This week we had our first speaker of the season. George Robertson, who last year gave us a fantastic talk on his journey to K2 in “Into the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods”, returned to talk about “The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Climbing on Africa’s Highest Mountain”. George’s talk was shared with Beeslack Penicuik Camera club, with some Beeslack members opting to join us at the Fisherrow Centre and others opting to join by Zoom. George began his talk by repeating the introduction he gave us last year, explaining how his photography had begun from a need to record the experiences of the clients on his mountain adventure treks. You can find out more about George Robertson’s photography and mountain adventures on the following web sites:

https://georgerobertsonphotography.com/

https://www.mountaintreksphotos.co.uk/

http://www.mountaintreks.co.uk/

George first showed us a map of the routes he uses to take his clients to the summit of Kilimanjaro. His talk would show us highlights from two routes to the summit: one beginning at Machame and the other from Rongai. He explained that climbing Kilimanjaro is not a cheap option: it takes 6-7 days to complete the climb, and costs $120 per day to stay in the national park.

George’s trek began with civilisation and then moved up though the rainforest zone, with some beautiful photographs of the plants and wildlife visited on the way. The route then rose above the clouds and made way for moorland vegetation, and we started to see some spectacular views of the mountain ahead. George showed us pictures of the campsites, which had toilet blocks teetering on the edge of cliff! As George’s party climbed higher, the photographs became ever more spectacular; gazing across the clouds to the summit of Meru. We were taken into the Alpine Desert zone and shown pictures of a huge lava tower and the steep cliff face of the Barranco Wall, the hardest part of the climb. Eventually, we were treated to jaw-dropping shots of the icy glaciers on the mountain summit at sunrise, atmospheric shots of cloud formations, night shots of the campsite, and unique views of a rainbow surrounding a nearby peak and the Kilimanjaro’s shadow against the clouds. The final shot from the summit was of an American tourist sitting at the summit reading Ernest Hemingway’s “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”. George finished by showing us the route down the mountain back to the exit at Marangu. This time, more members were able to chat with George face to face after the talk. Another fascinating talk.

Next week we will be sharing a another speaker with Beeslack and will be treated to a wildlife photography talk from Tesni Ward. Tesni will be talking to us on Zoom, but her talk will be broadcast at the Fisherrow Centre (starting at 7:15 this Thursday). Zoom information will follow in due course.

See you there,

Steven