Our friends at the Children’s Trust have sent in the following message, which reminds us to say a huge thank you to everyone who sponsored us and contributed to this wonderful charity….
“Well done Kili Warriors!! What a fantastic achievement – thank you so much for taking on the Challenge and raising money for The Children’s Trust. (Over £16000 – wow!!). Hope you have all recovered now.”
A selection of our photos will be posted under the Photos tab when we’ve got our act together. In the meantime here we are at the summit – is Andrew standing on a rock?
Our foreboding of last night’s camp proved to be well placed. We now understand why rainforests are so named, as the skies opened late at night and our tents were bombarded and, in Peter’s case, drowned by a wall of water. Undeterred, the porters decided to have a party which seemed to start at 2.30am and went on all night. Net result, no sleep and a 6am wakeup call.
However, your team was determined to get off the mountain and once packed we started the final three hour downhill trek. Except we were in a hurry and decided to run. Through deep mud. As fast as we could. So three hours turned into two, the only disappointment being that all of us missed David taking a tumble into a particularly thick patch of brown.
For the first time on the trek we were overtaking the (slightly surprised) porters and in no time the park gate came into view. We signed the register, had our boots cleaned for a dollar by some locals and did the tipping ceremony, which was a lot of singing and dancing and certificate giving.
In fairly short order the Kiliwarriors bus arrived and off we went, dropping Scott and Katie near the airport and heading back to Arusha where we now sit, in the hotel, the waiters briefed to keep the Kilimanjaro Premium Lager coming……
We insisted on a late start today, and were woken at 8am. Today was a descent from 16,000 to 10,000 feet starting in the alpine desert where nothing much lives or grows, passing through the heather zone and finally back down into the forest.
It was a strange sensation walking down into a cloud from above and, as we did, so our view of Kili’s snow covered peak disappeared for good.
The walk was monotonous, wet and perilously slippery but after four hours we arrived at camp which can only be described as Glastonbury on steroids. There’s mud everywhere. Feeling fit, we asked the guides if we could carry on and do tomorrow’s three hour trek to the park gate today to avoid staying here, but logistics were too difficult, so here we are.
At this altitude we can move around at normal pace without feeling out of breath, and we know that only one more night in a tent separates us from a hot bath, a comfortable bed and a cold beer (or two)…..
This was the day we had been excited about, and secretly quite scared of, for some time. The Western Breach. This route up the last main stretch of the mountain was made possible a long time ago when a huge section of the West side of Kilimanjaro sheared off, leaving a scree and boulder strewn slope which today we were going to climb.
The day started excrutiatingly early with a 4am wake up call, although I doubt many of us were asleep. It was bitterly cold and we had to get ready and eat quickly for a 5am start. Fortunately Peter and Adam had expensively-acquired down jackets which kept them nice and toasty. The others had five or more layers on to keep them warm.
Wearing helmets to protect against rockfalls and headlamps to light the way, we started the climb, pole pole, lit by the full moon. We zig-zagged up the scree slope, the mountain still towering above us, the camp slowly receding below.
After a couple of hours the sun, rising behind the mountain, started to illuminate the horizon. This meant two things: we would be getting warmer soon (fingers and toes were all numb up to now) but when the sunlight hits the breach and the ground starts to thaw, the chance of rockfalls increases. There was a greater sense of urgency in our guides voices, and no more water breaks, as we crossed the “danger zone” where rockfalls are most likely, as the receding shadow of the mountain chased us up the slope.
At last we reached safety but it was clear that the breach and the altitude were taking its toll. We were all tired, Adam felt like there was nothing left in the tank and Alex the American was now lagging far behind, his face getting puffy as AMS started to take hold.
Urging each other on, we now faced a steep climb, sometimes scramble, up a rocky staircase to reach the crater rim. I don’t know how long this took, it felt interminable – every time we reached what looked like the top, another rockface revealed itself. Eventually we made it to the crater rim and a much needed hot drink and biscuit. Little did we know, this ordeal was just a taster for what was to come.
It was a short and flat walk to Crater Camp, inside the volcanic crater. I can only describe this place as unworldly. Huge in area, underfoot was volcanic sand – I imagine the moon must be like this – but rising out of the sand in various places were enormous glaciers, the light shining blue through the ice which must be thousands of years old.
