The alarm went off at 11pm and everyone slowly dragged themselves out of their beds.  I’d only had half an hour’s sleep and felt terrible – everyone else seemed to be in the same position though.  Within minutes I was dressed and had brushed my teeth.  I was filthy but there was no possibility of a shower until Friday.

We had cups of tea and biscuits for breakfast (at 11:30pm!) and made our way outside the huts in preparation for the off.

For the summit attempt I was wearing a long sleeved T-shirt, a fleece, jumper, my explorer jacket, leggings, climbing trousers and waterproof trousers, along with thick gloves, two pairs of socks, a hat, scarf and head torch.  I was determined not to let the cold stop me.

When we set off the setting was unbelievable.  All of us had our head torches on which was the only light on show.  The stars were out in force and we were treated to some shooting stars.  We even saw the Plough, although it was upside down due to us being in the southern hemisphere.

The going was very tough though.  To reach the summit we first had to get to Gillmans Point, which involved 6 hours up scree at a 27% incline.  A combination of fear, adrenalin and drive kept the group going well through the first hour.  The trek continued in a similar fashion for the next hour or so with nothing to break the darkness except for the stars and our head torches.  However, at about 2am some of the group started to suffer as we passed Williams Point (at 5,000m).

Sheena, John and Brendan all started to struggle and needed several rest breaks as they found it hard to move upwards.  The problem with altitude sickness is that you need to keep moving to reduce the sickness feeling but you are out of energy and cannot move.

At 3am we reached a cave on the mountainside and loaded ourselves up with sugar and water.  The weather was at its coldest now and I was beginning to lose the feeling in my hands and feet - my beard had even started to freeze.  Brendan was really suffering now and our guide, Godliving, asked me to look after him.  Over the next three hours I had to carry his bag, give him water and keep pushing him up the mountain.

Eventually, just as daylight was breaking we reached Gillmans Point.  Most of us were overcome with emotion and hugs and kisses did the rounds.  Even Caroline was crying.  It was the first time she had a group where everyone made it to Gillmans Point.  Even Godliving said it had been a long time since he’d seen that happen.

The setting was beautiful and I took a lot of photos from the top.  After a brief tea break we made the push for Uhuru Peak, which is Mount Kilimanjaro’s summit.  We set off with Godliving in the lead and my new friend James at the back.  After an hour and a half of sliding along glaciers and taking in the breathtaking views we reached Uhuru Peak.  Anne-Marie wept with joy as we realised that we had made it.  We were exhausted but ecstatic at the same time.  I couldn’t talk because I was too choked.

After a photo session it was time to descend.  The air was so thin up there that we could only stay at the summit for 15 minutes.  Reluctantly I made my way back to Gillmans Point.  Godliving gave us a briefing about the best way to go down the scree and then we were off.  ‘Scree Skiing’ is basically where you run down the scree and steer yourself with your trekking poles.  A simple but ingenious idea!

After a couple of hours we were back at Kibo Huts where we had some soup for lunch and packed up our bags.  Our trekking hadn’t finished yet!  We had to go all the way back down to Horombo Huts despite having had no sleep for over 24 hours, or even a filling meal.

On the trip back to Horombo Huts I got speaking to James who told me about his life, working on Kili (and his problems with altitude sickness) and his family. We passed the stunning view of Mawenzi Peak in the scorching heat and arrived at Horombo Huts at 4:30.

Tea was to be served in an hour so I washed my feet in a stream Brendan had found near our huts and updated my diary.

For tea we were served up a meal of rice, chicken and green beans.  The others had pancakes too but James knew about my egg allergy and so gave me some bread instead.  We were given ‘Kilimanjaro Lager’ for tea which certainly had an interesting taste to it.

Tomorrow we will be descending all the way to Marangu Gates and therefore a good night’s sleep was required.  I was in bed by 7pm.  The exertions of the day (one of the most physically demanding in my life!) had left me mentally and physically exhausted.  At least tomorrow I will be able to have a shower back at the Mountain Inn in Moshi.  I can hardly wait as it will be my first hot shower since Sunday morning!

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