25 August 2011,
The day started at the crack of dawn and today was unexpectedly adventurous. In the distance of the camp we saw a somewhat sheer cliff face with some bright coloured movement. On closer inpection we saw some porters strategically maneuverer their heavy loads up the rocky outcrops. Turns out that was the standard route to the top. Turns out the idea was to start the day “climbing” Kili. Up until now the hike had comprised mainly of walking, slow walking due to the thin air, but nonetheless nothing else but a long and steady walk. I had not needed to use my hands for support just yet. Well, today was different. I wouldn’t say it was extremely dangerous, but if you were not careful then a slip could be fatal. Somewhat dangerous... Adrenaline. “A short spurt” was assured by Martin, only the part you see, once you get to the top it levels out! Pole Pole... Hakuna Matata, Piece of the cake! Well… we needed to see about that, and offcourse we first needed to make it to the plateau.
Serious climbing, thats how the day started
Some serious teambuilding and some serious Kili traffic. We made it through the toughest part of the day and all enjoyed the view at the plateau. Once again… Awesome!
Having survived the "climb"
In the meantime John had caught up the whole team was complete. Once at the highest point of the day we were truelly well above the clouds. Wow! After the plateau we started a abrupt descent… only to start a second climb (walk) to the lunch camp. The weather was still excellent, pace was steady and we all felt the effects of the hight and lack of oxygen.
The road ahead - in the distance is Karanga hut - the lunch camp
Arrival at Karanga hut - 3930m - Lunch
Its amazing how slowly we walked and still needed to occasionally take a breather! The lunch was possible the best one to date! KFC at 3930m! Well not exactly, but the chef had made us fried chicken and a very generous portion of fries and even coleslaw. Some serious effort went into that meal.
An impression of the fast pace environment
Walking in the clouds
After lunch we continued on to Barafu. There were still a few hours to walk and the clouds moved in fast. We were now well above any living plants and were walking on what could have been a lunar surface. Small rocks, grey drie sand and just about 0 plants or creatures. In the distance we could see the final ascend of the day. It had been a long day and thought of sitting down and relaxing was truelly relieving. This is also the first time where there was no energy for a team photo.
Barafu base camp
Fatigue was slowly setting in. Some of the guys had had trouble sleeping at altitude and there was a substantial drop in appetite. The only thing really keeping us going was the thought of tomorrow! This is what we were here for.
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