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

KILIMANJARO-CLIMB...DAY 6

Day 6 -21st October 2012.
OUT_CAUSE.. KILI-CANCER. 
Karanga to Barafu.
Altitude:3995m to 4673m.
Hiking time : 4-5 hours
Distance : 4 km.
Terrain : Alpine dessert walk , ascend through rocks .

Woke up at 7 am,

So close and yet soooo far away

and got out of my warm tent, with my white thermal inners, wrapped around my neck, because somewhere during the night, my muffler slipped off and with gloves on, I just tugged at what ever was next to me , so had my leggings around me..
What an early morning fashion statement..

Well I think , I have finally gotten used to sleeping in a sleeping bag, because spent a very comfortable night..
We also figured a way to "fox Diamox" ..
So we time our water and liquid intake , and do not have to wake up in the middle of a freezing night anymore..
Also I'm no longer searching for stuff in my own bag anymore..

Shayamal has to first shoot to earn his break-fast ...

Today we are going up to Barafu , our final camp , before we summit..
We have been told , that we need to walk today in a single file, and that's what we did...
In as much silence as we could possibly manage..
But must say this, the guides, talk non-stop, they never tire ..
Even while we are sometimes catching our breath, they are still happily yakking away..
It's nice when people have so much to say to one another...
The terrain we are walking in , is alpine dessert, so it's a lot of scree and big boulders here and there and lots of dust swirling because of the wind...

And so on the way up to Barafu , Vikram started telling us about the "lava rocks", that are thousands of years old and how they have this shiny black exterior..
And so in a way he distracted us from this heat beating down on us,and all of us were looking out for that perfect black shiny stone to take home for our stories about Kilimanjaro ..
I found the one, I am taking back for Kabir, my friend Jaya's little boy, who told me before I left, that it would be "cool" if I reached the summit ..
And to get him a rock...

Ram and Anish...The boys always on the run..

And Anish found a beautiful piece for me ..

So now I'm done with my collection..

Or so I think ...
Because I find many more, and so now,my bag is carrying rocks..
This is what happens , when you take a girl to the mountain and she cannot shop ...ha ha ha,,
She collects rocks...

We had about 3 hours more to go..
In this dry arid,stony terrain..

Catch a "Tara" if you can ...

But when we reached Barafu...
Godlisten our guide made a fantastic call, that we should go ahead an hour more , up this walk that was steep and ridden with boulders that we had to manoeuvre over ..
And he paid 800000 shillings, so that we could set camp higher, so that we do not have to do this portion of the climb , in the night...

We walked on ....

So we call this place "Bribe-be-Barafu"..

And so we continued ..

I just walked behind Jackson..our guide..
Kept my eyes on his foot steps and just kept climbing..
Over stones, slate and shards of stone..
I do not know , how long this took..
But I finally understood the meaning of being "in the moment" ..
I don't think I have ever been in the moment ..
I have always , thought I was in the moment , but had a few things if not many, going through my mind...
But this walk was different, I had to just put my entire being into every step I took , nothing less..
Had no time in me or an inclination to think or wonder about anything else...
But as I reached up to the camp, out of breath and lips frozen in the cold and because of the constant pulling of water from my camel back...

I actually began to think of how tough it must be for the ones suffering from cancer , or their family...
When all they have is constant climb to try and beat the cancer cells, from eroding their peace..
A constant uphill task , with no breaks , no respite...

Gonna sleep with the clouds....

I just went and sat on a rock tired..
Looking at everyone still climbing up ..
We all had to walk the same path..
No matter what ..

After everyone reached up ..

We were told that after lunch, we should try and sleep, then dinner at 6 ..
Then go back to sleep ..
And then breakfast at 11..
We all make our final ascent to the summit...

Well we were all tired and excited..
There was a cracking of nervous energy and that feeling of wonderment, of what lies ahead...
I had lunch, and in the heat of that day, got into my tent,with howling wind outside..and passed out..
Completely passed out, while Shallu, got her stuff ready for the night ..
We all woke up and had dinner, together..
And then everyone , went back into their tents to sleep , rest , and basically prepare for the "midnight summit"

I opened my bag, pulled out my stuff for the summit..
Changed after freshening up ..
Layered myself a bit..
And tried to sleep ..
But no sleep would come to me ..
I just lay there, in my sleeping bag listening to the howling wind, that threatened to blow our tents away..
Our tents were rumbling with the intensity...
Was this going to quieten ..
Or was this going to continue...
I just drifted off ..
And on..
Not fully asleep , not totally awake ..
Just waiting for 11pm..
And the wind just howled on ...



