Notes from a small climb..

Kili..
Originally uploaded by An Smith

Climbing mountains is ridiculous (the really really big kind anyway). You spend a very long time getting to the top, then get sick and find that you don't care about the photo opportunity you've just spent 5 days getting to simply because you are more concerned that you are dizzy and nauseous and completely disoriented from lack of oxygen to the brain and are coincidentally teetering on the edges of a slippery glacier volcano. Then you have to climb down again (I fell eight times) and it takes a week to recover and you then have an annoying cold to deal with while lying on the beaches of Zanzibar in the heat. Okay, so to give you a better idea here are my notes from the six days it took me and Denise to climb Kili..(the abridged version of course);

Day One:Mandara huts 2720 meters

We only hiked for three hours today and it was relatively easy in comparison to what will come (I think). Our guide keeps reminding us to walk 'pole pole' which means slow in Swahili. (You literally have to move at a snails pace so that your body acclimatizes properly. It's actually a challenge to move this slow). I am pleasantly surprised by our accommodations.. we have our own lodge with bunk beds and mattresses and solar power. There is even a flushing outhouse and showers at this camp (not that we plan on showering for the next 6 days). We have to drink 3-5 litres of liquids each day so they are force feeding us hot drinks cause it's already so cold I can't feel my toes and I can see my breath when I talk. The drive to where we began our ascent this morning was incredible and only goes to further confirm my suspicions that Tanzania is the most stunningly gorgeous country I've ever traveled in. The vegetation is so lush and the stone houses that hide in the midst of the banana plantations and fields of sunflowers are so adorable. There are flowers of every colour and millions of things I can't even describe. Just come here yourself.. much easier than me trying to find the right words and identify plants.

Reality: Our park fees for the week total $630 per person, in comparison to a local who pays $1 to enter the park. You have to wonder what the government is actually doing with this money and then when you do the math and you wonder what the guides and the porters get paid, not to mention the company needs a profit and the cost of food..and you kind of get a bad feeling about it in your stomach. The porters actually get paid $7 per day if they are lucky and then they rely on tips from you to supplement their income. They have the hardest job in the world. They carry a load of 30 kg on their back up Kili and then get nothing mainly because the government takes it all. The money is so little the majority of them don't rest between jobs because they need to survive... and just to give you an idea there are three of us climbing (we've picked up a Swedish girl to climb with us) and we have 9 staff; 2 porters each and 1 cook and 2 guides.

Day Two: Horombo Huts

51/2 hours today and it felt good. It was much stronger than yesterday and it's getting easier to chill out and walk slowly. We stop every ten minutes to drink water and breath. We are over the clouds now and the view is amazing. Kind of looks like you could run out and jump on them or have a really cozy nap.. but don't think I will try it. Bit of a headache but nothing serious. Nothing much to do but sleep and read...

Day Three: Acclimatization day

We only did a small hike to Zebra rock today which is just over 4000 ft and then descended back to Horombo and took the afternoon to relax. Tomorrow is the big day and we are suddenly a bit freaked out because one guy just came back from attempting his ascent and was in the severe stages of mountain sickness. He was projectile vomiting blood and had completely lost his memory and had purple lips and fingers. There was another group of guys who couldn't even get to the next camp and had to turn around because of severe nausea and so on.. um, why am I doing this again? I'm not sure. Mountain sickness actually has nothing to do with physical fitness, and actually I don't think you need to be fit to climb kili.. you need mental determination and a bit of luck that the elements don't mess with you. We'll see what happens.


Day Four: Kibo Hut 4700 metres

We got off to a late start today (of course, we tend to doddle more than anyone here it seems). Took us 5 hours to walk to Kibo. Headache is getting annoying and now trying to nap in a dorm room full of people who won't shut up before we ascend at 11pm. YES. 11pm. These people are driving us nuts.

Day Five/Six: Gilmans Point: 5685 metres (um, that'd be the top)

We left at 11pm and I have to say that the first two hours were incredible and felt amazing. All you could see were a million starts and a long line of headlamps weaving up the mountain. It suddenly seemed like what we were trying to accomplish was pretty exciting and the energy and vibe in the climbers was really cool.

I was wearing four pairs of pants, 2 tank tops, a t-shirt, 2 long sleeved shirts, a fleece jacket, a rain jacket and a winter jacket, heavy duty gloves, a balaclava, a scarf and two pairs of socks. I was warm enough for the first few hours but after awhile your energy gets zapped and you can't actually move fast enough to keep warm. You can't eat either (for energy) because you feel like you are going to hurl. It's great. We had to stop every 10 minutes and drink water and breath. Helped with the dizziness and nausea. Sort of. I was like a small child in oversize clothes and could barely move (the pictures are so funny I don't even recognize us). Good thing our guide Julius was awesome. He zipped up our jackets for us, fixed our hoods and adjusted our scarfs. He even took our socks and shoes off and warmed our feet on his belly when necessary! He had the best motivation techniques and new when to get us going and when to keep quiet. I don't think I would have made it without his constant encouragement and positive attitude.

Getting to the top is a bit overwhelming. Denise and I immediately burst into tears (which was a bit bizarre). I didn't expect any sort of emotional reaction but after walking for about 7 hours through the night you are really emotionally retarded. And frozen. The view from the top is really nice but you feel like hell so it is a real struggle to actually appreciate what you have just accomplished. The sun rising is something I will likely never forget and the view of the glaciers is really gorgeous. You basically walk around the volcano once you get to the top from peak to peak.

On the way down the naseau and headache started to subside but our legs were like jelly because you have to skate/run down deep loose gravel. It's really strange actuallly.. and it was at this point Denise and I became seriously delirious and I could not stop laughing (or falling due to laughing). Anyway, somehow we made it back to our beds. We slept another 2 hours, ate something and then had to walk for 5 more hours to a camp for the night at a lower altitute. Day 6 we walked out of the park..took another 5 hours. Blah.. I'm exhausted just writing and thinking about it!

Am I glad I did it? Still not sure. I guess I am.. it's almost three weeks later and I'm still angry at the mountain and just getting over my cold. Our guide really summed it up best "I don't get you tourists. You come here, you spend a thousand dollars and spend all of your vacation time to climb this f'ing mountain.. for what?". Um, yeah.. why'd we do that again :) ?????

No idea.