pole pole officially mad

this one is not next to the Atlantic

but hear me out, folks

because from now on

all of these will be written next to it

•

I’ve been training for a year

to do this one crazy thing

don’t even try, you can’t guess it

but after walking 300km in Portugal last year

I dropped it with the excuse of

I’m crazy but not that crazy

but then, after having a call with ms Inspiration

I naturally booked my tickets to Tanzania

to climb the world’s tallest freestanding mountain instead

7 weeks in advance with mr Certified Insane

My partner-in-crazy, co-ambitionist, co-sufferer, the medik and very good friend – Sebastian aka Certified Insane. Most of the photo credits in this post belong to him.

Licensed Lunatics & Co. landed in Kilimanjaro airport (894 m)

called up Richard from my homeland’s Bolt

and settled into Moshi awaiting the discomfort we were seeking

on our first day roaming the town

we got picked up by a kind local man

taking us to all his friends’ spots

having us pay 4x the price for lunch

and making us pay for his kindness too

also got a first degree sunburn on my hand

going from Norwegian winter to equatorial summer

•

and then, the adventure began

with our kilo of snacks packed

on our safari to Lemosho gate, our starting point

safari in Swahili translates to journey in English

anyway, we saw 3 giraffes in the wild

while driving on the highway

•

we chose an 8 day trek on the Northern Circuit

with the longest distance and acclimatization time

as I was trying to take this peak coming from sealevel-forever

that took us from 2100 meters to the peak and back in 81 km

with us two, 2 guides, 1 cook and 7 porters by our side

as a disclaimer, I never read the itinerary before starting

which is probably a sign of stupidity rather than confidence

I was titled the soldier for my Norwegian-army-style boots

and my co-ambitionist was the medik patching us up with all the meds

•

day ① we walked up to 2650 meters

discovered that humans can absorb honey through their skin

when you have no other remedies for sunburns

and slept in a tent in the rainforest with monkeys running around

Happily arrived at camp 1, Big Tree camp.
This was our home for the next 7 nights.
The determination and strength of our porters was truly admirable.

day ② (and every other) we had pancakes for breakfast

walked in moorland up to 3500 meters

fought so hard with my impatience being 11/12

in the pace matching the reggae music from our guide’s phone

and I did not get a pic of the dik-dik we met in our camp

Mandatory arrival photo at Shira I camp.
The 12 people our group consisted of slept in these three tents: us two in one, the two guides in another, and the 8 porters in the green tent.
The dishes our stomach engineer GoodLuck managed to create on top of the mountain were awesome.

day ③ I started to slightly feel the altitude

arriving in the camp at 4200 meters

and after an acclimatization hike to 4400 meters

I was forced down in our tent

by a flashback of a migraine and tears of disappointment

while my partner-in-crazy was eating pizza in the mess tent

Arrival at Moir Camp at 4200 m.
Getting out of the tent the next morning feeling alive again as if nothing happened.
From my Brazil travels I know that all of these should be pushed over for these people’s dreams to come true. I didn’t have the heart to do it though.
It’s an odd experience to have the sun directly on top of you but that was the case on Kilimanjaro as it is located very close to the equator. Better cover up!

day ④ while walking to the next camp at 4020 meters

I can be quoted saying: I feel so alive right now

at Buffalo camp we had footbaths

in the small blue bowls we got for washing ourselves twice per day

found out the porters carry 2 VANNMELONs up the mountain

I’m addicted to watermelon, don’t judge

watched the night fall on Nairobi – Ken-ya believe it?

saw the Milky Way and couldn’t identify

the shopping cart that is the Big Dipper

and proved that the Earth is round and rotating

Arrival at Third Cave camp at 3800 m.
At this camp we found the first benches of our trek, what a nice little break to lay down on something harder than the tent floor.
Our beloved blue bowls ❤

day ⑤ took us further down to 3800 meters

and on another acclimatization hike to 4100 meters

where the altitude luckily hit my stomach instead

One of our trusted moral and edible supporters on this trip was Kvikk Lunsj, I brought 10 of them with me to melt every day and solidify every night.
At Buffalo camp we could see most of Kenya from our tent’s door. Ken-ya believe it?
Most of our menu consisted of western dishes, except for the occasional banana(!) stew and a sneaky watermelon in the background.
Buffalo camp at 4020 meters. Unfortunately no living buffalos were sighted.

