The Mountain Club of Uganda dates as far back as 1945 when it started as the Uganda section of the East African Mountain a Club in the Geography room of Makerere College by Rene Bere, its aim then which has been sustained to date was to explore and promote the Mountaineering activities of Rock Climbing, Hill Walking, and Ice Climbing within Uganda, the members then took the effort to document their experiences and findings to help the future generations.
In 1950 it became the Mountain Club of Uganda through this period in time it received grants from the colonial government then built a circuit of Huts on the Rwenzori ranges, one on Mount Elgon and one on Mount Muhavura, it was involved in organizing expeditions in schools for the youngsters and it made revenue from the Huts it had build and it was virtually responsible for managing the paths and the infrastructure in the Mountains of Uganda then.
In 1972 the club published the “ Guide to the Rwenzori ” written by Henry Osmaston and David Pasteur which became an exclusive encyclopedia of the Ranges, and the book sold like hot cakes and went out of print, such that it took 34 years to have the book revised, as I write this article the book is now available for sale and the copyright remains that of the authors, and the proceeds from the sale benefit the Rwenzori Trust which is aimed at supporting Ugandans carry out research on the Mountains in Uganda.
Right from its inception the club had been dominated by mostly expatriates (read mzungus) with a few Ugandans such that in 1976 after many of them had left the club collapsed, the Huts it had built on Mount Elgon and Mount Muhavura were vandalized to total extinction, and those on Rwenzori became dilapidated due to poor maintenance.
In 1987 Peter Penfold who was then the Deputy British High Commissioner took efforts to resuscitate the Club and this was fully implemented by Terry Nickelson, the author of this article and David Peary who had succeeded Penfold at the British High Commision, it became active again and organized expeditions for Rock Climbing, Hill Walking on a regular basis.
The expeditions to Rwenzori had the most popular demand as the ranges had already sold themselves; the activities of the Club were used as a spring board by the members to prepare themselves for the expedition to Rwenzori. In 1991 the Rwenzori ranges were gazetted as a National Park this was followed by Mount Elgon and Mount Muhavura in 1993 the Rwenzori Mountaineering Services was then given a Concession to manage the Huts, Footpaths and Porte rage services on the Rwenzori so the influence of the Club was greatly reduced.
However it continued to organize expeditions to other Mountains like Moroto Napak, and Kadam for Hill walking and to Nakasongola, Kungu, Amiel, Nsiita, Kyungu, for Rock Climbing, the membership turn over was once again very high because of the domination by expatriates, the few Ugandans who were interested did a low profile as they were inhibited by the costs for Mountaineering activities are expensive in terms of Equipment, time and charges, they could not sustain their participation with out subsidy or sponsorship.
Presently the activities of the Club are low key, as most of the peoples interests are centered on trying the Rwenzori and or Elgon once in a lifetime thereafter they call it quits, others prefer joining expeditions when they are due, the challenge remains to get people who are ready to preoccupy their leisure time in the Mountaineering activities.
Mountaineering is the skilled movement of people across a slope or any inclined plane of 30 to 90 degrees, it requires a lot of physical fitness, quick thinking to enable one to act fast in case of a hazard, and a high level of perseverance, then an element of fear and caution so that you can exercise the high amount of safety in the course of doing the activities. Mountains provide dangers and risks, and it is ones ability to scale these mountains while avoiding the risks and dangers therein that brings rewards and satisfaction.
The Rwenzori ranges offers the challenges for the mountaineer being a Block Mountain with a permanent snowline, all the activities of Hill walking, Rock Climbing, and Ice Climbing are available at your disposal. On top of the physical fitness, you need to acquire the basic skills on how to use the Rope, the Legs, and the other Limbs, when tackling the steep gradients, and the climbing aides of an Ice axe, Crampons, and Figure 8 descenders, to have a smooth and easy ascent, with temperatures up to 19 C and below 0 C at the snowline, warm clothing’s are very essential, and you need to take a good diet (foods) that will give you the required energy.
The Mountain Club of Uganda meets every second Thursdays of the month at the Athina Club House to plan expeditions and share experiences, however members are expected to contribute to the planning and organization, then share the costs involved. It is not the game of one person organizing and the others to pay and participate.
Deo Lubega, is the current Treasurer of the Club and he served as Hon Secretary of the Club
