By Daniel Munslow
Day 6 – The summit!
With butterflies in our stomachs, we left Barafu Hut at midnight to start the summit attempt. It’s a seven-hour uphill trek with little-to-no flat surfaces to rest or recover. We were hiking on stone scree through the Alpine Desert all the way to Stella Point on the crater rim – the first of the two summits at 5,685m.
We used headlamps and cold weather gear, despite the near full-moon in the night ascent, fatigue and AMS soon force you to draw on all your strength to get through the night. Despite that, it’s an amazing experience.
It’s a lonely climb, a tiring climb and a long, hard slog to the summit. You find yourself battling against your fatigue and your AMS symptoms: headaches, nausea and vertigo, your thirst and hunger and your aching muscles as you push your body to its limits. Add to all of this the environmental factors – the scree, volcanic dust and the bitterly cold wind in the night. We were moving at 90 minutes per kilometre.
At this point, your mind can easily tell you to give up – go back to camp, have some tea and get back into bed. Your circadian rhythm is telling you to do the same thing. Our guides kept telling us not to fall asleep, keep moving, ‘pole, pole’. You can only describe these amazing guides as your guardian angels. They are navigating you through the cold bitter night, through dangerous terrain, ensuring you reach the summit.
The chief guide, Raj, believed so strongly in doing everything that he could to get everyone to the summit that he stayed behind the group with a single lady who was taking longer to ascend. He did not leave her, or hand her over to another guide.
I can’t recall the whole walk. I think I might have even fallen asleep somewhere along the route and just kept walking, oblivious to the pain, the dripping sweat and runny nose that freezes on your lips and gives you frost bite.
It’s at this point your battle of mind over body is at its peak. You shut off all else and focus on reaching the summit. Pain is just a thought; your body can do so much more!
Then, as if just 30 minutes later, we started hearing calls from the top – others had reached Stella Point. Our guides held us back and told us to go slow. 20 minutes later we had covered 100 meters and reached the sign that says, ‘Congratulations.’ We were at Stella Point.
We stood up tall and proud after crouching over our walking poles for hours focusing on breathing in the cold, icy air. We turned around and saw the sun rising from above the clouds. A new day had begun. You stop thinking about what happened yesterday and stop planning for tomorrow. If anyone ever asks me if I had experienced a perfect moment in time, a moment when time seemed to stop and I could live completely in the moment, it would be this one. Watching the sun rise like I’d never seen it before, for myself, and I’d earned it.
This was not the end of the trip, though. From here, we would have to continue walking for 40 minutes to reach Uhuru Peak – the highest point in Africa. After the moment at Stella Point and the warm tea served to us by the porters, we felt reborn. We forgot for a moment that we had been hiking through the night – tired, cold and hungry. We turned to the path to head up the last climb to Uhuru.
We were moving so slowly. Our brains were telling our feet to move, but our feet were refusing. Then, someone who had reached the summit earlier walked past and said ‘you’re almost there – 10 minutes’. We can do this. We didn’t come this far to quit.
We came over the last horizon and before us was the sign we had worked so hard for 5 days to reach – ‘Congratulations. You have reached Uhuru Peak. The Highest Point in Africa.’ The sun is shining and reflecting off the ice caps.
We took our photos and the guides asked us to move fast to descend. The air was -16 degrees and the wind was strong. It was still difficult to breath and we needed to get down before any major AMS symptoms set in.
Not over yet!
We headed back to Stella Point and were encouraged by one more story. An American climber was hiking up with his father. Earlier in the morning we had overtaken them, as the father collapsed on his side. Some thought he would never recover. As we started our descent, there he was, with his son behind him. They made it to the top. Nothing could keep him from reaching his dream. He was 67 years-old.
Abraham Lincoln aptly said, “That some achieve great success is proof to all that others can achieve it as well”.
I made it. I reached the roof ofAfrica. I saw the most amazing sun rise. I experienced the perfect moment. I saw a Kili miracle. I beat body with mind. I am happy, in this moment of reflection. Tomorrow would be another day. But today is a day I will never forget.
Day 7 – Saying goodbye
We had a last early start at 06:00 when Bariki brought us water and called us for breakfast. We prepared our bags and had everything ready before heading out to breakfast at 07:00. Today was a special day – a day to thank our porters for all the amazing work they did.
After breakfast, Raj gathered his team and thanked them for their efforts. They sang the Kili Song one last time, adding the last three obstacles we faced – Barafu, Stella and Uhuru – all Hakuna Matata!
We shook hands with each and every one of the porters and thanked them for everything they did. They raised us up the mountain.
Later that afternoon, Raj came to the hotel and handed out our certificates documenting our journey to the summit of the highest point in Africa.
Not only did we reach the summit; we worked as a team for a cause. We believed in something greater than ourselves. Having climbed Kilimanjaro I genuinely believe you walk away with a part of the mountain still in your heart. Cherished moments that you will keep forever and lessons learned that will change your life.
“Success doesn’t come to you. You go to it.” – Marva Collins
