We take the Shira Route to the roof of Africa

By Terry Brownbill

At the summit of Kilimanjaro

We have just returned from climbing Kilimanjaro, taking the Shira Route, which is the mountaineer purist’s route. We were a party of four and it took 22 porters and three guides to get us to the top. We reached Uhuru Peak after six very cold nights and seven glorious days. It certainly ranked as one of life’s great experiences.

Many thousands of people attempt the Kili climb each year and most take the Marangu Route, also known as the Coca Cola Route. The Marangu Route is crowded and the path to the top is well worn. It also only takes four days.



The official Egg Porter
during the climb!

The Shira Route, favoured by Africa House Safaris and our Tanzanian partners Nordic Travel (the Arusha-based mountain specialist who provided the most fantastic team of guides and porters), is more exclusive, more of a challenge and, paradoxically, has a higher summit success rate (97%) than the easier Marangu Route (40%).

No matter how fit you are, there is no shortcut to allowing your body to acclimatise to high altitude. Our Shira Route may have been longer and more arduous (and also much more scenic and spectacular) but we acclimatised perfectly and suffered no ill effects as a result.

Clever planning by Nordic Travel’s mountain guides meant that we always camped at a lower altitude than we had been walking during the day. The mantra ‘walk high and sleep low’ really does work.

A stunning mountain view

The vast majority of Kili climbers have to begin their ascent of Uhuru Peak at midnight, arriving at the top six frozen hours later as the sun is coming up and then they begin their 10-hour descent after just half an hour at the top.

Our final ascent was much more pleasurable and civilised. On our last night, we camped close to the Furtwanger Glacier in the crater at a little over 19,750ft, just 90 metres from the summit. We rose at 7am, tucked into yet another wonderful breakfast and enjoyed a one-and-a-half hour walk to the top in brilliant sunshine. Life just doesn’t get any better.

Terry’s wife Angie also did the climb - she wanted to summit Kili on her 50th Birthday. This also made for the perfect opportunity to raise some money for the London Air Ambulance, which is her law company's adopted charity this year. Angie managed to raise £6,000 for this worthy charity!