July 8, 2011
We turned into bed relatively early after eating supper & visiting with Tommy & Hannah. We are in a nice little camp ground that is more like a Canadian camp ground ( sans mosquitoes) we walked for four hours on this little path of desert past one camp then through the coolest little forest on a path that appeared to be a dried up stream bed. What we as North Americans see as inconvenient is just a way of life here. Walking for four hours ( with a bag on your head like the porter in front of us) is just another day for them & they think nothing of it, no big deal. We left camp & I still felt a little shitty but the drop in elevation helped that.
10:25 a.m. Christie is sleeping in the tent right next to me & I’m a little concerned about getting heat stroke or sun stroke. After the odyssey of summitting Kilimanjaro they have no water here at this camp. I am so sick, we’re supposed to move camp in a few hours but to be honest I’m not sure that I can. Each day of the 6 day trek leading up to Kilimanjaro’s Base Camp was progressively more difficult. Finalizing with summit day which was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.We chose the Macheme route but most of the routes all have the same summit day leaving at midnight to get to the summit for sunrise. Tommy, Christie Hannah & I were supported by a guide each & 19 porters. The trek leading up to summit was difficult & a lot of fun & never really prepared us for what it was like to reach the ‘roof of Africa’. Summitting Kilimanjaro was the most difficult physical feat that I have ever undertaken in my life. To be honest with you if I knew going in that it was going to be as difficult as it was I’m not sure I would have taken on the task. It wasn’t helped by the fact that I was only able to get a few hours sleep over the previous two nights and only a handful of hours since arriving in Africa. Even after we summitted, racing & sliding down the mountain I’m still not really sure how I managed it. I was so starving for more oxygen yet exhausted beyond anything that I’ve ever experienced I wanted to get to camp as soon as possible. It is pretty crazy when you consider 4600 meters to be an oxygen rich environment. I used to want to summit Everest, I now think that is beyond my capabilities. Apparently at nearly 6 kilometre above sea level (5895 meters) we were higher than Everest Base Camp but none the less, I bit off way more than I could chew. I honestly had no idea how I even reached the summit. My guide Alfonz encouraging me every step of the way certainly helped. It was literally 7+ hours of gasping & wheezing one breath at a time. My Lungs burning every breath fighting to get enough oxygen into my body. After every breath I felt like I was going to pass out, my legs would quiver & sometimes buckle. I was convinced that I had food poisoning as Christie was nauseous & Hanna the Swedish girl in our group vomitted three times ( but she still made it! What a trooper Hannah!). But what I thought was food was more than likely altitude sickness. I can certainly see why many people die on the mountain. Besides the altitude it was so incredibly cold. As we were going up, the entire summit was in the dark, there was a trail of lights from all of the climbers head lamps leading up the mountain seemingly that went on forever. A huge mistake that I made many times was to look up, to see how far we had to go was seriously disappointing, the key was literally one step & one gasping breath at a time. Many people came down, I saw one guy getting carried off of the mountain, there is no shame in not finishing this feat. In fact ex-tennis star Martina Navratilova http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/tennis/12/12/navratilova.kilimanjaro.climb/index.html had to was taken off the mountain a few months back. I still don’t know how I did it, it was literally 7 hours of what felt like suffocating. I don’t think that I could have done it if it wasn’t for the NOWZAD Super 7 dogs in Kabul who inspired this crazy stunt. Every minute I thought about quitting but I simply couldn’t stand the thought of letting these dogs down, please if you haven’t donated to NOWZAD please do as a favor to me, if you have donated please get your friends to. For me to undertake something like this has to be for someone else, a cause. I would have never summitted if it were just for myself. I am so proud of Christie, she inspired me as well, I also don’t think that I could have done this without her suffering right by my side every step of the way. Our guides were also instrumental in having all four of us finish. Alfonze you lied to me so many times ( ‘only one half hour to