Day 5: Climb to Barranco Camp

MOUNTAIN ROUTE OVERVIEW

Today, the trail runs through a black lava desert past millions of boulders. From the Shira Plateau, the group will go up a ridge, past the trail to the peak of Kibo, to Lava Tower (known by locals as Shark’s Tooth). During their lunch break, they can take in the snowline above the Lava Tower. After lunch, they’ll descend to the Barranco Camp at an altitude of 13,000 feet. The black lava desert fades into heather and moorland. From Barranco Camp, they’ll see the Barranco Wall, the Western Breach of Kibo, and the South Glacier. This is where their hike ends – and they rest and have dinner. Because their bodies are exposed to such a high elevation at lunch, this is one of the most important days for acclimatization and will prepare our climbers’ bodies for summit day.

MOUNTAIN ROUTE STATS

Starting elevation 12,500 feet

Ending elevation 12,900 feet

Elevation gain 400 feet

Distance hiked 6 miles

Average hiking time 7 to 9 hours

Day 3 on this incredible mountain is now in the books, we reached nearly 15,000 ft which is the highest point I’ve ever been on Earth so far. I can tell many of us are slowing down a little (including myself) but we’re all determined to keep working on this awesome goal and climb together. Pamoja, Pamoja! And, of course, the Beyond staff and porters have continued to inject their infectious joy and energy into our group; and there is no doubt that this would be an impossible task without them.

Our porters today demonstrated one of the most selfless acts of kindness I’ve ever seen. I assume they must have been concerned for us when we were a little late coming into camp this evening, so they hiked half of a mile uphill to greet us with beaming smiles and song and dance. We took great photos with them with a sun-kissed Kili as our backdrop, and as if all of this wasn’t enough, they took the bags off of our backs and carried them back down to camp. Of course, they are paid to do what they do and they take great pride in showing foreigners Kilimanjaro, but this is one of many examples of them going so far above and beyond to ensure our comfort and happiness. Because of this, the group has been getting much closer to our staff as well as each other - and one of the great pleasures of this trip has been seeing these relationships grow.

~ Chad Nussbaum