Father and son take on Mount Kilimanjaro

Father and son duo, Jason and Gabriel Baynes, who are Kyalami residents, consider themselves adventure thrill-seekers and shared their experience of climbing to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.

While Baynes has climbed the mountain three times, this was the first time his son took on the challenge. “My 12-year-old son and I [climbed to] Uhuru Peak which is 5 895m above sea [level], the highest peak in Africa, on 12 August at 8.45am. We were really excited to have conquered the treacherous mountain,” Baynes said.

“I have done mountaineering for a long time now and because Gabriel showed an interest in the [summiting] mountain this year, I felt that I should be by his side when he does.”

Baynes added that his son has been wanting to climb the mountain since he was nine years old. “I felt that Gabriel had the right temperament to conquer the mountain as he started training through his school’s altitude climbs which he started a year ago,” the supportive father said.

“Gabriel, who is a St Peter’s pupil, was one of the youngest South Africans to have [summited] and the youngest child [to do so] this year. It took 10 hours and 30 minutes to summit and return to Kibo Camp, which sits at the base of the mountain.”

The pair climbed with a group of 15 people including two guides from Adventure Dynamics, which specialises in organising mountain and trekking logistics and guided mountaineering expeditions worldwide; along with Sean Disney, who is the first South African to complete the Explorers Grand Slam and has climbed Mount Everest twice.

Baynes explained that they took the less frequented Rongai route from the Kenyan side of the mountain which started at about 1 400m above sea level, moving to Mawensi Tarn Camp and onto the advanced base camp at Kibo.

“In the morning, after leaving Kibo at 12pm midnight on 12 August, after seven days on the mountain, we finally got back to Kibo at 10.30am after a successful summit. We slept for two hours and proceeded a further 20 kilometres to Mandara Camp for a short rest before heading back to the rangers station at the base of the mountain and into Moshi for a shower and good night’s rest in a hotel.”

He added that after the adventure, Gabriel was now more confident and no longer relied on his mom and dad. “For a child his age to summit was quite interesting to witness, and I believe that my son sees himself in a different light now.”