Are we there yet…...

Millennium Camp – 28^th February

There was a strange atmosphere over lunch, there was undoubtedly a strong sense of satisfaction (and relief) at having reached the summit but already at the limits of exhaustion nobody was relishing the last couple of hours to the Millennium Camp.

Having nibbled away at stale sandwiches eaten (and devoured any remaining chocolate) it was time to head off.

Again aware of the concerned looks we were getting from new arrivals to the camp, fresh and eager ahead of their summit attempts but now wondering just what may lay ahead!

It didn’t take long for us to fall into a familiar rhythm and our spirits began to lift as the gradient became less steep and as the cloud closed in it was possible to start making out some figures coming towards us.

It was a group of our porters who had headed up from the camp to meet us, eager to celebrate our success and help in whatever way they could.

Big smiles, handshakes and high fives provided an amazing boost to our morale along with the news that we had perhaps less than an hour to go.

It’s remarkable what a difference a couple of hours can make but having left Barafu camp resembling an almost broken, shell of a team we now marched tall and proud into the Millennium Camp!

After almost 14 hours on our feet, having climbed 1,200m and descending approximately double that it was with total relief that I found my tent and dropped my rucksack.

Having signed in at the camp (and paid over the odds for four cans of beer) I was eager to join up with the rest of the group to compare notes and wait for our last remaining teammates.

The last I had seen of Georgie and Kate had been at the bottom of the final climb to the summit plateau and whilst I had little doubt they would have made it to the top I could only wonder how much they would have left for the descent.

After an excruciating their arrival, along with confirmation of their success, marked a collective sigh of relief and the start of our celebrations as we tallied up the numbers.

From a group of 20 everyone had reached Stella Point, an amazing achievement and true testament to the determination and patience everyone had shown.

Unfortunately two couldn’t make it any further, one being completely spent with the effort of making it that far and the other almost delirious from the altitude their guide made the only decision really available.

Everyone else had made it all the way to Uhuru Peak, an incredible effort and something that had been all but unimaginable little over a week earlier!

Needless to say celebrations were somewhat muted, wine and whisky had been saved for the occasion and was dutifully drunk but otherwise it was early nights and a well earned rest for our weary limbs.