It was time to attempt to summit Kilimanjaro! To set the scene . . . . we had been on the mountain for 4 days, some people had been suffering from diarrhoea and sickness for much of their time on Kili, others had been staving off headaches with pain killers, I had completely lost my appetite and felt nauseas at the thought of food and most had experienced sleepless nights up to this point. All of these were caused by altitude sickness and to varying degrees we were already tired at the start of the summit attempt.
In order to keep warm I was wearing 2 pairs of thermal long johns underneath my hiking trousers with 2 thermal tops, a fleece, my softshell and down jacket, 2 pairs of gloves, a thermal Buff around my neck and finally a woollen hat - an attempt to keep me warm at -15 to -20°C. We had also been told to carry an extra layer to put on after 3 or 4 hours as it would get gradually colder as we climbed, I had my water proof trousers and jacket in my back pack.
At 11:30pm our first task was to grab a cup of tea and some biscuits, I sat next to Michael Owen in the mess tent and we were both apprehensive of what lay ahead of us but we also wanted to get going so that we didn't get too cold whilst hanging around. I was once again finding it difficult to eat and only managed one biscuit, Michael had quite a few more :)
It was soon time to leave the comfort of the mess tent and on my way out, sensing my nervousness, Bob Norster declared that I needed a Bob hug . . . . and I was grateful for the massive bear like hug that he gave me.
We were told to line up where we felt comfortable, the Captains had been asked to group together for the first time in the whole trip. The plan was to try and get as many Captains as possible to the summit together; the film and camera crew were also with them. Madeleine and I had decided to pitch for the middle as both of us felt that we weren't strong enough to go in the lead group.
Chris, our lead guide, gave a quick tallyho and we were off. As usual Humphrey was at the front and Onyx at the back. Once again, the pace was breathlessly slow and we had a 6 hour climb ahead of us before reaching the first summit, Gilman's Point. In the end I had decided to wear my iPod but only in one ear so that I could still hear everyone but also have a music distraction to help with the monotony of time. I started the walk to Michael Jackson which, given the crippling speed that we were moving at, put a smile on my face. I can't remember much detail from the first hour but it was a slow trudge up the scree slope, I can remember seeing black, shiny coal like rocks on the ground below. The view for most of the time was the back legs of the person ahead of me illuminated by my head torch.
This Zombie paced walk would inevitably end up with each of us wondering how long we had been walking for. We were not really talking as we were saving the oxygen for our muscles. I started to think about time and eventually realised that I could measure it by songs. I figured that if each song was 3 minutes long then every 20 songs would be an hour, and we had been promised an hourly break. So, 20 songs until each break :) I was also having to regularly remind myself to breathe deeply, in the Geoff Graham way, but I would repetitively come back to ineffective shallow breathing as my mind wandered onto different thoughts.
The first break eventually came and the girls headed off for a toilet break, we managed to save some dignity by finding a few rocks to hide behind. None of us particularly wanted to go whilst walking as we had been told that we were not allowed to wander off and would need to just step off the path (1 step) and squat down alongside others walking! By the time we'd wrestled all our layers back on it was time to move again, the breaks had to be kept short so that we didn't get too cold.
Another hour, another 20 songs to count and lots of staring at the ground and area immediately ahead of me. I didn't really count each song, I ended up thinking of lots of different things whilst walking, none of which I can remember now. Eventually I would think "how many songs have gone by now?" If I thought I'd listened to 5 then I knew we had completed 25% of the hour and I worked like this until we got to the break.
During the 2nd hour I started to notice that I was getting very light headed with a tendency to lose my balance. We had been warned that this was a sign of altitude sickness and if it continued then we would need to get off the mountain. This concern occupied my mind for much of the 2nd hour, I tried to ensure that I took in enough water and realised that I had not eaten anything in the previous break. I decided to keep quiet about my dizziness and prioritise eating at the next stop. At some point during the 2nd hour Mads needed a toilet break and thankfully another large rock presented itself right next to the path, I stopped to wait for Mads and eventually we joined the back of the line just in front of Onyx. My mind started to get a bit negative at this stage; I didn't like being at the back and the pace was a little too slow for me. I started to worry that I wouldn't get to Gilman's point by 7:30am which was the cut-off time for attempting the summit. My main objective was to give myself the summit option by getting there before the cut-off. The worry and frustration continued whilst I felt stuck behind this slow group however I thought we'd be able to get back into the middle group at the next stop.
