Wales YFC News

Following a long and challenging 2024, Elliw Dafydd, a member of Llanddeiniol YFC, Ceredigion decided to do something positive.

She spent 7 days hiking to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the world’s highest freestanding mountain in Tanzania, Africa to raise money for three charities – quite the challenge! The three chosen charities were: Southmead Hospital Trust’s Neurological Research fund, Horatio’s Garden and Refugee Women’s Centre.

The challenge started on the 4^th of February following a long journey to reach Tanzania. That morning Elliw travelled from Moshi to Kilimanjaro National Park to register before starting the hike at the Lemosho gate. The first day was a relatively easy one, with the group hiking around 7km in 4 hours. The path was clear and a group of monkeys kept the group company alongside a beautiful variety of trees, flowers and plants that the group learned about. Elliw reached the Mti Mkubwa camp before nightfall and after a delicious dinner an early night was in order whilst listening to the monkeys chattering.

The group awoke at 6.30am the following morning and had a breakfast of papaya, porridge, chapati, toast and yams before starting another day of hiking. Day two included meeting a chameleon for the first time and lots of steep sections in strong sun before arriving at the next camp, Shira camp 1. The group decided to continue to Shira Camp 2, which meant that they saw a significant change in scenery as they entered the alpine desert climate which was rocky with low shrubbery. After nine hours of hiking and 17km under their belts the group arrived at the second camp located above the clouds where they saw the Kilimanjaro peak clearly for the first time. The group watched the sun set before eating dinner and seeing the snow on the peak light up in the moonlight. Elliw used the opportunity to read over Llanddeiniol YFC’s panto script as the competition was taking place later that month. The night was a cold one with temperatures falling under 0C.

The sun warmed the group somewhat on morning number 3 as they set out to challenge the next incline. The day included 6 hours of hiking and 10km of distance. This was the day where the group started to suffer from elevation sickness, mainly headaches, pressure in the head, tiredness and hearing high pitch noises, all of which are normal at such altitude (4,000m+). The path was once again rocky and steep which was challenging with the symptoms listed. Whilst hiking the group came across caves that had salt and mineral deposits, somewhere the buffalos enjoyed spending time however the caves were quiet that day. The group arrived at the lava tower by lunch time, and food and rest made a word of difference to the weary travellers. The morning came to an end in foggy, windy and cold conditions with the sun coming out over lunch which made the afternoon much more enjoyable. The rest of the day included some steep inclines and declines as the group traversed up mountains and down into various valleys and they eventually descended into the moorland climate that included a beautiful variety of plants and trees. The weather changed often between fog and sun with the last stretch into the Baranco camp being lit by beautiful sunshine. The camp offered a gorgeous view of the mountain and cliff which the group would be tackling the following day. Julie and Elliw had dinner in their sleeping bags in attempt to keep warm at the end of day 3.

The fourth morning started a little later than usual at 7am. The first part of the day was challenging with the group taking on the Barranco Wall, a rocky, steep outcrop that required using hands and a bit of climbing to get to the top. Elliw loved every minuted whilst her friend Julie hated the steep and dangerous slopes. By this point the group had passed the halfway point and spent the afternoon hiking into the fog to arrive at the Karanga camp in the alpine desert climate at around 4,000m. They followed this with another quiet night of eating dinner from their sleeping bags in preparation for day 5.

At 6am on day 5 the group awoke to a beautiful sunrise lighting up the sky. Day 5 included a short hike as the guides told the group to give their bodies a chance to rest and acclimatise before they took on the peak. The group was still suffering from some acclimatisation symptoms including pins and needles and headaches. The hiking included some stony and dusty conditions that lasted for 4km and 4 hours (because of the altitude, hikers hike at a much slower pace due to the lack of oxygen as well as the varied landscape.) After seeing an emergency helicopter land to collect hikers who were struggling to acclimatise, the group arrived at Barafu camp which lay around 4,700m at lunch time. The group was given orders to rest that afternoon as at midnight, the hike to the peak would begin.

At 11pm the group awoke to prepare for the journey to the peak. After some ginger tea, popcorn and biscuits the group started the journey. It was dark and cold and as the group reached higher altitudes the wind became stronger and the environment colder. The path was steep and felt never-ending. As the group looked upwards it was impossible to tell when the head torches stopped, and the stars began. At around 3am the group had a short chance to rest, the journey was challenging, especially with the increasing wind. The group’s drinking water started o freeze as the group reached the snow layer. It was incredibly cold, regardless of the 6 layers of clothes the team were wearing as the temperature was around -5C but felt like -11C with the wind. The journey was challenging and repetitive and never ending. The next three hours felt much of the same but by 5.30am there were some faint signs that the sunrise was on its way. At just past 6am the group arrived at Stellar point which saw an end to the steep mountain path as the sun began to rise.

The view was incredibly beautiful, with shades of orange and pink in the sky lighting up the snow at the peak. This was an emotional point for the group as they noticed how close they were to the peak. The group continued hiking for 45minutes to reach the highest point, which was 5,895m (The Wyddfa is a little over 1,000m in height for comparison)!

Reaching the peak was an unforgettable moment but was exceptionally short as it was so cold there! The temperature at the peak ranges between -4C and -27C throughout the year. Therefore, the group definitely chose a sensible time of year to hike as it was on the warmer side. The group began their descent, passing through 5 climate zones from artic ice to cultivated land over the next two days. Spirits were high following the groups’ success which made the walking much easier. Reaching the last gate felt like quite the achievement but was also accompanied with feelings of sadness as the great adventure came to an end. What adventure will the group take on next we wonder?

The challenge has raised nearly £6,000 for the three charities which is amazing. Elliw would like to give her heartfelt thanks to everyone who’s supported the journey by either donating or sharing kind messages of support.

To watch the journey and learn more about the chosen charities, follow Kildro Elliw on Facebook or Instagram. If you’d like to donate to these amazing charities, please follow the link below:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/elliw-dafydd?utm_term=9jNPJXabg