Day 6: Is day 5 for the Kili adventure

Ume lalaje?
(Swahili, means “how did you sleep?”)

Well, to be honest, not at all 🧟‍♀️ I’m scared of the altitude, scared of not making it to the top 😬 (by the way, just the day before someone was picked up with a helicopter due to severe height sickness).

But today is the big day: Summit day🗻 (yes, one day earlier than initially planned 💪🏃‍♀️). At 2am Gaston and I start climbing - it is freezing cold, even with 5 layers of clothing. Gaston carries my daypack due to the pain in my neck ... I don’t know how he did it... but he did, without complaining even once.

This climb is pretty tough. Mostly solid rocks and 7 hours of walking up (no plateau in between). Physically and mentally I am definitely at the edge ... next to aching muscles, a sore neck, headache, no sleep and freezing like crazy, I can now feel the height. I have to vomit 🤢. My body refuses any food and I panicked 😱

But again it is due to Gaston that I keep going. Coca Cola brought my energy levels back to normal and every time I started to cry (😢 - I don’t actually know why I cried), Gaston motivated me to keep going (“you are so strong”, “everyone is feeling like you”, “you can do this”).

And then in the early morning, we have reached Stella Point 😱🙏(5,756m - this is not the top, just a milestone)!

Please have a look at that sunrise ... it truly is the most beautiful I have seen ☀️Read more