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

KILIMANJARO- CLIMB...DAY 5

Day 5 - 20th October 2012.
OUT_CAUSE.. KILI-CANCER.
Barranco to Karanga.
Altitude : 3970m to 3995m.
Hiking time : 4-5 hours.
Distance : 4 km .
Terrain : From moorland plateau to cliffs and scree.

It was not a good night.
Could not really sleep , kept waking up, thinking about Kabir, and if he has reached safely.
(Well we got to know , he did, post 3000 m, he walked down 6 hours to the base, was in the hotel , had showered , was having eggs for breakfast, while we were waking up ,for a looooong walk )
Well I was very relieved as was everyone in camp...
He was safe and out of any danger...

Barranco camp ,while climbing the Barranco wall

Woke up finally before 6 am..
And put some some Michael Buble on ..
Really needed him to just just distract me with his honey voice ...

Breakfast today was omelette...
And can't even begin to tell you , how good an omelette with frozen peanut butter, and chunks of frozen butter smeared onto bread tastes...
Have also started drinking Milo, like my life depended upon it..
Well frankly if not my life , then my acclimatisation does depend on my liquid intake ..
So cheers to Milo...

Well today is a small trek ..
Just 4 hours...
Ha ha ha did I just say "just 4 hours" .. Yes please take me immediately to a hospital , it is definitely altitude edema ...

The Barranco Wall...

We had to go up the Barranco wall today ..

It was also Shallu's birthday..
But we all just kept quite , because in the morning when we wanted to wish her, "Shadrock and his rockers" we're still sleeping, as they work longer hours, they are the ones who carry everything up to the next camp , set it all up, start after us, and still reach , before we can say "Kilimanjaro" ...
So we all did not wish her, and just went about climbing the daunting looking Barranco wall..
But this climb was ok..
I'm not going to say that it was easy..
This big wall of rock, that you clamber through, and walk through, jump through, tiny areas and basically in an hour and a half you are done..
It's not super easy , but it is definitely happily do-able...

It was an amazing walk, because you are walking over the cloud line..

Actually above the cloud-line...

When suddenly a cloud envelopes you, and you suddenly feel freezing cold...
Well we have just been going up and down various hills and valleys and today after 4 days my calve muscles hurt..
Well I'm not going to start about my thigh muscles..
But it's all good ..

Through all our walks with our various guides, I have just been resisting the urge to ask my guide, " are we there yet?" ....

Jackson our guide, who I followed like Mary's little lamb..

Well only kids keep asking these questions, Zeke and Zene do all the time, when we are going somewhere ..

Today when I had my last hill to climb, I decided not to look up to my camp, because sometimes camp is no where in sight..

And today I had a very rocky trail ahead of me..

Barranco..The prettiest camp ...

So I decided to look down and across the paths that I had already crossed and feel happy about that, and just took one step at a time"pole-pole" and I slowly reached camp ...

Vikram said a very smart thing to us," Don't walk too fast that you need to take a break, walk at a pace that you need no breaks" and that's what we did, from the 2nd day onwards, as much as we could...

Since it was Shallu's birthday, we were all waiting for her to come, all the guides, porters, kitchen staff , everyone got together to sing and dance for her...
And slowly we all joined in..
You know it's kind of difficult to stop yourself from getting dragged into the infectious rhythm ...
Even though you are completely out of breath at this altitude...
We had an awesome lunch prepared by Rashidi...
And then they got Shallu a cake and sang , till every single person in camp was fed a piece by her, they kept singing "cakey-cakey-cakey"...

Well after lunch, I unpacked and packed my bag for the umpteenth time..
Got fresh clothes sorted for the climb..
Tomorrow night ...oh my god , it's already here...
This close..

And as it was a nice warm afternoon..
Was able to use deo ..
The little joys of life , on a beautiful mountain side...
And I also sprayed my favourite " Kenzo" hmmmm...
Now if only I could find a water-fall that was not freezing ...
Ok ok ...not asking for any more ...

We got into our tent , and Shallu and me were discussing , how scrambling into this tent , actually felt like we were coming home...
We arranged all we needed in the tent pockets , and settled our stuff..

