February 6th 2015 - Summit Ascent Day!

Jambo everyone!

Mount.Kilimanjaro - one hell of a climb!

Five years of planning, dreaming, researching this incredible adventure, this amazing challenge I set myself all that time ago. all the set backs due to ill health, reactions to my cancer prevention drugs which saw me stop taking them three years early, and yes knowing the possible consequences of that...but I have always said it's quality of life over quantity, the cascade of problems and new illnesses all appearing after starting chemo and radiation therapy. My hard slog to get fighting fit after nine months of invasive treatments, a collapsed lung and a near deadly bout of pneumonia.

Pushing and driving myself forward when at first after my release from hospital with the pneumonia saw me having to stop rest and catch my breath at least 4/5 times on my way to the bathroom....this all caused from climbing up thirteen steps!  Putting in 5/6 months of training to get fit for the challenge I set of completing the London Moonwalk. The amazing unwavering support of my best buddy Suzie throughout all of this, coming out training with me, being part of our Team L'Oreal for the London Moonwalk......always just supporting, never once saying...."do you think you've bitten off too much." Crossing that finish line after power walking 26.2 miles in ten hours...just over a year after finishing my radiation therapy holding hands - my one wish....to cross the finish holding hands. Filling up, feeling overwhelmed and smiling so big I thought my jaw was going to break, giggling at Suzie who was crying ( I do call her cry baby Mewis...she cries at everything!! )

All that hard work made easier having great friends and company while out working so hard to get my stamina back up, turned it from a chore to a fun outing. I thank you with all my heart Suzie for being my friend...you are the best gal to have as a friend in the whole world. Very pleased and honoured to call you mine!

And all my hard work, my fighting to get fit everyday - hell fighting to stay alive everyday paid off, because here I am on the cusp of completing the challenge that has driven me forward for so long. I am about to embark on my ascent to the summit of Mount.Kilimanjaro......the Roof of Africa....the world's tallest free standing mountain, the highest a human can climb without the aid of oxygen...we are talking extreme high altitude...and I am ready, I am ready to conquer my mountain! so to bed we go knowing when we get up at 4am...it's game on!! Summit day here we come!

What a difference a few hours can make! Peter knocked us awake at 4 am for breakfast, I say knocked us awake when in actual fact I'd not managed a minutes sleep. I had the most dreadful night, I felt like crying but it would take to much effort and I don't think I could cope with my brain and eyes rattling around from the sobbing motion.

So,so ill! the pain I'd been having for the majority of the climb in my chest was so very painful, every breath really hurt. And because we had camped at 4600m my altitude sickness was in full flow, I felt nauseous, my head was still pounding to the rhythm of my heart beat, I was lightheaded, disorientated, my chest felt like it was in a vice. I was feeling utterly dreadful, so fatigued. Through the night as my symptoms kept increasing I was honestly and truly convinced I'd be going down the mountain and not for an ascent climb to the summit.

Emotionally I was a wreck trying not to cry through my puffy almost swollen shut eyes ( no idea what has caused this ). I was completely convinced me and my mountain had come to an end.

Ali and I were sharing a tent and she said Tracy its time to wake up, I told her I was awake but couldn't sit myself up because of the pain in my chest ( I'd not been able to even turn off my back through the night for the pain ). Bless her she came over and gently helped me into a sitting position. I sat there for a while trying to settle my symptoms and pain before managing to get out my sleeping bag and into some clothes before heading out to the mess tent.

There was no way again this morning could I eat anything, I felt so nauseous, I did manage half a cup of black tea.....but that was my limit. I was just sat there trying to get everything to stop spinning. I looked over the table and could see Bec's wasn't fairing any better than me, One of Bec's big symptoms was her nausea and throwing up....bless her, through the slits in my eyes I could see she was green! Not how either of us thought summit day would pan out. I figured I'd trying to reign myself and excitement in....not this, never in a million years imagined this! Ali fortunately wasn't suffering any high altitude sickness symptoms at all and had finally in the last couple of days had finally got her appetite back!

The next thing I knew Chacha was getting me up out of my chair, he had me stood  while he zipped up my jacket, put my thermal hat on and pulled it right down to cover my eyebrows and put my head torch into position. All this was going on and I was trying to concentrate and not move my head much so the spinning didn't get any worse. I leaned down to grab my backpack but it wasn't there, I started looking for it but Chacha stopped me and said it's okay Tracy, I have you pack. And there he was putting it on himself. I didn't understand why, but was so out of it I didn't ask why. It turned out George our assistant guide was going to carry Bec's pack for her. We were too ill to manage our own.


Everything is in such slow motion, it's the most bizarre thing really, looking around everyone seems to be moving extra slow - these altitude symptoms are a lot to take in for sure. It definitely takes an age longer to do the simplest of tasks and in some cases it was impossible to do them. I have to say if I never suffer high altitude sickness again in my life I can live with that ha!

Bec's was still feeling sick with a pounding headache, she was feeling dreadful as well as looking ill. Dom also was suffering with a bad head. Ali was the only one of us that didn't have any symptoms of altitude sickness at all. We other three weren't fairing well at all.

I had a full on discussion with Chacha about my symptoms and more importantly the pain in my chest. We chatted about whether it was still okay for me to go for the summit or if I in fact needed to be staying in camp or heading down the mountain. Chacha said he knew even though I was like I was, that I could and would reach the summit. I was concerned about holding the others back because I knew I was going to find it so hard, It pained me every breath I took and I knew this was going to cause me to have to stop to catch my breath. Chacha said it's okay, we will all be walking very pole pole....it's a tough climb, but no rushing. He said for the  umpteenth time - you are a strong woman and then said it is impossible for you not to make it!

So after our discussion we were on our way, it was summit or bust time. We set off out of the really tough rocky camp in the dark but torch light, I was told to go behind Chacha as we to our normal routine walked single file. It was difficult to see where we were going, mine made worse by the fact my eyes were still swollen practically shut at this time. We'd actually set off a little later than originally planned, so wouldn't be walking more than an hour in the dark before our Kilimanjaro sunrise!

I really can't explain well enough for you how rocky Barafu camp is, it's a full on tough climb just getting out of the camp and obviously circumnavigating it in the dark was hard, thank goodness our wonderful guides Chacha and George were there to lead us! we had to climb up onto some of the boulders, it was almost like a very rocky plateau, very uneven to say the least. I'm sure you can imagine what that was like when lightheaded, disorientated and having balance issues.

