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Still day 5.
Story from Richard.. Others to follow
Joe and Brownie were hiding nose bleeds. Peter lead the way behind Gerrard our mountain guide followed by me, then Kathleen and the rest of the team - all in a set order, at Godwins command.
We started off at full speed which was one boot heal to toe in front each other. Had four layers on top and bottom. Two thermal bottoms, trousers and wind pants. Two socks. Boots. Thermal top. New Zealand jumper. Down jacket. Waterproof coat. Gloves. Musto sailing gloves. Pole pole. Slow slow. One step. Follow the boots. Left right. Follow the boots. 1 2 head down, follow the boots, Breath in breath out. Breath in. Breath out.
My next recollection after a short period of time was of getting very hot, flush, temperature rising and then just a falling sensation - dust around me throwing up of whatever I had kept down earlier which wasn't much and then someone yanking on my arm and people around me and just lying in the dust and dirt. Oh Christ !!
I assumed that was the end of this part of the adventure and could hear people talking and could feel someone pull my legs so they were splayed out and down hill to stop the falling. Looked up and saw a porter in front with two backpacks one in his chest. No recognition. Thought first aid, but can't say. Tall.
I could hear Godwin asking stuff and recall saying how hot I was and managed to get my top jacket off and someone must have removed my rucksack but can't remember this. Took some water .. Godwin says this is all normal !!! But of course I don't believe him. No reaching the top now Rich.. Holding the team up, looking a looser, cant go on this is all so ridiculous.
Godwins saying can you try to get to first cave. Come on dickhead get up.. One foot in front of other. Pole pole pole. Left right. 1 2 . Stumble into first cave and stagger around to find seat.. Just lay down very quiet.. Team are there resting, taking on water, getting ready for next section. Joe and Brownie and Andrew and Craigy come over and shook my hand.. Dont know what they are thinking. But I'm thinking why me. Come on boys get stuck in. You go for it, be the best I know you can be and get up there.. Wished luck..
Screed gravel slope goes some two thirds of way up.. to Gilmans Point. Managed to get up and start putting one foot in front of other.. Don't know how, don't know why, seem to be saying what else should I do for next five hours.
Peter behind me. Being sick. Peter ahead. Peter behind. being sick. Peter ahead. Look up with a snake of lights off into the black.. Top ridge line clear solid black. Sky black and starlit. A long way above. Was thinking Peter would fall off mountain. Porter on right to stop this happening .. Leaning on sticks. Can see what they are doing.
Can feel Godwin behind and right to stop me falling. Cant see him. Gerrard under Pete arm going up side by side. Sick every 5 - 10 minutes. Being sick. Peter ahead. Look up at every turn and is solid black and depressing as think of boys already on summit and on way down !! Shooting star screams across sky high above me.. Must have been hug rock as tail so long or was it the devil taunting me.. I did smile she was quite a site. Luck, come on. Good luck right on my path. Godwin chirping at me. "Godwin your a pain in the arse." Get up. With face hugging the mountain trying to sit up but with no energy and just wanting to be anywhere else.
"Where is your passport." Ok so Godwin thinks things are not going according to plan. Hmmmmm. Tell him, have it in pack. Where will he bury me. Which rock, which slope. Get up stop, lean on poles. Step step . In dust . Retch . Cant move lean on poles. So tired. . Lying on slope.
Godwin asks- "Are you religious." Ok now I know the s*** is hitting the fan. No it will help. Come on. He puts his arm around my shoulders and head next to mine. Just one person now. Swahili prayer which went on for a good 5 minutes. Beautiful. Sounded rhythmical. Meaning ? Amen.
When sick, could not stand, just totally debilitating. Godwin was getting news from other parts of mountain. Peter overtook. Hands got very very cold. Felt like getting frost bite. My handwarmers had gone off with my other jacket. Kept saying to Godwin I must get handwarmers. I must get handwarmers. I need handwarmers
My water ran out at second cave got cup of tea but came up within 10 minutes. What about 1 2 1 2 1 2 - left right, left right
Left right. Pause. Breath in, breath out, Try three steps then lean on poles. Drag toes through dirt. Godwin said, that's fine you still could make it.
