Yustus Aribariho doesn’t regard himself as an adrenaline junkie- but away from his busy schedule, as a global banker- he has done some adrenaline-rising stuff. He has jumped out of the plane, you can call it skydiving if you like. He has also cycled over 600km from Singapore to Malaysia and run over 15 marathons across the globe.
But he had never done, what in his words, he describes as “excruciatingly sweet” as climbing the Rwenzori Mountains. Excruciating because it is a tough 7-day hike from 1,450 metres above sea level- through various difficulty levels and harsh terrains- to 5,109 metres above sea level and at sub-zero temperatures. But the whole experience is sweet- visually, physiologically and emotionally and etches indescribable memories on your brain.
“I have done a couple of crazy things, but this was the most challenging experience of my lifetime,” Yustus told CEO East Africa Magazine in an online interview.
“I must say this has been the most excruciating experience of my life so far. The most challenging this I have ever done,” he adds.
Christened the ‘Mountains of the Moon by the Alexandrine geographer Ptolemy in AD 150, the fabled Mountains of the Moon is part of a larger 120km-long and 65km-wide Rwenzori Mountains range, on the western Uganda border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The range consists of six massifs (mountain blocks) separated by deep gorges, namely: Mount Stanley, the highest of them all (5,109 metres); Mount Speke (4,890 metres); Mount Baker (4,843 metres); Mount Emin (4,798 metres); Mount Gessi(4,715 metres) and Mount Luigi di Savoia (4,627 metres).
Mount Stanley, is the third highest mountain in Africa, after Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya.
Mount Stanley has several subsidiary summits/peaks, with Margherita Peak (5,109 metres) being the highest point. Some of the other prominent peaks on Mt. Stanley are Alexandra Peak (5,090 metres), Albert Peak (5,087 metres), and Savoia, which was renamed Cheptegei (4,977 meters). Others are Ellena (4,968 metres), Elizabeth (4,929 metres), Phillip (4,920 metres), Möbius (4,916 metres) and Great Tooth (4,603 metres).
With its five overlapping vegetation zones― the evergreen forest zone (up to 2,800 metres); the bamboo zone (2,800 to 3,300 metres); the heather zone (3,000 to 3,800 metres); the alpine zone (3,500 to 4,500 metres); and, the nival zone (4,400 to 5,000 metres), the Rwenzoris, offer hikers one of the rarest climbing experiences.
At higher elevations, some plants reach an enormous size, such as the giant lobelia and groundsels, thus the term “Africa’s botanical big game” for some of these rare vegetations. The spectacular snow-capped peaks and glaciers, melt into fast-flowing rivers, that squeeze into V-shaped valleys and narrow gorges, emerging as magnificent waterfalls that feed the clear blue lakes that dot the surreal, boggy Afro-alpine moorlands downstream. The montane forests that form the lower part of the mountains are also home to threatened species such as the African forest elephant, eastern chimpanzee, L’Hoest’s monkey and the very rare and endangered Rwenzori black-fronted duiker.
The entire Rwenzori Mountains National Park- an expanse of nearly 100,000 ha is home to 70 mammals and 217 birds; 19 of which are endemic to the Albertine Rift.
Climbing the different massifs and their respective peaks presents a unique experience. Julian Wright, a South African climber and the proprietor of Kenya-based African Ascents Ltd, is the only human being on record, that has climbed at least 8 peaks on one expedition- in 7 days, to be exact.
Describing the Rwenzori Mountains- Julian Wright, one of Africa’s renowned mountaineers, that has among other mountains, climbed Mt. Kenya, Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Everest, described the mountain as an “incredible resource” whose “sheer diversity” is “breathtaking.”
“The glaciers on the Rwenzoris are very unique. They are a lot bigger than any other glaciers in East Africa. The sheer ecological diversity is mind-blowing,” he said, adding: “Everything here seems to be three times as big. The plants are bigger, everything is so lush, there’s so much life, and it is truly unique.”
Julian says that although the Rwenzori is the 3rd highest in Africa, it provided a more fulfilling climbing experience.
