Kilimanjaro: Karanga to Barafu (5)

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.

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.

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

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…

Kilimanjaro: Barafu camp to Uluru Peak (6)

At 23:00 this night: “Hello sir, want some tea before going to top of mountain?”
“yes please!”

I was already awake when the guide was waking us. I didn’t sleep well, partially because these tents are too small and my legs started to hurt during the night and also because of some stress for the climb tonight. The last time that i checked my watch it was already 9 pm. That means I slept less than 2 hours.
Still 1200m to go to reach the highest point of the Kilimanjaro.
Yesterday I could already see that most of the sections are really steep. But now I had to do it at midnight with a headlamp.

So I put on my thermal under layers and outer layers and check if my extra clothing, snacks, camera and water are stored in an easily accessible spot in my backpack.
I put on my shoes and step outside the tent into the cold air.
The whole base camp was busy. Lights were bouncing around the tents and I could already spot some lights on the steep path to the summit.
No breakfast today, luckily I saved some power bars for the last climb.

The group is ready, the guide is ready and we set off into the night, accompanied by the light of the full moon. We started on a gravel path, but his surface Changed soon into big boulders and steep lava plates.

During the climb we passed a lot of people who had difficulties with the height. It wasn't a pleasant sight. I read many articles about altitude sickness, but I didn't imagine that it could be this bad.I've seen people crying, others vomiting, people who couldn’t walk straight anymore because of disorientation. (feeling drunk and unstable is one of the symptoms of AMS) Some of them turned around very quickly and just gave up.

I must say that it was colder than aspected. During short breaks I did put all warm clothes on that I brought to this trip. The wind made it even worse. I knew it was freezing at the base camp and it would only get colder when walking up the mountain.
With all layers on I had it slightly to warm, which is ideal to regulate my body temperature by opening or closing the zippers on my outer layers.

The cold was dehydrating me more than I wanted. And I had some bad luck with my most important source of water.
After 3 hours my camelbak gave up. The tube was completely frozen. I blew back the water into the pack every time I drank, but the cold got a grip on all things inside my bag.
I assumed that this would happen, so I also brought a thermo bottle which I filled with just water.
My snacks were stored in the pockets of my pants. my body heat prevented them from freezing.

After 5 hours I reached the Stella Point sign. Marking the second highest point of the mountain.
A lot of people give up here, because they know it’s still a 2km walk to the actual summit which lays 200m higher. This is really demotivating. You now you are close, but it is at least an extra 40 minutes before you are at the wooden sign on the top.

I continued the journey towards Uhuru Peak. Still 2km to go, but as the sun was rising up, scaring away the cold night, I felt more motivated.
After 500m the first glaciers popped up. And the light of the sun made them glow deep orange. This must have been the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen.
Along the way there are more snowfields and glaciers. The top of the Kilimanjaro is a true wonder of nature.
The road to the top isn’t as steep as the other sections of the climb. However every step you take here consumes a lot of energy and there is only 50% of oxygen in the air.
Suddenly I saw the sign of the top popping up. My heart beat went even higher and I walked a bit faster.
I passed the famous colourfull  sign and touched it, I threw my backpack on the ground and watched the scenery. The sun was still rising and there were no clouds around.

Wow, standing on the top was intense. I felt happy that I made it and next to that I felt a thousand more impulses and feelings that I can't describe. I think that the feelings I had on the top were boosted by the overall experience of the hike towards the summit.

The glaciers are truly magnificent. Too bad that they are slowly disappearing.
After a moment of rest I took my camera and did what I had to do, take a picture together with the sign :)

I only stayed at the top for 20 minutes. That's already 10 minutes more than the guides told me to do.
So now it was time to go back to the base camp.
The road down is different from the road up to the top. Going down is actually steeper and there are more gravel sections.
At some point the walking turned into skiing on the gravel. It was a fun and quick way to descend quickly.

I came back at the base camp around 9 o'clock where I had to lunch, but I couldn’t eat. I wasn't hungry at all. I was so exhausted that I could throw up.
I could rest for an hour, but after that I needed to continue the descend towards another camp at 3100m.
My knees were not happy with that thought.

The trip to the other camp took around 4 hours. In the beginning the path was really misty and you could only see a few meters ahead.
Suddenly I saw some low vegetation popping up in between the rocks. It got larger and larger and eventually small bushes and grasses appeared.
It’s funny to see this kind of change in a short period of time.

When I arrived at the camp I threw my stuff in the tent and made some tea.
I was really hungry right now. Three portions of rice with a vegetable sauce could stop that feeling.

Finally it was time to rest. I went to sleep with a big smile on my face. Truly happy that I made it!