I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro for the first time in August 2008. I share my observations from that climb, including a day-by-day account of one of the most life-changing experiences I have had.
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Sunday 24 August 2008
Although I felt pretty confident with myself today (I drank one can of Red Bull last night and another in the morning), others were worried. The alternative we had agreed upon in the past few days was, instead of making a single attempt for the summit from around midnight from Barafu camp, we would leave at day break. If on reaching Stella Point (after the steepest climb of the day) I felt I could still walk the remaining 1 kilometre to Uhuru Peak (a gentle slope on the rim) then I would proceed to the summit.
If, however, I ran out of Red Bull at Stella Point (5,756m) we would proceed down to spend the night at Crater Camp (5,790m) and would attempt to reach the summit tomorrow. We also agreed if Le felt my pace was slower, he would walk ahead with Hamisi, the assistant guide. Everyone felt I was carrying too much in my bag and I was advised to remove extra clothes from the bag and remain with the bare minimum.
Today we had fewer climbers passing us on the way. In fact, even the porters, who usually whizzed past us, were much slower on the way to Stella Point. Some were even tagging along behind us. We had the most spectacular view of Mawenzi, Kilimanjaro's other peak, and the saddle between Kibo and Mawenzi.
As the hours advanced my doubters kept saying we were making exceptionally good progress. At Stella Point I felt I had the energy to reach Uhuru Peak. I was surprised to find out that the last kilometre proved to be the most difficult walk yet. I must have run out of Red Bull. At Stella Point, Le went down to the Crater Camp, planning to return later for the sunset - and tomorrow for the sunrise.
I reached Uhuru Peak with Yahoo just after 1500hrs and a few minutes later a German climber and his guide reached the peak. We took their photographs and they took ours. I tried to send out text messages from my mobile phone but did not get a signal. I observed at a distance an antenna that appeared to be at a point higher than Uhuru Peak. Yahoo and the other guide concurred with my observation, saying that a reading of the altimeter at a point between Stella Point and Uhuru Peak shows a much higher altitude. In retrospect, and especially after my difficult walk from Stella Point to Uhuru Peak, I am suspect the summit could have been "relocated" further downhill to decrease the failure rate of those reaching the actual summit.
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| At the summit, with Yahoo (left) |
We slept at the Crater Camp facing a large wall of ice, the Furtwangler Glacier. I felt I was in the Polar Circle. It was an uncomfortable night. I had breathed in a lot of dust walking behind Pius, Le, and Hamisi on the sandy climb towards Stella Point and had difficulty breathing. It was an extremely cold night. For the first time, I slept wearing my down jacket.
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