Reaching the peak of Africa's highest mountain

I've been hiking all my life. From Mt. Kinabalu in Borneo, to Mt. Cook in New Zealand, to the one I’ll never forget; Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. It’s the sense of achievement when you take that final step towards the summit that has me hooked. I took the opportunity to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro without hesitation. This was a challenge I could not turn down.

The seventh and final day was the toughest experience I’ve ever been through. We camped the night before above a immense blanket of thick, white, fluffy clouds. Even the magical and soothing view beneath me didn’t stop the butterflies in my stomach frantically spread their wings.

We had all made it this far, so to fail at this point would be disappointing to say the least. At 3am, hands popped through my tent opening with an offering of tea and biscuits. Before I could gather my thoughts, we were wrapped up in as much clothing as possible without tripping over our own feet.

The steep climb had begun.

No words were spoken during the next 6 hours of slow climbing, single file in the pitch black. To my frustration the water in the tube of my platypus backpack had completely frozen before I’d even begun. It felt like we were blind zombies on an unstoppable march towards a promised offering. At -35°C it was too cold to stop. I lost all feeling in my toes and genuinely distressed whether they had unattached themselves and would simply fall out of my hiking boots when I’d take them off. My friend and I didn't stop once. We were so determined and mostly feared if we stopped we would have instantly frozen to a halt on the spot. Sadly 3 members of the group gave up at this point, suffering from altitude sickness.

I felt suspiciously strong, questioning when the altitude would kick in. Especially after people on stretchers passed us by and splutters of blood, magnified by the white snow, glared at me from the path. Alas I was not invincible, the altitude all of a sudden crept up on me with full force. I had to stop every few steps to bend over and gasp for air. It was like the oxygen was being squeezed out of me with each step.

At this stage the sun was emerging from the clouds, glistening majestically on the snow. I could see the famous Uhuru peak sign just ahead of me and my heart was racing with excitement. As I stood at the summit, any negative memories from the previous 6 hours instantly vanished. I looked over at my friend and we both burst into joyous laughter. We made it.