And then we all sat in our food tent, and discussed what we wanted to eat, when we reached back down , and what we will eat , when we reach home...

The tent of immense knowledge and food ...

To mostly all of us , it was some form of dal...
Gosh we just kept talking about various types of food..
Vikram told us, quite in the beginning that this would happen...
And we had some hysterical laughs about various other things , I cannot remember now ..
I remember one thing, about all of us, we laughed like crazy...
And sometimes Vikram would say, craziness is a sign of Altitude Edema, and it's good we all knew each other, so would be able to detect it ..
Well we probably were all suffering from it, and that's why , the crazy laughter...
And thats that ..
It's no longer open to discussion ...

Oh forgot to tell you, we also do a huddle in the morning, and shout out "impododo" ..
Why ? Because it's a new word we learnt, and we love the meaning ....ha ha ha

Anish and Tara, we're feeling a bit under the weather, but know they will be raring to go by Tom morning ...
Yudi and me , continued singing stupid Hindi songs ..

Yudi and me...being completely FILMY...ha ha ha

And frankly it was just too much fun, never knew Yudi knew so many songs , and scenes with dialogues...
And I have switched to talking in Hindi, which in my opinion is pretty good, or then it could just be "altitude edema" , or then I have gone completely " keecha" or "crazy"..

Dinner was pasta and soup and , all we did is talk about food...
Dal , chawal, ghee, achaar, warm bed, shower...
Have not had a shower in 5 days, this now is a personal record , that frankly I want to break..
But then , I have been doing a "wet wipe bath" with freezing wipes, then deo, and then Kenzo that I love..

Well another night under the stars at Karanga, a brand new camp!

And the summit is just 11 hrs away ..

Mt. Kilimanjaro is actually a 11 hr walk from here..
It's been a tough 5 days, and my knees really hurt today..
So put violini on it, listened to music and decided to try and make a pillow , with another pull-over , since I have a crick in my neck..

Tom we actually try and "summit" ...
This has been fun , because of the company, but a tough journey , if I had to do this alone..
Its the energy of everyone together that pushes us all "skyward"...
No amount of info, can prepare you for this physical and mental journey, that you go through , once you are here..
It's amazing, but your legs just continue, it does not matter how far the camp is, it's like they have a map, and they just take you there..

En route to camp...

Your mind takes over , every other objection , your muscles may put up ..

Mysterious trails...

And your heart, it figures stuff out..
It's beautiful .

I'm just going to leave myself, in the hands of the one above and the plan he has for me..
I'm tired, very tired...
I'm sleeping in a sleeping bag, that's slipping down because our tent is on a slope, it's cold and my fingers are becoming like ice-lollies..
I went and cut all my finger nails so short, to avoid getting dirt stuck into them , and now they're too short to even clean, it's not cool at all..

What a day, my muscles are crying out, my right elbow hurts because of a past injury..
It's weird but any injury you may have incurred physically or emotionally, comes to visit you, when you are walking on a mountain..

Mr. Kili busy wooing me with pretty flowers..

I realised , all you have to do is keep walking , and it kind of stops, because , nothing and no -one can be with you if you do not want it anymore..
And Mr. Kili does not like it if , he is not of paramount importance..
So your aches and pains of life , just walk away, or stop ...

So, with the thought of the "summit" in my head ...

Can it get prettier...

Yawn.....I'm going to sleep ..
Tom is a brand new day



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

KILIMANJARO-CLIMB DAY 4 ....

Day 4 : 19th Oct 2012.
OUT_CAUSE ..KILI-CANCER.
Start from Moir Hut, to Lava Tower, to Barranco...
Altitude : 4200 m to 4630 m , to finally 3976m..
Hiking time : 3-4 hours to Lava hut and 2-21/2 hours to Barranco ...
Terrain : leaving moorland plateau to walk on lava ridges, beneath the glacier of the western breach, Then descent into the Barranco valley , surrounded by towering cliffs.

Woke up fresh...
So the combiflam worked..
It was my tiny miracle pill , that I decided I will now take only before I summit...

Godlisten our guide, told me to give my bag to a porter because it's too heavy..
So I decided to wear most of the clothes I carry in the bag on me..

Mox...one of our super-guides...

And that way I will only have 4 kg of water weight ..
It's weird, but when you are walking , uphill -downhill over rocks and sand , every gram you carry , counts..

