Training Log Archive: J

this is actually a long day today in terms of distance travelled, but it is all downhill. And it is also basically a straight line back to the exit gate at 1600m, so is over fairly quickly. The morning is clear and we get good views of the mountain, and it seems a long way away, meaning we travelled further from base camp then the 1-2 hour walk suggested. My knees are hurting from all the downhill, and i'm still glad of the poles for taking some of the effort. The day starts with the porters singing songs after breakfast. Is this to influence how much we are going to pay as tips? Well it doesn't work on us as we had already sorted out tips the night before. In fact it is faintly embaressing. The 8 members of our crew had done a great job though, so we smile and listen. My brother has put it a little extra to the tips for the 2 guide and his assitant for helping him to the top the night before, so hopefully there should be no complaints. The walk down is monotonous downwards. most of the route is down steps formed in the ground using wooden beams put across the path. So poles are very useful. The vegitation quickly changes from moorland back to rainforest. The end, however, doesn't seem to come as quickly. I know from the guide book the gnerally time to get down from the camp, but still towards the end I was willing the gate to appear around every corner. Normally that hope was dashed by seeing another couple of hundred meters of path ahead, until that final corner where minibuses suddenly came into view, and before you know it you are back in the world of cars, hotels, and flushing toilets. A quick signing out from the park, stopping just long enough to pick up the certificates for getting to the top, and we were on the journey back to Moshi and our hotel. Sitting inthe room later watching films seemed like a world away from the camps we had experienced onthe mountain. i don't think i'll ever climb kilimanjaro again, not because it wasn't enjoyable, but because there are so many other challenges to complete. But I am glad to have done it, and seeing the mountain knowing I have been to the top and never have to go again is perhaps the most satisfying way of seeing it!

