At 5898 metres it also is the highest freestanding volcano in the world. The route we took was called the rongai route and started on the Kenyan border and we headed up the northern side of the mountain. For the first 4 days we ascended at a very steady pace slowly climbing towards ‘kibo huts’ which stands at 4700 metres above sea level. We reached this point at lunch time and were told to head for our tents as we would be setting off at midnight the following day with the hope we would reach the summit for sunrise.

Hours dragged by that night as we trudged up the final slope, the fact that we were walking on scree made it worse as every step we took your foot would slide half way back down again. In the dark of night the only things you could see was the heels of the person in front and other peoples head torches further up the mountain, not knowing how far we had to go only made things worse. As the sun began to rise we finally could see where we were and about 50 metres from the rim of the mountain we sat and enjoyed a warm cup of tea this was lovely even for a non tea drinker like me. In temperatures down to -15 degrees Celsius the warmth of the sun was lovely on the face. 20 minutes later we reach ‘GILMANS POINT’ and the first sight of the summit. The whole group pulled together at this point and slowly we pushed on for the top.

A further 2 hours past and finally we made it the whole group was there all thanks to our wonderful guides. I started this challenge thinking it would be hard, but nothing compared me for the altitude sickness or the fatigue that over took all of us over the week. I t was a great week and a good start to the year 1 down 2 to go.

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