To the roof of Africa
Trip Start
Apr 24, 2007
1
28
38
Trip End
Nov 16, 2008
Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
Saturday, October 13, 2007
An all Americain team-16 people from California all the way to Pensylvania... hmm this is going to be interesting to say the least. But hey at least they speak English! :) We stayed that night at the hotel and left early the next morning to reach the gate of Kilimanjaro.
2650m(Forest Camp)
Step out of the van and a thick mist veils the surrounding landscape. But I'm not fooled, the summit is there somewhere and we are 5 days and 3246 metres away from our objective. Well let's get started! The first two days are deceptively easy. Only four hours of climbing each day. At least this gives the team a chance to better synchronize our pace and get to know one and other. We talked and laugh during the day all through the night!
3950m(Barranco)
Lord I swear I feel like I just swallowed some Krusty the clown jagged O cereal. My stomach is killing me and it's only day three. Today we have 8hrs of climbing to do... Stellar. Luckily for me the team has 3 doctors. They give me some CIPRO and some pink pills of happiness and send me on my merry way. To add to this already great day (*beware, sarcastic meter rising*) not even 3hrs into our hike we get caught in a freak snow/hail storm that lasts the entire afternoon. The talking and laughing kind of disappear at this point~ the entire team battens down the haches and soldiers on until we reach camp that night. Once there we unpack, eat and fall asleep. The days are getting longer and everybody is exhausted. Not to mention that the altitude is slowly getting to us all. You need time to acclimatize and some take people more time than others.
3965m(Karanga)
Now this is even more depressing. Climbing for four hours only to come back down at the end of the day to make our next camp. The next two days are going to be like this, you hike up to acclimatize but rest at a lower altitude. Otherwise there is a good chance you will end up with altitude sickness. Nevertheless tomorrow is the big day. The plan is to arrive at camp around noon, eat and sleep until midnight. Then everybody is going to get out of bed and push for the summit. Even if we are still 1931m away from our destination, everybody is excited since soon we will see if all our hard work really pays off!
4600m(Barafu)
Wake up suddenly.... it must be midnight - someone is shaking my tent (*Brain slowly booting up*). But my watch tells me its only 23h00.. more shaking... Aaah nuts! The sounds are making more sense, and it's pretty obvious something is up. It's snowing and there's a strong wind outside... Oh Joy... this is going to be fun (*I think I just broke the sarcastic meter on that one*). I come out of the tent, muttering "You know I didn't need to pay all this money for temperatures I get for free back home!" - the team laughs but we all know from now until sunrise it's going to be cold. I start my IPod, hide it in a warm sock and set off with the group.
You know what really gets to you - it's not the physical demands of the climb but more the perpetual pace you need to keep to reach summit before your turn around time. Weather is really fickle on a mountain and if the last few days are any indication of future behaviour, after 10am you want to be in a tent, not on an exposed ridge. As your breath seems to escape you before you can use it, each step is a concentrated and calculated effort.. 3 hours passes.
5200m(Towards Stella)
The snow finally stops and for the first time I actually catch myself looking towards the top. This is where everything just comes together. The path is illuminated by sporadic headlamps, that look like little pears of light in a bed of snow slowly floating toward the summit. The clouds simply part and we can no longer tell where the mountain ends and the sky begins. It's like the mountain is showing us a path to reach beyond itself. If only we could reach the summit fast enough you feel you could reach out and collect those little diamonds that sparkle in the sky. For the next 3 hours we are blessed with mild temperature and this beautiful work of art. Words will never do it justice. It truly was the road to awe.
5685m(Stella Point)
The sun is finally awake and we are all excited. Our goal is within reach- soon we will be standing on the highest point in Africa!
5896m(Uhuru peak)
We did it! 7 hours and 30 minutes of climbing today and we finally made it. Obviously everybody is going camera crazy partly because of the excitement and the lack of oxygen but we are all just snapping away at the incredible views Kilimanjaro has to offer!
Conclusion
This was my first group expedition and I have to say it was awesome. The Bio Bio company was great and gave me a chance to meet some truly exceptional people. And even if we only stayed together for a short tiome I feel I made some lasting bonds and I know I will see them again someday. After everything was said and done, it took use 2 days and 9 hours to head back down. Out of 16 people that were climbing, 13 made it to Uhuru peak. Now you must be wondering "Why go through all that? Is it really worth it?" Well I don't really have any answer for that, if you're asking the question. Personally I truly enjoyed my experience on the mountain. And I will tell you want I didn't find: my limit... this is definitely not the end of my climbing career. I just can't help but smile thinking about the next challenge that awaits me at the next corner :)
Jonathan, 1 continental summit down - 6 more to go!, Tessier
