Ol'donyo Lengai

Photo by Delph

Details

Elevation (feet):	9500
Elevation (meters):	2896
Continent:	Africa
Country:	Tanzania
Difficulty:	Scramble
Best months for climbing:	Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
First successful climber(s):	Unsure
Nearest major airport:	Kilimanjaro
Convenient Center:	Moshe

Thanks to Paul Cameron for adding this peak.

The only active volcano in the world that erupts a rock called Carbonatite. When the volcano erupts, the

lava rapidly solidifies and after a day or so, turns a gray white colour, and the peak looks like it is capped

in snow. The mountain borders on the western edge of the great rift valley, about 10km from Lake Natron.

From the summit, you can see Kilimanjaro to the east and Ngorongoro crater to the west. Start the climb

at 3am and you get to see the sun rise, and the shadow cast from the mountain goes as far as the eye

can see across the Serengeti plains. Once you get to the top, you see why the local Massai tribe

believe it is the home of their God, Ngai. A shallow crater filled with recently solidified lava that has oozed

like molten chocolate, with cracks and fumaroles emitting blasts of scorching, sulfurous air. The time I

climbed the Mountain of God, we fronted the rim of the crater, and at that moment, a blast from deep within

the mountain shook the ground and smoke came out of a fumarole. Ngai was telling us to walk with

respect. The lava was so fresh, it melted the soles of my boots. Someone once remarked that because

the lava on Lengai was so unusual on Lengai, it came out at a temperature of 700 degrees

Celsius. If you

broke through the surface and fell in the molten pool that was under your feet, you would have time to

scream before you died !

Thanks to Paul Cameron for this description.