Another freezing cold night. Luckily we had warm tea in the morning. I could feel the heat going up my spine and my body was warming up again.
Unfortunately There was some bad news this morning. One person of our group got acute mountain sickness this night. He had problems with his lungs and he had to go down to a lower altitude this morning. Too bad, because he was really fit enough to make it to the summit.
By the end of the day we heard that he was hospitalized to get the moisture in his lungs removed. His condition is stable.
The height and the lack of oxygen really changes the way your body works. At the top there will be only 50% of oxygen in the air. I already know that I will need to push my limits.
By the end of the day we heard that he was hospitalized to get the moisture in his lungs removed. His condition is stable.
The height and the lack of oxygen really changes the way your body works. At the top there will be only 50% of oxygen in the air. I already know that I will need to push my limits.
So today it was an easy walk towards the base camp.
We had to pass through different valleys and had to gain 600m in height. We had a clear sight on the summit early in the morning. But around 11 am the top was covered with clouds.
We arrived around 3 pm at the Base Camp. Plenty of time to let the body rest before the start of the real work.
Two other routes also arrive at this camp but it’s not crowded. There aren’t that many people climbing the mountain via these routes.
We had to pass through different valleys and had to gain 600m in height. We had a clear sight on the summit early in the morning. But around 11 am the top was covered with clouds.
We arrived around 3 pm at the Base Camp. Plenty of time to let the body rest before the start of the real work.
Two other routes also arrive at this camp but it’s not crowded. There aren’t that many people climbing the mountain via these routes.
At midnight we will start to climb the last 1200m towards the roof of Afrika. Why do we do this last part in the dark? Well, the weather on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro is quit stable. Every morning there is a window of a few hours where there are no clouds at the top. And as of 9 am in the morning the top starts to get misty and soon thick clouds will cover the top. We aim to be at the top at 7 am. In that way we will catch the sunrise and we will have a clear view on the world bellow.
It will be full moon tonight, so we will have enough light to find the trail. However, this also means it will be freezing super hard. It’s now 7pm and the green tent is slowly turning white as ice is covering the outside. Even on the inside of the tent you can see the ice shimmer like diamonds.
Luckily we could eat enough food today that will need to provide us with enough energy until noon tomorrow.
We had some soup that was a little spicy. (read very hot!)
After that we had stew with potatoes, bananas, carrots and aubergine. Followed by spaghetti. Power food!
It was a little too much but we need the calories. I already know that I lost some weight during these days. My pants is a little too lose right now.
Hopefully I don’t accidentally “moon” the other climbers :p
We had some soup that was a little spicy. (read very hot!)
After that we had stew with potatoes, bananas, carrots and aubergine. Followed by spaghetti. Power food!
It was a little too much but we need the calories. I already know that I lost some weight during these days. My pants is a little too lose right now.
Hopefully I don’t accidentally “moon” the other climbers :p
So time to go to bed and dream about floating to the top. In a few hours it’s gonna be for real. Wish me luck…
No comments:
Post a Comment