Page 53 - The Gazette Autumn 2024

was my poor attempt to step up onto a big rock, losing my balance and falling backwards onto the mountain below and being caught by one of our porters who were following vigilantly behind us. I could have given up at this as point, but Stuart took my hand, helped me up and pushed me up onto the rock above. A moment in which I was grateful he was here, and we were experiencing this incredible journey together.
After an agonising five-hour climb, we reached Gilman’s point at 5,685m, the rim of the crater of Mount Kilimanjaro. From here the terrain is a gradual slope as the hardest part is done, we shared a happy moment, but there was no time to celebrate as after a few minutes’ rest we set off again to combat the freezing temperatures.
A gruelling 50 minutes more and we reached the penultimate stop, Stella Point at 5,756, only 139 metres to ascend! But my mind was battling with thoughts of ‘I don’t know if I can do this’ and ‘I can’t take much more.’ The crater’s rim was so thin at times if we lost our footing, you would surely fall in making mine and Stuart’s light-headedness even more terrifying. ‘Pole- pole.’
The sun was starting to rise but the blizzard was relentless, my hat and buff had now frozen around my face and the pain of the wind and hail was unbearable on my cheeks. But finally, a torturous hour later we could see the summit sign. A crowd of tourists surrounded the sign patiently waiting to get that precious photo at the top, so we joined the wait. A few minutes passed and Stu and I both felt frozen again, all we could do was huddle together for warmth and cover from the hail staring at the ground waiting for our turn and I couldn’t help but think ‘I don’t even care about a photo, I just want to go down.’
Finally, a quick snap of the camera and it was time to descend immediately. The feeling of elation that we had made it soon passed when realised we now had to climb back down, ‘there should be a chairlift’ we joked.
A beautiful moment of brief sunshine welcomed our descent and warmed us through as we made it back to Stella point. We were surprised with some hot ginger tea, a perfect celebratory drink to warm us and raise our spirits. We finally touched down at the Kibo huts around 11:30, almost 12 hours of walking with minimal sleep, food and barely any water, a nap was the perfect welcome back.
The sun was starting to rise but the blizzard was relentless, my hat and buff had now frozen around my face and the pain of the wind and hail was unbearable on my cheeks.
The adventure did not stop there: after a few hours of rest, we were roused by Mike to immediately descend another arduous 9km to the Horombo Huts where we would safely sleep at a lower altitude. A massive congratulations was scurried around the team with congratulatory hugs and handshakes, it was here that Stu and I had the realisation of what we had just achieved – the feeling of proud does not describe it.
48 hours of the hardest physical challenge both of us had ever endured, it pushed us to breaking point where we both felt we were unable to continue, our lungs unable to feed us the lifesaving oxygen we required, our bodies struggling to take every step and bellies refusing all sustenance, but it proves what the human body can withstand and what we can achieve if we set our minds to it.
In loving memory of Hazel Robinson. Please help us to support future research and treatments for all those affected by blood cancer. Thus far we have raised £1,648. We are incredibly grateful for any donation you can make! https://www.justgiving.com/page/stuart-and-beth- kilimanjaro
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