Ruwenzori – 1996

For three months I travelled East Africa on a shoestring: Kenia, Tanzania, Zambia, Victoria Falls. From Lusaka, where I had worked for six weeks at the university) I flew back to Nairobi and took the overnight bus to Uganda. In the book Snowcaps on the Equator I had come across a picture of the Stanley Plateau on Ruwenzori that got me hooked. I was absolutely captivated by this surreal glacial lascape within the jungle. I knew I just had to see it with my own eyes…

Accompanied only by three local porters – William, Elly, and Bahati – I hiked for four days through thick rainforest and knee-deep bogs to Elena Hut (4540 m) beyond the treeline, from where I crossed the Stanley Plateau and soloed a short mixed face to the main summit of Margherita (5109 m). The route description had omitted a 100-feet rock step, so I had to forego the traverse to Albert (5087 m). Worsening weather prevented the climb of the second-highest peak, Alexandra (5091 m). From Elena Hut, where I rejoined my porters, we continued for another four days past the picturesque Kitandara Lakes and down the Mubuku Valley to our strating point. To this day, I consider the climb and crossing of the Ruwenzori mountains my best and most “complete” adventure!