This summary provides a quick overview and easy access to information
on the peaks climbed on my trip to the Rwenzori in Uganda.
The climbing routes are described under each peak, a complete Trip Report with many pictures is also available.
The Rwenzori mountains first appeared on a map by the ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy when he
speculated that the source of the Nile was some snow capped mountains in the middle
of Africa. Ptolemy called these mountains Mountains of the Moon.
In the late 19th. century an intense period of exploration of the east and central Africa began.
One important objective was still to identify the sources of the great river Nile.
Henry Stanley is credited with first sighting these mountains in 1888. He had already quite a bit
earlier decided to name these mysterious mountains the Rwenzori.
The Rwenzori is situated along the border between Congo and Uganda, with most of the mountains
being within Uganda territory. The mountain range consists of 3 central groups and 3 somewhat
more outlying groups. The central groups are named Mount Stanley, Mount Speke and Mount Baker.
The highest peak within each of these groups are Margherita Peak, Vittorio Emanuele Peak and
Edward Peak, respectively.
However, the summit sign on each of the three highest peaks as well as common language among the local
guides and porters have ended up naming the three peaks Margherita Peak, Mount Speke
and Mount Baker, respectively. As this has turned into common use, we will also use these names below.
The Rwenzori is a national park and it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.
| Date | Height | Name | Primary factor | Vertical hiked |
| January 2 | 4890 m | Mount Speke | 730 m | 935 m |
| January 4 | 5109 m | Margherita Peak | 3951 m | 3507 m |
| January 5 | 4844 m | Mount Baker | 474 m | 849 m |
| 9 days | ****** | 3 peaks | 5155 m | 5291 m |
Copyright Petter Bjørstad, 2009-2010, photos also by Rob Woodall.
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