The weather wasn't doing us any favours although the worst of the wind and rain was at night- we learned later on that we were seeing the early effects of Cyclone Bingiza which was off the coast but heading for land just south of us. On Day 6 we arrived at the final pre-summit camp and after a short rest we started our summit climb at 11:30pm (the theory around climbing at night is that we would arrive at the false peak of Stella in time for a brilliant Afric...

After a week in Kenya during which we made the needed time zone and dietary adjustments, we started our climb in the rain forest at the base of the mountain, one of five eco-zones that you pass through on the way to the top (the others being Moorland, Heath, Alpine Desert, and Glacier). Joined by Sandy, a friend of DH, we started out as a somewhat compact group of 3 along with the required guides and porters but we quickly hooked up with Annie and Carol, a pair ...