Relaxing at Karanga Camp

August 4, 2016

Our Kili team has been doing great the past several days. Everyone is feeling fine and the weather has been nice. Can’t ask for much more than that. Oh, and did we mention the views? Those aren’t bad either! Overnight (for us) the team climbed from Barranco Camp (~13,000 ft) up to the top of the Barranco Wall at around 14,000 feet. This is a fun day with some minor rock scrambling using your hands. The Wall looks much more intimidating from Barranco Camp than it actually is. The Kili porters climb the Barranco Wall with close to 50 lbs of gear — mostly on their heads! They are amazing. Once on top of the Barranco Wall the team traversed a few minor valleys before arriving at Karanga Camp at around 13,300 ft. Another great acclimatization day and a fairly short day one at that. A hot lunch was awaiting the team at camp and then they spent the afternoon relaxing and enjoying the views. Tomorrow is another short day for the team as they climb from Karanga Camp up to Barafu Camp. Only 3 or 4 hours of hiking and a couple thousand feet of vertical to climb, but its a slow walk at these altitudes. They are getting closer and the excitement is growing!

Dustin Balderach