A group of German mountaineers from the company DAV Summit Club opened a new own route to the highest peak in Africa. One of the leading guide of company Thomas Laemmle in 2008 made a reconnaissance of the route and studied aerial photos. At the end of October 2009 he, together with 8 clients, three local guides and a representative of the national park has opened a new route, named Thomas Glacier Route. It goes to the crater of Kilimanjaro from the west side, via the Credner glacier
After closing in 2005, Route Western Breach Route, there were only two ways to the crater of Kilimanjaro: Barafu and Kibo Hut. German guide Thomas Laemmle decided to add a third route, and from that intention a cool business idea. First, Thomas had studied carefully maps and aerial photography, then he made a short exploration of the route. Then DAV Summit Club began collecting a group clients. The group consisted of eight clients, plus Thomas, plus three Tanzanian guides. In this company, they went to acclimatize to the peak of Meru and then went to the camp Baranco, where they were joined by the chief ecologist of the National Park Kilimanjaro Ephraim Mvangomo.
27th of October 2009 Thomas Laemmle together with a local guide Dismas Marika carried out reconnaissance of crux of the route, the rock wall and the ridge leading to the Credner glacier. There a rope was fixed (25 meters) and placed two pitons. Next day the entire group climbed Lava Tower Camp at an altitude of 4650 meters. Here they are well rested and at 23:30 with the full moon came out on the ascent. A way to the tongue of the Credner Glacier took seven hours. The route on the glacier was not easy, dried ice was in the form of calgaspor. After two hours of climbing the glacier, the team rested for a bit and then left to traverse to the ice massif of Nothern Icefields. The ascent on it went by 10-meter ice wall. The final part was a climb from the crater to Bhuru Peak by a mixed couloir and approximately at 16:00 climbers reached the highest point of Kilimanjaro.
At 9 p.m., after 22 hours of work, the group came to Camp Millennium. The next day, the climbers treked to the Marangu gate, where the National Park has formalized their ascent as a new route. It was named on behalf of the initiator - "Thomas Glacier Route".
