Missive from the Congo 025

As I mentioned in the last post, there are relatively few recreational activities in Goma. I also mentioned that I would be undertaking one of them this past weekend; namely climbing the Nyiragongo volcano. The ICCN (Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature) is actually pretty well organised. Your expedition starts by booking a spot on the one day or two day tour at the ICCN office in downtown Goma. You can do this weeks or perhaps months in advance. Then, shortly before the expedition you go down to the Banque Internationale pour l'Afrique du Congo and pay the fee into the appropriate ICCN account. You then take the bank receipt to the ICCN and they give you the vouchers for the tour. You can opt to be transported by the ICCN to the base camp if you choose as well, for an extra fee.



From L to R: Régis, Jean-Luc, Luc, Marie-Eve, Jonathan and myself

 We drove ourselves to the volcano base camp. It’s only about 15 minutes north of town. Once there you register with the actual guides. You are offered the option of hiring local porters to carry your bag for you if you want. The porters cost $12 per day, or in our case $24 for the overnight trip. All but one of us chose to hire porters. I hired a porter because not everything I wanted to bring fit in one backpack I had and I didn’t want to try and carry two bags at once. Besides it helps the local economy.

Our group was composed of the four Canadian military members in Goma and two guys from Kinshasa (a Canadian and a French officer). Also on the climb that weekend was a Canadian civilian working for a Canadian charter airline under contract to the UN and about eight Belgians. The Brit who lives with us couldn’t make it because he had to herd a group of 15 Members of Parliament who were on a fact finding trip to Goma.

The trail cuts through the jungle at the base of the volcano. The trail alternates between hard packed earth and what I can only describe as lava rock of varying sizes. The slope of the part was relatively gentle for the first little while and gets progressively steeper. The last segment of the climb is very steep and completely barren. The ground is composed entirely of lava rock and fairly treacherous.

I brought a GPS along to calculate distance and altitude. We left the base camp at 1056 hrs and arrived at the summit 1535 hrs. So our trek took four hours and forty minutes. We stopped four times on the way up to rest, hydrate and get the group back together. Also in those four hours and forty minutes we traveled 7.6 kilometres and climbed over 1.4 kilometres.

The weather for the climb was just about perfect, from a climbing perspective. We had a mix of sun and clouds and moderate temperatures (about 23-24 celcius). So not too hot, not too cold, and no rain. We were still very hot and sweaty from the exertion but that’s unavoidable. The down side of the weather was that the mountain top was shrouded in clouds.

The top of the volcano, as mentioned above, is a barren and desolate place. It was also very windy and cold. None of that is particularly surprising. The lava pool was about 700 metres below the rim of the crater so obviously we couldn’t feel any heat. It was also somewhat difficult to see because of the clouds, and perhaps smoke, in the crater. We had limited visibility when we arrived and for an hour or two afterwards, but it came and went. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the volcano was the sound. There a sound very much akin to crashing waves on the seashore coming from the lava pool. It was quite interesting.

After some a celebrating, and supper, we hit the sack with the promise from the guides that they would wake us up if the weather cleared. I went to sleep quite hopeful since we could see stars above us and occasionally see the lights of Goma below us. The accommodations are in the forms of small buildings with two single beds. Not the world’s most comfortable hotel but certainly better than the tent I expected to sleep in. I woke at about 1 AM to use the facilities. When I went outside I noticed that the cloud cover was even denser than before and knew then that I wouldn’t be getting the picture of myself with the lava background that I had climbed the volcano to get. Oh well.

The trip down the next morning was relatively faster but certainly no easier, at least not at first. Overall the climb was difficult but quite doable. The last kilometre or two are fairly tough because you’re tired, it gets steeper and the air is getting thinner with the increased altitude. I didn’t have a particularly hard time. Having spent two months one mile above sea level probably helped acclimatise me to the altitude somewhat.

The one disappointment was not getting the picture that I so wanted. I guess I’ll have to continue being jealous of Herman and Christina. Chantal mentioned that I still had plenty of time left in Goma and could do it again but at $200 a pop, and the better part of a weekend, I don’t think I will. Besides, there is no guarantee that the weather will be any better. Nonetheless it was a fabulous experience. Not many people can say that they have looked down into the crater of an active volcano.