We very slowly made our way out of the camp and on to the actual ascent climb. It was starting to get light and it would soon be the new dawn, our new dawn of February 6th 2015. My eyes were starting to open more, albeit slowly, but I was starting to be able to see more of the terrain I was walking on. The incline was starting to increase.....yep definitely game on now......

I was keeping pace with Chacha but it was hard going, everything was a massive effort, I was really struggling with my breathing, my chest and specifically my right lung were very painful and I was very worried as to how I was going to cope the steeper the incline became and the higher we climbed. We were on for a 6-7 hour climb to the summit, so a very tough slog ahead.

Dom and Ali were carrying their own day packs and as I said Chacha and George were carrying Bec's and my packs. Chacha's younger brother ( we didn't know it was his brother until later ) was climbing with us, and it was his first time to the summit too.....what a fabulous crew we had!

The sun started to rise and we took a bit of time out to watch and take in the most beautiful sunrise I so far experienced in my life! It was obviously made so special because of where I was stood watching the new dawn....such a  breath-taking, spectacular, emotionally charged, overwhelming sunrise...utterly magical! I remember leaning heavily on my poles with Chacha rubbing my arm saying how well I was doing.

He knew where I had my adventure camera and he took it out of my pocket and started to take some shots. It was very obvious that neither Bec's or I were up to taking photos and that we'd be devastated if we came off the mountain with no summit day photographic memories. He then passed my camera to George, who had taken Bec's from her and that was it - George was graciously going to make sure we got our memories. I said to him, George later on route please take some shots of the clouds below us, I love that we are higher than the clouds. His response so typical of cool George - Hakuna matata Tracy......no worries!

Anyone who knows me will understand exactly how ill I was, because I never not take photos of something or somewhere I am!

My eyes are still swollen and only starting to open up.....

Then off we went to continue our long climb to the summit!

Looking back down to Barafu camp. 

We could now take our torches off, the day was awakening and we could see without the aid of them. My eyes were still opening more and more, it was just taking time. I couldn't tell you how many times we stopped on the ascent, it was lots and lots for sure. On one of them there were really large boulders near by, I had myself draped over one on my front so desperately trying to ease the pain in my chest. Every single breath was hard work, painful and gasped. Chacha came over and was saying over and over...Tracy you are a really strong woman, I know you are finding hard because you're ill, but you can do it....all the while rubbing my back, he just knew it was hurting badly. I was drinking my fluids down every stop and a little in between.

Off we set again, the incline was so very steep and we steadily pole pole zig zagged our way towards the summit. Normally as soon as I get walking I would be peeling a layer off and putting it into my backpack, I'm always warm so it doesn't take much to get me hot, but summit day I didn't peel anything off apart from my thermal hat, it was on and off the whole day! But the rest of my stuff stayed on...very strange for me.

As we were walking I was actually falling asleep, it's bizarre, really, I was actually walking and carried on walking but eyes were closed and I was gone. Then you'd stumble a little or kick a rock and you'd jolt awake. As the hours kept ticking away, we stopped for a break and Dom asked Chacha why he was so sleepy and tired. Chacha said it's the altitude sickness that's causing it. Bec's said she'd been walking and falling asleep and then I said the same. Yet another symptom to contend with!

The altitude sickness was a complete flipping nightmare, the last time I'd felt that ill was when I was having my invasive treatments for my cancer. I was coming very close to saturation point with Mount.Kilimanjaro....I kept wondering how different it would be to climb it and not suffer the symptoms.

Barafu camp below.....

Above the clouds!

By now we had started to encounter climbers on their descent, they'd set off for the summit at midnight and were now making their way back to Barafu camp. It was fascinating watching them go down the incredibly steep and slippy route back down the mountain, so many were staggering all over the place with altitude sickness. I said a couple of times that I couldn't go on, I was really suffering with my chest, I was literally gasping for breath and of course each one really hurt. But the oxygen is so thin at this elevation, you're not getting much from it to fuel your muscles anyway.

I could feel how fast my heart was beating as it desperately tried to pump oxygenated blood to my muscles. Lack of food over the last couple of days wasn't helping me at all. I asked Bec's how she was doing and so wasn't fairing much better than me. Ali was brilliant, encouraging us and championing us to keep climbing no matter how slow. We were definitely one team on this majestic mountain!

I was so very tired, no sleep the night before was killing me, I was sure a quick power nap would see me right for the rest of the ascent. We stopped for a break, Bec's was sat on a rock, her head leaning on her hands on her poles trying to cope with her nausea and pounding head, Dom was also sat on a rock rubbing his head which was also pounding. Ali was sat down and I went and sat on a rock just in front of her. She put her pack on her knee and said for me to lean back.

As soon as I did I went out, I relaxed and fell asleep, I still had my sunglasses on and guess my mouth must have started dropping open....unless I was snoring ha ha. The next thing I know is George is shouting me to wake up! I sat up and looked over Georges way, big mistake as it set my brain rattling around in my skull and my eyes rolling too, gosh it's so hard to get them to stop once they start believe me. When I say George shouted, he raised his voice a tad, George is way too cool to shout!

He told me I had to stay awake, that it was too dangerous to sleep this high on the mountain. High altitude sickness is a killer, an ave of fifteen people die annually on Mount.Kilimanjaro......make no mistake, this challenge was extreme for sure! 

The effects of high altitude sickness on three of us, this shows how far from a walk in the park Mount. Kilimanjaro was. Everything is in slow motion or so it feels. Such a continuously steep climb really took it's tole on us all. by now we were all just wanting to hit the summit, this was not fun, this was pure determination to reach the top, my tank had been running on empty since we set off from base camp that morning. Not really much more to give, but as I looked around at the others I could see I was not alone with that.

Trying to catch my breath and ease the pain in my chest. Dom was more than happy to stop and take a breather too.

We carried on making our way slowly up and up towards our destination, it was a desperately hard slog and one each and everyone of us were struggling with it. The air is so thin, it feels like even though you're breathing that you aren't! Chacha told us we were really close to the summit now, around ten more minutes. 

