From left to right at Point Elena: Izael Pereira, Nelson Kisaka, George Thinwa, Fr Francis, Louis Mugwe, Luis Franceschi, and Peter Warutere

The Rwenzori Mountains are a jewel of nature that cannot be compared to either Kilimanjaro or Mt Kenya. The latter are a 'walk in the park' compared to the Rwenzoris.  The Rwenzoris are so beautiful and yet so tough.

Point Margarita, the highest peak on the mountain range (5107 meters above sea level) separates Congo and Uganda. To reach the peak takes 6 or 7 days of long walks and climbs through a virgin and practically unexplored mountain of exuberant beauty.  The climb is hell; the sight is heaven. In the midst of that mixture of suffering and joy a team of climber from Kenya and Uganda  relived what life is all about: struggling, losing, winning, and celebrating.

 The team was varied. From Anthony, a 58 year-old tough lawyer and pilot, to Louis, an equally tough 14 year-old Form One boy. Then there was Peter, a senior Officer at the World Bank, and his son George, a student at SU. The team was on a mission: to conduct in cooperation with Makere University, a feasibility study for the installation of solar energy panels at different stations.  

The team made for the Basecamp near Kasese Town, a 8 hour-drive from Kampala on 6th January. It started the climb the following day. The scenery was breathtaking, but the trek was rib cracking. The experience cannot be described … it can only be lived.  

On the 4th day on the mountain, the climbers decided to accelerate their pace as they didn’t have the time required to finish the circuit. This pushed them to do in two days what climbers do in five. It was a killing experience but the joy of having survived it all was exhilarating. The climbers left Bujuku camp (3,900 meters) at 3.00am and started ascending to the peak. They got to Point Elena at 7.25am with Margerita still five hours away and Camp Kitandara on the other side of Margerita peak at least eight hours away.

From Kitandara the group split into two: some spent one more night on the mountain, at the Guy Yoeman, a camp after Kitandara. The others decided to walk, and sometimes run, all the way down (13 hours) to the base camp, where a proper bed, dinner and shower could be enjoyed.