By now it was clear that Alex was in bad shape and the group as a whole faced a decision. Do we stick to the plan, rest this afternoon and camp in this frigid god-forsaken place at 18,500 feet, or do we push on to the summit and then descend to 16,000 feet where Alex had a better chance of feeling better?
Andrew and Adam were both feeling extremely nauseous by now and there was a strong feeling that camping in the crater would not be good for any of us. We were going to have to haul our exhausted bodies to the top, then start the descent.
We broke for lunch at the camp, chicken noodle soup working wonders, then started to prepare for the climb to the summit. Another steep scree slope faced us. Walking very very slowly now, we inched our way up, eventually reaching the summit plateau, covered in snow. We could now see the sign at the summit and we knew we were going to make it. Stopping a few feet short of the summit to let Alex catch up, all seven of us arrived at the roof of Africa at the same moment.
It was an emotional moment – lots of hugs, high fives with the guides and porters and a few tears too. It occurred to me that for seven days we had been gazing upwards, looking at the next stage of the climb, at the snow covered peak. Now there was nothing to look up to. It was done.
Next it was photo time. Every combination of Brits, Americans, father and daughter, guides and porters was duly snapped.
Taking a final few moments to take in the view – Tanzania on one side, Kenya on the other, before long it was time to go. We had been blessed with fine clear weather and we had the summit to ourselves. It couldn’t have been better.
The descent, however, is something we all want to forget very quickly. A muscle-burning slide down endless scree slopes, at times it felt like skiing without skis. It just went on and on and on. We passed many people who were still on their way to the summit, many of whom didn’t look well at all. One guy, who was with a group we had met at Arrow Glacier Camp, had lost his group and was clearly suffering from advanced AMS – he was confused and disoriented, standing at the side of the path shaking everyone’s hand as they went by. I doubt he knew who or where he was. Our guides were excellent and shepherded him down to camp to reunite with his group.
After two hours and 3,000 feet of descent we reached camp exhausted, very dusty but elated. After a subdued meal, and setting a new benchmark for early nights, a day which had gone off the charts was over.
We’re delighted to report that Peter has made a dramatic recovery – increasing his Diamox (anti-AMS drug) has worked a treat and he was hungry at dinner and cracking jokes as usual. Buoyed by this and England’s traditional skin of the teeth qualification for the second round, your team are in high spirits. We had been hoping to listen to the England match on a radio borrowed from the porters but the BBC World Service were broadcasting commentary of the USA v Algeria game in Swahili – good to see the licence fee being well spent…..
Anyway, the night was windy and we woke to a bitterly cold morning. There is a palpable sense of excitement as we near the final few days and with Peter fit, we all feel optimistic of summiting.
Today’s climb was to Arrow Glacier Camp at 16,000 feet which was a dusty and at times steep trek. We finished in under three hours, arriving in time for lunch in the camp. We also have the best mobile reception so far, so this blog should now be up to date.
The afternoon is being spent resting ahead of the big day tomorrow. We will be woken at 4am and will be on the move at 5am to tackle the Western Breach, a steep face of the mountain, part covered in glacier. This is where a number of climbers died a few years ago when they were hit by a rockfall, so we leave early to ensure everything is frozen in place and we’ll be wearing helmets for the first part of the climb. It’ll be dark of course as well so we’ll be navigating by headtorch although the moon will be almost full and the starry sky should be spectacular.
As we are all fit and healthy, our guides have raised the possibility that we might summit tomorrow afternoon – with the benefits of clear afternoon weather and the likelihood that we’ll have the summit to ourselves. Needless to say we’re all keen on this idea, which means that on Saturday we can start our descent towards the many beers in Arusha that already have our names on them……
REST DAY! Today couldn’t come sooner. Last night some of us were feeling quite ropey – Adam’s blood oxygen level had dropped from around 90% to 76%. Peter is not in great shape, his headache won’t go away and he’s feeling a bit nauseous – we’re all rooting for him.