I was by now struggling, my breathing was shallow and I was starting to gasp. I was so very fatigued, head was pounding and the blood rushing in my ears, it sounded almost like thunder. I dread to think what my heart rate was, it felt like it was going to explode out of my chest. If I'd not been so out of it - I'm sure I would have been worried about it. Chacha's younger brother was walking with me and trying to encourage me up to the summit. Bec's and Ali had made it up the last stretch which was about 15 ft. I could see the summit Stella point in front of me. I was bent over almost doubled over trying to force so much needed oxygen into my very tired, painful and overworked lungs

Chacha walked down to me as I had stopped again, I was literally stopping to gasp for air every couple of steps. He came and started rubbing my back, boy it was aching so much. He had me stand straight and then gave me some of his water. While he was holding his bottle for me to sip from he said I had to drink to give my body some desperately needed oxygen. He then put it away and said I want you to do nothing but follow me and bend your legs I'm going to help you this last little bit. Don't use the energy you've just got. He took my hand and led me up the last fifteen feet, I was really struggling to breath and as we got to the top and he hugged me I thought I was going to pass out.

Ali was there and we had a big hug, I couldn't talk I was trying really hard to calm my breathing....it wasn't working! I staggered over to the official summit board with help from Chacha's brother and sat down on  rock. Bec's was sat on one as well and had been since getting up to the summit. I was gasping and looked at Bec's - saying I can't breath! - she said you will in a minute, I couldn't when I got here but I'm a bit better now. My breathing finally settled enough for me to take in my surroundings.

Hanging onto the pole trying to stop the internal spinning!

Now the hugging and congratulations started in earnest now we had all caught our breath a little.We all hugged and laughed with each other. We regardless of how ill we felt were all smiling. Believe me the first natural one of the day. It had taken us a excruciating seven hours to make it here. We had most certainly earned our smiles.

Chacha said for us to take our photos at the summit because we couldn't afford to be here long, especially with three of us suffering as we were.   

We had photos taken with everyone from the summit climb group, then I had photos taken with a message I'd done and laminated back in the UK. Here's my message I wanted to share with you all.

George had taken some  shots of we three girls at the summit before we had to set off back down to Barafu camp.

Look at us, so relaxed and pleased at reaching the summit.

Chacha told us we needed to make our way back down the mountain to reduce our altitude symptoms. We set off down the steep descent towards camp, we were told it would be around four hours back to Barafu camp. This was by far the longest and toughest day climbing on the mountain and we'd thought the ravine to Karanga camp was bad!

We were slipping and sliding down the scree at a pretty fast pace. The momentum of the steep descent caused me to be moving too quickly, so I would dig my poles in as hard as I could and the same with my feet until I stopped slipping. Because of the symptoms I was suffering I couldn't really focus on what was happening to me or around me. All the motion was making my lightheadedness  and balance much worse. I couldn't keep myself on my feet, my balance as I said for the last couple of days was shot to pieces, so that and the steep slippy descent saw me falling over and over again, I continuously fell to my right, every single time. I would start staggering to my right and wouldn't stop until I either hit a boulder, rock face or the floor, nothing was stopping that from happening! 

I fell around ten times on our way back to camp - a very sore, achy body to look forward to tomorrow! 

We weren't too far off the summit when we came to some rocks we had to climb through. Dom just lost it and fell over, stood up but went straight back down. He attempted to get back up but only made it to his knees. George and Chacha's brother had to evacuate him down the mountain. They had hold of him on both sides and literally ran him down the mountain.....there is no doubt our amazing crew saved his life that day.He was that out of it, he didn't really recall what had happened to him.

That left Chacha and we three girls to get down to camp. He was urging us on at the fastest pace we could manage because Bec's and I were still suffering badly with our altitude sickness, our hope was it would settle a bit when we got back to camp and rested. 

As well as all the aches and new bruises I'd be sporting later from all my falling from been disorientated my toes we really hurting, they were smashing into the front of my hikers, I knew I was in trouble, I hadn't fastened them properly first thing with being so ill. I'd barely fastened them at all really. I as going to pay the price but still didn't have it in me to try and sort them, I really didn't.

We finally after I don't know how many hours were nearing Barafu camp. It felt like weeks had passed since we had set off this morning. But seeing the camp getting closer was a big relief....I just needed to lie down, I was so very tired and still so very sleepy. I'd managed to keep myself awake so had done well with that one!

Peter and a couple of the boys had come to meet us with drinks and lunch if we wanted it......bless them! They were congratulating us, fist bumping and hugging us, even though I still felt absolutely crap it was brilliant, such a wonderfully warm reception from some of the lads in our crew! We sat down on some rocks and had pineapple juice and a cup of tea in my case and coffee for those who wanted it. Chacha asked if we wanted lunch and we all said no not out here thanks. We drank our drinks, Bec's couldn't drink her pineapple juice, said it was too sweet. I drank mine even though I still felt nauseous and even had sugar in my tea - I just needed a sugar rush I think. I've not taken sugar in my drinks since I was around eleven years of age, but on the mountain I was taking more and more the longer we were there. I guess my blood sugar was really low for me to be craving it so much.

So the last section to camp beckoned us - we the conquerors of Mount.Kilimanjaro were nearly back in camp. I couldn't wait to get into my sleeping bag, to try sleep off the symptoms I was suffering and hoping that my chest was better and my breathing not only easier but less painful, so still feeling absolutely dreadful we set off on our trip to camp. It was still a steep descent into camp and then we had to navigate the camp itself to our tents, that in itself would be challenging! The boys went ahead with our day packs and Peter our porter come waiter would be staying with Chacha and we three girls all the way back to camp.

I don't know where or when it went completely wrong - one minute I'm concentrating on making sure my footsteps are secure on the very rocky descent ( especially after all the falls I'd already suffered coming down the mountain ) and the next thing my heads completely gone, everything is spinning out of control, my eyes are rolling and my balance has gone. I slip off the edge of the rock I was about to step down off and hit the boulder wall to my left hard....this set me off to the right and I know even though I can't make out where I am, I know that I'm in trouble, I can't ever stop myself when I start falling off to the right. I manage to plonk myself onto the rock I've just slipped off and as I carry on falling away to my right I grab hold of the edge of the rock ( I know there's a drop to my right, don't know much more than that ) and I'm hanging on for dear life.....my eyes and brain are trying to catch up with the rest of me........

