We began our summit ascent right on schedule at 1:00am, just as planned. Patience and persistence were my only companions in the dark, cold hours ahead. I hadn’t felt sick yet and my breathing had held up well—so far. But I knew the margin for error at this altitude was razor thin. Moses carried emergency oxygen, but I was determined not to need it. If I had to use it, I’d be forced to descend immediately. That’s the rule. Not a chance. Not now. I’ve come too far and I’m too close to let that happen. It was all or nothing at this point.
The moon began to rise into a star-speckled sky as we climbed, lighting our path in an ethereal glow. Thank God it was clear. I felt like an astronaut—layered up, face barely visible, body sealed from the elements. My mantra was simple: pole, pole… keep moving forward.
We pushed upward slowly and deliberately, stopping only briefly to rest, eat a frozen energy bar and sip gatorade laced water for electrolytes. As dawn broke, after anout five hours of climbing, we reached Stella Point, elevation 18,865 feet (5,750 meters). The first rays of sunlight revealed a frozen, alien world. The Stella Point sign was rimmed with ice and snow, as was everything else. We stood there a moment in quiet awe. We were alone on the mountain. No one had passed us on the ascent. It felt like we had the roof of Africa to ourselves.
There was still one more hour to go—one more push to reach the summit. My body was tired, but my spirit soared. A year of training and a lifelong dream were about to converge at one singular point. I steadied my breath and moved on, taking in views that felt more like Saturn or Jupiter than Earth. I pulled off my gloves just long enough to take a few photos of this dreamscape.
Then, after about an hour, in the distance—I saw it. The signpost. The one I had seen in hundreds of summit photos. Uhuru Peak. It was real, and it was just ahead. My pace quickened. Pole, pole gave way to something more like a sprint. And suddenly, there I was.
Moses took my picture in front of the iconic sign. I was there. I had done it. Uhuru Peak – 19,341 feet / 5,895 meters.
Mission accomplished. I was up to the task after all. After 20 minutes at the peak it was time to begin our steep two hour descent to Kesovo camp to rest for a minute and change clothes for the descent to Millennium Camp where we would spend the night before the final descent early the next day. But for now I was not only on the Roof of Africa, I was on top of the world. Uhuru means freedom, well-named because I felt totally free and in the moment as much as I ever have.
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