Monday, August 5, 2013

A View From the Top

We heard the knock at the door of our cabin just after 11 pm, but neither one of us wanted to get up to answer it. I hadn't been able to get any rest and was quite certain that the altitude had something to do with it. Our room was huge, with cinder block walls, a small table and enough bunks to sleep 12. But with just the two of us in it, it felt even colder than it already was. I wore every single article of clothing that I could fit on my body inside a sleeping bag good to -17 C and I was still freezing cold.

Despite taking Diamox each day since starting the climb, the altitude was definitely still messing with me a bit. Earlier that day, we had walked a good six hours across an alpine desert. It was windy, dusty, and exhausting, and I had the beginnings of a headache. By the time we arrived at our camp at the base of Kibo peak, I started to feel a bit worse. It's hard to pinpoint exactly how I felt but it was an uncomfortable mix of anxiety, exhaustion and nausea. I was tired but I couldn't sleep. I couldn't bear the thought of eating dinner (a sure sign something is wrong) and I was shivering from the cold. The three hour rest before our night ascent offered no peace as I couldn't sleep a wink.

We finally dragged ourselves out of our sleeping bags around 11:45 PM, dressed in as many layers as we could and set out with only water, energy bars and a small camera. I was wearing wool long underwear, 2 pairs of cotton pants, thick fleece pants, wind pants, 2 cotton T-shirts, a thick fleece jacket, a down, micro puffer coat, 2 pairs of wool socks, 2 pairs of gloves, 1 pair of wool mittens and a balaclava. I brought some "hot shot" warmers but only the ones for my hands were working (and only slightly). I was also wearing a headlamp, gaiters and using a pair of trekking poles.
We were behind the other climbers by about an hour when we set off in the pitch dark at about 12:45 AM. It was freezing then (about -15 C) but our guides were quick to tell us that it would get even colder in a few short hours.

We could see the lights of those ahead of us snaking up the mountainside. This would become a source of comfort as we spent the next six hours climbing in the darkness. I started to feel defeated a mere fifteen minutes into our climb. I was so very tired that I was walking with my eyes closed, wondering if it would be possible to walk and sleep at the same time. I was a zombie. But I kept going.

As we made our way up the mountain, I soon realized that I was warm; that I had packed well and that felt like a small victory. But Tricia's hands were freezing so I passed along a pair of my gloves to help. My hands amazingly stayed warm without them...and hers improved vastly. But each step was a greater challenge, and frequent breaks were critical. My back ached from bending over to cast light on the footsteps in front of me. I literally threw myself onto the mountainside whenever I needed to rest; each time contemplating how much further I could actually go. At one point, the thought of quitting did cross my mind. There would be no shame in getting this far, right? I looked up and, in the moonlight, could make out the crest of the top of the mountain. I suddenly realized that we were over halfway there. Closer to the top than the bottom. It would be more work to quit than to keep going, I concluded. So, I kept going.

The trekking poles were a lifesaver; practically holding me up in my weakest moments. But so were our amazing guides - Raymond and Shawn. They fed us our water so we could keep our gloves on, massaged our sore backs when we needed to rest and reminded us often that we were doing great and were going to make it to the top. Without them we most certainly wouldn't have reached the summit.

The sun started to rise just before we reached the crest at Gilman's Point. We stopped to rest and take in what might be the most beautiful sunrise I will ever see. But we quickly moved on, clambering over larger boulders to finally reach Gilman's in the warmth of the early morning sun. It was a truly joyous feeling! Gilman's Point is located at the crest of Kibo Peak, at 5719 M / 18,763 feet - and although it is not the true highest point on Kilimanjaro, you can definitely feel like the hardest part is behind you here. We celebrated with some photos here, and our Guides assumed that this would be it for us. For a minute I did consider turning back having made this great accomplishment - but instead I blurted out "Let's keep going to Uhuru Peak - we didn't come all this way for second place". And so we kept going.

 

It was another 2 hours to Uhuru Peak this time trekking across some gentle hills, much of it cliff side with plenty climbing over rocks and boulders. Our water supply was mostly gone or frozen by then, and my one energy bar had fallen out of my pack and over the cliff. I hadn't eaten or slept in many long hours but the sun was warm and that felt good. You can only walk at an extremely slow pace at this altitude. When you finally see the sign for Uhuru Peak, it feels like eternity to walk the last 200 feet across to the snowy peak. But we made it. All the way to the top. I was extremely emotional about what I had just accomplished but there is not much time for reflection or celebration. At 5895 M  / 19,341 feet, altitude sickness kicks in fast and I started to feel some of the effects almost immediately. After a few quick photos, we made our way back down to Kibo Camp. It took about 4 hours to descend. Much easier than the climb but still difficult in it's own way.

I celebrated with a 1 L bottle of Coca Cola that I paid $5 US for. It was worth every penny. We rested for an hour at Kibo Camp before making the 5 hour trek back to Horombo Camp that afternoon. I still couldn't sleep. Or even eat. Our cook brought us delicious looking grilled cheese sandwiches but my stomach wasn't having it. Most of our walk back was in the dark - a challenge considering much of the trail is very rocky (like a dry riverbed). We arrived around 8:30 PM, checked in and hobbled over to the dining lodge for our dinner. I was so tired that I was resting my head on the dinner table and could barely eat. We promptly hit the sack and I think I had the deepest, most peaceful sleep of my life.

The next morning I felt amazing and energized; like I could do anything! We had a great breakfast, stretched our sore hamstrings and calves and took a photo with our amazing team before setting off on our 20 KM walk back down to the gate that day. Everything looks different on the way down. Seeing new climbers on their way up way truly made the experience real. When they asked if we made it - we got to say "YES! Right to the very top!".

After receiving our climbing certificates, it was back to the Springlands Hotel to drink the coldest, most delicious, most well-earned beer of my life! The little things started to feel special - like having a hot shower after six days on the mountain. We had a nice dinner with some friends at the hotel, slept great and braced for the next phase of our trip - luxuriating in beautiful Zanzibar!