February 12, 2017
The Kili team just rolled into Barafu High Camp, and IMG senior guide Emily Johnston checked in with us. Another good day hiking on Kili, and this team is in great shape. There is always an exciting buzz around this camp as you have finally reached the highest camp on the mountain and everyone will soon be making their summit push. The team enjoyed a shorter day today which is all part of the plan to prepare for the summit day tomorrow! After pulling into high camp and getting their tents organized, the team had a hot lunch and finish up getting packed for the climb, followed by a few hours of afternoon snoozing. They will have an early dinner tonight before they get horizontal again in the tents and try to get some sleep.  While it might be tough to sleep, it’s the time off your feet and on your back that counts. Then next thing you know its 11 pm and the alarm is waking you up. By midnight, you are off hiking into the night following a stream of headlamps slowly climbing up the mountain. It really is exciting.
Kili and Barafu camp (photo: Dustin Balderach)
The team is in for a long day; no way to sugar-coat it. They will normally reach the summit shortly after sunrise, then spend a half hour or so on the summit, taking photos and taking in the views. Then it’s back down to Barafu high camp to pack up and have another hot lunch. Finally, they’ll descend a few more hours to the Mweka camp for the final night on the climb. A long but extremely rewarding day.
Looking down on Barafu Camp (photo: Dustin Balderach)
We wish the team luck and look forward to hearing from them late tonight or tomorrow morning!
Dustin Balderach