National Geographic

T MINUS SIX MONTHSPLOTTING THECOURSEI was invited to photo-graph a group of Germangeologists who were usingvery detailed GPS readingsto measure how tectonic-plate movement is shiftingthe Rwenzori Mountains.Months before our depar-ture I bought waterproofclothing and bags to pro-tect my equipment fromthe wet climate. Then weplanned our strategy. Therange is on the border ofUganda and the Dem-ocratic Republic of theCongo. At my urging theteam decided to travel onthe Ugandan side to avoidrebel activity in the DRC.##### ALL-TERRAIN CLIMBT MINUS TWO WEEKSESSENTIALPACKING LISTAt the base of MountBaker, the temperaturewas in the 80s. As weclimbed, it became cold,wet, windy—and thensnowy. We went fromsweating to freezing injust a few days.- A warm sleeping bag- Four waterproof bags- A GPS device- Chocolate (not enough)- Polarizing filter for camera lens to diffuse the mountain light- A backup hard drive for downloading photos every night- Aspirin for altitude sicknessT MINUS 48 HOURSREADY FORLAUNCHClimbing to sucha high altitude in theRwenzoris was a dream,and I couldn’t wait toget there. I flew frommy home in Panama toNew York, then on toAmsterdam and finallyto Entebbe, Uganda.I met the geologiststhere, and we drovetogether to the westernborder. In a town at thebase of the RwenzoriMountains, we arrangedfor 15 porters and cooks,as well as one armedguard, to accompany usup Mount Baker.``````STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTIAN ZIEGLERAS TOLD TO NINA STROCHLIC``````‘ AS WE CLIMBED, THEVEGETATION KEPT CHANGING:FROM TROPICAL RAIN FORESTTO MOUNTAIN FOREST TOOPEN GRASSLAND.’—Christian Zieglermeasure how the Rwenzori mountain range is shifting.NGM MAPS