Mount Mawenzie was in background. Jagged peaks silhouetted against the star strune sky, she was a sight to behold and showed how high we were, but I could feel that anyway. Getting above it. I can't believe we were so high. Cold on fingers. Pain on fingers.
Kathleen in trouble, news slowing comes through from above .
Pete swaying around. Godwin dragging me to next turn. Godwin under one arm lifting me forward. Concentrate on next turn just twenty feet ahead - only then stop and lean on sticks. Turn and look up at next turn. Lean on sticks. Come on lets get up there. - 1 2 breath in, breath out left right, just get to turn then stop and lean and sway, head on end of poles., sometimes on knees. Sometimes on side thowing up. Got handwarmers back and took forever to start to work. Shake them, shake them, shake them !!
Their not working. Is it the altitude. Not working, too high oh s***. Please work. Think i can feel heat. Maybe not. Yup yup starting to work. Getting hot against numb hands. Ahh That hurts. . Hard pain. Lying on path with face on side. saw Soph. Very vivid and real. Was i asleep. Was I at home.
Interrupted by Godwin saying something. Come on up up up. Pole pole. Whenever looked up all could see was lights stretching up in the sheer black. Pin p**** in the black void. and getting further away.. Was saying to Godwin this is impossible. Its impossible.
Godwin asked me to put hands out to look at backs and shone light into eyes. Rest of me was fine just nausea. Headache bearable, legs feeling very very tired. Still lights snake above and hear shouts and woops from above must mean everyone is doing well and going a hundred miles an hour quicker.
Saw Kathleen, and was saying, must help Kathleen, come on Rich let's run up, quicker quicker, 1 2 3 4 must help Kathleen , she was sitting on a rock above or moving slowly. Pete further down now. Godwin saying, slow down, slow down.. "Kathleen.. must help Kathleen". Strange feeling of motivation to go fast. Godwin I prefer to go fast and stop and throw up.. He said will do damage . Heard the boys shout.
Kathleen on rock.. Just four more turns to get to her. Get to her and stop. She is stationary on a rock. Looked whipped out. Try to hug her to keep going.
Godwin saying keep moving . Get to base of summit rocks. Give Godwin a big hug. He says so strong, so strong. You make it I know. I say I know. But little did I know.
I felt strong. Climbing and boldering. Climbing and boldering, climbing and boldering, Rocks at top of slope to get to crater rim. Sun had come up behind.
Get just below summit of Gilmans Point and sit on rock. Sun is up, MountMawenzie is vivid against blue with red and orange flashes. Awesome, beautiful, living. We are high. High, Very high, roof of Africa. nearest land to the sun.
Only one bolder to go, but i just sit there. Just sit. Sit. and look out into thin air. A smile on my face and in my soul. Warm at last.
Up one step, around corner. Gilmore Point sign that i have seen many times in photos and there is Andrew, Joe and Brownie. Huge hugs. The boys have waited. How cool is that. They are my friends. Andrew fesses up that he owes me a hundred thousand beers as he told J and B no way I would be up. Summited at Gilmans Point. 5685 meters. 18,663 feet . High wow.
Haven't let anyone down. Haven't let's H4H down . Haven't let Soph and Luke and Jack down. Haven't let Joe and Brownie, Craigy, Pete, Andrew or Kathleen down. Haven't let Godwin down, haven't let Mum and Dad down, haven't let my friends down. Haven't let my 'new' friends down, Haven't let myself down. But it was close. So close. So close. Close.
