Start in the Valley: Kilimanjaro Day 6...The Summit!

Summit night. I took no pictures in the wee hours for several reasons.

It was extremely cold, and I had to keep my camera in my pack. On Mt. Meru, my camera was really foggy for about 20 minutes near the summit because I kept getting it in and out of the makeshift cover I had made for it.
It was dark, so pictures don't come out as well.
I was wearing mittens. Mittens and cameras don't mix very well.
Did I mention it was cold?

I have lots of mental pictures from the time we spent hiking with headlamps, between the hours of 12am and 7am. There was lots of stop and go hiking, and whenever we had a pause I found myself teetering in my boots about to fall over because I was so tired. Not from strain, but from sleepiness. I don't think the altitude helped me out there. The crick in my neck was pretty serious as well because to not trip over any rocks in the dark, you've got to be looking down at your feet nearly the whole time. Keeping your head down also kept your face out of the wind, so an added bonus worth the neck crick.

BUT, when the sun came up, OVER TOP of the clouds it was pretty spectacular. The sun peaked up around 6:15 am, and slowly the sky morphed from an inky black, to navy, and the lines of deep amber, orange, and yellow just above the clouds was breathtaking. I wish I had been able to get get my camera out of my pack, but I couldn't be bothered. I was feeling pretty terrible by the time the sun was coming up, tiredness mixed with some fatigue and altitude sickness. I was definitely feeling the 19,000 feet! Enjoy the shots I got from the summit, and a few on the way down.