Jens A. Hald Al-Sheikhali

We had a 3-hour drive to the base of the mountain at Lemosho Gate, and then the hike began. The next 8 days were going to be tough, but hopefully an exciting adventure. 

On the first day, we ended up at Base Camp, which was at an altitude of 2700 meters. We had lots of sunshine and saw some monkeys. It was a good first hike, lasting about 5-6 hours. We were able to wear t-shirts, which was perfect, but you really have to remember the sunscreen.

Can you describe what was going through your mind when you started the hike?

There had been a long preparation period, and now it was all coming to a head. We started at a place full of people, and we looked at what clothes and equipment they had. Had I packed the right things and enough of them? I also remember looking up at the path we were supposed to follow, and we had agreed in the group beforehand that if someone had to give up, the others would continue. It was impossible to predict how the altitude or something else would affect you. It's something you can never prepare yourself for. The unknown.

What was your impression of the others in the group you were going to the summit with?

The others in the group were a couple of friends of my father’s, and a mutual friend of theirs, so I was sort of the “outsider.” However, we had the flight there and two days at the hotel, during which we talked a lot, so overall, I probably couldn’t have traveled with a better group. The mood was always high, and everyone was really motivated. They seemed just as excited about this adventure and whether we would make it to the summit.

We were supposed to hike from Chiawa Camp 1 to Chiawa Camp 2, which was a 10-kilometer hike. Today, the terrain was manageable and the easiest day so far, but it started with bad weather.

When we were ready in the morning with all our equipment, we barely took a few steps before it started raining again. A good tip is always to apply sunscreen, even when it’s cloudy and raining. My hands are now completely burned; luckily, it doesn’t hurt as badly as it looks. I hope it’s just a mild burn, but it looks pretty severe.

Tomorrow is supposed to be the toughest day so far, as we’ll reach Lava Tower, which will be at about 4750 meters. I think it will be the first time we really feel the effects of altitude sickness. Hopefully, it will only be mild symptoms like headaches, etc., but we’ll see.

If someone feels unwell along the way, how is that handled by the guides? Do they carry medications, and is there a doctor present?

The guides continuously monitor the group, and there’s a check every evening after we’ve eaten. Our guide comes in and measures our pulse and blood oxygen levels, and we answer some questions about whether we have headaches, nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, etc.

We’ve been told that you can continue even if you have several symptoms of altitude sickness, and this is where the mental aspect comes into play. It’s about whether you’re strong enough to keep going, even if you don’t feel your best. However, if you develop serious distress and have trouble breathing and need oxygen, that’s the end of the line. You will be assisted down the mountain, and you won’t be allowed to continue.

Did you feel safe at this point?

Yes, I did, and it was also another advantage to be in such a good group, where we all felt responsible for keeping an eye on each other to make sure everyone was doing okay.

It’s quite foggy here at Barranco Camp; we’re so high up that we’re walking in the clouds. As I said yesterday, today was supposed to be tough, and it really was. You walk very slowly when you’re above 4000 meters. The guides keep repeating "polepole," which means "slowly."

On the way to Barranco Camp, we passed a waterfall that we had to descend, all while it was snowing. There were a couple of American groups behind us who said it was crazy and very dangerous, but we managed it and got down safely. The descent by the waterfall was much harder than going up. I haven’t experienced altitude sickness yet, and at Barranco Camp, we've arrived at an altitude of 3900 meters. It’s always the case that we hike high, but we sleep a little lower. Now we only have two days left, which is exciting.

Another day has passed, and we’re now at Karanga Camp. We started the day by climbing the Barranco Wall, which was steep and very high – probably over 100 meters that we had to climb all the way up.

Everyone made it through well, and fortunately, the weather was on our side – we had sunshine and warmth the whole time, and when we reached the top, it was fantastic.

Shortly after, we arrived at Karanga Camp, where we had dinner, and then it started raining again. It was heavy rain. We received instructions for tomorrow, when we’ll go on a short hike to a camp that’s at 4650 meters.

Tomorrow will also be a big day, because when we get there, we’ll have lunch, then we’ll need to sleep for a few hours until dinner, and then we’ll sleep again. At midnight tomorrow, the guides will wake us up, as it will be time to head for the summit. It’s going to be crazy, and we’re really looking forward to it. I still don’t have altitude sickness, but I do have pain in my left knee, but I’m in a good mood.

How is your sleep at this point? Can you elaborate on what happened with your knee? Was it something you were worried about?

Sleep has become more sporadic, mostly consisting of longer rests or short periods of sleep that never quite turn into deep sleep. 

As for my knee, it was purely overexertion. I didn’t have any issues while going up, but descending was simply too much strain in the long run. It’s also something that surprised me in hindsight; when climbing a mountain, you always think of going up, but you also spend a lot of time descending in very steep terrain.

At this point, I could barely take a step down without compensating by only landing on my right leg to absorb the shock, which was almost unbearable. I would much rather climb 3 kilometers higher than go down 100 meters at this point.

I wasn’t worried that it would become a showstopper for me as long as I didn’t feel it while going up. At that point, I could just put the thought aside, and I figured I would deal with that "problem" when we reached the top and had to go all the way down.

On Day 8, you reach the summit; can you describe the experience? Was it what you had imagined? Could you enjoy it, or were you too exhausted?

When I was woken up at midnight and turned on my headlamp, the entire inside of my outer tent was glimmering with frost. It was quite special. Stepping out into a starry night with a full moon gave me a feeling of extra energy and motivation to tackle the last 5 kilometers. This day was undoubtedly the most mentally demanding experience I’ve ever put myself through, and I had probably underestimated it because everything had gone so well up until then.

It took 7 hours to walk those 5 kilometers, so saying that the pace was very slow is probably an understatement. That wasn’t the hard part; it was more that we were no longer just ourselves. We were practically a snake of people all trying to reach the summit for sunrise, and we were moving so slowly that there was neither space nor speed to overtake anyone.

The last 5 kilometers were filled with many stops, and I didn’t get into a good flow during my ascent, while I also experienced symptoms of altitude sickness for the first time. I had a headache, felt slightly dizzy if I looked anywhere other than at my feet, and had stomach issues, though thankfully, it didn’t escalate. Additionally, some groups were playing all sorts of music from small speakers they carried, which created a lot of noise that, at least for me, negatively affected my experience. So, if I were to describe the first 4 kilometers, it was a bit of hell. I don’t think I said more than 5-10 words that night on the way up because I was just maxed out.

The last kilometer was walked as the sun was rising over 70 cm of snow and above the clouds. It felt a bit like walking on another planet when I reached the top and looked around. At the same time, getting hit by the light was a huge mental boost, along with the sound of stepping in the snow while everything was completely silent. Everyone was so exhausted that there was no talking at all. So, walking there with snow all around and clouds like a sea on the horizon was truly magical.

Finally,we came to the famous sign where everyone takes their photo, and after that, you only have about 10 minutes before you head back down. Because of exhaustion and the thin air.

Did everyone in the group reach the summit? How long did it take you to come back down?

Yes, the whole group made it to the top, which was really cool. Standing there with my dad was also a special moment for me. What made it even cooler was that when we got back to the camp, we had a little break of about an hour. Here, Lars from our group surprised us with five gold medals that he had engraved with our names, stating that we had reached the summit. That was really a fun and special thing.

The descent was really fast and only took 1.5 days, as we didn’t have to acclimatise. However, this meant that my knee suffered again and was almost unbearable. But we all made it!

On his trip to Kilimanjaro, Jens wore our casual trousers, functional jacket, beanie, and 1927 t-shirt.