THE SUMMIT...KILIMANJARO-CLIMB

THE SUMMIT

We said"YES".....

And after struggling to sleep post a lovely early dinner of mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables, on the 21st October
At 11pm, I finally sat up in my sleeping bag..
To listen to the continuous howling of the wind outside my tent...
If I did not know better..
I would be petrified of my tent flying off..

Shallu and me started getting ready for our final climb..
I had 4 layers of leggings of which two were thermals, and over that a snow pant that belonged to Rajeev, who is over 6 ft in height..
And had 5 layers of inners and polo necks etc , then a down jacket and then a rain jacket...
I had heated pads in my shoes and in my gloves...
Two warm caps , a warm muffler ...

And frankly each one of us , had put on nearly all we had ...
We all  gathered inside the dinner tent, had some porridge and we were shivering and excited and were raring to go ...

G-boy our guide or God-listen...that really is his name ..
Told us to stick together, listen to him and 'pole-pole' (slowly) walk up the beautiful Moonlit Kili ...
So we followed after him, Tara, Shallu,  Shayamal, Ram, Anish, Yudi ,the rock-star Vikram who stayed at the back ...
and me ..

And so started our 6 hour climb to the top of the world on the African continent , the highest free standing mountain in the world , the fourth highest summit amongst the 7 continents..
Well I put on my bravest face , and I'm thinking so did every body else, the winds were howling at about 20-40 mph and the temperature was anything between 0 to -10 degrees Celsius ...

After walking for a bit...
I just could not handle the warmth of all my layers and was completely breathless...
I just could not breathe and was gasping for air ..
I made g-boy stop...
I opened my jacket ..
The speed of the wind ..was making me feel like I could not inhale a single breath..
I was a mess...
I was sleepy ..
And I made a few stops , before , I finally opened up my jackets,freed my entire face of any covering and then started to walk...
Again all in a line with the head torches..
It felt surreal like I was in a Tim Burton script , that was being written as we walked ...
I was like in a sleep trance...
Just following Shallu's pant ..
Why, you must be wondering, well I broke my head -lamp and so it was stuck together by tape , so I could not adjust it ...
And so it shone on her pants instead of the path...
We could see nothing but where we walked and every time we looked up , we saw headlamps of climbers who were higher than us and then , some still higher..
God ..I was thinking , this is probably what sleep walking felt like ...
Then there were the gu-gel eating stops, maybe that helped too....

In my head I was just praying ...and continued to pray till I reached Stellar point ...
Prayed to Jesus, Mother Mary, St.Anthony, all the guardian Angels and all the saints...Because , I do believe that prayers do work miracles, and I needed a miracle ..

And also had Dorrie's voice from "Finding Nemo" saying 'just keep walking, just keep walking "Instead of swimming
Or like the Johnny Walker slogan .." just keep walking"..
Where the hell were the hip-flasks, or at least a cute St.Bernard....

We all walked ..
Was it difficult...bloody hell , yes very very very difficult...
At one point I was thinking , I would rather give birth to Zene all over again , without any epidural or drugs...
That felt far easier...
We drank freezing cold water, out of our camel-backs..
And ate gu-gel like it was a miracle food ...
I just wanted to stay awake ..
All of us did...
Everyone, just went on, like we we all had super powers that were taking some time to kick in..
And I know for sure that we all had our own personal battles that we were all fighting ..
Well I know I sure was ...

And in the middle of this, I would hear Vikram's chirpy full of life voice , filled with a broad smile saying "Jambo" ...
Oh my god how...how on earth does he do this...
He just stayed behind , and kept the spirit of the climb , positive and reinforcing a strength that we all needed..

At one point I was thinking, I'm completely crazy to have ever agreed to be part of this ...
Why would anyone in their right mind, start walking up a mountain at 12.30 am in freaking blistering cold, howling winds and head-lamps, when we could all have been sleeping happily in our own homes in our snug beds ...
But when I looked around me , I saw Shayamal, Yudi, Shallu, Tara, Vikram, Anish and Ram ...
All completely insanely sane people , walking , doing this together...
We were all on the right path ...
Kili-Cancer in all it's glory , with all the life we had in us..
This is what we were here for , to climb for @Out_Cause..
And that's exactly what we were all trying to do ..

It was a struggle..
Much more that I could have imagined...
And yes, none of us even once thought of going back ...
Though I'm sure at one point , we must have been wondering , what the HELL...

Our guides were fantastic, Morris or Mox

MOX-Thank you for everything ...

 as he is fondly called, just kept singing , so that I would keep awake...
And he just kept near me all the while ...

God-listen , bless him , was just amazing, he patiently tied my scarf around my head and fastened my warm cap over it, and looked at me and said, " Just stay close to me , or you are going to be in trouble"

 Good-love, Evans, Jackson and Daeo , all just hovered ,all around us, every step of the way..
Asking us if we are OK,encouraging us on...
And looking after us like angels in the dark ....

