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Thinking of tackling Africa’s highest peak? At 19,336 feet, climbing Kilimanjaro is defiantly no walk in the park.

Not sure what’s involved and what it takes to stand on top of the fourth highest peak of the Seven Continental Summits.

Well Gail Burns had the same idea and here how she got on with this challenge of a lifetime…..

Name: Gail Burns.
Age: 30 Something!
Occupation: Market Analyst.
Lifelong Ambition: To see the world.
Favourite piece of kit: Hanwag walking boots.
Why did you decide to climb Kili: I wanted a challenge/adventure trip, I more or less stuck a pin in the Exodus brochure and Kili came out. Did no training for the trip at all!! Once I decided on it I only had to wait a few weeks until I was getting on the plane to Tanzania!

Day 1
Nale Moru - Rongai Simba Camp

We are allocated our crew - 36 mountain porters to look after 12 of us. These guys, amongst other things will carry our tents, kitbags -we carry our own 35 liter day packs, prepare and serve all our food/drink and put up/take down our tents.

We set off on a small path through pine plantations, farmland and forest. Its a beautiful sunny day -about 20oc- but the climb is a constant sweaty one.

After about 4 ½ hrs of walking, we arrive at our first campsite – Simba. I throw my sleeping bag down and flop onto it. Bliss! Although it felt weird reading Cosmopolitan magazine in a tent, in the African wilderness!

At around 7pm dinner is served -where did all the time go? We had difficulty trying to work out which one is the dinner tent as its pitch black now and all tents look the same! We sit at a dining table, complete with head torches and fleece jackets -it gets really cold at night! The food is very good considering we are part way up Africa’s highest peak; my fears of boil in the bag wildebeest are completely diminished!

Another hot day, we get superb view of the Eastern ice-fields on the rim of Kibo, the youngest and highest of the three volcanoes that form the entire mountain. After lunch we leave the main trail and strike out across moorland towards the jagged peaks of Mawenzi, the second of Kilimanjaro’s volcanoes.

We climb for 7 hours in total, its very rocky and there is quite a bit of scrambling, my head starts to feel sore and I worry that its the first sign of altitude sickness. We are constantly reminded of this and told to walk slowly, ‘poly-poly’ -something I have a problem with- and we have to try to drink 4-5 litres of water a day, which is tough to do when it is bright yellow and tastes foul

We start day 3 with a steep grassy climb. The scenery is once again amazing! After lunch, we leave camp to do an acclimitisation walk. The terrain changes to steep rocks and its now that I can distinctly feel the lack of oxygen.

Return to camp, it’s my favourite campsite so far, it is spectacularly situated in a cirque beneath the towering cliffs of Mawenzi. The toilets on camp consist of wooden huts, with a hole in the ground, and a long drop to the pit below. The first toilets I have come across without any doors whatsoever. I reckon this is because they both face onto the magnificent Mawenzi. What better way to spend a penny - with awesome views!

Leave our attractive campsite to cross the lunar desert between Mawenzi and Kibo. We walk for about 6 hrs, across barren land strewn with boulders, and lava gravel.

We are told to wear long trousers, and wind-proof jackets today as the combination of the wind and sand can be quite nasty.

Arrive at Kibo Hut campsite, which is at the bottom of the Kibo Crater. This is the highest campsite of the whole trip. It’s crowded, steep and very, very windy! We were told that its not always as windy as this, we are just unlucky. I feel tired after the days walk and now have the familiar sick feeling and sore head. I realise now that the climb is going to be even tougher now that I have altitude sickness to deal with too.

That evening before dinner, we are given a talk by our guide on what to expect on our summit climb. I have never seen the group so quiet and subdued. The rest of the group has stew but I’ve completely lost my appetite. Its then off to bed at about 5pm in preparation for the 12 midnight start of our summit climb.

We retire to our tents to get some essential sleep. However, this proves impossible due to a mixture of things - the rocky ground beneath me -my camping mat was wafer thin and useless- thoughts of what is to come, sickness and the howling winds outside which are severely blowing our tent back and forwards. I am convinced that our tent is going to disappear into a whirl wind with us sucked up into it too, hopefully landing on the summit! A few times that night, I think, why am I doing this? I had no idea what the actual temperature is, but I know that the evening temperatures can go as low as -20c on Kibo Campsite due to the height we are at - 4,700m. I cannot get a heat in my body despite the number of layers I have on. I nervously await one of the porters coming to our tent, with an 11pm alarm call. Then it will be a snack and a final brief from the chief guide with the aim of setting off at midnight.

We set off just after 12 am; everyone looks the same in the dark with head torches and big puffy jackets. I really layer up, putting on 6 top layers, plus a duvet jacket, hat, gloves, and on the bottom cycling shorts, running leggings and a pair of waterproofs. I feel as if I have no energy at all and I’m not looking forward to whats in front of me, Ive had no real sleep with the altitude sickness having now really got a grip of me.

