Day 7: Climb to Kosovo Camp
MOUNTAIN ROUTE OVERVIEW
As our climbers near the summit, they have another short day for acclimatization today. After breakfast, climbers leave Karanga Camp and make their way across moraine with a view of Mawenzi and Kibo to Barafu. The alpine desert terrain is full of boulders with lichen and moss. Upon reaching camp, climbers will spend the afternoon resting before packing for the summit and having an early dinner in preparation for their ascent to the summit to start at midnight. Summit begins at 5 PM EST!
MOUNTAIN ROUTE STATS
Starting elevation 13,300 feet
Ending elevation 15,400 feet
Elevation gain 2,100 feet
Distance hiked 3 miles
Average hiking time 4 to 5 hours
Today we hiked from Karanga Camp to Kosovo Camp. We totaled about 4.5 miles and 3000 feet gained in elevation. We are now at 16,000 feet.
We were woken this morning in our tents with smiling faces and offers of coffee and warm water for washing. The chefs here do not disappoint- we had toast, eggs, bacon and oranges. I have made a standing offer that any of the chefs are welcome to come home to my house in the US.
After breakfast, our guides, Gabrielle, John Simon, and Ahi, led us up…. And up and up and up. The terrain today was quite rocky. Some gravel, big step ups and a few sheer rock faces (though not nearly as many as yesterday). The typical incline was about 65 degrees. Pole pole but Pamoja pamoja (slowly slowly but together together).
Our dear porters met us at 15,200 feet where we had a yummy lunch of vegetable soup, chicken wings, pasta salad and French fries. I can not emphasize how helpless we would be without our porters. They carry our duffle bags, set up our sleeping tents and mess tent, fill our water jugs. I am in awe of their kindness, their strength and their attitude of service.
It’s currently 3 pm here and we are in our tents resting, trying to get some sleep. We’ll have dinner at 6pm and sleep until midnight. We plan to start the final summit ascent at 1:30am with aspirations to arrive for sunset around 6:30am.
I am so thankful to have made it this far, for the cohesive group of 8 people we have been climbing with, for our knowledgeable guides, and for the good weather we’ve had thus far (lots of sun, no rain and very little wind).
Prayer requests:
That altitude sickness stays at bay
Safety as we climb through the night with head lamps (and a full moon to guide us)
Fortitude to finish the climb
To our friends and family at home following our journey:
Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers, they are most definitely felt.
Thank you for keeping things running for us at home so we can chase a dream of climbing this mountain.
~ Sarah Grady