The Road to Kilimanjaro is not paved. Nor was it easy for Team Updownkili to make it to the base to start hiking. After traveling to start our climb in Tanzania in a Land Cruiser, it seems ridiculous that Americans buy these pricey vehicles to cruise the “mean urban streets” and shuttle their children to and from soccer practice. Throughout our stay in Africa, we encountered some very serious terrain and learned what these vehicles were truly made to do!

Mt. Kilimanjaro is the world’s tallest free-standing mountain, the highest peak on the African continent, and one of the world’s seven summits. Those statistics alone are enough to make you second guess a trek up the mountain, and seeing its majestic presence in the distance was enough to make us all weak in the knees. Nevertheless, team Updownkili came to Africa to climb a mountain, and we were determined to make it to the top.

Upon arriving to the entrance gate to Londorossi Glades in Kilimanjaro National Park, our team set up a base camp. Not knowing what the next week had in store for us, we were all filled with a nervous energy. Our camp was set in a dense forest just inside the park’s gate at an altitude of 7,000 ft. The sun was setting and the local village children wandered in from a nearby town, curious to see the Americans who had set up tents in the park. They rode in on a crude wooden scooter with uneven wheels. It was almost as though you could get a splinter from merely looking at the contraption, but the children’s smiles told us that the toy was a most prized possession. We took photos and tried to converse with the children, but the language barrier was too great. As we settled into an uneasy sleep that night, the stars shone brightly and faint sounds of the nearby village could be heard in the distance.
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The next morning, fog lifted from the forest floor, but the clouds gathered around the mountain in a hurry, and the rain was falling by mid-afternoon. It was mostly a light rain, but would occasionally pick up. After a while, the trail became a muddy stream of run-off. Luckily, the team was able to bundle up in Gore-Tex gear to stay dry! Regardless of the rain, we had a moderately calm first day of hiking, gaining roughly 4000 vertical feet. We set up Camp 2 at the edge of the Shira Plateau at 11,100 feet. Although it rained all day, the clouds finally lifted as the sun dropped below our site, and the team was able to sneak our first glimpse of Kilimanjaro under the moonlight. It was truly a majestic sight, standing roughly 8,000 feet higher than where the team slept, giving us a sense of what lie ahead.
We awoke on day two ready for the challenge, and trekked through the high alpine forest called the Shira plateau. The landscape was fascinating, small plants, and exotic flowers covered the gradual slope. Soon the peacefulness of the hike was disrupted by the drops of a consistent rain. Before long it was pouring down rain, and there was no end to the storm in site. Until team Updownkili reached Fischer camp that evening, the rain pelted each of us with fury. Sleeping bags, tents, clothing, backpacks; they were all soggy victims of the long downpour, and when the weather finally broke, we desperately tried to dry them out.
Just as we were beginning to think the trip was cursed, the third day started with a burst of sunshine. We spent the morning on the trail to Moir hut, which stood at about 14,000 feet. Clouds blocked the sun periodically, and the rain taunted us, but never came. The team filled up water from a small stream which trickled down from the glacier above, directly below cliffs that shadowed the old wooden shelter. After lunch, we made our way onto the Northern Circuit trail, a very dry and desolate section of Mt. Kili. This leg of the journey would take us two days to reach our high camp, so we filled all of our containers with water because we were uncertain if this side of the mountain would have enough to quench our thirsts. We set up camp in a skree field at 14,500 feet, the highest point that the team had reached thus far.

The sun shone brightly as we awoke the next morning, leaving the memories of pouring rain and wet clothes in the distance. Blue skies touched the top of the Kilimanjaro like the ocean hits an island. The glacier coated the peak like a fur coat, and a light dusting of snow covered some of the rocks up high. The Northern Circuit trail meandered around the hill with no end in sight; only the towering crags from a far away peak could be seen among the desolate mountain. We found a nice spot to set up the tents and lay our heads at an altitude of 13,100 feet. We also found a small lake which would suffice as a good water supply, so were able to rest and lighten our packs.