Thankfully most songs are longer than 3 minutes so the break arrived before I reaching the 20 song count. As we arrived the last of the other walkers were already heading off and Joe explained that we had to stop and would need to try and catch-up at the next break which would be a longer tea & coffee stop. I was frustrated becasue another hour going at a pace that didn't suit me was going to do my head in. I guess it's like runners who can't run with others who go at a different pace to their usual speed. The different pace wasn't wrong, it just didn't suit me. At the break we realised that we were behind walkers that were not part of our group but we had to keep with them.
With nothing to do I concentrated on eating and had lots of snacks to improve my energy levels - most of the snacks had high sugar content, I had energy drinks, oat bars, Snickers and Foxes Sweets to see me through all the breaks.
Eating worked a treat with the dizziness, during the 3rd hour I had no problems and from that point forward I made sure I snacked at each stop. At some point during the next hour I turned back to check on Mads only to discover there was on-one behind me! It was like those polar expedition moments that explorers recall when they haven't realised that a team member is in trouble and they suddenly discover them missing! I was quite worried about Mads but knew that she was with Onyx who had a 2-way radio and I also knew that the safest thing for me was to keep going with this group. Eventually I could see Joe, the doctor, coming towards us asking who was ill. I pointed him further down the slope where I hoped he would find Mads in a reasonably ok state. In another amount of time a porter passed me and at that point I knew that Mads or Joe had decided that she needed to go back to base camp, I hoped she wasn't too bad.
I continued to plod along at the end of the line and tried to turn my mind to the next break which would be at Hans Meyer Cave (5150m) for the tea/coffee break. My thought lingered on this and I soon realised that being at the back did not bode well for a hot drink. I hadn't been in the mess tent once when the hot water flasks hadn't been sent back for more water in order for each of us to have a cuppa. I started to resign myself to the fact that I would need to go without a hot drink and prepared myself for a quick stop so that I could get back into the middle group. When we arrived at Meyers I was grateful to see the stationary head lights of fellow trekkers. I was correct about the hot water and sat down next to Kylie and Andrew, from Velindre, to continue my sugar boost break.
As we set-off Joe caught us up and explained that Mads' headaches had got too much and she had decided to stop, he reassured me that she was fine and happy to make the decision to descend to base camp. We set-off again and I was now walking with Huw Evans, Geoff Hughes, Alan Morgan and Dave Triffitt (Doctor). Our pace was good and suited me much better. Huw was suffering with back pain and within the hour he needed to take a few 20-30 second stops, which we were all grateful for; we were now over 5000m and once again noticed a significant reduction in our ability to breath. It's hard to believe that the slow pace would still require us to take stops to get our breath back! I had forgotten, until writing this post, that at this stage I started to get a headache so Dave gave me some paracetamol at the next break.
I don't remember much of the next few hours but the objective was to keep going until Jamaica Rocks which would indicate that we were close to Gilman's point. We had also been told that it would be a bit of a scramble, a welcome break from the ever moving scree. It took me a while to realise that we'd arrived at Jamaica Rocks but as the stones became larger boulders it gave me a boost that we were almost at Gilman's point. I had already been looking out for signs of a sunrise to keep my spirits up but so far the horizon had remained black with speckles of stars. It seemed like another 30 minutes before the glow of the sun was evident and soon afterwards we reached Gilman's Point :))))))))
From left to right: Michael Owen, Andy Moore, Garin Jenkins, Rob Jones & Bleddyn Bowen:
For as long as I can remember my cousin, Jannie, has had a soft spot for Rob so after a quick chat I dragged him to the Gilman's sign for a pic . . . just for her :) Unfortunately I neglected to notice that my homemade water holder (bright yellow dry bag) was not the best thing to have on display for the pic - ahh well never mind!
