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New Years day January 1, 2000. We actually awoke prior to New Years day. It was about 11:50 Tanzania time. I remember checking the temperature outside and it was between minus 8 and 10 degrees celcius. The wind was very strong and I felt cold. I had slept with all my layers and when I awoke I quickly organized my bag. I remember hearing the New Years celebration outside as midnight. I smiled and thought of family and friends at home. My mind was restless though and focused on getting started. There was quite a bit of commotion outside and I rushed out to meet up with a few from our group. Jason had still been preparing his stuff and one of the guides had started out with four of the Americans in our group so I tagged along with them. From here on it seemed like a mad dash up the Breach.

CLICK HERE FOR PANORAMIC VIEW FROM BREACH WALL

There were groups everywhere and lines of lights all along the Breach trails, filled with teams of climbers. Some of the groups were much slower than others and the paths were blocked and movement was slow. There was yelling and commotion and the Americans were quickly impatient yelling to our guide and others ahead. Suddenly our group jumped off the winding trail and scampered quickly onto the loose rock sides and around the traffic jams. I followed and we climbed almost at a running pace. Our guide was losing a bit of control of our group as the members ran up the loose rock paths until at times there didn't seem to be paths at all. After some time our guide got us back under control maybe because exhaustion was setting in as well as dehydration. The switch backs soon turned into steeper rocky outcrops which we had to boulder over and my water sack, (I had put my last days water into a bladder which I strapped around my back) was beginning to freeze. Bottles would have been the better way to go since they probably would not of froze in my back pack. One of the others let me have some of thier water as I started to feel the exhaustion set in we all began to take regular breaks. I felt like I wanted to desperately sleep. The top seemed like it would never appear. As you looked ahead it would appear the in the distance the edge was coming up but then I would reach the point and there would be more wall to climb. This went on for what seemed to be an eternity. We finally made it to the crater rim, (Kibo) at sunrise which I believe was around 7:00 AM. We celebrated briefly and I laid down behind an outcrop exhausted and tired I was unable to take in the view. All I wanted was protection from the wind and sleep. I closed my eyes and for sure I dozed off for a couple of minutes until our guide woke me and asked if I was going to summit. Once on top we still had to summit Uhuru Peak which was another hundred or so meters. He informed me that one of our group had become sick and I asked him how he was going to get down. The said the member of our group would walk around Uhuru peak and meet us on the way down. I was still in a daze and he asked me again if I wanted to summit and I knew the only answer I could possibly give was yes.

	I have no idea how I snapped off this picture. This was taken from my little sleeping spot as I described above. This is the view of the final ascent up Uhuru Peak. The path winds around the glacier and ascends the snowy central part of the peak. I was the last of our group up the path. I was so tired that I would walk about five steps and then bend over my pole for a rest before beginning again.
	This is a view of the Furtwangler Glacier on top of Kibo. These glaciers will likely be completely melted within the next decade according to some experts.
	It is a strange site seeing ice of this magnitude at the equator. There is so much to see on Kilimanjaro that it would be great to go back with some scientific expedition. Acclimatize and spend a week just on top exploring.
	This is the view of Furtwangler Glacier from about three quarters of the way up the peak. This glacier is named after Walter Furtwangler who along with Ziegfried Koenig reached the summit of Kibo on skis in October 1912. It was the fourth ascent.
	Reaching the top is an incredible feeling there really is no denying the fact that through suffering comes enlightenment. Sorry for the mystical jargon but it truely was a great feeling mainly because it was so hard to keep going.
	The sun is very strong on top and you can feel it burn. I managed to take some pictures looking back to Mount Meru. After a day off the mountain Jason actually suggested we climb it. It may have been fun since we would have already been acclimatized.
	This is the view from behind the sign which marks the highest point on the mountain. This is looking down into the ash pit of the crater. Studies show that the mountain is only dormant and not extinct.
	This is Jason and his guide. I believe Jason gave him his climbing poles as a token of thanks. They are strong individuals and climb on a regular basis with little of the luxuries we do in the west
	This is me and an American named Millard Murphy. He was not in our group but we were together all the way up the final peak,(See first photo in this series). We were both exhausted and he had vomited a number of times on the way up. First he would collapse and I would pass him then I would collapse and rest and he would pass me and so it would go all the way up. Without even speaking a word to each other we helped each other succeed. There was a spontaneous hug at the top and I shed some tears. It was very emotional. There is so much more to life and these adventures make it worth living.