It’s now over a month and I have procrastinated for long enough!  This is at least the third version of my final blog – I cannot believe how hard I have found it to write.  I kept a journal while we were away but there is too much to share (and in some cases far ‘too much information’!) so trying to figure out just what to write has been challenging.

12 months ago one of the first questions we were asked was what excited us about this opportunity – my simple answer at the time was the view (there were a few other things too!).  I love the intense emotion you feel from seeing a spectacular view and the mountain really delivered.  I used endless adjectives in my journal ramblings to describe our surroundings, none of them, nor the photos quite conjuring up the majesty of it all.  The vast, unpolluted night sky, the dawn breaking over Mwenzi on summit day and the huge expanses of Africa laid out before us were every bit as awesome as I hoped and humbling in their magnificence.

I was also excited about being part of the team – developing friendships and building trust, learning to support each other in extraordinary circumstances and striving to reach a phenomenal common goal outside of life’s normal constraints.  We certainly ticked all those boxes!  I couldn’t have done it without them – we shared so much: we laughed, we cried, we walked, we talked, we played, we sang and we (even Will!) danced – not to mention endless public weeing together.  I cannot imagine a lovelier bunch of people to have shared this unique experience with.

Every day was different and every day was special, but summit day was ‘very special’.   It was an incomparable challenge with so many emotions in such a short (well, it maybe didn’t feel like that at the time) period.  It started so badly for me – sleep deprivation leaving me unable even to put my gaiters on, but rescued by Peter on one side and Guille on the other…little acts of kindness that proved too much and I made a hasty retreat from the tent with Will’s assistance before flooding it with tears!

The climb was undoubtedly brutal and witnessing the extraordinary resilience and determination everyone showed was truly inspiring – a team with a common goal but individuals fighting their own personal battles to achieve it.  The raw emotion at Gilman’s Point was tangible, the exhaustion etched on everyone’s faces, and the hugs (particularly with Dan and Peter), are something I will never forget. 

Equally as Will, Tom and I finally approached Uhuru the clouds lifted briefly and the sun shone through, just momentarily, in the most celestial way to welcome us.  A very special memory indeed (along with a few comedy moments once Sam had joined us, trying to work out how to hold up the Autovista banner – a surprisingly complex maneuver at 5895 metres!).

Our guides were fantastic and despite the exhaustion and lack of oxygen kept us safe, and got us all back one way or another – including Denise who gained a whole new level of respect for surviving an epic 17 hour ordeal!  I was definitely the ‘lucky one’ and somewhat ironically given my early morning wobble, really didn’t struggle during the day, however I don’t think I have ever felt exhaustion quite like it when I got back to base camp.  The mood in the mess tent was somber – everyone desperate to recognize their achievement, but utterly incapable…the celebrations had to wait.

It’s hard to sum up – there’s still so much I want to say, so many memorable moments, but they are what unite us as a team and as Sam said, “you had to be there”.  I feel immensely privileged to have had the opportunity and proud of the funds we raised for UNICEF.  It had a far more profound impact on me than I expected and it has been much harder leaving the mountain behind than I ever imagined.  I learnt so much from the experience, not least that my family can cope without me, so my question to the team now is…what next?!

Hakuna Matata