Update: December 28, 2017 – DAY 6
Day 6 – Summit attempt via Stella Point (5752 m/18871 ft) to Uhuru Peak (5895 m/19340 ft) and descent to Millenium Camp (3820 m/12530 ft) (or to Mweka Hut)
Walking distance: 5 km/3 miles ascent + 10 km/6.2 miles descent
Walking time: 5-6 hrs + 1-2 hours up, 5-6 hours down (the overall walking time may vary from 10 – 16 hours)
Altitude gain: 1072 m/ 3511 ft (Stella Point) or 1215 m/3980 ft (Uhuru Peak)
Descent: 2075 m/6810 f
As I said yesterday, “Expect the unexpected.” We’ve learned this many times over. As much as you prepare, until you’re there in the moment, you never know what will happen. With that said, here is what happened today as best as I can piece together. I know that Howard will complete this blog with an update of his own upon his return.
Before bed, they prepared their day packs with everything they would need: rain gear, enough water, hand warmers, balaclava… The day will likely go down as one of the most physically challenging days in their whole lives.
They got up early and left at 5:00 AM to attempt the summit. After an initial little scramble over some small cliffs to get out of the Barafu Camp, the path became easier to follow. But it didn’t take long until they reached a sharp turn to the left. And then it started, the endless succession of switchbacks, snaking back and forth, back and forth, up the steep slope of loose, volcanic scree that is the side of Kibo Peak.
A guide describes it as follows:
“As steep as the slope is, due to the many switchbacks the path itself isn’t all that bad. However, the scree is lose and you keep sliding down, and nothing’s easy without oxygen. The air is incredibly thin, getting thinner all the time. You may feel horrible. Don’t push yourself too hard. Take all the time you need and for goodness sake don’t let anyone pressure you into moving faster than you feel comfortable to. Steady, steady, one tiny little step after the other. It doesn’t matter if you reach Uhuru Peak or even the rim in time for sunrise. It only matters that you reach it and that you will be able to get back down safely! You can not move too slowly on Kilimanjaro. The people who do not feel the effects of the altitude are few and far between. Hopefully the worst you have to deal with is a headache and the occasional wave of nausea. Throwing up is not as uncommon as you might hope and is no reason for concern. It’s only awful. It’s impossible to have long breaks in these temperatures. The cold starts creeping into your hands and feet first, then into your whole body. When you cross a frozen stream and notice some boulders you are very close! It’s about 30 minutes to the rim from here, but that last bit of slope is cruel, the steepest and hardest part of the whole night…The more time you spend at this extreme altitude, the more you will feel it. The path rises steadily. It may not look steep, but by now every step uphill can be a battle.”
Howard has been moving slower so the kids moved ahead with George and their assistant guide. Max, Ben and Shayna were about 800 feet ahead of Howard when Max began to feel altitude sickness. Being an intelligent young man he chose himself to descend and when he got to where Howard and Steve were they decided to escort him down so once again, Howard, at the very end, gave up his opportunity to summit because he is an amazing father.
Meanwhile, Ben, Shayna and George continued to ascend toward Uhuru Point. At about 18,500 ft. Shayna experienced a very bad headache (probably due to the altitude) and when it continued to worsen the higher they climbed, Ben (because he’s an awesome brother and a smart young man) made the decision to abort the climb entirely and take Shayna back down. I believe they reached Stella Point which means that technically they will get a certificate because this is considered the 2nd highest summit.
Meanwhile, the descent is no picnic either.
The guide describes the descent:
“You probably don’t have the tiniest little bit of energy left now. Well, guess what? The day has only begun and it’s another long day…You now have to drag yourself back down. From Stella Point it’s nearly 1100 m down, down, down… Until you get back to Barafu. The descent is cruel on the knees and you will appreciate the walking poles! If you scree run then this isn’t too bad. It’s actually quite fun. And fast! But pity those who have to stagger back down the same way they came up, switchback for painful switchback. You just want to collapse and sleep. But after what you have done to your body today it is not safe to remain at this altitude. You have no choice but to keep going. Down and down you go, for several more hours, to Millenium Camp or Mweka Huts, whichever your tour company chose. What will happen now is something of a miracle. Because as you descend further there will be air again. Oxygen! Lots of it! Oxygen is life and that is exactly what will be injected back into you. You may not believe this now, but there is a good chance that after this additional descent you may feel better and have more energy.”
When they called me they were all reunited at camp and literally crawling into their sleeping bags to go to bed. Tomorrow they still have a 3-4 hour hike to finish their descent and will call me when they are back at the hotel.
Very early morning on summit day on the Machame route. © Uta Philipp.It takes most people five to six hours to reach Stella Point.
Stellar sunrise at Stella Point, photo by Abir Anwar
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