Summit Day

Under a starlit sky, sub freezing temps and high winds, our final ascent began around midnight.  We climbed 3500ft. over 2.5 miles maintaining a slow pace to aid in acclimatization.  In the darkness, we saw lines of headlamps from other hikers ahead and behind us and the city lights of Moshi in the valley.  Time passed slowly and breathing became more challenging with each step with some of us fighting off varying degrees of ams symptoms and trying to endure the freezing temps. Eventually, the sun rose in the east revealing the snow covered summit, massive glaciers in the distance and breathtaking views all around us.

At 6:50am on Feb. 26, we finally reached the summit at 19,341ft.  We made it to Uhuru Peak, the highest point on Mt Kilimanjaro!!!  It was exhilarating yet surreal to be standing on the “Roof of Africa”.  We were thrilled to have reached our goal, but in reality were exhausted, freezing cold and ready to return to base camp.

We kept our celebration brief to avoid ams symptoms from kicking in worse and descended back down the trail.  Took a brief stop at Stella Pt along the crater rim to take one final look back on Uhuru Peak before the challenging steep descent down to base camp.

Southern Circuit

Day 5 began with a steep climb up the infamous Barranco Wall, a vertical rocky slope with narrow ledges. Views looking back over the valley were impressive, but even more impressive was watching the porters ascending like mountain goats while carrying heavy loads on their backs and heads.  Once we reached the top, we were literally standing above the clouds.  The trail continued through the Alpine desert along the Southern Circuit to Karanga camp.  While some members of our group are dealing with various ams (altitude mountain sickness) symptoms, so far I’ve been fortunate only fighting off an occasional headache.  Our guides monitor everyone closely and have been extremely attentive and supportive. 

The next morning we were greeted with a beautiful golden sunrise, clear skies and an amazing view the summit.  Our ascent on Day 6 continued up the rocky slopes leaving the clouds in the valleys below us until reaching our base camp at 16,000ft.  Enjoyed views of the Southern Icefields along the way.  We spent the afternoon resting and preparing for our final summit attempt.. 

Alpine Desert

Clouds and rain accompanied us the next few days while fresh snow fell on the summit.  

  Day 3 was long covering 9 miles which included an afternoon acclimatization hike up to 14,000 ft.  Upon return to camp, our team greeted us with a local song & dance celebration.  Day 4 started out in rain and sleet with steep climbs and impressive views on our way to Lava Tower at 15,000 ft.   We’re now in the alpine desert zone where the terrain resembles a moonscape covered in lava rocks with Kibo towering above us.  The trail descended into the lush Barranco Valley passing giant groundsel trees, cacti and other unusual vegetation to our camp below the Barranco Wall.