Incredible and life changing, is how I will , always remember this 6 hours, and filled with a sense of inner-strength, and single -minded focus to just reach the top ...
And not to forget Gu-gel breaks...
And Shayamal told me later , that every time I stopped because I needed to loosen a layer of clothing, some of them heaved a sigh of relief because they were tired or out of breath, and some , just felt that we needed to trod on, as they were getting cold ..

Nothing and I mean nothing could prepare me for this climb, this was "the real thing".
No amount of running up and down stairs,no amount of cross-fit, no amount of of anything , that I did .....
This was nature at its very best..
And all you can do is actually walk with the forces of nature with respect and thankfulness..
I learnt one thing for sure, when you are dealing with nature, " you BETTER obey all the rules, or you will MISS  all the fun"

I really do not know how we all walked up-hill for 6 whole hours in darkness with howling winds and sleep as our constant companion ...
Guess we were just feeding of each others energy and determination..
We "ARE" all going to summit ..
And that's that ..
And as morning broke into a faint light amidst a dark sky, we all panted and pulled ourselves up to Stellar point ..

At that point, as I saw sunshine, I felt a burst of energy, maybe it was the sun , or then the Gu-Gel...
I really do not know...
But I was up and raring to go further fresh and full of energy...
So unlike what I felt as I was climbing up-hill..
As we all climbed on, we came upon the most beautiful glaciers , right here on the roof of Africa..
They looked like , God had just poured tons of ice-cream on the mountains...
Was completely awe-struck at the beauty of the majestic glaciers ...

And from here, we trudged further to Uhuru Peak , which also means "Freedom"...
And that's exactly how I felt, terribly cold but free from all the shackles I had tied around my self, free from my own negative thoughts, my short comings..
Free from any kind of anything, that would ever drag my spirit down...

I walked with Vikram , who walked like he did not climb for 6 hours but was air-dropped on Mt. Kilimanjaro..
He was like the smiling sun...
I walked with him..
Not tired , not out of breath and grinning from ear to ear, full of boundless happiness...

And I'm going to make an honest confession, it felt great being one of the first few of us reaching Uhuru Peak...

These shoes were made for trekking...

When on all days I always reached camp right at the end..
I took "pole-pole" really seriously ..(slow-slow)
Think I was the incredible "sloth" ha ha ha

We were greeted by Ram , our cinematographer , who was there,for  some time now, ready to film us all summit the highest free standing mountain in the world and the 4th highest summit among the 7 on the continents...
Ram is something else, have not seen anyone run around , shoot and summit with ease like he did ...awesome is exactly what I would describe him as...

And as we all  hung around the peak , a blizzard broke out, so Yudi quickly, unfurled the Indian flag and in that biting cold, amidst the onslaught of wind and us all freezing, we managed to smile for camera, with chattering teeth..

And "WE" did it ....

And had to run away as fast as we could, because we were freezing, there were icicles on my eye-lashes and everyone had a thin sheet of ice on their jackets ...

Anish our sound engineer , got hit really badly by the altitude, and Tara and Ram, helped him , till the porters took him over, the porters then ran down with him.....

Breath-takingly eventful and full of gratitude and thanks-giving is how I would describe our summit...
I think we were there for just a bit of time..
We could not hang there because of the blizzard..

My last three fingers froze , because I wanted photos, and I pulled my gloves off, but my camera shut down in the extreme cold..
And I was just left with frozen fingers that hurt like crazy and I thought , they were going to break off...
I think I started crying, I don't know...
Mox just started rubbing my fingers ...
And I  was just shaking like a leaf ..
Actually now in retrospect , I'm sure ,it must have been funny to watch ...(Because Mox told all the guides I cried..feel a bit stupid)
But I was definitely not laughing..

We all reached the summit..
We felt on top of the world...we were on top of the world ... Dammit ...
It just could not get better...

We were all freezing, but our hearts were warm , filled with a joy and a sense of freedom and boundless love , that will always stay unexplainable , to anyone who was not there that 22nd Oct 2012 at 6.30 am ..

I was finally able to make friends with the ruggedly handsome Mt. Kilimanjaro, after a long struggle,
It was a slow , steady , single minded progress, I wooed him like no other, and knew he would finally fall for my crazy insane love for him and my laughter ...ha ha ha

I can proudly say I have a friend that opened his heart to me, and left the most beautiful flowers for me along the trail...
That I collected with a lot of love...
Quite a charmer this Mr. Kili is I must say..

Just the prettiest, I received

And a heart ...c'mon....

Every time I was just too tired to go any further, he wooed me with flowers and hearts, that he strategically placed so that , it caught my eye...

Completely romantic , strong, tough and ruggedly handsome and loving..
What more can a girl ask for ...













Well I sincerely hope our effort  to bring a small change towards the awareness and fight for cancer is going to build as raging as a forest fire ..

While climbing I was thinking of my mom and dad , who lived in and out of hospital for seven months, while my dad went through, chemo and all it entails..
My dad had to shave off his hair, well he looked as handsome as Yul Brynner , and he and my mum and us just never gave in...
He kept himself positive ..
So this 6 hours I dedicate to my mom and dad and , everyone who has been touched by Cancer, directly or indirectly ..