And while we were all kind of getting ready for another day of climbing ..
I hear this soft voice calling "sister-sister"...
It's Shallu , calling out to our food helper who is a man , whose name is "Sistus" ...
So we had a good laugh and christened her "Sister Shallu"...
She is really too sweet and gentle, and was hanging with a burly bunch like all of us ...

At around 8am, we had started our days walk to Lava Towers..
Today after many days , it actually felt like a new day..

We started our walk uphill and in about 15 minutes..
I was boiling and so was Yudi, so we took off all our layers and just kept our thermals on ..

Kabir ...was not looking too good, he was not feeling too well, at all....

Today we were all told to walk at our own pace, because we needed to figure it for the day of the summit ...

The trail to the next camp..

Tara started off right in front,
She says trekking is in her Swiss- Blood..
And I completely agree...
Well me and my Indian blood, that uses the car and the lift a lot ..
Was walking slowly ...
I kept thinking , that I have never ever really done this before..
And though today I was feeling like I had more than a spring in my step ..

The "voice of reason" in my head , that I always tie up and keep in a corner,is the one I listened to ...
I just went slow ..
All of us kind of found our own pace today and walked on our own ..
Today was kind of good, I felt no tiredness..

 And since we were feeling upbeat, Yudi and me decided to strike a few poses at "Lava Hut " ha ha ha

Yudi and me, paying homage to the mountain man...Ram ..

Lava Hut ,was cold very cold and windy, and it felt like we were among clouds ..
Post lunch we had a long walk to Barranco camp...
Long long walk , but the topography kept changing, we again started finding plants and flowers

Reached Barranco camp..
It is beautiful..
Filled with a lot of green ...
And as we were trickling into camp..
We came across a very disoriented guy in his tent..
Yudi , immediately called for help...
(Well must tell you , that he made it up the summit, he was fine the next day onwards)

This happens a lot , if your body is not getting acclimatised...
Head-aches , fatigue ...is really normal...
I loved this camp..
Our tent was closest to the loo..yeah ..now that what you call real 5 star in the mountains ...bloody Diamox...

My head-ache had lessened here at the Barranco camp...
We were camping above the clouds..a beautiful surreal sight..
This camp was in the middle of the valley , so it was really cold...

But we had signal, so everybody was on their phones, calling home..
Telling family that all is good...

Then came some really bad news..
Kabir is going to have to go back, his body was not taking in enough oxygen..
And though he looked physically fit, Godlisten,said that he will have to go down , as he was not acclimatising ...

This was horrible..
Not Kabir..
He is really fit...
But today, I saw him struggling while he climbed up and down from Moir Hut, to Lava Tower and down to Barranco....
And within half an hour of reaching camp, they had him bundled and 12 porters were sent to take him down...

There was a silence that fell over all of us..
This was Kabir, my best friend Mini's husband, who is fit, does not drink or smoke , works out ..
And to see him shivering in a sleeping bag , and being carried away..
Is something I was just not prepared for..
But there is always a better plan for life..and so knew that this was for the best ..
Well, after he reached down, 3000 m, he walked for 6hours all the way to the base...
We got to know this the next morning ...
(well he is going to be back soon, amidst a family that loves him to bits)

That night I wore nearly all my clothes and went to sleep ..
I looked nearly as big as a bear..
Now I finally understood , why bears do not feel cold..
It's the layers of fat that warms them up ..

Unfortunately for me, did not have the required amount of fat to keep me warm , just enough to not let me fit properly in my jeans ..damn...
And to make it even better , I am allergic to wool..
I wore Min's fleece..
I miss all my girls..
I miss my family..

I miss cuddling my ZZ's...

And so I finally drift off to sleep over the clouds, never thought that would happen , with my feet still on the ground ..

And as I sleep in the prettiest valley of Mt. Kilimanjaro..

I thank God for keeping me safe and for everything ..
I'm blessed..
My fingers are frozen...

Good-night....

Day 4 - we are one person less..it feel different...



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. 

Please remember to write down your name, address and PAN number behind each cheque or with each accompanying donation.
Please free free to contact me to arrange the collection of any cheques or donations.

