1889 Hans Meyer, Ludwig Purtscheller and Yohani Lauwo Mount Kilimanjaro Historic First Ascent Expedition

Germany🏔️ 1 Peak

Hans Meyer

Hans Heinrich Joseph Meyer was born on March 22, 1858, in Hildburghausen, Germany, the son of the noted publisher Herrmann Julius Meyer (founder of Bibliographisches Institut and publisher of Meyer's Konversations-Lexikon). Meyer studied history, geography, and political economy at Leipzig, Berlin, and Strasbourg, obtaining his doctorate in 1881 before dedicating his life to scientific expeditions across Asia, North America, and East Africa. In 1887, Meyer mounted his first expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro in German East Africa, reaching the base of Kibo's icy crown at 5,500 metres before being stopped by a vertical ice wall for which he lacked technical ice gear. In 1888, his second attempt with cartographer Oscar Baumann was violently disrupted by the Abushiri Revolt on the coast; both men were captured, held hostage, and ransomed for a staggering 10,000 rupees. Undaunted, Meyer returned in 1889 with celebrated Austrian alpine purist Ludwig Purtscheller, engaging local Chagga headman Yohani Kinyala Lauwo and sixteen Swahili and Chagga porters. On October 6, 1889, after carving an encampment at 4,300 metres on the Saddle, Meyer and Purtscheller reached the southern crater rim and the supreme summit crest, naming it Kaiser-Wilhelm-Spitze (now Uhuru Peak, 5,895 m). Meyer returned in 1898 to conduct extensive photographic and glaciological surveys of the Kibo crater, documenting tropical glacial recession that remains foundational to modern climate science. He passed away on July 5, 1929, revered as one of the preeminent geographic explorers of his generation.

Austria🏔️ 1 Peak

Ludwig Purtscheller

Ludwig Purtscheller was born on October 6, 1849, in Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria. A gymnastics instructor by profession, Purtscheller dedicated every holiday and vacation to the high mountains, cultivating exceptional physical conditioning, endurance, and an unyielding commitment to climbing without commercial guides. Over his lifetime, he recorded ascents of more than 1,600 peaks across the Alps, including dozens of daring new routes in the Dolomites and Western Alps. In 1889, Hans Meyer recognized that conquering the glaciated volcanic crown of Mount Kilimanjaro required the finest alpine ice climber available in Europe, and invited Purtscheller to join his third expedition. Purtscheller's master-level ice axe technique proved decisive: on October 6, 1889 (his 40th birthday), Purtscheller cut continuous steps up the steep blue ice wall of the Ratzel Glacier on Kibo's eastern flank, enabling the party to breach the crater rim and reach the 5,895-metre summit of Kaiser-Wilhelm-Spitze. Purtscheller's technical notes and physiological observations of high-altitude exertion were published across European alpine journals, cementing his reputation as a visionary pioneer who fused physical education with purest alpine ethics. Tragically, in 1899, while descending the Aiguille du Dru in Chamonix, a snow bridge collapsed, causing an anchor failure; Purtscheller survived the fall but succumbed to pneumonia during recovery in Bern on March 3, 1900.

Tanzania🏔️ 1 Peak

Mzee Yohani Lauwo

Yohani Kinyala Lauwo was born circa 1871 in the village of Marangu on the fertile southern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. As a young Chagga herdsman and honey-hunter, Lauwo possessed an intimate understanding of the dense mist-laden rainforests, high moorlands, and volcanic scree slopes of the great mountain, known locally as Oldoinyo Oibor (the White Mountain). In September 1889, German explorer Hans Meyer arrived in Marangu seeking local guides capable of navigating the uncharted upper reaches of Kibo. Village elders designated the nimble, fearless 18-year-old Lauwo to lead the reconnaissance caravan. Clothed in blankets and often walking barefoot over jagged volcanic scree, Lauwo guided Meyer, Purtscheller, and headman Mwini Amani past the upper limit of vegetation onto the high arid Saddle and up the eastern scree ramps. Lauwo guided the European climbers to their high bivouac and accompanied the summit push to the crater rim at what is today Gilman's Point. Following the historic 1889 ascent, Lauwo dedicated the next seven decades of his life to guiding scientific and recreational expeditions up Kilimanjaro, serving as the revered chief guide of the Marangu Hotel until his retirement in his late eighties. When Kilimanjaro National Park celebrated the mountain's centenary in 1989, Lauwo was honored by the Tanzanian government as a living national treasure. He passed away peacefully in Marangu on May 10, 1996, at the age of approximately 124–125.