My day began at 6:00 at Horombo Hut, just as the sun was rising.
At this point in the morning Kibo Peak was visible, but definitely it seemed far away!
Mawenzi Peak, the lower but actually more difficult to climb summit at 5149 metres, was also nicely visible behind some huts.
Breakfast took longer than I would have liked because I was anxious to get started, but finally just before 7:30 we began the climb. Certainly we were extremely lucky with the weather as it was a basically perfect clear and sunny day.
Not long after leaving Horombo Hut the terrain becomes alpine desert. The vegetation gets extremely sparse and there is basically no water, so porters haul water manually from Horombo Hut up to Kibo Hut. In fact, at this point we were using the porter trail because it is more direct and I believe saves a little time versus the trail most climbers were using.
At 11:20 we reached Kibo Hut. You can see the trail to the summit in the background of the photo below. You may note how steep it is relative to the trail up to this point!
Even though we had only been walking for less than four hours, and even though the stretch from Horobmo Hut to Kibo Hut is only an average 10% gradient, I was already quite tired, which is presumably due to the altitude. I actually lay down and took a little nap in my hut.
At this time of day, I had the room all to myself.
We had packed a lunch, so thankfully that made eating lunch quick, although I was already losing my appetite thanks to the altitude.
Then, before 13:00, we began climbing. You are not allowed to summit with only two people, so Dennis recruited a young man working at base camp to join us. This young man seems to do this often, and he is evidently very well adjusted to the altitude, because he did not seem to struggle whatsoever.
I took this photo looking back to base camp at 13:00. You can see Mawenzi Peak but also climbers below us--they were the last of those descending after having summited for sunrise. We did not encounter anyone else on the way up or down.
From Kibo Hut to Gilman's Point is only 3.5-4 kilometres, but an elevation gain of nearly 2000 metres! It was brutal. Most of the route is through scree, so it is not technical, but neither is it easy climbing. It was 16:30 by the time we reached Gilman's Point, so somehow that distance took more than 3.5 hours, or an average speed of about 1 kilometre per hour! I am sure I have never moved that slowly for that long ever before in my life!
Not only was I physically quite tired by the time we reached Gilman's Point, but I was now suffering from altitude sickness quite badly. Moderate nausea and headache were constant, but their severity escalated in waves, and at times I had to stop and lean against a rock until those waves passed. Literally every step was becoming difficult. I was also shocked at how mentally weak this was making me. I had already passed off my day bag to the young man accompanying us, which in and of itself surprised me, since pride would have prevented me from doing this in most other contexts! But more than this, I realized that if for some reason Dennis told me we should turn back I would not fight him, which astounded me. Gilman's Point is considered a summit of Kilimanjaro (for example, they will give you a certificate for reaching this point), but it is not the summit and I would never have dreamed I would get this far and not be overly upset about having to turn back.
Anyway, this all proved hypothetical as I passed the health check Dennis did, and he pointed out the summit across the crater in the photo below.
By the way, this is the view down from Gilman's Point back toward Mawenzi Peak.
From Gilman's Point to Uhuru Peak is only about two hundred metres difference so there is not much climbing left to do, and it is not much more than two kilometres distance. If it were not for the altitude it would actually be very easy. Along the way you pass Stella Point . . .
. . . and continue working your way along the ridge of the crater. Although I was not really enjoying the scenery, you can see how absolutely gorgeous it is. I have heard that many people have terrible weather at the summit, so I felt very lucky. But, just in case looks are deceiving, it was -14 C up here!
Just before 18:00 we reached the summit!
From Uhuru, this is the view down into the crater with Mawenzi Peak beyond.
I was super happy to have reached the summit, and we took a few photos, but after about five minutes I was also happy to turn back! My body just wanted to get to lower altitude as soon as possible.
It took us just half an hour to get back to Gilman's Point, and the sun was setting as we descended from here.
My nausea and headache were diminishing, thankfully, as we descended, although they did not entirely go away. By 19:30 we were back at base camp. My waiter found me and took me into the kitchen hut. I surreptitiously took a photo to give a sense of the space the cooks work in.
Already at this time most people at Kibo Hut were sleeping, preparing to begin their summit around midnight or shortly after, so I ate with the crew in here, although "ate" is an exaggeration since I had nearly no appetite at all. I took a few spoonful's of stew and a couple bites of fruit, but I was not hungry and the food was not going down easily. I did enjoy a mug of tea which warmed me up nicely, but mostly I just needed bed. I was too uncomfortable and too tired to fully appreciate my accomplishment, but I was really happy to be getting into my sleeping bag knowing I was done and not anticipating a midnight wake up call to start the summit!
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