Kilimanjaro Expedition Dispatch

July 13, 2009 – Summit Success!

Hello it’s Marjorie calling in from Kili.

Yesterday July 12th was hiking day 7 and it was a summer’s day. Wow! We started our climb at 8:30am from Kossovo camp 14,000ft, and arrived at the crater rim which is at about 18,000ft at 2:00pm (ascent of 4,000ft). We had lunch and suddenly it became very windy and very cold. From our lunch spot we could finally see the sign for the highest point in Africa.

We couldn’t wait. After lunch we changed into our down jackets, wind proof pants over our many layers, put on our tuques and we started off. At that point I was over the altitude sickness but my muscles and my legs were giving out. The wind was strong and very cold. Finally we arrived at Uhuru peak at 19,340ft at 4:45pm. Wow, I can’t believe it! For me it was a physical, as well as a mental challenge. I was overwhelmed with emotion. We took pictures and looked around in awe and amazement at the craters and the ash pit as well as the very rugged terrain.

We walked onto one edge to see down where we camped at the lava tower one night.

It’s all amazing. We then hiked down into the crater where we slept beside the glaciers at 18,700 ft. I’m very tired and I’ve lost my appetite, so I made it a very early night. The wind picked up and it was a very cold night, but I would not have missed it.

In the morning everything was frozen solid. I asked Julius how cold it was, he says it was -25 Celsius. Wow again!

So there you have it. I arrived, I climbed, I achieved, I take back memories, I left footprints. It was a dream come true! Thanks to everyone at Berg adventures in Alberta, and Tanzania.

This is Marjorie signing off.

Stay tuned as Marjorie’s adventure continues on her culture tour through eastern Tanzania.