We Made It!

I'm not able to find computer access often enough to update this blog after each little adventure, so I've decided to update it when I can and then fill in any missing intervening parts later.

I was grouped with 7 other people for the climb up Kilimanjaro. In short, we all made it, although one of our members got altitude sickness just as we started down. He had trouble walking and short-term memory just "went." He was able to descend on his own, with the aide of one of the guides, and once he got down to a lower altitude, felt better and, with a good night's sleep at a still lower altitude, recovered quite well.

The team consisted of Paul (age 68, British), John (age 50, Australian and the one who got sick), Dimitris (45, Greek but living in Geneva), Nathalie (39, Belgian, also living in Geneva. Is a friend of Dimitris.), Carolyn (age 27, New York City), Alan (20, British Army), and Steve (20, British policeman). Alan and Steve arrived the same day I did - the day before the climb - and spent their time by the pool drinking one beer after another. I guess everyone has their own training routine. They were quite miserable for the first 3 - 4 days, but made it all the way.

The climb was grueling; there's no other way to describe it. Beyond the altitude factor, the steepness of the slopes and the rockiness of the trails took their toll. If you have time, look up "Baranco Wall." It's famous for killing one's determination. Suffice it to say that the wall would have been a death-defying proposition if it was raining (like the first 3 days of the climb) or snowing (like the fourth day). It was hand-over-hand with considerable "exposure," to use a mountaineering term. One slip and it's a long way down.

Oh - and the cold. We started the summit attempt at 12:30 am - at least 30 minutes behind schedule, which was our norm. We set ourselves a good pace, however, and arrived at Stella Point just after dawn. That meant only one more hour to Uhuru Peak, over a snowfield/icefield and even more rocks.

The temp was minus 15, and the wind gusted to at least 30 mph. We had some difficulty standing up at times, so maybe the wind was even stronger. Despite the bright sunshine, it was backbone-chilling cold. We really didn't notice it so much until we started to descend, because we were running on pure adrenaline and feeling POWERFUL! Then we slid down a sandy slope back to Barafu Camp and literally collapsed. A quick lunch at 12:30 - a full 12 hours since eating only sugar cookies and tea - and descended even further down to Millenium Camp for the night. It was only (only?) 4 hours down to Mweki Gate from there, down some of the rockiest and steepest trail we traversed in the whole climb. We were wasted by the time we finished at about 1:30 pm.

The lower portion of the descent was through the rain forest, and Paul, John and I stopped frequently to snap photos of the flora. Very few birds live here, which was weird. The last hour or so was a walk through cloud as the day warmed to the point where moisture from the valley below made its way up the slope. Magical, and not cold at all.

Mweki Gate was more chaotic than I was told it would be. Park Rangers speaking loudly and quickly to us to "sign out" in their registration book. You sign in to start your climb and sign out to finish. Military guards with rifles stood nearby, for who knows why. A group of local villagers sang for tips, and an open-air bar offered several varieties of beer and water, staffed by a beautiful young lade in full tribal dress. Kids picked at my clothes and pockets, especially the backpack I was carrying. They were "nice" about it, not trying to steal but rather to divert my attention their way. Still, it was quite annoying and disconcerting to have a kid that looked about 10 step in front of me and ask for my watch.

I was so wiped and so confused by the caucaphony that I actually forgot to take pictures.

We had then another quarter mile walk to get to our transportation, a box lunch prepared by the excellent cook from the trip, and get awarded our certificates of accomplishment. After a one-hour bus ride to the Ilboru Lodge, we collapsed - or maybe it was just me - on their veranda for a bit, checked in, and either immediately went to sleep (Alan and Steve) or hit the shower. Man, what a feeling it is to be clean. However, I still have lava dust under my fingernails.