Kilimanjaro Expedition Dispatch

January 30, 2010 – Notes from Kosovo Camp

This is Ba Ba Daoud (Dave) with a dispatch from Kosovo Camp. It has been a spectacular day: sun, blue sky, puffy white clouds and 10 degrees Celsius. This morning we traversed the southwest corner of Kibo, the tallest volcano on Kilimanjaro, and the vistas were incredible and the trekking superb. I’m feeling very strong and optimistic that I can successfully summit Africa’s highest point, Uhuru Point.

On another note, I’ve learned some things about Julius, my guide. One, he knows every guide on the mountain and they all respect him greatly. Two, he talks to everyone and they all laugh. Three, he never stops for a break when trekking. And finally, he walks very slowly but oddly he passes everyone except the porters on the trail.

Since my last dispatch, we camped at Lava Tower at 4,600m/15,090ft and Karanga Valley Camp at 4,235m/13,900ft. We also climbed the Lava Tower to acclimatize and the view of our little yellow tents below was quite spectacular. There were quite a few people feeling the effects of altitude at Lava Tower. Symptoms ranged from mild headaches to one American who had a raging headache and severe nausea. I heard several people getting sick through the night!

The Barranco Wall was also amazing, appearing to be a formidable barrier to our destination but after an hour or so of perseverance, Julius and I prevailed! Both the Lava Tower and the Barranco Wall required basic climbing and bouldering skills in several places but were very rewarding. I rated these little obstacles at 8.5 on my sphincter scale since they caused some serious pucker! Tom R, I think you would like this place...

Footnotes:

Darcy, my wife, I hope you’re having a great time on the Culture Tour. My guides and porters speak highly of it.

Bea: You’ll be pleased to know that I have finally mastered the zipper in Thor (Bea’s -30C sleeping bag) but once in, I still wonder how I would make a quick exit, if ever required to do so! Thor is toasty warm but doesn’t offer a lot of elbow room...

Cody and Tyler: Score lots of goals in hockey.

And my final thought of the day: Ten steps drink, ten steps pee, ten steps drink. Keeping hydrated is essential for high altitude hiking.

Ba Ba Daoud!!!