June 29, 2014
Kili climbers at Barafu Camp (Craig John)
After five days of gradual acclimatization, our Kili team are ready to climb! Craig John reports a nice hike today up to the high camp at Barafu (15,000 feet) and a lazy afternoon of eating, hydrating, and resting. The team will be up at 11pm and walking by midnight, and hopefully will hit Uhuru Peak shortly after dawn. The first few hours of climbing in the dark normally go pretty smoothly, and are not too cold. Then, about 4 am, as you are getting up by 18,000 feet, it will start getting very chilly and you will be glad you brought the extra warm clothes. Time for the down parka! The air temp is often in the single digits F and if there is even a light breeze, it is sub zero. Given that you are breathing less than half the oxygen as sea level, it makes it feel even colder…even if you are nearly on the equator!
Eric Simonson