Craigy had gone around towards Stella Point as can't stop otherwise he would stop forever. Boys and Andrew ready to go, but team not up yet. I threw up but just heavy retching with bit of reddy colour. We waited for Kathleen. Rolling and rolling. She could hardly put one foot in front of other. Swaying. Sitting swaying. Sitting swaying, Collapsed at top. One more step. Just one more. And she had made it. Takes a minute to get up last step. She is out. Hug her, that is unbeleivable that she has made it. How did she find that strength. Olympians don't quit. Photos tell the story. Which she can't remember. Brownie looking s*** and threw a lot up at Gilmans.
Godwin asked if i should go down with other guide who went passed going to base camp or walk to peak. I said Peak. Started around crater rim with a very long drop down the right into centre of volcano . Huge bolders and vertical drops . Start stop and was retching quite badly with blood coming out - hate it. Hurts as nothing there. Godwin was very unhappy and said I should go down straight away. No more height. And Stella is up and Peak is up. Can see Peak a good hours hike across crater rim. Said let's just get to where Ian was as he has porter. But had to stop and retch with pain before we got to him.
Craigy then came back to us with porter as Godwin made it very clear that should not go up another meter. 5 sicks and should be off the mountain which may have been exceeded!! Craigy then started negotiating to get to Stella Point which has only 80 meters in front but felt 10 times as far. 100 meters altitude above Gilmans Point and 100 meters altitude below Peak.
I had to promise Godwin i would go straight down if we went there. He was close and in my face. Meaning business. Responsible, clear, concise. Up we go and around corner. And there is the ice field. Vivid white. Solid. Just below and straight ahead over edge - why didn't it fall. with a standing place on edge of rim.
Stella Point. Some people wait a life time for a moment like this.
Lets get the photos done. Photos with team. Cricket. Banners. Lizzies hats No time. Cant stay high. That was my summit. Spent force . Hand over Temba to Brownie for peak effort.. Say to Godwin, Brownie looks blue. Pale. Hugs had to go down. Given one porter.
Godwin handed me over for first time in 9 or ten hours. He went with boys around the rim and upwards towards Uhuru. They needed to go, no time for sentiment, no time for anything just go, don't sit or stand. We were too high. Felt high, was high. I was very unsteady and took 25 to 30 minutes to get across. To Gilmans Point, with a few slips and stumbles all rather close to the edge. Porter looked concerned. Down, up down up. Seemed to take forever. Around corner to Gilmans Point saw Peter, now that was one heroic effort. He shouldn't be there. No way no way I still can't believe he made it.. He is some legend. I know, i was there. I saw a lot of it. Gerrard saw it all. Hug the man. He says he will come down soon.
Bolders to climb down. Mount Mawenzie straight ahead. Wow wish you could see her. She is below. Majestic. Inspiring , view across the saddle that we had walked across the previous afternoon, with its plane crash and arrow like path disappearing over Mawenzies western ridge.
Screed slopes all dusty and moving as sun has turned them into a sliding gravel mountain. No grip, feet bury in. Dust everywhere. Heat. We use some of path we came up, rest was over edge and ski slide down vertically . Behind porter. Eat the dust . Breath the dust. Red brown, breath in Tanzania. People pass us going down fast. and number of porters literally run straight down. Seem to be above 5000 meters forever. Sun beating down. So hot . No water. Thirsty thirsty. Thirsty. Dust, grit. Boots have turned White sandy. Lips burnt, dry. Red dust of millenia.,.
Camp takes forever to get to. Walk in. Mr D and all porters cheer clap, run over, woop . So happy, so happy. Smiles . Happy. Releaved. Home. Boys still on mountain. Kathleen already down. Orange drink. Concentrate. So hot. Get kit off. Get kit off Hat, Jacket, shirt, thermal top waterproof trousers,trusers. Too hot. Brownies thermals, thermals, Drained. Lie down in skivvies. Orange . Face dry. So hot in tent.
Whats it like out on the mountain? Sleep. Satisfied. Spent... If the boys make the Peak, I make the Peak - come on guys...The Peak is just a point on the globe and is a target.. but true achievement is the journey and the fight.. I had fought and been the best that I could have been. Sleep. X
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