“I’ve been guiding and hiking, and I’ve been in the outdoors business for a very long time, but the vastness of the Rwenzoris is just breathtaking,” Julian reckoned.
And Yustus agrees with him.
“I would, any day encourage anyone out there looking for a tough challenge to try Rwenzori Mountains. It is very important that they come and see the beauty of this mountain. It is such a beautiful place. I couldn’t believe where I was. I could not believe that we were on top of this beautiful place that is surrounded by huge, beautiful vegetation, wonderful snow and beautiful blue skies. Absolutely amazing,” Yustus recounts.
Reflections on the Mountain
Yustus had for almost 10 years, had the Rwenzori Mountains on his bucket list but for some reason, he postponed it every time. It was not until mid, this year when a group of hikers, that included his three friends, along with other climbers made it to the top of the Rwenzoris and back- in one piece, that Yustus decided it was time to go up the mountain.
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He then reached out to other friends and word went around and a few more people expressed interest.
“That is how we put the team together and started planning the great climb,” Yustus adds.
Yustus’ climbing team was led by ‘Captain’ McLeen Berunga a seasoned hiker.
“She was the first to respond and mobilised other team members. Since she had hiked Mt Kenya, Kilimanjaro, Elgon and some others, I was confident that we will pull this off,” Yustus recalls, adding: “We ended up as a team of eight- 3 ladies including McLeen Berunga, Viola Nuwaha and Madeleine Nuwagaba and 5 gentlemen i.e, myself, Sam Sewaggude, Brian Musisi, Patrick Lassu and David Omoding. All are seasoned hikers. No wonder we had a 100% summit record which according to the guides is a very rare statistic”.
Yustus is the Global Head, Digital Platforms at Standard Chartered Bank. He is based in Dubai and oversees the bank’s design and development of digital utility platforms as well as collaborates with the various country digital banking segments and product heads, to strengthen the bank’s digital capabilities as well as the revenue potential therefrom.
Even though he, being a Ugandan, is back home for Christmas, we asked him what inspired him to curve out 7 days of his leave to climb the Rwenzoris.
He candidly says it was much more than just adventure.
“As human beings, we need time for self-reflection. Thinking through life, especially when complacency starts setting in. When you feel you are on top of your game and things are working out for you, sometimes you tend to sit back and relax. So I just wanted to do a bit of self-reflection and self-searching and thinking through things and how life is going, generally,” he says.
He also adds that climbing mountains has a lot of lessons to teach about work and leadership.
“When you are faced with huge challenges as huge as climbing a mountain, you need to call on your inner person. Such real-life experiences help you understand how best to organise your inner strengths and qualities,” he adds.
The third reason, he says is more personal.
“I also want to set a few examples and challenges and inspire my young family to do better. I always want to set a few examples that show them that they can achieve greater things if they stretch their limits- after all, limits are self-imposed. I hope achieved that,” says an elated Yustus.
“I am proud to say that I have achieved all three, by summiting to the top of the Rwenzoris and being on top of the highest point in Uganda, and the third highest in Africa,” adds Yustus.
He believes that the Rwenzori Mountains experience is an undersold gem that holds a lot of potential.
He also says there is a need for significant improvements on the trail, to make the experience world-class.
“I would like to call out the Uganda Wild Authority (UWA) and Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) to who are in charge of tourism and the Rwenzori National Park- the facilities along the course, especially the camps, need a lot of improvement. For a hiker, after putting in a lot of energy hiking the entire day, the least you expect is a better place to spend a night with good lighting, a clean environment and good toilet facilities. There is some work to do there, especially at Camp Elena, just before you start the final hike. The place is really tough to stay in,” he says.
“There are some improvements they can do around the course- the boggy areas- from John Matte Hut- Bujuku Hut. I know the intention is to give the hiker a raw experience of the Rwenzoris, but I believe that too can be improved- in some of those areas. Just like some boardwalks have been put in some areas, I think we can do some improvement more. The more urgent and critical area is improving the facilities in the camps,” he says.
“But overall, hiking the Rwenzori Mountains, is a great experience, that I would encourage everyone to do in their lifetime,” Yustus concludes.