go’ he encouraged me in his thick African accent) & if you wouldn’t have I’m not sure that I could have done it, I was screaming at him, ‘ you f****g lie to me! I’m sure other climbers thought that I was nuts between that & my loud gasping for air. Mountain sickness takes on many forms, shortness of breathe which we all had but mine was the worst, Hannah threw up, Christie had bad seizing stomach cramps, Tommy & I saw things & i was the fortunate one to have diarreah on the mountain…in the dark, in the cold, wearing bib overall mountain climbing pants & 3 layers of clothing underneath….fun. There was one incident where there was a traffic jam of people & Alfonze went first, a Frenchman had some choice words for our amazing guide, it was a misunderstanding yet when people are in such extreme states the French guy over reacted a little, but I was amazed that he shot up the side of a rock on all fours like a spider monkey, he was obviously a very experienced climber. Jerome personally stayed with Tommy & Hannah the entire time & held Hannah’s hand through throwing up encouraged her & helped her to the summit. Christie & I were so happy to see that they made it. They probably don’t know how happy I was since at that time I was at the peak on all fours still fighting for air. Funny Tommy & I were talking yesterday about doing the 7 Summits ( the 7 highest peaks on each continent) & we were making plans to do McKinley in Alaska next…I think my climbing days are done! Thanks for everyone’s support of the dogs for this crazy misadventure, I am unable to see where the dogs donation amount is at right now, I only hope that its made this worth while. I’m still not sure I’ll be able to recover for the rest of my trip to be honest with you. There were times without exaggeration when I was in the throws of not getting enough oxygen into my body I thought that I might die, but then I thought at least it would be for a good cause. Being on the summit after such a trying physical endeavour was very emotional, Christie cried and I was on all fours fighting to breathe & an African guide from another group came over & congratulated me, I hugged his leg like a Bond girl in the Viva Poster. Christie & I had plans to video the summit, do an adjustment, but it’s all that we could do is breathe so all of that went out the window. In fact if it weren’t for our guide Alfonze we wouldn’t have even gotten any photographs, he dug our camera out & took all of our pictures for us.
July 7, 2011
I didn’t sleep much & we left in the dark to summit after we had some greasy food.
6:34 p.m. We’re in our tent at Barafu Hut ( base camp for Kilimanjaro’ we are to sleep until 11 p.m. Or so when we take the 7-8 hours to summit. I’m pretty uncomfortable, I can barely breathe on account of the altitude (4600M) , I have “kinks’ or Jimmy legs, & I’m pretty cold. We had another incredibly starchy supper. I began Through Black Spruce. We walked on shale that sounded like walking on broken glass. It was a long & gruelling day. Climbing Baranco Wall to begin the day was a real treat,a lot of fun.
4:39 a.m. I have been awake since 1:30 a.m. I read Three Day Road, which is certainly not an uplifting story. I think for today’s climb, I will concentrate on my breathing & one foot in front of the other. Jerome gave me his mattress that feels like heaven compared to the previous nights,
July 6, 2011
We all turned in about 8:00 p.m. The wind was wild outside. Surprisingly I was doing the best at supper. I am chronically sort of breath & I find myself gasping for air at even the slightest movements such as going to the bathroom. The others; Tommy, Hannah & Even Christie who was doing remarkably well today, all had headaches. Christie’s mantra is ‘the body is a self regulating, self healing mechanism that will adapt’.
4:18 p.m. Christie & I are in our tent after having some tea in the mess tent. We’re at Baranco Wall camp which is 3600 meters above sea level. We went up as high as the Lava Tower which is 4600 meters. I have to be honest this is far more difficult than I ever imagined. Ascending to the Lava Tower I was gasping for air literally after every step. Every time we stopped my heart was pounding through my chest. What motivated to keep me going was the thought of the NOWZAD dogs. I have no way of checking to see where we’re at with donations. Thank you so much to anyone who has donated please get your friends to help out as well every little bit helps. It’s so easy through PayPal. Tommy the young Swede is considering going down. It felt good to wash up a bit. The wind got pretty crazy when we had lunch. I felt great this morning but it didn’t take long for that to end.