This 6 hour walk up to the summit on a cold , howling night ,is for "ALL OF YOU" ...

And before I end this I need to say


Shayamal -

to the guy, who kept his word and always walked two steps behind me, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, for always staying by my side like a pillar of strength ..
From the time we set foot on that incredible mountain, to the time we bid it adieu..
You are just an amazing soul , and I'm incredibly lucky to have you as my friend now..
Hope to walk up and down many mountains with you ...











Yudi-

thank you for being my dream-catcher, you just made one of my dreams come true, you are just too cute and for  always being "Yudiji" , for infusing a song and dance, on every road, it did not matter , how tough it was to climb, to always have a smile , even when you were troubled..
You please stay the "all heart happy Yudiji" always ..
And may life always be in love with you ...













Vikram -

for being , the most positive, encouraging and full of life person , pushing us on, even when we had no fuel left anymore...
For walking with me everyday, for always believing that I would be able to walk up..
To impart your knowledge about the flora and fauna ..
And for just being the infuser of "super-powers"











Anish-

for always having a smile on your face, whether we were freezing at Shira plateau or scampering up the Barranco wall,for laughing at my stupid jokes, like they were incredibly funny, to be so  unprepared and yet be so positive about climbing with us everyday, no matter what , with all the heavy equipment..
And for finally learning how to put sun-screen on your face, you metro-sexual , Ethiopia trotting guy... Ha ha ha










                                                                                                                                                            Ram -

well I can never quite understand, how on earth, you kept running all over the mountain side, and were never out of breath, and was always in a good mood..
It was a complete pleasure, getting to know you...and I have finally come to terms , with the fact , that you still do not trust me with your camera..ha ha ha ..
And I pray , that you get work that entwines you with nature, because think ,that's where you are happiest ..










Tara -

true to your name, you were the guiding star , each and everyday, you led the way to every camp, with your positive energy and exuberance, and could hear you sing or laugh as you just effortlessly , flitted from path to path with a smile and a beaming heart..
And I'm really really happy to have made one more insanely loving friend...
And thank you for the caffine gu-gel, I think that's what made me wake up...















Shallu -

 if you were not on this trip, I think I would have tried to run up the mountain and would have never acclimatised, but I saw in you a calm, silent, soft, but determined strength and I thank my stars that I followed you ...
Those crazy "diamox mid-night" walks in the freezing cold..
The insane laughter , where we thought , we were probably suffering from altitude edema..
You are such a beautiful lady mind , body , heart and soul..
And I will always cherish this for the rest of my life, our shivering conversations, filled with madness , in a tiny tent , that was our home for the 8 days we spent together, in sleeping bags that would slide down ....
May love always follow you where ever you go..

God-listen -

for being a good shepherd to a wayward herd of sheep ,for understanding , our strengths and our weaknesses..
For always pushing us more than we thought we were capable of..
To always encourage us with kind words and your naughty ,infectious smile ..
To take us shopping ..
To see that we all reached the summit..
Your royal highness, you are "Iron-man"...,




Kabir 

'YOU WERE MISSED"






















And to the entire team, Rashidi, Sistus, Samay , Quasim , Shadrock...
I'm horrible with names, I have forgotten most ..
Just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart...
This trip would not ever be an incredible heart warming part of my life, if all of you did not make it so much fun and so comfortable for all of us ..
I saw nothing but big smiles, wherever I looked..
And kind words and helping hands ...

God bless you all...

And on a parting note , " IMPODODO" ...
Which means "fat-ass" ha ha ha ha ..



NOTE FROM SHYAMAL...
FOUNDER OUT_CAUSE....
 
The OutCause Kili Cancer Team is supporting the Karunshraya Cancer Hospice.
Karunsharya means 'a compassionate abode' and that is exactly what the hospice is. Its a sanctuary that's offers support when a patient loses the comfort and security of a hospital as no further treatment is possible. They serve to bring peace and dignity to the patients life when the inevitable is close at hand. This institution that operates solely off the generosity of patrons such as yourselves,  have managed to help more than 12000 patients since their inception.

I am writing to you to humbly request that you and your close circle of friends please join the cause and help in the fight against cancer. The OutCause Team has pledged to raise money for this hospice so that they can continue their unbelievable work. Please reach out to family and friends and request that they be generous. All monies raised will go directly to the Karunshraya Cancer Hospice.
 
Patrons can make cheques out to the:
Bangalore Hospice Trust. 

The address for Karunashraya is:

Karunashraya
Old Airport-Varthur Main Road
Marathahalli,
Kundalahalli Gate,
Bangalore
560 037

You can address it to Archana Ganesh from Karunshraya.
Would like to request you to please mark OutCause Kili Cancer on the back off the cheque along with your name, address & PAN number.

You can also mail your cheques to :
Shayamal Vallabhjee,
126, Nibana Apartments-BBlock.
12th , floor, Pali Hill Road,
Bandra West,
Mumbai- 400050.
India 

Facebook : http:/www.facebook.com/OutCause
Karunashrays website : http://www.karunashraya.org/NewSite/Index.html