I had read other Kili blogs that described the effect that seeing the sun had on the authors, I can confirm that it is an absolute relief to realise that you would soon be feeling the sun on your face. We reached Gilmans at about 6:20am, almost a full day's work in darkness at approx -15°C, it was gruelling. Take another look at Michael Owen's face in the pic above, that's how I remember feeling on arriving at Gilman's. Thankfully the break, the sight of the sun and the relief of making the first summit had revived my spirits and I was certain that I was going on.
I saw Joe and asked him what the course of action was from this point forward, he was due to assess our ability to continue. He explained that I need to decide whether I wanted to go on or not, I declared "I am definitely going on", he didn't object but I think he could tell that I was feeling ok (in the grand scheme of things). At Gilman's quite few people had reached the end of their Kili journey but the lead group, with many of the Captains, had already started their final push to the summit. I was in a group of 10 in a second wave of trekkers to attempt the 2 hour trek to Uhuru, the highest point in Africa.
Uhuru was approx 200m higher than Gilmans Point, I estimated that it was only a kilometre but Google corrects me in that it is actually 2k to the summit. The walk took us through a moon like landscape, reasonably undulating but, in comparison to the steep scree climb, pretty flat! We passed in between two glaciers, both having receded considerably over the last decade.
I can't remember much of the 2 hours that it took to reach Uhuru but I do remember Garin asking me if I could see Mirages, I was quite worried about him but he was determined to go on and wasn't at all interested in my suggestion that he may want to return to Gilman's. We were now passing other groups returning from Uhuru and someone soon declared, "around the corner and your almost there"! Now in normal circumstances this would mean a few more minutes but I think we were going for another 30-45 minutes before reaching the summit. During that time the lead group of Captains and non-Captains started their decent and we met them on their way down. I was already feeling quite emotional at the thought that I was going to achieve what we had been working towards for the last 12 months. Hugs from Eddie Butler, Mike Hall, Geoff Graham and another bear hug from Bob Norster (who told me to stop the tears otherwise he'd start too) were very welcome. When I saw my training buddies Steve, James & Andy we exchanged massive hugs and words of how proud we were of each other, I remember Steve saying to me "I knew you would make it" and I realised that I should have had more faith in myself. We said our goodbyes once again and our little group of 10 were soon at The Roof of Africa, Uhuru Peak.
I was one of four girls to succeed; Novello Nodes, Kylie McKee (an amazing lady who summited for a 2nd time a week or so later), Cheryl Hicks and Me:
Jannie, my cousin, got me into the bad habit of taking pics whilst doing the victory sign. I hate having my picture taken but often need to have a pic taken as a souvenir, I stand there and whilst the photographer focuses I get nervous have no idea what to do it and before I know it I'm proclaiming victory! Here's my victorious summit pic!
Here's the group that I summited with: Jason Lester, Novello Nodes, Garin Jenkins, Andrew Morris, Russel Isaac, Cheryl Cole, Me, Kylie McKee, Alan Morgan and John Southcombe (behind the lens taking this photo):
You can't stay at the top very long, we were probably there for about 15 minutes and with a few people suffering from headaches, delirium and dehydration we started our descent. Garin was ahead of us with a guide and I was with Cheryl and Novello with another guide. The girls were keen to go down as fast as possible but I wanted to savour the time at the top of Kili to take a look around as well as use my camera which I had been using liberally to save battery until I had my summit pic :) We decided that Cheryl, Gavin and Novello would race down with one guide and I would descend in my own time with Peter, the other guide.
Peter explained that this glacier had receded considerable and he could remember it being alongside the path we were walking on, the last 10 years had changed the summit significantly.
The mountain in the distance is Mount Meru and is approx 50km away:
These smaller, isolated, pieces of ice demonstrate the continuously freezing state at the summit:
Parts of the glacier are a vivid turquoise in the sun:
Peter guides me back to Gilman's as I take in the breathtaking views of the glacier and Mawenzi Peak:
The glacier used to occupy this valley but it now resembles an empty lunar landscape:
By about 9am I started to feel the affect of the sun and was keen to get to Gilman's so that we could take a break. I remembered that the doctors had warned us that we would need to protect ourselves from the sun, we were only a few degrees south of the equator and at 19k+ feet we would soon be at risk of burning, dehydration and sun stroke (not to mention Altitude Sickness and exhaustion!!); happy days!
