Mount Kilimanjaro - Day 5 SUMMIT

This is it. All the marbles are on the table. It's GAME time!!!

The first 4 days were just baby steps in comparison to this.....truly a walk in the park. This was not about the physical aspect anymore (although the altitude as you ascent may say differently as it affects your body), it was about your mental state.

You had to mentally be prepared for this climb:
a) believe in yourself and know that you can do it because as soon as you think about giving up it's game's over
b) always keeping a positive attitude and saying that you are one step closer to the top.

5 of the 6 days is all about the physical state and hiking, but this day it's all about YOU.

We were up by 11:30pm and had some food and then got ready. 2 pairs of socks, 3 layers of pants, 3 layers on top, 2 coats, balaclava, a winter hat, plus 2 pairs of gloves and we were rocking to go!!!

It was grueling, intense, nerve racking but most of all mentally challenging. Every step you take is a test for 7.5 hours. We left at 12:30am and endured the freezing temperatures on the ascent to the Summit. Many thoughts cross your mind along the way, but the one that is always at the fore front is that "I AM GOING TO MAKE IT". I had the Vancouver Olympics song by Nikki Yanofsky - "I BELIEVE" - running through my head (well maybe singing a bit too) on the whole trek. We saw a few people turn back and have to make their way down, we saw people taking oxygen with machines from their tour guide(s), but Graham and I kept trekking along.

Stella's Point - Kili's 2nd highest point at 5739m - was like a God send when we reached it at 7:20am. We're ALMOST there. Short little tea break (warm up the hands and a big breather) and we were off again. We could see the trees (or in this case "Snow") on the horizon of our final destination.

Uhuru's Peak....5895m.....Africa's highest point....8:05am.....Holy Crap WE DID IT!!!!! We made it to the Roof Top of Africa!!!

There are no words to describe the magnitude of the situation, the sensation, or the absolute wonder of where you are. It was EUPHORIA.....

P.S. the last 3 photos are actually the first photos of the summit trek with the sunrise :)