Day #6, January 29th, 2011

I woke up at 11:30 pm on January 28th. I could tell it was very cold and windy outside. The first thought I had was a Russian proverb: "A good master won't take his dog out in such weather!" Oh, well... 4 bottom layers including silk ski underwear, leggins, hiking pants and ski pants. 8 top layers including silk ski underwear, a woolen tank-top, 2 thermal long-sleeved shirts, a fleece vest, a woolen sweater, a soft-shell jacket and a down jacket with a hood. 3 pairs of woolen socks. A faux fur hat and a mask for the face. Ski goggles. Ski gloves. Glove warmers. A bit of snacks. Some medicine. A camel pack with water. 1 hiking pole. A head lamp. I was obsessed with details not to forget something important. More than anything I wanted to make sure I will be warm and yet able to move:)

I met the other 7 guys from my climbing group in the dining tent. We had some warm tea with cookies. We didn't seem to talk as much as usual, everybody was very focused and a little bit tense. Right before our guide came to get us, I ran to the tent with the toilet, hoping that I won't have any desire to pee during the climb. It seemed unimaginable to me in those conditions. The wind was so strong that it looked like I would be blown away together with the tent...

Thus at 12 midnight our guide, 3 assistant guides and 8 of us began the final ascent. It was pitch dark and we were all wearing head lamps. I was walking right behind our guide and the rest of the group was following me. Obviously, I was the slowest:) 3 assistant guides were sort of all over, or at least it seemed so. They were watching out for us and it gave me a lot of comfort. We were walking on some dense sand and the incline was very steep. The trail ran as a spiral, but it was hard to tell because of the darkness all around us. There were moments when I would lift my head and instead of the circle made by my head lamp on the ground in front of me, I would see little lights moving up the mountain - those were people ahead of us and it seemed awfully high! So mostly I tried not to look anywhere and just concentrate on my steps...

Every step was making me very tired. I was breathing through my mouth so heavily as if I just ran a marathon. While I was barely moving my feet! "Come on! Don't sleep! We are almost there, keep moving!" - encouragement coming from our assistant guide Attily didn't help, but made it rather irritating. I was going at the speed my body was allowing me without any unpleasant consequences and couldn't go any faster. Really, going even a tiny bit faster was unfathomable.

We would have stops quite often. May be every 30 minutes. Every time I would find a stone to sit on quietly and balance my breath. I was happy I was very warm and if not the biting wind on my face and consistently being out of breath, it would be much better. I couldn't wear the face mask, because I felt like I needed more air. The hood was protecting my face a little bit, but the wind was still very strong and I could feel it all over my cheeks...

The assistant guides sang songs and talked a lot, while none of us was saying much of anything. When you need all your energy to breathe, there is no more left for words:) Though I was still indulging myself with thoughts and I knew that it was the only thing I could control. During 7 hours of uphill strenuous hike at a snail pace in excrusiating cold and merciless wind, at the altitude above 18,000 feet, I was engaging my mind with... setting intentions. This is something I learned during my Spiritual Psychology course as well as read in the book by Wayne Dyer "The Power of Intention". I felt like climbing Kilimanjaro was the best way to practice this spiritual "magic wand":) "My intention is to be strong. My intention is to feel well. My intention is to be healthy. My intention is to make it to the top." Hundreds and hundreds of times I was repeating this intention mantra. My mind was very clear and my emotional state was very balanced.

After several hours I had a very strange feeling of appreciation. It came right from my heart and practically overwhelmed me. "THANK YOU so very much, my dear BODY for allowing me to do this climb! And for being so strong and helpful to me in every way possible!" My eyes got teary and my heart was overflowing with love and joy. It was a moment of grace, surrender and deep appreciation for my human body, which my spirit is inhabiting. There was no ego identification with "I am doing it, I am achieving the top of the mountain, etc". There was only gratitude and unconditional love. At that same very moment I thought about all the people from my class at the University of Santa Monica, all my friends all over the world, my family in Russia, all the people I ever met... - and I suddenly felt very connected with all of them. As if I stepped into some ethereal room where every soul meets and acknowledges each other. Time stopped. There was no past or future. There was no mountain. There was no cold or wind. And at the same moment there was everything, but from a completely different perspective. Is this how God observes the world?

At 7:10 a.m. we all reached the famous Uhuru Peak at 19,341 ft (5,895 m). The "Roof of Africa" felt bare, simple, calm and very spread out. It mostly felt like some alien field on another planet where they've already developed space tourism and it was a top destination. A sort of "Marsian Venice" with glaciers instead of canals. Anyway, does anybody want to take some pictures?:)
















After the pictures were taken, our group was back on track for the final descent, which turned out to be quite strenuous as well. It resembled sliding on your feet on a mountain of sand. A very strange feeling, especially if you've never done it before. I am glad I had some skiing experience in Whistler, Canada right before flying to Tanzania!

When we reached Barafu Hut I was completely exhausted. We slept for 2 hours, then had lunch and another 5 hour hike to Mweka Hut, where I am right now. Tomorrow is the last day, we start at 7 a.m. and will already be at the hotel around 10 a.m. Shower! Yay!

I just had 3 beers "Kilimanjaro" and feel very tipsy. So I should probably go to sleep right now.

That's it, I guess:)