We settled into Kibo hut around 2pm on day four where we were encouraged to take a nap in preparation for our 11pm wake up time. Here, the dormitory quarters held ten people and we shared with the older Norwegian couple (who we had been chatting with and passing each day on the trail), two Chilean women who had been traveling Europe and Africa the last nine months (we roomed with them in Horombo camp too), and our new Australian friends we hit it off with. After a two hour rest in the cold where I'm pretty certain no one slept, we sat in the common area with Jordan and Ethan (the aussies) playing the "I'm thinking of an animal" game for at least an hour. I don't know if it was the altitude or that we were that happy to be interacting with people our own age but it was nonstop giggling and silly banter as we went around a circle narrowing down the animal of choice with questions like, "is it smaller than me on a skinny day?" And at one point Jordan hopped out of the room zipped up in his full sleeping bag and I lost it. Honestly I'm still chuckling as I'm writing this on our bus ride to Uganda. We had conversations about Australia/ US differences and named off words and common phrases we knew to be different between the two.. basically the kind of conversations I was dying to have with other travelers and locals on this adventure, so interesting and the best way to learn about another place and culture. Good people.
Dinner was served early that evening and included an onion soup type broth, thin pancake type bread (so good with PB) and spaghetti with a veggie sauce. Of course Kilimanjaro tea and Milo (which Jordan pointed out is from Australia) was served as well. It was so nice to be eating warm food in that freezing room. When we finished, Michael, our guide, came to inform us of the plan for that night.
Corrine and I felt READY, excited, nervous, and sorta scared shitless (sorry mom) but ready. At this point the worst we came across was a mild headache (me) and Corrine had a little heat rash on her finger... while others struggled with insomnia, warmth and nausea :( . The Chilean women had signed up to do Kili a week before and didn't even have a head lamp so Corrine offered her an extra flash light (or torch in Australia) and hand warmers. Very impressed by the grit in these ladies and for getting at it but also so happy to have had the time to prepare appropriately.
At 11:00pm we woke up to our server, Joel, knocking on our door with tea and cookies. Corrine and I had slept in three bottom layers and at least four shirts, both for warmth and so that we woke up only having to add a few more layers and put our shoes and head lamps on. For future possible Kili climbers: I wore my smartwool leggings against my skin, Nike running leggings, fleece pants and rain pants over the top. For my feet I used wool liners, medium weight wool socks (put hotties in my shoes), and gaiters. On top I wore a yoga tank top with smartwool 1/4 zip, a long sleeve under armor/dry fit type shirt, another wool shirt, then my Mountain Hardwear monkey jacket/fleece and down micro, weather resistant jacket. On my head I wore three layers as well - an ear warmer, with base thinner heat containing hat with a knit one over the top.. oh and more hotties (the handwarmers) against my ears!! I wore fleece liners and brought heavier snow gloves for my hands... I know, it all sounds pretty absurd doesn't it? But it worked well and I was comfortable, cozy even, and only once was a little too warm and that didn't last long... better to shed layers then let yourself get cold. Basically we were told to wear all the layers you brought on summit day. We found out later it was -15c on top, thankfully without wind, which apparently never happens. Thankful.
We had over 4,000 feet to climb. We went single file with Michael ahead and Julius our assistant guide behind. We joked that the reason they had us start at night was so that all we could see was the feet of the person in front of you slipping over the loose rocks, instead of the crazy distance and incline we had ahead of us. In reality, it was so that we could get to the top for the sunrise and have enough time to make it all the way back to Harombo hut later that day... a 12 hour hike day minimum.
It was hard, but not horrible by any means. I actually really enjoyed it. We went pole pole and stopped for breaks every hour or so. At one point Michael pulled out a thermos of Kilimanjaro tea he had already sweetened and it was probably the best thing I've ever drank. There were certainly steeper more challenging areas with more scree but these areas were short lived. We continued to zig-zag our way up the mountain asking Michael to tell us the elevation we were at every stop. Corrine and I checked in frequently and both had no problems. One foot in front of the other. Pole pole. Harambe. Thank you Spotify and my "Reelin" playlist for the extra bounce in my step.
At 5:00am or so we hit Gillman's point, a fake out really. It's a checkpoint with a sign just like the one on the summit but it's at 18,652 ft and we had another hour and a half or so to go around the crater rim. But! The worst was over. From Gilman's point we encountered snow and ice but we were no longer gaining altitude fast. We kept trekking along and soon I noticed the first orange sky on the horizon behind us that slowly began to shed light on this crazy rock we were climbing.
We stopped one last time at Stella's point at 18,885ft. Corrine and I were anxious to get there by this point and we asked if we could keep going but Michael wasn't having it. I noticed the cold air on my breath and maybe a little heavier breathing than normal but it was way less drastic a feeling than I thought it would be (thanks Diamox? The extra day? Being a regular runner? All three?)
Finally the summit was in view. As we got closer we walked with a view of a huge glacier to our left and the crater to the right highlighted by the orange glow of sunrise. We made it, there's no way we won't now, I thought as we continued to get closer and closer. How cool is this!!! Team Simba had been the first from our route to summit but we were joined by groups from the other six routes at the top. Everyone looked cold but elated as they stood by the sign to take photos to document the success of summiting the roof of Africa. Corrine and I took a few photos and then sat to take it all in with the last of the Kilimanjaro tea. Pure bliss. They say it's not about the result but about the journey, and I definitely agree. Putting in five hard days of climbing and work made this moment way more monumental then it would be if we had say, teleported to the top. We had come and conquered what we sought out to do, remained healthy and in good spirits and made some great friends along the way.
The next day we would celebrate with our Aussie friends with pizza and Kilimanjaro beer... a beer with the slogan "if you can't climb it, drink it!" but hey it was pretty cool to do both ;)
Ps. To clarify; Our Australian friends our age unfortunately didn't make it to the top as they dealt with temperature and GI illness, and Jordan even passed out a few times. Despite their guide telling them "easy peazy" they thought it was best to turn around. Smart move. They plan on coming back and killing kili when they have prepared a little more. Their dad Perry on the other hand, who was the planner and probably the one who cared the most about summiting- MADE IT. Corrine had thought she saw him up there "it was like a mirage" she said, but didn't click because he was solo and had been so sick the night before. Turned out he even beat us down the mountain 🙏🏼 Very happy for him.
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