I don't remember this, but Bec's had seen me and had shouted to Chacha - Tracy needs help!, he had turned around seen me and came sprinting back up to me. He grabbed my arm as I was falling over and stopped me in my tracks. He was rubbing my back all the time he was talking to me, I have no recollection of what he said apart from shouting Peter over, he came scrambling down to where we were. They got me stood up, Chacha took my poles off me and they each held an arm and started moving me down towards camp as fast as they could get me to go. I was completely out of it and was still struggling to stop the spinning motion in my brain and eyes. I still don't know how they managed to control themselves and me over the rocks and really tough terrain, but that they did. 

As we carried on down I started to get a bit more control and so after a while Chacha deemed me safe enough to be left in Peter's care. As we carried on down I know we passed lots of people. It turned out to be a team from America who were going on a bit of an acclimatisation walk as they were going to be setting off at midnight for the summit. 

I remember been asked if I'd made it to the summit to which I said yes and smiled, one of the ladies asked if I was okay ( having a guide leading you down the mountain is a bit of a giveaway ). I vaguely remember  telling them of some of the altitude symptoms and telling them I hoped they didn't suffer on their climb. Then Peter lead me away towards my sleeping bag ( boy I so needed to lay down! ) I was so,so tired!

Ali & Bec's said all the drama started after I'd been lead away, the group of American's started up, one woman in particular who it turned out was a doctor from Phoenix. She was telling the girls to get me further down the mountain. Ali told her she didn't know what was going to be happening yet as regards our camp situation. The doctor again said you need to get her down......Ali and Bec's were just looking at her as she kept repeating get her down! then again get her down, she might not make it through the night!! The girls then took their leave to follow me back to camp.

Peter got me back to my tent and I literally fell through the flap into my sleeping bag where I passed out for a couple of hours. While we climbers were out of it and oblivious to our surroundings Chacha was sorting out an emergency evacuation of one of our crew. He and a couple of the boys had walked back to the ravine at Karanga camp for water, he had taken a tumble into the ravine, at this time it wasn't known if he'd broken his leg....what was known was he was in a bad way. Mountain rules state if someone is evacuated a guide must accompany the injured person. So this meant George was to be going and that we wouldn't see him again.

Chacha insisted on us getting up to drink and eat in the mess tent. He then told us about our poor injured porter and George came and said goodbye to us, hugged us goodbye. He told me I was a very strong woman and fist bumped me before going off to travel down the mountain.

Chacha was encouraging us all to eat because some of us had not eaten all day and those that had, hadn't had much at 4am. I managed a little soup. I was shaking that hard I thought the soup was going to end up all over me, I couldn't stop shaking. Chacha made the decision that Bec's and I were that poorly and had not recovered in the slightest since getting back to camp that we had to evacuate down to a lower elevation and the next camp down. Millenium camp was around ninety minutes away.

He said for us to pack as quickly as possible because it was 6pm and it would soon be dark. We set off down to Millenium camp. The going was really tough for Bec's and I . She had to stop a few times to be sick or wretch on route....me?.....I was still all over the place and falling to the ground ( boy it was hurting a lot now! ). It was steep, uneven and the scree was very loose and slippy. Walking on this kind of surface is not only very difficult but it's very draining. When we set off for Millenium camp we'd already been ascending and descending eleven hours. eleven hours on the toughest and steepest climb to the summit and the most difficult descent down on the steep loose scree....to say we were exhausted is an understatement.

The sun was rapidly going down and we were nowhere near camp, this wasn't good at all, more staggering about in the dark ahead - deep joy! We had to put our torches on, but I didn't know where mine was from this morning so ended up with a small one in my hand while holding my walking pole...not the easiest thing to do. It was pitch black and so very dangerous with my complete lack of balance. After I'd fallen a few times Ali insisted I was to walk behind Chacha as I was making her uneasy and nervous with all my falling.

We carried on plodding and making our way down the mountain towards camp, it felt like we'd been walking for days to be honest. Eventually we saw some lights in front of us, I was yay camp!...Chacha said no not yet Tracy, it was actually some of our crew, bless them they came out to meet us and see us back to camp. Then we thought, whenever they've come to meet us it's not been long into camp. This lifted our spirits up a lot, we are nearly there we thought. I hit the floor again and was groaning, I just wanted to stay there where I lay until I had a sleep....I needed to sleep! I needed to stop feeling so off balance, I needed myself and the world to stop spinning just for a while.

It turned out the boys had come a long way out to see what was keeping us, because it was about an hour after them meeting us for us to hit camp. It took us around three hours not ninety minutes it should have. I refused food and drink when we got to our camp, I didn't have the energy for either, both Bec's and I went straight to our respective tents and was out of it until morning.

So ends the most incredible day on the mountain, a day that saw everything happening,suffering badly with altitude sickness, successful ascent to the summit, an emergency evacuation from almost the summit and a later one to camp for myself. An urgent evacuation to lower camp and elevation to ensure Bec's and I were going to be okay and the altitude symptoms would reduce and leave us feeling much brighter. One of our porters taken off the mountain for medical assistance. 14 hours approx of climbing  and descending  on the steepest and slippiest terrain.....and we survived it! 

The most incredibly hard but amazing day in my life so far, an experience never to be forgotten, a proud achievement worked so hard for in  difficult personal circumstances...but even if I could, I wouldn't change a single bit of it, the good and bad made the day what it was.

To quote the legendary Audrey Hepburn - Nothing  is impossible the word itself says I'm possible

I came, I climbed and I conquered - Mount Kilimanjaro my challenge set in 2010 conquered February 6th 2015.   

Until next time

Tracy  

     

Mountain day five - part two

Hello everyone

I hope this post finds you all well and enjoying the summer. My last post saw us reach Karanga Valley camp from Barranco camp......if you remember we had decided to walk two camps in one day so we could go for our summit attempt through the day rather than climb it mostly through the early hours in the dark. We had all agreed this was the best thing for us all....I for one was grateful for this what with suffering with high altitude sickness, my balance was shot and it was hard enough avoiding stones etc in the daylight!

Karanga Valley Camp to Barafu Camp - 13,000ft - 14,928ft - Day five part two

It seems so weird that on day five we started at an elevation of 14,928ft at Barranco Camp to drop down to 13,000ft to then climb back up to 14,928ft.....but that is exactly what we did!

The really exciting thing about our walk to our second camp of the day is that Barafu camp is the ultimate one - the one we will strike out for our hopefully successful summit ascent. In  less than 24 hours we would be setting off to reach the "Roof of Africa"!

