Pole Pole - Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro

Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest free-standing mountain in the world. This means from the base of the mountain to the summit is the largest elevation change when including those above sea level. Everest is only about 15,300 ft above its base where Kili stands around 19,300 above the surrounding area. Another unique aspect of Kili is that it can be climbed without any rock-climbing gear. Only hiking gear for cold weather is needed to summit.

Before we left, Erin and I thought we were in well enough physical condition to climb without many setbacks, but the effects of the high altitude were a big question mark. We have hiked a fair amount, but never anything at high altitudes. Our doctor prescribed us several medications to help with the effects of the altitude, but these can only do so much.

Erin takes a break on Day 2 while other climbers try to catch up.

When we arrived in Moshi, the nearest city to Kili, we had several days to rest and catch up on things before we started our climb. This was a good thing since Erin stomach was not well at all for this time so she spent most of the time in bed or resting right up until the day before we left. We met with our guides and and rented the cold weather gear we needed the day before we started. Our guides gave us some very good advice during this meeting:
1. Drink - Not drinking enough fluids is a quick way to get altitude sickness. Not only does the body needs water to fight the thin air, but you are also losing lots of water from the physical activity. Drink up!
2. Eat - The body need additional strength for hiking. When you are full, take another serving of everything. Thankfully, our cook was awesome.
3. Rest - This was not that hard for us since, after a long hike, it's easy to want to do nothing. We were sleeping in tents so it took a couple cold nights before we adjusted our gear enough to be warm.
4. STAY POSITIVE - This was especially crucial for the summit hike. When every step forward sucks, it helps to keep the goal of summitting fresh in your mind.
We lived (and maybe died a little...) by these rules and we think it helped us tremendously.

The summit from Shira Camp on the morning of Day 3 at well over 12,000 ft.

We took the Machame Route which was supposed to be a little more strenuous than others but also the most scenic. The Machame Gate is around 5500 ft above sea level and our next 4 nights would be spent between about 10,000 and 14,000 ft. The hikes took us up to over 15,000 and then back down to sleep and acclimatize to the high altitude.

Erin and Washington climbing the steepest ascent we encountered on "Barranco Wall." It was fitting of its name.

Erin and I at camp on the morning of Day 4.

By the day we reached Barranco (Spanish for "ravine") Camp, we had ascended and descended several thousand feet that day and were ready for some rest. This was the first day we really saw the effects the mountain was having on some fellow climbers. We had seen our far share of people with headaches or tired legs and a VERY slow pace, but no one in immediate danger. Here we saw a woman arrive late to camp and crying for a doctor in the camp while she told herself to "breathe, breathe." Luckily, there was a doctor climbing the mountain in Barranco and she was attended to after 2 guides carried her to his tent. We assume she was taken down the mountain that day/night. After this day, it was not uncommon to see people hiking down the mountain instead of up.

The city of Moshi from Karengu Camp. Above 13,000 ft.

After Barranco came Karenga and then Barafu (Kiswahili for "snow") Camp which is a base camp for the summit climb. Since we chose the 7-day tour instead of the 6-day, we only had to hike 2.5 hours the morning before our summit climb. This gave us a bit more rest than the 6-day climbers, which we gladly used to watch the movie Elf and sleep as much as possible. We would awake for our climb for the summit around midnight and leave shortly after.

Final camp at Barafu. 15,000 ft.

I think Erin might be cold? Almost to the top though...

During the climb, we expected to see temperatures in the single digits since most of it was at night. We bundled up with everything our guides recommended and we each kind of felt like Ralphy from A Christmas Story ("I can't put my arms down!"). If you don't get that reference, please stop reading this and watch that movie! Anyways, the climb itself consisted of about 6 hours of climbing before the summit. During our climb, there was very little said apart from "Are you okay?", "I'm cold", "3 minutes" (break), and "Pole pole" (pronounced po-lay po-lay), which means "Slowly, slowly" in Kisawhili. This was also one of the mottoes for climbing the mountain and, rightfully so, we heard it more often than we could count. During the climb, I likened it to a marathon but in the dark, at below freezing temperatures, at 30 to 45 degree slopes, and with little sleep and no one to cheer you on. This was where staying positive was key. Erin was having trouble around 3-5 hours in so the 2 guides and I tried to focus on getting her to the top. It's not that I was all smiles, but she was feeling nauseous, tired, and she hates the cold much more than me.

The caldera of the volcano from the summit!

After an insanely grueling 5.5 hours, we reached the rim of the crater at the top called Stella Point. We had another 30 minute hike along the rim to reach the summit. By this time, we were watching the sun rise over Mwenzi, another, shorter peak and so we didn't need our headlamps. By the time we reached the summit, we were taking breaks almost every 5-10 minutes, but our energy jumped when we finally made it. We were only able to spend about 10 minutes taking pictures and enjoying the views before we had to start the 2-3 hour decent. Stopping anywhere for too long near the summit is not smart.

The massive glacier from the near the summit....shrinking every year.

Washington, me, Erin, and Thomas basking in all our glory!

The descent was a welcome change from the constant uphill climb. It only took us about 2 hours to descend back to camp. We were greeted with congratulations by the porters and had some Coca Cola to celebrate. Not long after, we were taking a short, 30-minute nap. We had to get our legs back before hiking to Mweka Camp which was 3 hours away from Barafu....Ugh. We were dead tired but knew we would recover more quickly at the lower altitude of Mweka and this also made for only a 3 hour hike to the park gate the following day. With the constant dropping in elevation came blisters on our toes, as usual. We both always get blisters when going down on hikes, but at this point, we knew we made it and didn't care much about he discomfort because relief was so close.

Our last night was spent in the rain. At least it held off the entire week while we hiked until then. We said our goodbyes the last morning and had a group picture (see next post). Our team was great and we would recommend Tro-Peaks to anyone else looking to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Pole pole!

(Written December 10th)