6:19 a.m. Christie & I are awake in our tent. I spent most of the night switching from side to back to other side, occasionally lying on my front. The ground is so hard I can only tolerate 5-10 minutes in each position. I suppose that it prepares me for summit day when we wake up at 11:30 at night to summit. Reading what soldiers endured in Three Day Road helps me & I also think of lyrics to a Bon Jovi song, ‘I got an old coat for a pillow & the earth was last nights bed’
1:30 a.m. I lie awake in our tent at Shira Cave Camp the breeze rattling the fabric of the tent. I have been reading Three Day Road a Canadiana book that has gotten extraordinary reviews, I find it interesting. I am frustrated, today I woke up at 12:30 a.m. I am going backwards! From 3:30 a.m. The first day to 1:30 & now just past midnight. I need to get more sleep. I actually feel pretty good, a little short of breath & a thin line of sunburnt skin that runs just above my collar on the back of my neck. When I fumbled with the zipper of the tent to go pee I was annoyed at Christie for not following my request & keeping a large plastic water bottle in the tent as a bed pan. It is not as cold as I expected tonight, there is actually a relatively warm breeze. We are also dressed in 3 or 4 layers of clothes so the cold is much less of an issue than last night. Outside for my pee I was absolutely dumbfounded at the beauty of the African night sky at this altitude. The vastness & amount of the bright stars is unlike anything that I have ever seen.
July 5, 2011
Sunny
Now I fully understand what they say when mountaineers talk about the extremes of the climate on a mountain such as Kilimanjaro. The morning was so cold my fingers & toes were as numb as from a Canadian winter. Yet later when the sun came out it burnt my skin that was not covered or bathed in sunscreen. Before we turned into bed in our tent the sun creating a colorful masterpiece in the sky & basking ominous Kilimanjaro in the last orange light of the Tanzanian day, the mountain looms in the distance like a timeless sentry. We enjoyed the company of the Swedish couple over dinner. I slept for most of the afternoon in our tent that was unbearably hot from the sun yet with flaps at both ends of the tent open surprisingly cold because of the breeze, so much so that I had to wear a sweatshirt. Our tent is on the furthest edge of the small tent city located next to the helipad marked out by a circle of white & yellow painted rocks with the same rocks spelling a large H in the middle of the circle. We arrived to Shira Camp about 1:50 p.m. I read the end of The Cellist of Sarjevo. Fate flicked me with her powerful finger. As we ascended in what was a continuous line of African porters carrying supplies on their head & Westerners (many North Americans often make my skin crawl with our shrill obnoxious arrogance). Most of the way up we had to wait for the non stop line of people to continue. Climbers always stepped aside to allow the porters to pass but we were still at a standstill in a traffic jam of climbers & porters many tines. Anyway earlier in the day I was feeling incredible & suggested that we carry on to the next camp thus shortening our climb by a day…later I was dizzy and short of breath feeling weak, a combination of mixed up sleeping patterns accompanied by altitude I’m sure. We left Macheme camp in the cold bush to quickly ascend into savannah type vegetation. We had our breakfast & I felt really good despite being awake for many hours.
Jumbo – hello – how’s it going
Sante- thank you
Caribou- your welcome
Poley poley- slowly slowly
4:41 a.m. Christie & I are in a pretty cold tent at Macheme camp on Kilimanjaro. I’ve been awake since 1 a.m. Or so. I crashed pretty hard last night about 8:30 p.m. After we had supper by candlelight in a tent with Tommy Eriksson & Hanna Lungren both who hail from a resort town in Southern Sweden. We arrived at camp shortly after 6 p.m. The trail up was beautiful mainly in a lush rainforest shrouded by mist most of the morning until the sun peaked through the jungle canopy later in the day. It was a steep climb & a long six hour hike but I’ve been holding up well with the altitude so far at 3000 meters. We met at the entrance to Macheme route gate enterance. True to small world form we met an Edmonton teacher & her daughter & her friends. We drove down narrow roads past typical African buildings under overcast skies with Tommy, Hannah, our guides Jerome, & Alfonze along with about 5-6 others. They hired the other porters totaling 17-18 in all during a cattle call at the park entrance. I was profoundly disappointed that we picked up the wrong SIM card so there will be no email, Internet or Facebook transmissions while we are on the mountain. That is not good news for my dogs who need publicity generated. The bus came to get us about 9 a.m,
July 4, 2011
Although completely unintentional I am amused at the parallel between Hemmingway’s life and my own. From the crater at Halleuakala to running with the bulls last year in Pamplona & now this year ‘The Snows of Kilimanjaro’ I think that’s kinda cool.
