Luke 2:14
A porter woke us up at 11pm Day 5, got some coffee and biscuits- by candle light- into us. Last check of gear and as it became Midnight on Christmas Day, off we went on the Summit assault. 7-8 hours of uber steep slog awaits into thin atmosphere. A nice clear night, with a brilliant moon overhead.
We saw a train of fellow climbers with head lamps, slowly and silently starting the route up. Surreal, it looked like a train of pilgrims heading on a Christmas Day pilgrimage. Maybe it was just my over-active imagination.
The first part of the climb was okay, then it got hellish. A steep zig-zagging route on unstable dirt and scree for hour upon hour, heading constantly up to Stella Point (5730m high). One of the hardest things mentally I've had to do, just to keep making yourself go. Felt like crying. Felt like praying. The few rests we stopped for were somber affairs, its too cold to stop for long. The wind was mostly absent but when we did feel it, it was like being stabbed. You stop too long, you get sleepy and you either go back or you die. The wife was a trooper. On and on we went, my lungs cramping, both the wife and I checking noses and spit in a paranoia for any signs of blood. Up and up in the silent moonlight, the smaller Mawenzi peak looming over a huge valley in the distance behind us. A quick 'Merry Xmas' smooch break.
We saw a large Tanzanian tourist obviously in a lot of trouble/distress being repeatedly coaxed to go higher. I expressed concern to our Guide about the ethics of making that guy keep going up, but he did not seem to think there was an issue. We sadly passed the struggling guy by. I do worry about the incentive on guides to push people on and on in order to get bigger tips from getting them to the Summit (or alternatively rescuing them from serious altitude issues). You do have to watch out for yourself and spouse a bit, can't totally trust anyone else.
After hours of this torment we finally, as dawn started to appear, at the end of our strength got to the top of the climb and to Stella Point.
Onto the Summit
At Stella Point (5730 m) we could see the red dawn lighting up the distant Mawenzi Peak as well as the ice cap/glaciers we were now at.
(dawn comes over distant Mawenzi Peak)
I felt a moment of euphoria to see the glaciers. So massive, yet getting smaller every year due to climate change. Africa was far, far below. I was breathing fairly okay and aside from a bit of a headache didn't feel too bad. The wife was exhausted, she did not seem as happy as me to have made the top...hmm. We saw the ridge winding away towards Uhuru Peak and set off on the 30-45 minute trudge past the glaciers to the Summit.
(almost there, wifey)
'For Ar-Pharazon wavered at the end, and almost he turned back. His heart misgave him when he looked upon...Taniquetil shining, whiter than snow,colder than death, silent, immutable, terrible as the shadow of the light of Iluvatar'
The Silmarillion
My euphoria began to be replaced by disquiet and a sense of foreboding. It was so alien up there at the top with the massive, silent glaciers.
This was not a place for people to hang and shoot the breeze. As Legolas says in Fellowship of the Rings 'We cannot linger'. Sorry, all the scale puts this geek in a Tolkien quoting mood. Felt like intruders up there. If something went really wrong up there, you're too high to necessarily escape a bad result. Manfred kept praying and reminding Mungu of his good deeds in the past year. All 2 of them.
My concern about the wife was growing slowly. The guides took her bag off her.I didn't think she had serious altitude sickness, just she was utterly spent. Plus a touch of the altitude that everyone gets up there, being that high. We kept trudging onto the Summit proper. It was taking longer to get there than I liked. I noticed my vision was starting to go a bit weird, the glaciers were looking a bit fuzzy. The wife later told me she had grey spots in her vision too. Hm. I had taken off my gloves to take pictures and they were going numb. Felt light headed.
Finally,we staggered to the sign that marked the Summit. A Petone shirt at the Roof of Africa, 5895 metres high, surely that's a world first? Joyful fellow climbers (some in Santa hats) hugged, took photos and wished each other a Merry Christmas. We took the obligatory Summit photos pretty quick, we didn't want to stay there too long.
(yay!)
The guides then said they were going to assist Franatee down to a safe altitude. I concurred with them. She needed to get down to a safe altitude quick. So two guides grabbed her and soon were dragging her off at lightening speed down to Stella Point and then down the long, slippery way towards Base Camp. Kiboko was left pretty much to make his own way down alone. I was worried for the wife, I did not like seeing her being raced off like a sack of potatoes. I wondered if she felt the same way when she saw me get attacked some months ago.
I reflected on the trudge/fall over/repeat way down the scree zig zag as to the necessity or not of doing this whole enterprise and how I would feel if something serious happened to my mate.
Fortunately, I met up with her an hour or so later at lower altitude and she looked fine. Yay for oxygen. Lots of congratulations from staff and porters for Kiboko. We slowly made our way back to our tent. A bit of a rest and food and then it was off on the long walk down to Millennium Camp (3790 m) for the night. Would be great to be at lower altitude. The walk there took a long time, we were just so tired from the day/night before. Nice to see some green and birds again when we got there. After dinner we pretty much fell into dead sleeps.
The best and worst day ever. We made it up and back safe and well. We faced fears of not being able to get to the top and got to the top. I feel humbled though too. Not super keen to climb Mountains again anytime soon. Nor do anything that could risk me or my wife's life to a great extent.
But boy, those glaciers were purty. Got to see them before they are gone forever...
To Be Concluded
(humans and puppet mascots at Millennium Camp safe and well)
Rrrrespec my man and franatee.
ReplyDeleteExcellent effort... the milkboy delivers the goods!