day ⑥ gave us a constant gradual ascent up to 4720 meters

to the bustling metropolis that is the base camp of Kibo hut

where we could be nap, nap, napping on Heaven’s door

and eat a homogenous clump of Smash

The bustling metropolis at 4700m!
We had one bag of Smash with us at all times, melting into this wonderful homogenous piece of corn-chocolate-heaven. So we could eat the snack the way it was created to be eaten – by Smashing it to pieces.
Sorry, I just had to add this picture. There are no western (northern?) style toilets on this mountain, there are only holes – shitholes as we call them – they come with a door, sometimes a lock, no light, and a hole in the floor. This particular specimen is the nicest one we saw. You need good knees for this trip.
Base camp Kibo hut at 4720 m.

until midnight of day ⑦ when we started our ascent to the summit

luckily I I’m-terrified-of-this-cried myself to sleep for 2 hours before that

four dots with headlamps in pitch black, with the pace of a snail

with 7 hours and 1175 vertical meters to go

stopping every hour for a couple minutes break

for 3 hours all I could repeat in my head was

kõik läheb häs-ti with every four steps I took

then the headache and nausea kicked in for the next 6 hours

after hour 4 I didn’t give a flip if we made it to the peak

all I wanted was for the sun to come up so we could go down again

after hour 5 I felt like I couldn’t lift my feet for another step

so I was given trekking poles to make the dragging easier

arrived at Gilman’s point at 5681 meters for a cup of tea

hiked through almost horizontal glacial snow on the ridge

arrived at the snack peak Stella point at 5739m for the sunrise

hoping we’re close but the peak was 150 vertical meters away

and this last 1.5 kilometers took us an hour

with happy trekkers coming back from the peak

while I wanted to empty the contents of my stomach anywhere

and my co-sufferer was almost blacking out every other step

but at 7 AM we made the peak

forced some smiles for the pictures

opened a bottle of Coke that became a slushy in real time

Stella point at 5756 meters was titled Snack Peak by me, because it is only the sneak peek of the peak of Kilimanjaro.
The peak is in sight but still oh so very far. At least there’s a clear path up there.
We made it to the roof of Africa that is Uhuru peak at 5895 meters. And I couldn’t have done it without you.
The view from Uhuru peak is wonderful regardless of your physical or mental state up there.

and then literally slid down the mountain for 5 hours

to another camp at 3900 meters where I could finally lay down

so in 12 hours we hiked 1100 meters up and 2000 meters down

therefore, from now on every Wednesday will be Summit Wednesday

the rest was a walk in a higher-than-average park

with the constant descent killing our knees

but at least the weight of this challenge was off our shoulders

Both of us took half of the dust flying around on the mountain with us. You’re welcome.
The slide-down views on the southern side of Africa’s tallest mountain were also incredible.
Our very last breakfast on the mountain. We were spoiled with pancakes, watermelon, and pineapple. I think those people liked us.
Minutes before we were allowed to go back down again. Look alive!

we had hot breakfast, lunch and dinner every day

only had to carry a daypack of 3 liters of water

and ourselves up that mountain

for the good price of 2100€ and $500 in tips per person

the hardest thing I’ve ever done

and yes, I will do it again

we will summit on the 5th of March 2075

•

if you want to go fast, go alone

if you want to go far, take the crazy with you

a customized African proverb

I couldn’t have done it without the Certified Insane ❤️

Our legendary crew!!

pole pole means slowly in Swahili

which is the mentality you have to adapt on Kilimanjaro

but it also means “is not is not” in Estonian

therefore yes, I’m double negative officially mad

so watch me be crazy ambitious and pull through

because this world is my oyster

and I had my first one in 2025

Sorry, I don’t dream of labour. I dream of this because I feel alive here.

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Published by b3nedikte

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