I got to tell you lunch break wasn't nearly long enough a recovery time after the hardest and steepest descent and ascent up to Karanga Valley Camp - that was the steepest ravine I've ever seen never mind climbed. Just thinking about sets my heart off pounding as if it's struggling to pump the blood around my body like it did on the actual climb!

So our climb again was going to be around the three hour mark and I was expecting my altitude sickness symptoms to intensify the higher we climbed. Expecting but hoping that they in fact wouldn't. This climb was quite nondescript in the fact there wasn't anything really to capture my attention. It was just a proper up hill and down dale walk. Very steep hills that were totally draining, especially after the really tough first part of our day. The higher we ascended, the more my symptoms increased, the pain in my lung/chest increased as my breath became more laboured, my headache was becoming a constant thud again and my balance was unsteady.....

It was a walk where it was so steep it made you breathless to walk so talking was to a minimum, we were all trying to stay in the groove of Pole pole Kilimanjaro ( not that walking any faster was an option for any of us! ), so this left us all with time to reflect on what had already passed and what was to come. It was really nice actually, to be able to take some time to just try to absorb what was going on. It was so impossible to talk for much of this second walk of the day unless you wanted to pass out from lack of oxygen. This Mountain is definitely no walk in the park!

I found my mind wandering all over the place and just let it do so. During these extended silences so many things mull around in your mind. Different people pass through, some almost on a constant loop. The emotions I were feeling at the time, overwhelming me on occasions as I looked around, at what I was calling my mountain in my head. Overwhelmed at the feelings that welled up in me as I said to myself....I'm here, I made it, I have finally made it and I am going to conquer it! wondering what everyone back home is up to, are they thinking about you....It's a constant and I have to say it's what helps you get through the day at times. When things are hard and gruelling, it's great having things to occupy your mind and in my case taking it off my lung and how it feels like it's going to actually explode.

As I'm walking I'm thinking of my two buddies Suzie and Molly, how are they, is Molly driving Suzie nuts asking how many more sleeps until I get back home. Does she know where I am, have I climbed to the top yet. Molly telling her teacher and class mates that her best friend is climbing Mount.Kilimanjaro, but she doesn't know where I am exactly. The antics of Molly are making me chuckle because as I picture her bombarding her mum with these questions over and over.....I can envision her body language that goes with them! Now I'm smiling like a lunatic!

I've been missing my two best buddies a lot, and it makes my heart melt and eases my worries knowing Suzie is taking Molly dog out for me while I'm away. I've really been missing my pooch, we do after all spend all day together each and everyday......the joys of my been self employed and the business I run!

Thinking about my mum, her birthday's Feb 10th, and thinking of what I could possibly get her while out here in Tanzania - which is actually pronounced Tan-zane-ia!! these thoughts and many more are going through my head all the while we climb steeply up and down on the mountain while all along steadily increasing our elevation towards camp.

I'm actually chuckling to myself as I think back to my head first tumble and how I flipped myself over so my backpack took the brunt of my landing....and how I was shouting I'm alright to the others as I was still inactual fact sliding to who knew where....all I could see was blue sky and Chacha's eyes....could have been heading towards a ravine for all I knew, but I'm alright is what I was shouting hee hee....I do amuse myself with my own antics!!

And finally we make it to our last camp on the ascent - Barafu at 14,928ft! - this feels such an accomplishment in itself - truly amazing to be here on day five instead of day seven. I'm really glad we changed our plans from the original - I dread to think how much time I'd have spent on the ground from falling over rocks and slipping on the loose scree by climbing with just the light from our headtorches for hours. My balance is terrible!

Wow this camp is very rocky, it's like a boulder assault course just to get into it! the tents are all over the place, anywhere you can find some level ground. Suffering badly with altitude sickness now, head pounding away to the rhythm of my heart beat....thudding loudly in my ears, lightheaded with bad balance. very tired and very relieved to have finally hit camp. Hoping for a great nights sleep and a successful ascent for each and everyone of us!

Even at Barafu camp we cannot see the summit, we can see roughly where we are going to be heading and how steep it's going to be, but no sign of the summit. I'm so very excited to be this close to fulfilling my dream of conquering Mount.Kilimanjaro....all those years in the making. the frustrations of the delays, the ill health preventing me taking it on have now faded to nothing....here I stand swaying looking around me knowing it's penultimate night and at 4am we will be getting up ready to start our climb around 5am!! guys.......it's nearly time!

I just wanted to lay down and rest my pounding head, again I didn't want anything to eat. Poor Bec's was suffering with nausea and so food was off the table for her also. We both disappeared into our respective tents to lay down and try ease our altitude symptoms. I gotta say from all our hard work on this climb and having to depend on our walking poles so much - I'm gonna be mad if my bingo wings ain't gone....lol!


Next post is summit ascent day and all the dramas that went with it. Hope you'll pop by to read what went on. Day six Summit day!

So me myself right now - I've been waiting since March to be referred to the chronic pain clinic for my never ending saga with the pains in my sides. I, who don't like anything medical voluntarily made a GP appointment to see what was going on with my referral. I cannot carry on with the physical job I do on an average of three hours sleep. The pains wake me constantly, affect me obviously throughout the day. Sadly I started getting intermittent pain in my right side again.....I had a good six months pain free after having my gall bladder out, but it's all started up again. It's built back up in the last eight to ten weeks to almost constant. At times the pain is very acute and pretty unbearable. I even felt like I'd passed a stone a couple of weeks ago, that's how intense the pain was. The really annoying thing with the pain on my right  makes me sick, I actually vomit because of it...so to cap things off, I'm back to been sick daily and so the little food I do have isn't staying down.

So being fully aware that I cannot possibly carry on covering the mileage I do on next to no food and very little sleep and not expect to feel as fatigued as I am starting to do I went to see the doctor.

He checked the system and no referral letter had been received so said he was tied as to what he could offer me....after a fairly lengthy chat he prescribed me Tramadol to take on a night to see if it would help my pains enough so I could get some sleep. He said without seeing what my consultant was saying he could do no more ( he wasn't even going to do that at first! ). They didn't in fact work so I'm not taking now...I don't do tablets unless really pressed.

I then left a message with my consultants secretary to find out if the referral had been sent out. This actually took a couple of weeks to get a response and only after I had phoned four times! long story short, the referral was resent and I've finally got a letter so I can choose and book.