The clouds hung low again for the fifth day of the trip, and blue skies and sunshine blessed the team. After a short hike in the morning, team Updownkili came upon the Rongai route, which is a long sandy steep uphill trail that begins in the Loitokitok valley where a small village can be spotted at a distance. Hiking became difficult, as the steep uphill trail was extending to the high camp at the School Hut, located at 15,500 feet. Even with the sun, the temperature dropped quickly. Anticipation filled the camp this night, because everyone was acutely aware that summit day started at midnight that night. As darkness filled the sky, a few clouds rolled into camp, and a small snow shower blanketed the tent with snow. The team was amped; we knew if it was snowing at 15,500 feet, it could mean that the top was getting the fluff as well, and skiing would be epic.

Under a moonlit sky (we actually missed the full moon by two days but it was still a near perfectly round bright light) we started our summit day. Wakeup call was a little after 12:15 am, but after only a few hours sleep, it took some time for everyone to get rolling. A quick snack was all we had, then up the mountain we went. Under the guide of headlamps and moonlight, the trail was easy to see. It was an extremely steep trail, with many switchbacks, sharp rocks and a light dusting of snow. Step-by-step, we slowly made our way up this magnificent mountain. Mother Nature gave the team a special treat on the way—the sun poked slowly over the horizon, coloring the clouds pink, orange and yellow, while gradually lighting up the star littered sky. The wind began to howl as we approached the crest of the ridge at Gilman’s point. The temperature fell as we gained altitude, but the summit was well within reach. At 200 m from the top, all of our struggles of the past week seemed a world away, and the only thing in mind was reaching the summit. Just after 8:00 in the morning on November 8, team Updownkili stood at 19,340 feet, the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. At first, we didn’t know how to react, but the energy and feeling of accomplishment brought out the ear to ear smiles in all of us. Cameras flashed by the pray flags that were tied to the Uhuru peak sign. Uhuru is the native name for Mt. Kilimanjaro, and in Swaheli it means freedom. That is the feeling that came over the team while holding our skis in anticipation of the snow field that was ahead of us, total and complete freedom.

After nearly an hour on the top, the team started down. Pietro and Mike strapped into their Salomon skis, and began the decent. The light snow that had fallen the night before was not enough to ski most of the skree field which extended all the way to the jungle, so Pietro and Mike navigated what they could of the glacier. Turns were calculated far in advance, as any little mistake could send them the wrong way on a ride through a cliff band at the bottom of the Heim glacier. It was truly amazing sliding on two wooden planks where not many have done so.

At 10:00 am, after a solid eight hours of hiking and a ski run, we retreated from the high glacier fields down the Mweka route. We rested briefly at the Barafut hut and had a quick lunch, but by that time, it was 1:00 in the afternoon, and our morning had started roughly 13 hours earlier. By 4:00 pm we collapsed in our camp, at 10,000 feet—9,340 vertical feet from the summit we reached that morning. It was a long day, but everyone was able to stay awake for just a few stories of our travels before eyelids became too heavy and we settled into a deep sleep.

The last day on the mountain took us throughout the lowland jungle, continuing on the Mweka route trail. The mist gathered in between the trees, and birds chirped as the team reminisced about our trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro. As we emerged from the jungle, the sight of the massive mountain filled the backdrop, and it reminded the team of standing on the summit the previous morning, which was surreal. The ranger station welcomed us as we reached our exit point were we would travel a mud caked 4x4 trail back to the main road to town. At this point the team realized that the past eight days proved to be a life changing experience for each and every one of them.

Team Updownkili wants to express our gratitude to all our sponsors, and all the people who supported this incredible experience. Without your support, this monumental accomplishment would not have been possible. We were proud to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise money for the Colorado Cancer Research Foundation and represent the amazing sponsors who made this trip possible. We realize that our journey was merely a small step in contributing to cancer research, but without efforts like these, there can be no progress in eradicating the disease.

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