At Gilman's we were able to take a long break, apply factor 50, get the sun hat on, remove some layers, take on more fluid and eat another energy bar.
We met up with John Southcombe at Gilman's and the 3 of us continued together, firstly over the now scree slippery Jamaica Rocks and later down the steep sand like scree slope. John's feet were in agony and he thought that they must be blistered all over. The descent was incredibly painful for him but he soldiered on.
In this picture you can see 2 paths in the distance, the one on the left was the Rongai route, which we had taken from Mawenzi Peak, and on the right would be our route off the mountain, the Marangu Route.
Towards the bottom John points out this shot but is too tired to take it himself. At this point we have been walking down the scree for about 2 hours and it's about 11:30am:
We eventually arrived back at base camp at 11:50am and I headed straight for our tent, Steve and James were there to welcome me. I was exhausted but still had some energy left for congratulatory hugs. It's hard to remember everyone but I recall Scott Gibbs saying "Well done babe" and then giving me a really supportive hug. I was physically exhausted but more than that I was mentally exhausted.
I can remember being sat on the ground, legs out flat in front of me, hands resting on the floor and declaring to Steve & James, "I feel like fatty's leg, f***ing, f***ed", actually the F word was prolific amongst my fellow trekkers at that point . . . . we'd just pushed our bodies and mind harder than we had expected to and we were finally able to allow ourselves to take stock of the difficulties we had faced.
Unfortunately our day was not over and I soon realised that I didn't have much time to relax. Steve went to enquire on the plan which was lunch at 12:30pm and then leave camp at 1pm to head to our next camp, Horombo. At this stage I also found out that Scott Quinnell had been unable to start the summit attempt due to his increasingly swollen and painful knees plus Emyr Lewis and James Evans had been turned around at Hans Meyer Cave suffering from exhaustion. Emyr and Mads had already left Kibo at about 10am so that they could trek down at an easy pace and hopefully recover at the lower altitude.
I lay down in the tent thinking I would use the hour to sleep but it was boiling hot, green house like, and there was no chance of rest. I decided to start packing and then go for lunch. 'Packing' is too organised a word to use for the approach I took, maybe stuffing would be a better description. The tent was a mess when I went for lunch, I have no recollection of what we had but I was soon back in the tent trying to get everything packed/stuffed so that the porters could dismantle the tents and start their journey too. It was probably 1:15pm before I was done but thankfully everyone was late :)
For the next four hours I walked with Novello, Sian & Cheryl. We walked at a leisurely pace which was great for me. After a couple of hours we were amazed how fast we could descend, compared to the pace of ascent, and we covered a fair distance. We took this shot (approx 3pm) so that we could show how far we had travelled since 8:30am, when we were at the summit:
It looks sunny but it was actually quite cold and windy (hence the fetching wind cord around my chin):
Things also started to get greener during our decent and we saw amazing Giant Senecio Plants with views above the clouds:
Sian enjoys the views during a short break:
By the time we got to Horombo huts we had descended over 2000m to 3700m
Mads, being the great tent buddy that she was, had already grabbed my bag, blown up my air mattress and unpacked my sleeping bag. I had a quick clean and change but had no intention of doing anything else other than lying down for the next little while. I even found it hard to stay awake to tell Madeleine what it was like to summit.
Mads shared her disappointment at having to return to base camp, I assured her that she had made the correct decision. I had not suffered as badly as she had and I'm sure I would have done the same if I had been in her position. I was certain of this once she disclosed that she had been hallucinating and falling over during the descent. The porter had held her upright on the walk back to base camp, she was seeing cats on every meandering corner as well as getting increasingly paranoid that they were being followed. Altitude sickness had obviously taken hold on Mads and I was so pleased that Joe had advised her to descend.
Before long I was asleep with no thought of attending supper. I later found out that many of us had slept through until breakfast; having stopped taking Diamox this was the first night on the mountain that didn't require frequent trips to the loo, heaven!
Sixteen trekking hours completed, Kilimanjaro conquered, body and mind pushed to new limits and sleeping like a baby . . . . the next day would be our last on the mountain!