Three months to get to the point where I can choose and book - ridiculous!....but at least now I can hopefully find something when dealing with the clinic that's going to help me relieve some pain off so I can sleep and eat better than I am now. I know my food intake won't ever be brilliant, it's not been great since my chemo days. But if I can get back to keeping down the one meal I actually eat a day - that would be a start!

Until next time
Tracy  

Day five on Mount.Kilimanjaro - Camp one.

Hello everyone

I hope this post finds you all well! - I apologise for the delay since my last posting, I've had issues with my laptop and internet.....but all is well again!! So onwards and upwards, we shall travel up the mountain, I hope you are still wanting to come climbing with me!.

I've been re-reading my travel journal to refresh my memory and while doing this I have re-read my message from Molly, her view of me truly overwhelms me and quite rightly I feel humbled and honoured. I don't take any of it for granted, this is my best little pal, my buddy who is coping so very well with her alopecia and she looks upon me with  open honest eyes of a child that haven't been jaded by time and age. In her mind I'm showing her through everyday life and actions that even though things can happen to us which we cannot explain, that we don't necessarily understand, that can cause distress and take some getting used to, we can carry on having a fun filled happy life. We can go off and have adventures, that everyday is an adventure with new experiences to have and beautiful things to see.....that our happiness we find in a normal day actually make us feel great and builds our confidence up, which in turn helps keeps us keep strong through the bad days.

I'm going to write her message here exactly as Molly wrote it...I read it many times when I was away in Tanzania, this is most definitely a keepsake for me and of course good for ribbing Molly when is is a bit older!!

Dear Tracy

Good luck I hope you have a fab time. I will for sure miss you. You're brave I think I will not have the curige to do that. That's why you are inspirational to me you are so brave and have a lot of curige in you.

                                                            Lots

                                                             of

                                                           love

                                                           your best mate

                                                            Molly

                                                           xxxxx

                                                            xxxx

                                                             xxx

                                                              xx

                                                               x

No more words are needed.

Mountain day five - February 5th. Barranco Camp - 14,928ft to Karanga Valley camp 13,000ft.

After we had reached the camp the night before Chacha had a discussion with us on how we wanted to proceed to the summit. The normal way this is done by all companies is to set off at midnight for the summit and try to hit it for the sunrise. This means you are walking five hours in the dark with head torches on. The other option was to walk two camps in one day.....Barranco Camp to Karanga Valley and then from Karanga Valley to Barafu Camp where we would sleep. We would get up at four am and set off for the summit. This would have us only walking around a hour with the head torches on.

We all agreed even though it would be two tough days on the mountain we would rather go for the second option of completing two camps in one day and setting off for the summit at four am. We all had different reasons for wanting this, the common one was the walking in the dark. I was really not good with my balance and the thought of walking in the dark with just the light of the head torch for all those hours really didn't appeal. Becs was also not having the best of time with her balance.

So we agreed to that and set our sights on walking and completing two camps in the same day. Timewise it wasn't so bad, although the terrain was going to be difficult and very steep at times. But this actually meant nothing in real terms, because the reality was three of us were suffering altitude sickness to some degree and differing symptoms, so it was more a case of cracking on and making ot summit base camp Barafu for a good nights sleep in preparation of our ascent to the top of the  "Roof of Africa" - exciting times.....we were finally on for it!

As we set off on the first leg of our journey today to Karanga Camp I was not feeling good at all. In regards to the altitude sickness I was still suffering. Poor Bec's was throwing up amongst other symptoms including balance and of course the dreaded headache. I hadn't slept well at all the night before, mainly due to my thumping headache - they are almost migraine intensity and hit you in continuing waves of pain.....almost imitating your heartbeat, pulsing away with no real let up. I was also really having a rough time with the pain in my chest. Boy it hurt to try take a deep breath, well actually it didn't even have to be that deep!

The plan was to get to Karanga Camp and have lunch there and a bit of recovery time before we were off again to Barafu am for the night. We weren't bothered that we wouldn't be at the summit for the sunrise - as Chacha said anywhere on the mountain we were going to see the sunrise. I was more than happy t experience it anywhere!!

The first part of our walk was really tough, it was actually climbing up the cliff out of the Barranco Valley....it's called the great Barranco wall....very steep and rocky on narrow zig zag paths while suffering altitude sickness and balance issues was quite the challenge I tell you!

We set off on the path to climb the Great Barranco wall to then carry on for around a further two hours to Karanga Valley camp. The going was very tough, it is very steep and difficult with he altitude sickness. At this elevation it takes nothing to get you breathless. But regardless of this we were our usual chirpy selves and as much as we could, we carried on with our joking and laughing.

It's impossible to fully describe how tough the Great Barranco wall is to climb up and out of the valley - but please imagine out porters carrying all the camp gear and our bags out of it. Theses incredible lads go the same route as we did....I will always hold every single one of them and the mountain guides in the highest regard and utmost respect for their abilities in the extreme altitude.

We were Pole Pole ( slowly slowly ) making our way up the wall, when we got to a section where Chacha asked for my walking poles, I did look at him with lots of confusion....I'm thinking we are around 15,000ft on a steep narrow rocky path and my balance isn't brilliant and Chacha wants my poles??  We had in actual fact reached a section where we were going to be rock climbing!! we had to scramble up the rocks and believe me - I didn't ever think my first time doing this would be at 15,000ft with no rope or safety harness while suffering with altitude sickness....well it's one off the bucket list that I never put down ha!

We finally climbed over the ridge of the cliff and was out of the Barranco Valley. I have to say it was so very beautiful in the valley with the very steep cliffs....it was truly majestic and regardless of feeling unwell, I really did appreciate it's beauty at the time.

Now we were out of the valley we would be dropping in elevation as we headed to Karanga Valley camp - our drop would be around 2000ft. I was hoping the drop in elevation would ease my headache and if it didn't get rid of it totally, hopefully it would reduce the intensity. It was a really tough walk to the camp, loose scree boulders and rocks.

In the distance we could see Karanga Valley camp, it didn't seem that far, after out gruelling climb out of Barranco Valley it was a welcome sight for sore eyes and tired legs. Well that was until we got close enough to see that the camp was actually on the other side of a ravine.

The closer we got, the more we realised exactly how steep this ravine was.....OMG it was unbelievably steep! We were then taking in the enormity of what we had to scale down......and more importantly what we would have t climb up in order to make camp.

