The Nightmare

An Overview
Exhaustion, nausea, and utter disbelief that you're finally there. These are the words to describe reaching Uhuru Peak, the top of Africa, at 7 am on a clear, sunny morning. After 7 hours (or more) of climbing in the middle of the night, there is just no room for the emotions you expected (elation, happiness, even relief.) It's more of an empty stillness that overtakes you as the knowledge that the nightmare is finally over sinks in. It's knowing all that feeling like s*** is over, but you're too tired to let any other emotion to take its place.

The real challenge of climbing Kili can be narrowed down to that last torturous night, setting out at 12 am to climb Kibo (the volcano seen on all the pictures, that is only really climbed upon on the final day.) ATR describes the summit climb as a nightmare. In hindsight, I think the description is quite accurate.

Getting to Gilman's
The climb to Gilman's was an unrelenting 5 hour struggle up a path of semi-frozen volcanic scree. In the dark, we could make out the lines of headlights of the other groups ahead. These little flickering lights did not come as a sign of hope, but rather as a dark reminder of the steep and endless trek ahead. At pit stops, people were throwing up, falling asleep, slumping in positions that would normally be considered quite unusual (and uncomfortable.) I myself felt sick as of about 5000 m, which means I felt crappy for a good 4-5 hours. All six of us wondered what kept us going that night. I know my answer is that I had it in my mind that I had to make it to Gilman's. Once there, the path would be less steep, and the sun would come up, giving us hope for the rest of the climb.

Still, getting there was hard, to say the least. I've never been so weak in my life. I even lost my sense of balance, and had it not been for the walking poles, I may just have fallen over. I had been sick in the days before the climb, so I think I was even weaker than weak. I'm not saying this to be a hero or to feel sorry for myself, but only to underline what great things our body can do if our mind wills it to. (At this point, I should mention that I couldn't have done it without Damas, one of the guides, who carried my pack soon after I started feeling nauseous.)

Rewarding Moments

Despite the difficulty of the climb, and despite my not being able to fully enjoy the benefits of reaching Uhuru Peak, that night did have its incredible moments. Arriving at Gilman's for one, was a a moment of pure joy and relief. It's the one moment I allowed myself to cry. Another great moment was the sunrise. When the sun came, it really did feel like the worst was over, and it gave me new energy. And finally, the absolute highlight of my climb was watching Liz, a girl of 18, who had thrown up twice on her way up, trudge those final steps in the new sunlight to the peak holding Damas' hand, which he had offered her for comfort. I wish I had taken a picture at that moment, but I was too far away, too tired. Still, whenever I think of Kili, that image of their silhouettes in the day's early sunlight will always come back to me. Climbing Kili will "kill" you, but with moments like that, it will also bring you back to life.