eager to see day fours challenge "The Saddle". 

Clouds around Mawenzi

The afternoon's acclimatization training was going to take us up a ridge to 4421m high, which weather permitting would give us a good view of the saddle and possibly Kimbo Hut. The zigzag path got steeper as walking turned to gentle climbing, the weather was not the best but what we saw gave us plenty to think about.

The Saddle Kilimanjaro

The saddle was vast it stretched for what appeared to be miles, across it laid a thin line almost string like, which was that path we were soon to take, this gave the scene a sense of perspective.

The evening drew in and the cooler air grew colder and damper, the temperature tonight was going to drop below freezing.    

Day Two, On Wards And Up Wards

Simba Camp 2626m to Kikelewa Caves 3679m, Day Two

View of Mawenzi from Simba Camp

The sun rose over Simba Camp warming the cold air from the previous night, there was a sense of apprehension for the days walk to come. As I wondered around the camp I found a fantastic view of Mawenzi illuminated by the morning sun, there stood very shabby hut to the right with the very aromatic fragrance which carried a proximity warning, toilets on the mountain lack drainage I need not say any more. Mawenzi is our day three destination, but before Mawenzi, Kikelewa Caves Camp Moorlands is our destination for tonight.

There was a bustle in the camp as it was being dismantled and packed up, it was now apparent we were not the only people on the Rongai route, however we were the largest in this camp. Two man tents scattered here and there, with support crews of two to three everybody seemed to be getting a head start on us. The days walk began and we soon left the habitation that surrounded Simba Camp.

After having lunch at what could be called a picnic spot, which was our half way marker of the day our journey continued. The climate changed quickly and moisture filled clouds moved in around us and up the mountain. The terrain was like walking over small hills of jagged rocks with prickly bushes scattered among them, up down, always being mindful of where you stepped the terrain was not the nicest.

We got to know Attilio's story, about his life and family, what he did when he was not on the mountain and in return he got to know ours.

The clouds came and went and our day’s journey never seemed to reach a visible end. The afternoon turned to dusk and darkness began to fall, the prospect of walking this path in the dark held very little appeal, but what other choice was there. Head lamps lit the path ahead, the uneven terrain was slow to walk in daylight and in the dark our pace slowed further. As we approached Kikelewa Caves Camp (3679m), the sound of the camp traveled through the darkness the welcoming sound of people laughing and torches flickering, exhaustion had begun to settle in aided by the cold and damp from the early night.

The warmth of my sleeping bag was welcome that night, the cold had seeped deep in to my body as laid there I thought about the day and how far we had come and contemplated the days to come, after all this was only the end of day two.

The Long Walk

Day One Destination Simba Camp (2626m)

The long walk begins (1900m), the pack was heavy with four liters of water cameras and rain gear. The path was easy going for first couple of hours a slight incline through forest with an occasional hut where young children stood by the path hopeful for anything we may give them. Chocolate was the main delight, their eyes light up at the lightest inclination that you might have something for them, whatever the received they ran to each other and shared. I guess small luxuries are a rarity and warranted sharing. Occasional homes stood a little off the path where people sat and waved as we passed by calling out the customary greeting "Jambo" which means hi in Swahili.

The Flat Lands of South Eastern Kenya

The forest thickened, the path narrowed and the incline steepened, slowly slowly one foot in front of the other I have good feeling this is how the next six days will be. The planes of Kenya lay behind us, the sun trying to break through the clouds. The view is amazing the light could be better the clouds were thick and heavy, the planes of Kenya seemed hazy with light gold patches where the sun had broken through the clouds. It was only us on the path the porters had passed us by hours ago, with one guide leading the group and three other guides taking up the tail. I am not sure what I expected, picturesque is not what you would call this place.

 When we reached Simba Camp (2626m), the porters had already set our tents with our main packs in side. Each member of the group had a porter that carried our 15kg packs along with their own gear. My guy was there waiting to greet me as I entered the gate, with a big smile he lead me to my home for the night. Trees over hung the tents which gave the place a dark feeling and made the place feel a lot colder that it actually was. Laughing and chatter from the kitchen tent and surrounding areas, the porters always seemed to be in good spirits. The acclimatization walk that would prepare us for this night and the day ahead took around thirty minutes and involved ascending along a path for a short distance the habitation that surrounded us was a dark green brown forest, the air was beginning to chill as the evening light came over the mountain.

South Eastern Kenya

It was barely eight o'clock when we all retired to our tents exhausted from the walk. Many moments stuck in my mind from the day, my first impressions, meeting our support team, the journey to where the walk started. One in particular was the old man hunched over walking along the road wearing a green woolen hat waving his arms around in frustration as a swarm of flies circled and aggravated him. Laying still in my sleeping bag I listened to the sound of night lulling me to sleep.

Six Days And A Mountain Called Mount Kilimanjaro

September 2012 I traveled with a group of people to Tanzania, our quest was to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Following the Rongai route would take six days in total, four days up the mountain and two days down.  The trip had had two years of prior planning, and participants had undergone various training regimes. Walking was the main discipline in preparation, taking walks that lasted around six to eight hours preferably over uneven terrain. Now after the walk has been done I realize that it did not really matter how well you think you had trained or how well you think you had mentally prepared yourself, nothing can really prepare you for a first time expedition like this. Every day had a different aspect that would challenge you, some small and minor and other having the ability to sway the scales between achieving this challenge or conceding defeat.

 I knew I wanted to express my view of Kilimanjaro in black and white even before I left home. I researched pictures other people had taken, I searched all the search phrases I could think off, so I knew what had already been before me, I wanted to express a strong feeling in my pictures that expressed what I saw and what I felt being there. Black and white pictures express a very different way of seeing the world, they can tell a very dramatic story.

Kilimanjaro is a place that no one word can describe or sum up, the landscapes vary from the forest around Simba Camp, to the moorlands at Kikelewa Caves Camp, to alpine desserts of the Saddle and that is to name but three. With the images I took I wanted to create questions for the people that have never been there and memories for the people that have, I wanted to tell a story of a journey to a remarkable place and give you an insight in to the remarkable people that live and work there, but this story is not just about Kilimanjaro, Kilimanjaro and the six days on the mountain is just one chapter, over time other stories will get told.

The Little Fiat Hyde Park Lane

The journey through London on the airport buss in not the most exciting of trips, however it can be a revealing one. I moved away from London almost ten years ago and in those past ten years there have not been many years that have passed that I have not been back, London has changed remarkably as every cosmopolitan city dose over the years. I never really paid attention to these changes when I lived there and now I feel like more of a tourist when I visit.

Along Hyde Park the buss traveled, through the trees on the center island I saw an extraordinary thing, it captivated me for the brief moment I saw it enough to know I had to came back and photograph it.  I knew this picture would only ever work in black and white due to the amount of trees and combined with the amazing shades of the actual statue I began to envision what I was soon to create.


It was a few day later I returned Hyde Park camera and tripod in hand, with constant traffic traveling either sides of the island I knew this picture would easily be recognizable to my audience as a London image. The color of the hand looked powerful as it held the small fiat, the texture and of the arm and fingers was perfect wrapped around the body of the small fiat. Reviewing my image I knew I had captured the image I envisioned.

The Little Fiat Hyde Park Lane London