Sri Lanka - Adam's Peak
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We were unsure about attempting to climb Adam’s Peak. I had asked a few people who had done it, and some that hadn’t. All said it was unlikely that Toby or Ethan would be able to get to the summit (2,243 meters, 7,359 ft). Part of the uncertainty was what elevation we would start at and how cold it would be at the top – people said it would be very cold and the guide book said that there could be leeches (preventable by rubbing tiger balm on your legs). Added to this, Ethan’s shoes (Keens) had a strap broken, and Carmen had no walking shoes; although she had seven other different types. Still, there are plenty of shoe fixers who could fix the strap, and we heard it might be possible to have someone carry Ethan to the top. Carmen could buy some walking shoes in Kandy. In the end however, we decided that only Toby and I should go, based on the difficulty that certain members of the family have in getting up early.
We had mentioned to Toby the possibility of climbing Adam’s Peak some days previous and he had at once seemed very keen. From then on, we used it as bait to keep him well behaved, saying “Ok, no Adam’s Peak for you”, and he always responded well. We ended up pushing the trip to Adam’s Peak back by two or three days so by the time we got to base camp in Dalhousie, he was chomping at the bit.
It took longer than expected to get from Kandy to Dalhousie – a very windy road, but beautiful tea plantations along the way. We stopped at a place called Zesta on the way there and the way back, just before Hatton, which served excellent lunch and tea.
Our driver “Somay” stopped at one hotel in Dalhousie, but we declined it in favour of being closer to down town which is also the starting point for Adam’s Peak. We regretted it soon after, when a few minutes after check in, the town speakers began blaring prayers and music continuously until around 10 p.m. Nevertheless, we all managed to get to sleep well before that, setting the alarm for a 2 a.m. start.
I woke about 1:45 a.m. from some noisy neighbors shouting and packed the items I had set aside for our trip. Although there were stalls along the route, I was unsure how far up the mountain they went, so had packed six packs of Milo (chocolate milk), five marmite sandwiches, chocolate, and windy/wet weather gear. Additionally, I had bought a fleece hat and two pairs of gloves from the local market, which was well stocked with cold weather gear.
It wasn’t difficult to wake Toby and get him going for the climb, although I had anticipated some resistance. He still seemed keen, even at this hour. Soon we were outside the door, heading up the mountain with a carton of chocolate milk each. The market outside still had some shops open, but there didn’t seem to be too many people heading up and I wondered if we had started too early. Eventually a school group formed and we trailed behind them. They stopped at the first Buddhist temple and we kept going slowly up the trail. Stalls on each side lined the trail and some of the shops were just opening, and some shop owners were sleeping in chairs outside. After a quick stop at a Samahan (ayurvedic tea) stall, a Dutch man caught up to us and told us about his application to VSO, a British voluntary organization. Eventually he walked on ahead and we began to meet some more locals going up, many of them in bare feet and some carrying newly born babies. There were many pilgrims coming down the mountain, some of them slowly, or sitting to rest or sleep, and some flying down at full pelt. The trail was very well lit and we didn’t need a head torch or flashlight at any time on our journey. There didn’t seem to be any kids that were Toby’s age (6) on the trail.
We walked quite slowly, and about every half hour I gave Toby something to drink or eat. We tried not to rest for too long at any point, as that makes moving again more difficult. The trail became steeper and eventually I needed to use the rails to help pull me up. The trail was easy to follow and there was never a danger of getting lost. Toby was enthusiastic the entire time, encouraging me to walk faster and telling me that I could do it. Although it was dark, the views got steadily better as we climbed, but surprisingly it didn’t get much colder until just before the top. We passed a lot of people who had earlier sped past us and then taken rests, prompting me to recount the story of the “Tortoise and the Hare”. There were old people in their seventies making their way and I wondered if they would ever make it when the going got steeper. I had planned for us to get there by sunrise, but we arrived an hour early at 5 a.m., so had to find a place among the throngs of people at the summit temple to sit and wait. It looked as if some people had spent the entire night sleeping at the top. Luckily there was plenty of shelter from the wind. Toby and I put on our wind proof gear and sat down, but he still complained about the cold, so I gave him the iTouch to distract him. This proved effective. About 45 minutes later, we moved to a higher spot near the summit and watched the sunrise with two Buddhist monks, and a policeman who told me to keep my camera pointed away from the temple. Toby was elated with having reached the summit.
After sunrise and the obligatory photos of the mountain’s triangular shadow, the temperature began to rise quickly and leaving the summit became difficult as a large throng started to descend, and others just began to arrive. Soon we broke past the bottleneck, took our jackets off and descended more quickly. Surprisingly, it took us two hours to get back down -- it was especially jarring on the knees to go down the very steep stairs. I neglected to give Toby any drink or food toward the end and he started to flag, only to revive once he saw Carmen and Ethan coming up the trail toward us. We were both very happy to see them and Toby eagerly recounted our adventure.
If we were to do it again, I would probably leave at 2:30 or 3:00 a.m. carrying less food and water, buying it on the trail instead; prices were a little higher, but not exorbitant. We carried the right amount of cold weather gear, but only needed it because we got there earlier. There didn’t seem to be any chance of rain and although it was cloudy in the evening, the sky was completely clear of cloud during the night. All in all an excellent experience though, especially for Toby, who is now keen to climb more mountains.