29 July 1999

Although we are both experienced on Kilimanjaro, this morning proved to be a real eye-opener for us. Not only did we both experience the most difficult summits so far of Kilimanjaro, but we have not been able to find a primary cause for it. We'll write it down to experience and build on it in future.

Today started off as most summit days do. After an early dinner at 17:00, we all retired to our tents to get as much rest as possible. At 23:00 we gathered for a final check before setting off on the 7 hour slog to Stella Point on the crater rim. At minus 5 degrees Celsius, it was in fact a very nice evening for a summit attempt. Progressing higher and higher though, the minus 5 eventually became minus 10 without the wind chill factor and our perfect evening turned into a test of stamina and willpower to get to the summit.

With a full moon to light the way, nobody could have asked for a better evening, and we all inched our respective ways up the slope in the silvery light of the moon. If the moon was anything to go by, the sunrise proved an even better view and we were treated to an awesome sight of a simultaneous sunrise and "moonset" from the summit of Kilimanjaro. The fantastic beauty of the event was just slightly overshadowed by the fact that, at the time, we were in particular difficulty getting to the top. By good fortune we were later rewarded by scenes of the great snowfields which have made Kilimanjaro famous. As further good fortune and by virtue of supreme collective effort, a total of 34 people out of a possible 35 in our group managed to get to the top of the mountain and will receive their certificates tomorrow evening. Ou celebrations will take place in the base town of Moshi and will be the last chance we will be able to spend with the members of the first part of the expedition. It should prove to be a memorable occasion. Of further interest is the diverse composition of the group. From the oldest, a gentleman of 71, to the youngest, a girl of 14, the group performed extremely well and we're very pleased to have been able to lead them to the roof of Africa.

The descent today also proved a long hard slog from Barafu Hut and we only walked into camp at around 18:30. The day has been extremely long, but we're very satisfied with progress so far and are now entering the stage of planning our movements for the next day or two. We still have a day to get off the mountain, which will once again be a torturous descent through mud in the lower rainforests. Luckily, the day culminates in a hot shower at our hotel.

For this time of the year, there seems to have been relatively little snow at the summit. However, the entire crater is covered with a smooth layer of pristine white snow, bar for the few footprints traversing to crater floor from west to east. Also, the morning spectacle of the southern icefields at sunrise once again proved a sight to remember.

As many people may have noticed, the sign at the summit of Kilimanjaro receives harsh punishment each year. This is the sign proclaiming you to be at the highest point in Africa, Uhuru Peak at 5 895 m asl. This morning, the High on Africa expedition was fortunate to witness the first stage in replacing this battered sign with a new one. The irony of this is that where we have continiously gathered as adventure tourists at the summit of Kilimanjaro, the staff of KINAPA were seriously at work on the roof of Africa.