So fully dressed in everything I have, and still a little cold, i have breakfast, which for once is actually milky porridge as opposed to watery porridge. Wishing I had some flaked almonds and raisons to add. not really too hungry but feeling I should eat what i can. Also have more popcorn! Never had that as breakfast before, but eat what i can. Also notice that the cloud has cleared away and in the moonlight the mountain is looking amazing, with the sleet that fell a few hours before giving the whole mountain a strange whiter look. head off at about 12:30am (12:34 was the first time i looked at my watch, so that's the time I assume we started). Following the trail of headtorches stretching out in front. Feeling fine. Can see orion in the sky which I take as a positive thing (orion is bascially one of the few constellations that I can actually name). After not so far we see a walker who is already looking the worse for wear (glad we took the 2 short days to get to base camp rather than the 1 long day). Keep thinking about the joke where george W bush takes a schoolkids bag rather than a parachute when jumping out of a plane. And keep on walking. After a couple of hours we start the 'Zig zags' These bascially go on for the next few hours up the side of the mountain along the scree slope. Endlessly it seems. there are still lots of lights ahead and still very far up. My brother decides at this point to start feeling dizzy (Altitude sickness), but apart from that is okay so the assistant guide takes his bag and holds his arm the rest of the way up. This slows us down somewhat (although i am glad of the breaks to go to the toilet - I have found all week that with drinking a lot and the altitude I am needing to go a lot! - wind on the slopes doesn't help though and I have to am straight down, and get the occasional headlight beam right at me, although I know no one cares and is only focussed on getting to the top). One guy passes us at a stop continously saying 'Be strong' makes me laugh. I have decided that I am not going to feel the effects of altitude sickness until 4am, then it becames 5 am, then 6am. At 4:30am my brother says he doesn't want to continue and wants to go down. the guide tells him to shut up (okay maybe not that bluntly, but says he sees no reason why he can't continue), so we go on, slowly slowly (pole pole) back and forth along the everlasting zig zags. eventually it starts to get brighter (I loose track of time around this point), and there is an amazing sunrise with the light reflecting off the clouds that are now far below us, but still covering the base camp where we started. Shortly after sunrise the altitude starts to hit me and I realise that I am struggling to put one foot in front of the other. I can at this point see the top of the crater rim, and on a normal mountain I would only be a few minutes away, but this last climb really takes the biscuit. In fact it takes the entire biscuit tin (thanks to the guide book for that comment, it is very true). I blame this lack of energy on my brother having slowed me down, but is also down to that fact that somewhen shortly before sunrise my water run out and i've been only having a few icy drops from a bottle that was alsoin my bag. without the water i know that the altitude will be effectingme a lot worse, but i've no energy to try and get more water out of my camelback. evn stopping to open my bag an put sunglasses on seems like such an efort. Enventually though, and after more than a few breaks, we make the crater rim. Stellar point at about 200m below the really top point. A short break here, and we start the trudge round to the top. This is almost breaking me. I don't want to go on, i want to sit down, i keep stopping, I am atruggling to move my feet. But eventually the top comes into sight. I speed up, but that just makes me loose breath very quickly, am I have to stop every 20meters to catch my breath. Somehow i make it to the top. Not sure what i was expecting to feel, but I think I was too tired to feel anything. make a few jokes with the other climbers about the queue of people waiting to take photos. Ask one group about the chilli company that has sponsered them, and for whom they have brought a poster to be shown in a photo. I am assured it is very good chilli. My idea of having two signs to increase the throughput of photo takers doesn't seem to interest many people. So we just take a few pictures. I head off to take a piss, and then realise that there is now where at all on the top to take one unless i want 50 poeple to watch. So i decide to go a little further down. the glaciers are looking very big. From below they just seem to be a thin cover on the rock. but up here they stand up to about 20meters above it, big thick slabs of ice. Very strange place to be. i suddenly realise that there is actually no real reason to climb the mountain, nothing amazing has happened, and i now have my least favorite part - the descent. from the top it is a trudge around the crater rim back to steller point, with a stop for a piss along the way, plus I get out my poles. then instead of following the zig-zags down we scree run. my knees don't like this though. I know it is going to hurt later, so i go as quickly as I can. but with a lack of energy and not liking what I am doing I slow down. this descent is torture I just want to stop and not have to do it. My brother seems fine considering he is being held up and not having to carry a bag. I get annoyed at him, he hasn't really climbed the moutain - he was carried up. I realise that thinking is not going to help so I just try and keep on going down and hope that we get back sooner rather than later. back in the clouds we slowly come back towards the camp. We pass where we did the acclimitisation walk the day before and now know it is not too far. Then a little further on someone from our crew of porters comes and offers to carry my bag. Thank god. i could carry it on, but I don't care, so for the last 10/15 minutes i let the porter carry my bag, and this last big is a little steep so i'm glad for the extra strength I get. Eventually we get back to the camp, get a drink and crash for an hour. It is not even midday yet. We reached the top at 8:40, so 8 hours up, and under 3 hours down. Still not sure why we bothered climbing it, it is just a mountain after all. Anyway I quickly fall asleep and the hours rest is much appreciated. We get up about 1pm for lunch, still confused about the time, as with all we have done today it seems weird that it is so early in that day. Anyway we have no problem eating lunch, and soon after we head down to our final camp, at 3800m. This is a fairly quick descent straight down from base camp. And also not too long 1-2 hours perhaps. Again we eat a lot, no problem with the altitude taking away are appitite anymore. Then it is back to bed for a good nights sleep.

