Kilimanjaro,
the roof of Africa, at 5 895m. Who
has never heard of the snows of Kilimanjaro? Back
in high school, one of Bernard's teachers taught
him that Kilimanjaro is the mountain with the
greatest variety of plant life between its base
and its summit. That was enough to spark his curiosity,
and Bernard and Nathalie travelled there in December
1998. The mountain is located in Tanzania,and
climbers set out on their expedition from the
midst of the jungle.
Vines, giant ferns, apes, humidity, verdant
greenery all give way to shrubs and grasses
one thousand metres higher. Then the vegetation
turns to alpine flowers and lichens, in an increasingly
rocky landscape.
Higher
still, glaciers surround the summit off in the
distance. Their goal was to set up their tent
in a crater at 5 700m, near a glacier, so
as to reach the summit in time to see the sun
rise over the African plain. They took the most
difficult route, leading them day after day toward
the crater. The last leg of the climb was in the
middle of the night and, alone with two African
companions, they admired
the sunrise on December 21, 1998.
