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| | 9/12/02 – Shira Plateau
8.08am - Endured a horrendous sleep last night. I was awake most of the night with shivers, fever and a bad dry cough. As I feel quite weak today I’m going to try and take it a bit easier on the trek to Shira 2 Camp via the Shira Cathedral Peak.
5.30pm – Arrived at Shira 2 Camp (12,468ft) at 4.10pm, boy have I sucked air today. It’s been a very physically tiring day especially when you don’t feel well.
On the plus side though, the scenery has been magnificent particularly on the way up to the Shira Cathedral peak before the cloud closed in.
It appears a common theme that the days start clear and cold at these altitudes before the height of the landscape causes cloud to bubble up around midday before raining on the lower forested slopes in the afternoon.
The group is really pulling together at the moment as several of its number are now suffering from some sort of ailment; altitude headaches, sickness, diarrhoea and so on. Everyone remains very determined though, to complete the challenge to raise the funds for their respective charity.
10/12/02 – To Kibo’s southern flank
8.58am – Had a far better night’s sleep but I still feel very feverish and my cough seems to have taken on flu-like symptoms. Every joint in my body seems to ache at the moment and I feel very weak.
Following a couple of paracetamol I’m determined to press on although, I know if I feel like this on summit day there’s no way I’d make the top.
2.19pm – I’m now at the highest part of today’s trek, Lava Tower 14,617ft, and I feel like I’ve been to hell and back during the morning ascent. However, I do feel like I’ve sweat most of the fever out of me and as a result do feel a little stronger for it.
As we have gained height we have entered the alpine desert zone and as a result the landscape appears far more volcanic & barren in appearance, with little sign of the abundant animal life that adorned the lower slopes of the mountain.
5.28pm – Just got to Barranco Camp (12,881ft), personally its been a very tough day but on the positive side I feel better than I started so I’m hoping the worst of it is over.
This camp is the most picturesque to date, with Kibo peak shimmering in the moonlight and views extending into the distance of the Serengeti plain with the city lights of Moshi and the runway lights of Kilimanjaro airport clearly visible, thousands of feet below.
11/12/02 – Ascent of the Barranco Wall
9.20am – Slept far better last night and as a result physically I feel far stronger today except for a tight chest, which is probably due to deeper than usual breathing in the increasingly rarefied atmosphere.
The next part of the trek is a rock scramble (apparently not too dissimilar to some in Wales or the Lake District) up a rocky ridge called the Barranco Wall and through the high altitude Karranga valley to the next camp up, Karranga Camp altitude 13,455ft.
8.20pm – Just settling down for the night after watching a spectacular electrical storm in clouds far below us over the plains.
Personally felt far better and stronger today, although the altitude is affecting everyone in some way now – it saps your strength, makes you lose your appetite, causes insomnia, gives you hangover-like headaches and slows down your thought processes, often leaving you confused.
One team member all put passed out trying to inflate his air mattress – its that bad! You have to move almost in slow motion otherwise you just get breathless and light-headed in the thin air (The oxygen level at 20,000ft is about half that of sea level).
12/12/02 – Barafu Ridge
9.15am – Had another 8 hour sleep last night, which has aided my recovery still further. As we all assemble to commence today’s 5 hour trek, thoughts are turning to tonight when after rising at midnight we leave the final camp at 1.00am to climb the 4,000 vertical feet to the summit.
If successful we would then have to descend 7,800ft to reach tomorrow night’s camp, in total 14-16 hours walking at high altitude.
6.51pm – Arrived at Barafu High Camp (15,200ft) feeling physically quite good and relieved to get this far in view of my earlier problems.
Thinking of my family back home in Stoke as I attempt the biggest physical challenge of my life but I’m determined to succeed for all the diabetics in the UK.
Before I settle down to sleep I prepare my kit for the summit attempt. I’ll be wearing five upper body layers, two lower body layers, inner and outer gloves, thermal balaclava and hat.
We had a great pep talk to send us on our way to our tents from the guides who think all nineteen of us have a great chance of the summit.
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