As we reached the edge and saw what we were going to climb down, it even had my eyes watering at the thought of climbing down the ravine. It was so dangerous climbing down, you were slipping all over the place and trying really hard to not slip off the edge and down the side of the ravine. It really was hard on hips. knees, ankles and toes. I can say in all honesty it was the single hardest things I'd done up to this point on the mountain. I'm not kidding when I say it took ninety minutes or so to climb down and p the other side of the ravine. Bec's agreed with me when I said it was bloody really tough when suffering altitude sickness and one of your symptoms was balance issues!

We finally much to all of our relief made it to the bottom, we took a little time to recover and calm our racing hearts....that was a rough old climb down on very slippy scree which made it so very difficult to stop when momentum was taking over   So starts the climb up the other side of the ravine to camp, oh my, my lung and chest were absolutely killing me as we got climbing, I was so breathless, I was literally gasping for breath. I was trying to calm my breathing to reduce my elevated pulse as my heart was frantically trying to pump oxygenated blood around my body. I could hear the blood rushing in my ears.....all the while my head was pounding to this beat my body was pounding out. I kept having to stop to try relieve the pressure a little. I was getting worried about the amount of strain I was putting on my heart and lungs. I really was struggling up out of the ravine.  

Chacha and George were amazing as always - they had us slowing more and more as we all struggled with the steepness of the ravine.....we had climbed about two thirds of the way out of it when Chacha  took my daypack off me to try help me. Both he and George were gently encouraging me up the ravine and finally I stepped off at the top....I've never felt so happy to have completed part of a challenge. As we made off away from the ravine a guide from another company and a friend of Chacha's congratulated us all on completing the ravine and as I smiled and made my way past him he said to me......you are a very tough lady. It would seem I and my story was circulating the mountain teams.

Finally lunch! - we sat in our mess tent recovering and talking about how hard that first part of our day had been, we were hoping for an easier time when we headed of to camp two . We rested, ate and replenished our fluids before gathering ourselves and gear together to continue our trek on the mountain.

Next time we complete our trek to camp two of day five in preparation of our summit ascent. Karanga Valley camp to Barafu camp coming soon.

Until next time

Tracy

Mt.Kilimanjaro day four

Hello everyone

Hope you are enjoying the new Spring season - the weather was glorious here today, mild even though it was 5c....I spent the day out in shorts and a T shirt, did get some funny looks as I passed people who had coats and hats on still! - I stopped and took five minutes to watch the little lambs playing and bounding around....full of life and wonder. Was beautiful to see!

So before I take you back to the mountain for day four of our epic climb I want to catch you up on other things first. I went to see my consultant this evening for the results from my Dorsal spine MRI - for those who didn't know or hadn't read about it, my consultant thought the pain in my left side was possibly originating from my spine......the dorsal section to be precise and after already have bloods, a colostomy, CT scans etc done, he booked an MRI to check out his theory.

So results time, the MRI hasn't shown up anything that could be causing my pain so this rules out a trapped nerve new or old or on a really positive note nothing sinister on or around my spine. However this means we are no closer after three years to pinpointing the cause of the pain and this also means I am to be referred to the chronic pain clinic.

I feel so frustrated that the cause couldn't be found - afterall if you find the cause there's a greater chance you can sort it out!  I have very mixed feelings about the referral, I definitely won't be taking painkillers if that's what they offer, but I've been told they do many other things to help elleviate the pain , such as specific exercises, acupuncture etc. So although I have no idea how long it's going to take for the referral to happen I will keep an open mind and at least go see what they have to say.   So three years on - I actually don't feel any closer to a solution to leave me feeling pain free, but hey never say never - it can still happen and to be fair I've had the issue for so long....what's more time! So when I get an appointment I will of course let you know.


Mountain day four - February 4th. Shira camp 2 12,598ft - Barranco camp 14,928ft.

I know I won't have spelled this song correctly - I actually wrote it as it sounds so we found it easier to learn! here are the words to one of the songs the crew sang every morning, we learned the words so we could join in! So here you go....By the way I still sing it every morning on my on!

Jambo

Jambo
Jambo bwana
Habari gani
Zuri sana
Wageni
Mwa kari bishwa ( Yipoo )
Kilimanjaro
Hakuna matata

How cool is that! - I have to tell you hearing and saying in normal conversation in the correct context Hakuna matata was absolutely amazing!

This song is so upbeat, we all, including all the crew loved singing this every morning - a great way to get rid of the chill from the night on the mountain, warm the muscles up and prep us for the days climbing ahead. Loved all the singing and dancing in a morning. So lucky our crew wanted to do this all the time, some of the crews only did on the last day!!

As I said this is a major day on the mountain, it is our big acclimatization day, intended to help us with what will be a few tough days at high altitude. We would be climbing up to 4600m and having lunch at the lava tower before making our way down the very steep descent to Barranco camp in the Barranco valley for the night.

So day four on the mountain was the first  climb high- sleep low - intended to acclimatize us in preparation for the summit ascent. It would also show us if we were going to suffer any  altitude sickness symptoms. So yes a very big day for our little group of intrepid climbers.

 I had been looking forward to this for so long!  - I was going to finally get up close and personal with the Lava tower. The tower is a volcanic plug that rises up 300ft into the air. The volcanic plug would have occurred an age ago when lava was shot up through a vent at the base of where tower now stands, cooled and hardened thus blocking the vent. So far this "cork" which can build pressure in the volcano below hasn't woken Mount.Kilimanjaro up! The Lava tower is in the alpine forest - sadly earlier this year a ban was placed on climbing the tower because of safety concerns. But at least I could still experience the majesty of this volcanic plug! The last major eruption on Kilimanjaro was around 150,000 years ago, although some activity was recorded 200 years ago.

Wow what a day it was going to be - I hadn't slept the night before, and I have to say the lack of sleep and sleeping issues were definitely the hardest part of the trip - well that and the climbing lol!

We set off after breakfast and our singing and dancing to the Lava tower and our climb up to 4600m, none of us in the group had ever climbed this high, but in fairness we three girls were setting new daily highs and had been for a couple of days. And at 4600m we would be if on Mount. Meru the mountain you can see from Kilimanjaro, the summit!