We start off and I notice that my torch doesnt shine as much light as everyone elses! Should have got the more expensive model! We are all in single file as its steep and a switch back trail on loose volcanic scree. I think we were only walking about 15 mins and I break rank to be sick, I am annoyed to be barfing so early! Damn, not a good start.

The next few hours are spent trekking up the switch back, I am amazed at how steep it is and I keep sliding backwards as the volcanic scree is slippery (although would be worse during the day, scree is easier to walk on at night due to the freezing temperatures) and I keep getting told off by the mountain porter for my fast pace. Walking fast will only make my altitude sickness worse, but I decide I would rather be sick than fall backwards as it looks dangerous. From here on in, it is a battle and I have to keep thinking positively. I feel very much alone as we walk single file, no talking or laughing as the group concentrate, just silence and darkness. I need to keep focused on getting myself up the mountain; it is such an intense personal experience.

I am sick at various points up the mountain; it gets so bad I am given a sickness pill by one of the porters, with no effect. He eventually has to take my day pack and hold my hand up the really steep bits as I have absolutely no energy left in my body. I feel really frustrated that I can struggle to put one foot in front of the other; I am fit and have good stamina! Altitude sickness is indiscriminate and unfair!

Its bitterly cold, but I am well wrapped up and the only reason I know that it must be about -20 oc is that my water bottle freezes up at an alarmingly quick rate each time I pull it out of my jacket!

We stop for another break, and I get a stunning picture of the sunrise over Mawenzi, Each time I look at that photo, I remember exactly what I was thinking, despite my agony, the view alone made the previous 6 hours of walking and barfing worthwhile!

I finally arrive at Gillman’s Point, heaving myself over the last of some massive boulders, I am disorientated, tired and feeling absolutely horrendous. The last hour or so has been the hardest bit and purely a mental thing. I now feel as if I have the thinnest spindliest legs ever - no energy in them at all. At this stage we are at 18,650 ft or 5685m. Gillman’s Point is at the crater rim, and is regarded as a landmark in its own right due to it being summit zone, and a lot of people do not make it to the true peak - Uhuru 19,340 ft. or 5,896 m.

I decide to crack on to Uhuru, aided by two guides. I am now about forty minutes into the walk, along the crater rim with absolutely breathtaking views of Mawenzi and the Glaciers. I am completely overwhelmed by what I see, it is truly awesome. I also feel deep down that I am not going to have the energy to make it but kid myself and keep going anyway. We keep scrambling over rocks, at a frustratingly slow pace, but its impossible for my body to go any quicker as I am so exhausted. I am sick another twice and the guide is concerned about my well being. He points out that we have another 2 hours of a round trip ahead of us to reach summit. I decide I just dont have anything left to give and turn back. I have mixed feelings - sadness that my body has let me down but delighted that I made it as far as I did.

The descent takes me 3 hours, which is really slow! Im sick another couple of times! Its so slidey on the way down that if I’d had walking poles I could have skied down it! Instead I fall on my backside a fair few times! By now I feel like a zombie. The sun is beating down on me; I take some of the clothing layers off. I cannot believe how tough this is! The campsite can be seen but its like a mirage in a desert as it looks close one minute and far away the next. Just want this misery to end now, I am dreaming of my sleeping bag.

I get down to the tent and collapse into my sleeping bag. I drink some water and force down some choc. snacks. Within seconds of my head hitting the sleeping bag I am asleep! I have been walking for 12 hours solid! I cannot begin to describe how exhausted I feel, it’s tiredness like no other! I only get about 1 ½ hours sleep as we have to pack up and walk for another 3 hours to the next camp! This is a living hell as I know I could easily sleep for at least 12 hours solid! But I am glad to be leaving this campsite as the winds are still whipping up a storm and this mixed with sand is not good.

We have now descended to 3,720 m and by the time we get here, its pretty much time for dinner and an early night for all as we are all seriously exhausted.

Wake up to discover my face is very swollen, my eyes are puffed up and I look terrible! Obviously the affects of altitude, I arrive at the breakfast tent like a rock star the morning after the night before i.e. with sunglasses on! My face remains swollen for the rest of the day although I can see gradual deflation as we descend further and further!

Eventually reach Kibo Hotel where it all started six days ago. Almost immediately we go to the bar for a Kilimanjaro Beer ($1) and some tortilla chips, followed by a hot shower (first in 6 days) and then dinner. The hotel bed that night feels very comfortable if not a little high up, I am so used to lying on rocky ground!

Would I do it all again? Hell yes! Ive got to go back and finish those last 200m to the true summit!! The trip of a lifetime, incredible what your body will do if your mind is switched on to the challenge.

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