Although billed as a rest day, the point of today is to help with acclimatisation so we set off at 10 o’clock to climb the Lava Tower – a large tower formed when Kili last erupted. Climbing the tower itself was “interesting” but the guides were great, guiding our hands and feet to the right places. We were rewarded with amazing views (from 15,300ft) of the peak as well as back down to camp and the cloud-covered plains way, way below us.
Once safely down and back to camp, lunch was ready and the rest of the afternoon was spent resting. Tomorrow we climb to Arrow Glacier Camp and the snows of Kilimanjaro will be within touching distance. All the talk in camp however is of the following day when we tackle the Western Breach and, weather permitting, maybe even the summit.
We woke this morning freezing cold again, although not quite as bad as yesterday. Those of us (all of us) who were up several times during the night to answer the call of nature having drunk gallons of water during the day, were treated to a night sky blazing with stars, the moon above the peak of the mountain, a sight we will never forget.
Today was mercifully a short day – although yesterday was not steep it was gruelling and it was a weary looking team who assembled in the mess tent for dinner last night.
We arrived at Sheffield Camp in time for lunch after a walk which was steep at times. We are now at 14,800 feet and the altitude is beginning to take its toll on all of us. Everything has to be done “pole pole” (slowly slowly in Swahili) and the walking pace on the trail is agonisingly slow – anything faster leaves us instantly out of breath. That afternoon both Peter and Adam were suffering with headaches – the first signs of mountain sickness.
The good news is that we had an afternoon relaxing, reading or listening to ipods in our tents. Up a short hill from camp there is mobile reception so we could contact our families, although these blog posts won’t go through – I have no idea when they’ll be posted.
The chatter at dinner was muted and amazingly by 7.30 we were all back in our tents, some asleep.
We woke to find the camp frozen hard and seven very cold campers peering from their frozen tents. On the upside, Kili was in clear view and once the sun was out the temperature rose quickly. Breakfast was at 8.00 and we left camp at 8.30 under the now scorching sun. We climbed 2000ft today but the route was mercifully less steep than yesterday. We walked for four hours before lunch which was a spectacular al fresco affair.
After lunch we took a small detour to see the Fischer memorial – dedicated to the man who created the Western Breach route and who died on Everest. Two more hours climbing post-lunch, steeper this time, until we reached Moir Huts camp at 13,600ft. We are all OK, but tired and a little sunburnt despite the factor 50 sunblock. Our resting heart rates are all up significantly but so far our blood oxygen seems to be OK. Still no mobile coverage, but we’re promised that tomorrow we’ll be able to call home (and post to the blog).
After a wake up at 6.30, then breakfast around 7.30, we were introduced to our gang of porters, cooks, washer uppers etc etc with Masai singing and dancing. Quite a sight and we set off at 8 feeling great. Today was another steep climb through the forest, gaining another 2000ft. As we started today’s walk, we were already higher than the highest point in the UK and in the back of our minds we are already thinking about mountain sickness. Our resting heart rates are up sharply, although blood oxygen is still pretty good for all of us.
Lunch was early today, at 11am, but was a welcome break from the steep walk. The forest is truly beautiful and unspoilt and with the sun out all morning it was great walking. Leaving the forest soon after lunch we emerged into the heather zone, with a distinct change in vegetation but more importantly the stunning views started to open out. We still couldn’t see the peak itself, hidden behind various ridges, but we could start to appreciate the scenery we are walking through. Sadly the clouds came in again and we spent the rest of the afternoon walking with our heads literally in the clouds (some would say nothing changes).
The afternoon was very steep and it was a relief when we reached Shira ridge and the path levelled out for the last hour. Descending slightly we reached Shira camp at around 4pm, and waiting for us were the two highlights of the trip so far. Firstly the camp shower was set up – it’s no exaggeration to say that half a litre of hot water each made us feel like a million dollars and our spirits were soaring when the second treat presented itself: As we waited for dinner, the clouds parted for a few minutes and the mountain was revealed. We stood silent and in awe at the size of the thing, its glaciers shining in the sunlight. It also made us realise that despite climbing 4000ft so far, there’s still a hell of way to go.
It’s going to be below zero tonight, and tomorrow we have a longer but flatter walk, with another 2000ft to ascend.
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