We were walking uphill at a fairly steady incline, it wasn't uphill and down dale like we had walked, but it was continuous. As we carried on walking I could see higher up on the horizon what I knew straight away could only be the Lava tower and asked Chacha if that was the case. He responded and said yes it was indeed the Lava tower . Even from this distance I could see how impressive a rock formation it was. It was huge! And after all the time I'd read about it and looked at photos of it, it doesn't prepare you for how majestic it looked on the skyline!

I think the biggest potential worry for me as we continued walking was that we wouldn't see it properly as the clouds kept closing in around it....I really wanted to be able to get at least a couple of clear shots of it all and not just the bottom part because of the cloud cover. So it was a case of fingers crossed as we slowly climbed higher and closer to our lunch destination.

It showed how massive the Lava tower is when we could see it  from such a distance and it took an absolute age to reach it. On route we passed this sign post, I can tell you we were all really excited to see this. It's weird how the smallest of things like this - bring the greatest of pleasure. We were really close to our destination of the tower, I had noticed my nose was bleeding, I didn't expect that, we were at an elevation of around 4200/4300m. 

I had noticed a while earlier I was suffering with obviously High Altitude symptoms. I had a terrible headache, it came and went in waves, but the intensity of it was bad!, I was having balance issues, I keep losing my balance and staggering off to the right ( it was sod's law that I would favour falling off to my right, my weakest ankle after rupturing my Anterior Talofibular ligament, so I had nothing to stop my ankle giving way.....but in fairness, nothing was going to stop it even if my ankle wasn't weakened from an old injury  ). I also felt a tad nauseous. So not altogether fantastic in myself. I wasn't on my own suffering with the altitude symptoms , Bec's was the same, we were laughing at the fact she favoured falling off to the left. Every now and then I'd hear...oh,oh,oh as Bec's staggered off while trying to regain her balance. At this elevation we were able to regain our balance, this was helped by the sparceness of the rocks in the alpine forest. She also was suffering with a headache and agreed it was definitely not the best feeling at all! Dom's balance was okay, but again he was suffering with a headache. The only one of us that was fine was Ali - she was displaying no symptoms whatsoever ......lucky lass!!

You can see the path on the left of the photos, the little sandy looking line. What it doesn't show is the incline properly near the tower base. That was a tough climb up at this elevation, breathing was tough as we exerted ourselves. When we finally crested the ridge at the base, we were all lathered and out of breath. I will say our recovery was really fast. As we all started congratulating each other with fist bumps and hugs, I felt a bit overwhelmed when George our guide who is the epitome of cool gave me a massive hug while saying "You are a very strong woman, well done Tracy", this was repeated when I hugged Chacha. George had set our Pole pole Kilimanjaro pace again for us today.....it's slow, small steps and it really is all about the rhythm!

We followed Chacha to an area of rocks to sit and have our pack lunches, there we a fair few other trekkers about, the most we had seen on our trip so far. But the area is so big we could all have a place to perch. I really wasn't feeling hungry, Bec's ( She was like our chemist! )  passed some headache tablets and said it's time for some more Tracy. I took them and sat down closing my eyes. My head was absolutely pounding and all I could hear was the blood rushing through my head. It was literally pulsing in time with my heartbeat. Chacha was encouraging us all to eat our lunches, I managed a little food and said I needed to go to the bathroom. Chacha told me there were behind a huge wall of boulders.

I set off to walk over to the wall and round it to the toilets. I didn't take my poles with me, I was all over the place, really light-headed, I must have looked really drunk, completely off my head. I couldn't control my feet properly and I sure as hell couldn't control my direction! I finally made it around the boulders and saw a line of toilets. I was so light-headed just from walking over, it was crazy! I walked into the open end of the toilet and round to the hole in the floor. OMG - once again the sight and smell that hit me had my stomach rolling and trying to climb out of my throat! 

KILIMANJARO EXPRESS- again!!!! I spun on the spot to get out of there, what little bit of lunch I'd consumed wasn't going to be staying down that's for sure. My whole world went to hell at that point, I was so light-headed so as soon as I spun around my head felt like it became separate from my body.....my brain was rattling around in my skull, my eyes were rolling in their sockets, it felt like they were independent of each other and rolling in opposite directions. I frantically tried to grab onto something as my balance went. I literally had my fingernails in the wooden panel, as I was trying to grip on for dear life.

I could feel myself going and was leaning over towards the hole in the ground...my heart was pounding as hard as my head as I has a vision of the scene in Slumdog Millionaire where the young kid falls through the floor and drops the 5/6 feet into the raw sewerage and I was frantically screaming in my head on loop....no,no,no,please,no!!! I managed to settle enough to straighten up and get myself moving in the opposite direction and towards the way out.   I got outside and promptly projectile vomited all over the outside of the wooden panel. I eventually stopped vomiting and heaving and moved away from the toilet all together. I was so shaky and weak...I was bent over double resting my hands on my knees trying to catch my breath, settle my stomach and calm my body. 

I was like that for a fair few minutes and then stood up making my way back to the others. I sat down shakily and told them what had happened, they were sympathetic and grateful it wasn't them that had gone to the toilet all the while laughing at my description of what had happened - especially my fear of a Slumdog Millionaire reenactment ! Chacha made his way over pointing to my lunchbox and opened his mouth to speak, I held my hand up and said no way can I eat! he nodded his head and dropped the subject.

We got up to make our way away from the Lava tower and down into the Barranco valley to our camp for the night. My memories of the Lava tower are much more varied than I expected when we set off that morning hee hee! It was a long walk down to the camp. Very, very steep, but amazing as well. We saw the giant senecio trees, our first on the mountain, these ones exclusive to Kilimanjaro - they grow nowhere else on earth the guides told us, such a strange tree and they only grow over 3000m and evolved around one million years ago. I have a fascination for trees and yes these really fascinated me! They can grow to 5 meters in height.

When they flower they grow even taller as they sprout straight out the top! It was a tough day and we were shocked at the steep incline down to our camp in the Barranco valley and we were told we would be climbing back out of the valley the next morning and the path pointed out. It was a humdinger! The altitude sickness symptoms eased but only very slightly, the three of us didn't get rid of our headaches properly, and I was still light-headed. I was out in the camp taking photos and trying not to fall to the ground. At the time I was just praying they wouldn't all be blurred!

That's all for day Four, but I will be back soon with the continuing story of the most amazing journey on a magnificent mountain that can only be Mount.Kilimanjaro!

Until next time

Tracy