2006: A Wrohan Odyssey

Ian:1, Kilimanjaro: nada

Although I should have written this fresh off the trail with with six vertical kilometers of mud still caked on, well, everything, a few months of reflection have let me filter through all the monotonous details so this entry won't be a horrific 10-pager requiring several hours and several cocktails to wade through. And of course, for all of my close buds for whom litteracy is just out of reach and who's toilet training is really coming along, a slew of pics has also been included at no extra charge.
In a nutshell, the hike went like this: 12 (soon to be humble) trekkers started with four days of a constant but gentle uphill slog, followed by a horrific headlamp-lit 16 hour ordeal to reach the summit, and then a leisurely one day walk back to civilization (and liquor). The company that lead the hike, Africa Travel Resource, was worth every penny, and I highly recommend them to anyone interested in tackling Africa's big one.
So let's skip ahead three days to where we encountered the finest in open air sewage management facility I've ever had the pleasure of defiling: the loo with a view. As part of somebody's sick joke, less than 5 meters away from the door of the au natural water closet, the gently sloped plateau turned into a cliff which made for a fine view of the serengetti some four kilometers below, but a lethal pitfall trap for somebody in a rush to relieve themselves in the middle of the night...

As the whole plateau is a hotbed of volcanic activity (snicker), there are three summits to Kilimanjaro with the Kibo crater being the highest and the ultimate goal of the hike. Here were are approaching it on day three.

The next day, in the middle of terrain resembling the soundstage on which the '69 moon landing occurred, the Canadians stopped to construst a national monument for all to see on their way to the top...

Aptly coined, 'the last supper', our final meal on the eve of the summit attempt was little more than bread and water (okay, tea) which was the extent of what we could force down our throats at this altitude.

Although the mixture of excitement and aprehension of the big moment coupled with constant nausea and headache of altitude sickness stopped us from sleeping properly, I managed to grab a couple of hours before being woken up at midnight to a chilly -20oC 'morning' under almost a full moon. Being that high up in the atmosphere and in the absence of city lights made the stars unbelievably bright. Seeing as Kili is pretty much on the equator, and in the absence of any higher mountains it was pretty cool to see both the southern cross and (almost) the north star in the same sky, and then look down to see the distant lights of the serengeti towns almost six kilometers below.
So after a quick cup of tea we flicked on headlamps and started to climb...and climb...and climb. The combination of being light headed from altitude, tired, and having your percievable world constricted to what the headlamp is illuminated in front of you makes things a little wierd, and there were people babbling insanely, crying, and generally coming unglued all over the place. Needless to say, the guides had their hands full, but did an outstanding job of keeping the group moving and motivated, and we arrived at top of the crater at around 6am where somebody sniped this great shot as the sun came up.

After a quick rest, those who could pushed on to the highest point some 200m above along the ridge of the crater. Along the way I stopped to grab a pic and make aviator wearers around the world proud.

The last hour of the hike skirted the edge of the largest (and quickly receding) glacier on Kili.

And finally, after nine hours of one-foot-in-front-of-the-other, we sanpped the the triumphant summit shot. Brought to you by Tylenol, Asparin, and their unlicensed African versions.

And now through the magic of modern technology and thanks to a small miracle that stopped my camera from freezing, we go live to the summit of Kilimanjaro. The vid's a bit choppy, but does a decent job of capturing the moment.

Shortly after this video was recorded, we booked it down the mountain in record time and dove into our respective tents. I didn't even manage to get my boots off before passing out - what a champion. Even now, months later, I still get a bit short of breath thinking about it, but the hike was by far the most rewarding adventure I've ever had. And as a final note and a sign of a shrinking world: one can make mobile phone call from the summit!