back up to 4600m today from about 4000m. Even at 4000m I have been wearing a few layers in bed, but plan to wear almost everything I have tonight - will also make it easier to get ready for the summit climb. Fairly short day and the height gain was done easily. got into camp early, and again did an acclimitisation walk up to about 4800 before heading down for lunch. These acclimitisation walks bascially involve walking with just a bottle of water up to a certain height then staying there for about 15-30 minutes to help the body get used to the new altitude. Weather has turned a bit worse today and it is slowly sleeting, although this is not a bad thing as the extra could should keep some of the heat in before the ascent tonight. Sorted my stuff out before dinner, then a simple dinner of stew (ie soup and veg in one dish rather than the usual 2!, so really not much change). Considering we ate lunch a caouple of hours agao, and will be having breakfast in a few hours i'm not too fussed about eating, but i eat us much as I can. Head to bed about 6pm. Wake up just after 10pm having had a couple of hours sleep. Get the wake up call at 11pm, and put another couple of layers on top of the 6 layers I was wearing in bed. So altogther i have 8 layers on (2 long sleeve thermal tops, 3 short sleeved t-shirts, 2 fleeces and a rain jacket). I also have underwear, therrmal underwear, trousers and waterproof trousers on below.

Felt much better in the morning. Look at the route out of the valley and with the first people attempting it it now looks like a sheer cliff face with a little path running along it which is crowded at points with groups of walkers slowing down to let the porters past. We head off late as we are only doing a short day today. Instead of heading over to base camp (which would be a tough 10k walk back up to 4600m, and then starting for the summit at midnight), we are instead splitting this day up, so after scaling the wall (not as steep as it appears, but still gets you up quickly to the top point of the day at about 4200m), it is just a couple of hours of fairly gentle up and down before the final steeper down and up through karranga valley to the campsite. Did an acclimatisation walk in the afternoon, which gave great views of the moutain. Things look so close, but thats a false image because everything is just on a giant scale. bit like the father ted ''little cow, big cow' sketch. Dinner like every other night is soup and a rice / pasta with aauce combo. And very good too. Feeling much better, although when the evening comes and the clouds on the top of the moutain clear away the summit still looks as far away as ever.

Tough third day. heart rate starting to pound even when resting. Went up to 4600 today, and could feel the effect of the altitude. Was feeling nauseus, so drinking / eating would make me feel sick. Found it harder to keep moving. No complaining about the slow pace today! Came back down to just under 4000m to sleep, so not much height gain, but glad for it. Staying in a valley, with a steep wall to climb out of tomorrow. Had poles for the descent, and very glad of them. I've never used poles before, but they really seemed to help take some of the pressure off my knee, so am not feeling any pain from my ITB. My head is a different matter though, and i've got a splitting headache. The idea of tea and then dinner isn't pleasent and all I want to do is go to sleep. Appitite has gone down - probably from the headache, so don't eat much. Should drink more as well, as i know that is the main reason for my headache, but really i just want to get to bed as quickly as possible.

Second day on Kili. Still fairly gentle upwards, perhaps a little steeper. Today walking along a ridge through the start of the mountain moorland. Not as far as yesterday but getting tougher with the altitude. peaked at about 4000, before heading down to about 3850 to camp. Getting better views of the mountain now. Still looks a very very long way away, and very high. Did an aclimitisation walk after arriving, so went up a bit to get used to a higher altitude before coming back down for food. Legs are stiffer and so the drop toilets are not as much fun tonight. very good views of the arrow glacier, which I could easily identify because it looks very much like an arrow, coincidently pointing in exactly the direction to go tomorrow. Much colder tonight, needed to wear a couple of layers to keep warm in the sleeping bag.

Start of Kilimanjaro from 1800m to 3000m. Started off from the gate whilst the guide was sorting out some paperwork in his hand, so was going slowly whilst he was getting his stuff in order. Then he put the notes away and we kept going at the same 1mph pace! Crazy. Finally covered the 10k in 6 hours! Generally gentle upwards path through the rain forest, so plenty of shade from the sun. Camping just outside the top of the rainforest - there would be a dotted vegetation boundary if it was shown on an orienteering map. had the pleasure of squat toilets at the camp. Food was good with tea (milo and popcorn and biscuits), before a proper dinner an hour later. bed around 9pm, mainly because it got dark at 7pm, so once dinner was finished it got a lot colder and there aren't many cinema / nightclub venues in the area.