Tanzania Day 20 - Kilimanjaro Day 4

After a cold and disrupted evenings sleep at Kibo Camp 4700m we were awokon at midnight with a hot drink and final pep talk from the guides before we set off for summit! The plan was to take 5 hours to reach Gillmans Point which was going to be the hardest part of the climb and from there 1-2 further hours to summit... Easy!

Gem had been suffering with a light headache whilst trying to sleep but once up and about it passed and I was still unaffected so we both felt confident & a little apprehensive.

Armed with a wardrobes worth of layers, two climbing poles, a headtorch and two amazing, reliable guides, we set off! The term 'pole pole' means slowly slowly in Swahilli and can be heard at least 10 times an hour on summit night. The idea being, any kind of over exersion can lead to shortness of breath which is hard to get back to normal quickly, so everything is done at a snails pace! The sensation of being able to see nothing except the shoes of the person in front for hours on end whilst feeling cold tired and out of breath was so hard. Although for me at around 5300m it was about to get even harder.

I first felt a little sick but hoped it would pass, but after 10 more minutes I had the feeling you get right before being sick but constantly, meaning I was sweating, shaking and having to stop almost every 10 steps. For me after about an hour of this I was struggling and the thoughts of not making it were starting to enter my head. The guides were amazing, made me a hot tea, checked I wasn't actually dieing and insisted that it would pass if I pushed on. And they were right as about 15/20 minutes later I wasnt feeling sick at all but the toughness of the previous 90 minutes had left me running on empty energy wise.

It seemed to be almost instantaneous that once I felt OK, Gem got hit harder - a combination of headache, nausea and exhaustion meant that she was struggling to take more than 10 steps at a time so we really weren't progressing very quickly. Luckily a few paracetamols and altitude medication made the headache and nausea bearable but the exhaustion was still a huge stumbling block.

As the sun rose we both had a little boost of energy and admired the views of both Kenya and Tanzania on either side of the mountain and although we had hoped to see this from the peak, it still provided a shot of energy which helped us finish the last portion of hell that was the Kibo to Gillmans Point.

Arriving at Gillmans after 8 hours was very slow but for me was symbolic as the guides had assured us it was easier from this point. It was from here that I was 100% certain we would make it. Gemma on the otherhand was really struggling for energy and seemed to be panicking about finding the energy to get down, let alone reach the summit! After a chat from the guides and reassurance that the decent was far easier she was back pushing for the summit.

By this stage every step hurt somewhere and the terrain whilst flatter in parts was very up and down - with lots of big sharp rocks to clamber over. The last test of stamina and mental strength was around 30 minutes walking through a sharp bed of glacier with some soft and some rock hard parts to it! Constantly slipping and loosing balance!

It was here that Gem summound from somewhere a final push to storm through without a break to the summit - I was trailing behind taking a few breathes before trying to get up after each fall. We stepped foot onto the gravelly surface of the summit together and whilst I tried my hardest to take everything in gem juat wanted to leave straight away! At the time the magnitude of the achievement is so hard to think about as the pain, cold and immenint decline is far more pressing. We took our pictures and videos then started the decent - back through the icey death trap before reaching the rocky ground and then back to Gillmans Point.

After a short break we decided to push hard and get down ASAP to clearer air and less sickness/headaches. The stage to Gillmans which had taken 8 hours to climb took 90 mins to descend - the hard rock we had zig zaged our way up was replaced with a soft gravel that you almost Skied down, leaning backward to an almost impossible angle and sliding on your soles. I would say the first 5 minutes were quite fun, but the next 85 were crippling on already sore muscles and joints!

We got back to Kibo and after a light lunch got some well earned rest... for 45 minutes!

We were then told it was better to get to Horombo the next camp down - so packed up and started another 3 hour decline but this time on much more forgiving terrain.

Arriving into Horombo we were both feeling disoriented, almost jet lagged but also immensely proud!Read more