The Climb Day Six Part 1: It’s 3:30 am and I Refuse To Leave This Tent To Pee

The hot water bottles they give us at night to stay warm in our mummy fart bags somehow hold heat until morning. It’s some kind of mountain magic, we think.

Every day we have a wake up call at either 5:00 or 6:00 am depending on how far we have to go. I strongly prefer 5 because after getting into my bag at 8:00pm my body is simply fed up with the warm stinky swaddle exacerbated by relentless hot flashes that have me peeling and layering all night. And worst of all, being denied the ability to get up and pee without braving the winds of Kilimanjaro. It turns out that, in addition to a viagra-like option for women, scientists haven’t invented a reliable solution for a female-friendly pee bottle.

As predicted after last nights briefing about the next 36 hours I have been laying awake all night thinking about it. And I strongly suspect that Carrie has too. The plan today is to take “a short hike” (somehow even the short ones are pretty challenging) to base camp, which we could practically see from Karanga camp last night. Depending on how we tolerate the 15,000 feet oxygen, Guide Prosper will either plan on an 11pm start to the summit or midnight. We expect a full moon and based on the now familiar weather patterns, mostly clear skies.