NNN Bulletin: Mount Kilimanjaro

I'm in a bus we've just finished safari in the Serengetti and we're heading back to Dar.

I never wrote another entry on Mt Kilimanjaro. It was attempted many times but this is the first time in 10 days since the mountain I've had some thought space to write. The short of it is we made the summit (yay!), but not as planned. On day 5 after reaching Barafu hut at lunchtime Hashim decided we'd make an afternoon attempt on the summit. It was weather related. There had been a big storm overnight and the climbers who summited had a horrible time of it. We saw them scattered around Barafu. Bloated, sun burnt and totally dishevvelled, as though they had just come off the frontline of a ferocious battle. The weather was clear that afternoon and Hashim wanted us to make an attempt before the storm returned and we'd had time to let the magnitude of the task sink in. His words 'Lets go to the top now. Don't talk to the other hikers'. So we ate lunch and left. His decision was well judged, for even though it was very difficult (Chris suffered badly from altitude sickness and was carried by Jamal & Roman for the last section) the weather stayed clear and we were treated to a glorious sunset.

At the summit (5895mtr) I got down on one knee and asked Jess to marry me, she said yes which sent my head spinning, then about 15mins later we descended in the twighlight as the storm rolled in. We got back to Barafu camp quite exhausted at around 8pm.

I can still see the summit out the bus window. From here it looks like someone has poured a small helping of white topping on some chocolate ice cream. From a distance that is all they look like, nothing much really. But they are the last glaciers in Africa and up close their beauty is unparalleled, as were my feelings as I gazed across a silk blue skyline a top the highest peak on the continent.

Jess and Jamal enroute to the summit