Summit Night on Kili

July 2, 2017

IMG senior guide, Craig John, just gave us a ring from Barafu High Camp over on Kili. This strong team is super excited now. They are resting at High Camp at around 15,200 feet and are preparing for their summit attempt tonight! They made short work of the hike today and pulled into camp around noon. A hot lunch was waiting for them and then they started packing for the summit bid. An early dinner and then an early bedtime! Its going to be difficult to sleep for the crew. When they lay down it will be around 6pm, it will still be light, and they’ll be too excited to sleep. Doesn’t matter if they sleep or not, though, as long as they get some time on their backs and off their feet! About the time they are finally able to drift off to sleep, it’ll be 11 pm and time to wake up. The plan is to have a quick breakfast, some hot drinks, and then be walking by midnight. After about 7 hours of walking they’ll touch Stella Point at the crater rim. Then its another hour or so over to Uhuru Peak, the highest point on the crater rim and the true summit of Kilimanjaro. This is what the team has been preparing and waiting for – summit day! We wish them good luck and look forward to hearing from CJ on the summit later today!

Dustin Balderach