4:43 a.m. Kilimanjaro Pamoja Lodge, I’m sitting in the courtyard to access the Internet and allow Christie to sleep listening to the barking, fighting and screaming of dogs in the distance
2:59 a.m. Kilimanjaro I am in my small cot with a mosquito net covering both Christie, who is also in a small cot next to me, & my bed. It is a spartan yet clean little room, The Egypt room is the moniker of our place. I think that it may be raining outside. I hear the deep bellow of a large dog bating in the distance. I am nervous about summiting Kilimanjaro. I could feel myself out of breath at Addis which is only 2500 meters & I remember how much difficulty I had in Cusco which was only 3000 meters & change, I must do this. I feel about a million times better getting some sleep. I initially woke up at 1:00 a.m. But was really happy to be able to go back to sleep for a couple more hours. I had some pretty cool dreams about the upcoming adventure but they slipped into oblivion of the depths of my mind. There is a mosquito buzzing around in the room somewhere. The Mosquitos here are the tiniest little insects opposed to back home
July 3 2011
Christie & I both turned in pretty early, probably around 8 or 9 o’clock right after we had supper. At the lodge, it is a neat & beautiful little place with lush green trees behind a gate & cobblestone parking lot. A representative from the tour group came to check on us & we discussed the upcoming week on the mountain. I was so tired I more passed out than I did go to sleep. I would be lying there & I just went unconscious. We arrived at the lodge via a representative from the tour who met us at the airport. We talked briefly as we drove down the left side of the road passing the typical plaster brightly colored buildings with fading paint, bad paint jobs that look right at home in a junior high art room on the side. Lots of people sitting around, small children tending herds of cattle, goats & sheep. I was nodding off after a short time my head snapping back up after falling down from being asleep. It is much cleaner in Tanzania than Sierra Leone, much drier, but also similar in many ways. I was so glad to get out of the chaos & corruption of crowded Addis with incompetence everywhere into the country side. Addis was cool probably because of it’s altitude, very hazy ( or smoggy ). It is browner here in Kilimanjaro yet still quite comfortable 26-27 C. At night it drops down in temperature a little so I put on a sweatshirt.
The Snows of Kilimanjaro:
“There was no hardship; but there was no luxury and he had thought that he could get back into training that way. That in some way he could work the fat off his soul the way a fighter went into the mountains to work and train in order to burn it out of his body.”
“Kilimanjaro is a snow-covered mountain 19,710 feet high, and is said to be the highest mountain in Africa. Its western summit is called the Masai ‘Ngaje Ngai’, the House of God. Close to the western summit there is a dried and frozen carcas of a leopard. No one has explained what the leopard was seeking at that altitude.”
“There, ahead, all he could see, as wide as all the world, great, high, and unbelievably white in the sun, was the square top of Kilimanjaro. And then he knew that there was where he was going”
– Ernest Hemingway: The Snows Of Kilimanjaro
As if it wasn’t crazy enough we were half way to Kilimanjaro & the plane turned around & went back to Addis, mechanical problems.
After 45+ hours on planes, at airports & getting extorted (kinda like we used to do in the old bouncing days!) it was so nice to get into Tanzania. Kilimanjaro’s airport is beautiful & quite small
KILIMANJARO
Unique Characteristics: Kilimanjaro is composed of three extinct volcanoes. Kibo (5895 meters), Mawenzi (5149 meters) and Shira (3962 meters). It is one of the world’s highest free standing mountains: its mass rises 4800 meters above a rolling plain that averages 1000 meters above sea level. After reaching a height thought to be 5900 meters during its last major eruption 360,000 years ago, Kibo has been eroded by glaciers, rivers and landslides to its present height. It is believed that Kilimanjaro, like its neighbor Mt. Kenya, is losing glaciers due to global warming.
The Name Kilimanjaro: Given the stature and greatness of Kilimanjaro, there is relatively little recorded history of the peak. Even the origins of the name present somewhat of a dilemma. May people believe the name derived from the Kishwahili tribal name, Kilima meaning mountain. The local Wachagga people claim to have no name for Kilimanjaro, but did name the dual peaks Kipoo and Kimawenzi.
First mention of Kili by Westerners: John Rebmann, published account in 1849.
First climbed: Hans Meyer, 1889.
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