Kilimanjaro: Day 6 | Summit Night

Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory. Ed Viesturs

Date: Feb 8, 2024, 11:00 PM

Distance Covered: ~3.5 Miles/5.6 Kms Moving Time: ~ 6 Hrs (Ascend + Descend)

Elevation Gain: ~ 2400 ft, Elevation loss: 2400 ft

Hike 1: 15,300 ft to 17,700 ft then back to 15,300 ft

Blood Oxygen: 54

This was it, the much-anticipated night!

So, here’s the rundown - After your morning trek, you'll head out for a practice hike for about an hour on the same route you'll be taking at night. Then, by 4 PM, you get the chance to catch a quick nap. You'll have a short period to sleep before being woken up around 10 PM. After a quick bite to refuel, your climb to the summit begins. It’s going to be about 7 hours of steady, slow walking to reach Stella Point, which is one of Kili’s peaks. Then, you’ve got another hour’s hike to reach Uhuru Peak at 19,341 feet, the true summit of Kilimanjaro.

I had reserved a separate bag with fresh warm clothes, especially for Summit Night. Despite an unsuccessful attempt to nap, I opted to prepare and make my way to the lunch tent. It was nearing 10 PM, and given my challenges with maintaining a stable blood oxygen level, Rashidi had offered some words of wisdom: "Should you feel even slightly off-balance, you must turn back. The mountain will remain, waiting for your return. Stay healthy, and you'll have another chance." He advised me to begin an hour earlier than planned and to proceed with utmost caution. Thus, leaving Barafu Camp around 11 PM under a sky ablaze with stars, I embarked on the climb.

We stuck with our morning's practice route for the first hour or so. Climbing higher, I noticed breathing wasn't as easy, and I felt kinda off-balance. Tried pausing for a min, taking deeper breaths, but the air felt paper-thin, like the oxygen was playing hide and seek. It's wild, really, how a single breath down at sea level is a whole different ballgame compared to up here, nearly at this altitude.

After 3 to3.5 hours of hike, when I reached about 17,700 feet, it became clear that pushing further up just wasn't something I could physically manage at that time. There was a real risk of long-term damage from the oxygen scarcity, and my body was sending some strong signals. Acknowledging this harsh truth, I decided the safest move was to head back down to base camp. I recalled the famous words of Ed Viesturs.

Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory. 

A couple hours after slow descent, I reached into my tent. Emanuel (the guide accompanying me) checked my oxygen levels. It had tumbled down to 54 kind of "code blue" situation. To nip the danger in the bud, I was hooked up to oxygen for a solid 45

minutes, which felt like a lifetime. Once my oxygen levels were somewhat stable, Emanuel suggested I try to catch some sleep and hinted it might be wise to consider an emergency evacuation.

After a two hour nap, filled with dreams of reaching the summit, I wandered over to the breakfast camp. There, Emanuel and I dove into a deep chat about the rollercoaster of life. Despite the setback, his encouragement and tips for a second shot at the summit warmed my heart. He had been a rock during that nail-biting summit night.

Soon enough, the sound of helicopter blades slicing through the air signaled it was time to leave. Saying goodbye to the mountain and my hiking friends was bittersweet. I was already missing their company but couldn't wait to exchange our stories of adventure and, of course, to see their victorious snapshots from Uhuru Peak.

Kilimanjaro: Day 7 | The Descent: A Journey Back to Reality...