KILIMANJARO- CLIMB DAY 3

Day 3 - 18th October 2012.
Out_Cause.. KILI-CANCER
Start from Shira 1 to Moir hut.
Altitude : 3810 to 4200 m
Hiking time : 3-5 hours
Distance : 3 km.
Terrain : Hike through heather and moorland, entire into high Savannah dessert , before reaching Moir Hut in the Alpine zone .

Well for starters let me say this 3 km , felt like bloody at least 10..
And I felt like I had just never stopped walking.
For someone who never ever walks in the heat of Mumbai..
This was really crazy walking ..

I woke up to the sun glistening on the snow on Mt. Kilimanjaro ..

And after breakfast, we got our water and Gatorade in order and started our "pole-pole" walk to Moir hut...
Well it was going to be a very long day..
After the first 5 steps I felt like I had just not stopped walking

Vikram , Shallu , Shayamal and me walked together ..
Vikram is a really experienced trekker , and it was just really really sweet that, he just stayed back and walked and and would pull out his notes and give us various amazing information on the changing topography..

It used to be filled with bouts, of breathlessness, songs and knowledge...

And then Shyamal just said the sweetest thing, "I'm just two steps behind you" ...
I think it just showed how large a heart he had..

And as we kept walking, because that's what happens when you decide go trekking up a mountain..
We came across a road..
Bang in the middle of our looooong walk ...

WHAT THE ............?????????
 There is a road that comes here and we have been walking three days...
all of us really could not quite understand why the hell , we could not all have driven till here, instead of trekking till here, life would have been so much easier...
Well this is what they do to city- folk into the mountains ..
You show them a road , but don't let them drive on it ...ha ha ha
CRUEL CRUEL JOKE ..WE ALL THOUGHT, as we walked past it and continued our tryst with nature and its pebbled pathways...

As we walked on this 3rd day, we would keep meeting Yudi, Anish and Ram intermittently as they were also filming this entire climb..
Frankly don't know how the three of them did it..running up and down , in between the Diamox and the breathlessness..
But they were like three rock stars on that walk ...

We also found a lair, that was inhabited ten years ago by lions , this was called "Simba's cave"...

No one knew why the lions , went away, I guess it was lack of prey, because I only saw crows and field mice, chubby ones though...

Lunch that day was sandwiches and soup, that was devoured by us "the tired mountain Goats.."
And I wanted to take a nap, which I did, because I can sleep anywhere and at will...
Bad ...bad .. Bad .. Idea , when you have to still walk up and down many a path to reach Moir hut..


I was tired, I was sleepy, I wanted my mummy...
I just followed Shallu..
Step for step ..
Somebody get me a stretcher...
Or carry me piggy -back ...

Then somewhere up a really rocky path, Yudi and me decided to dance and sing one of Sunny Deols songs...
And we did..
We laughed so much , that we were all tired.. oh and did i forget "breathless"
We very very slowly walked to camp..
In the middle of which we got sleet...

No its not called "Crazy" , the scientific word is "Altitude Edema"....

Well we were all really happy and perked , but still dragging our tired legs towards camp...
At camp we were greeted by "Shadrock and his boys" who sang till all our spirits were lifted..
It is just not possible to not take part in their infectious display of warmth , that they infuse in their singing...
And Moir hut came alive with the most rhythmic baritone voice that echoed in the valley, so much so that, the Trekkers from other camps , all came to partake in the revelry...

I could not help but dance...
Bad bad idea, because my head started throbbing ..
Even Kabir felt, we should have resisted the urge to dance, because our heads were a bit wobbly..
That evening, a few of us had mild head-aches..
I was tired..
And the weather dropped to 0 and below..

We all had dinner...
And some of us , took a combiflam and slept ...

Well as usual , Shallu and me woke up because of Diamox..
And then as we were walking in the freezing -0 temperature , we decided to discuss the summit walk, with shivering hands and chattering teeth, " how the hell are ever going to climb , the summit, when we should be sleeping"
We decided that we may be probably going insane..with the Diamox walks to the loo..
And where on the way to the summit are we going to find one..
Stop laughing ...
This was a real concern..
That we never really thought of, before coming on this trip..

Well we were in full conversation...
When Vikram heard us and asked us, if something was wrong ..
Before he realised, it was the usual,laugh at the madness , and fall asleep ...
Cold feet and very warm hearts...

Day 3- all good ...




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. 

Please remember to write down your name, address and PAN number behind each cheque or with each accompanying donation.
Please free free to contact me to arrange the collection of any cheques or donations.