Friends Bridget Martin, Amy Mendenhall, and Andy Schiestl faced heavy snow and freezing wind, and watched other groups turn back, but they managed to conquer the summit of Kilimanjaro, and it turned out to be beautiful. Bridget weighs in with the following account, which proves that the right climbing partner can make all the difference:

“Summit night was a challenge mainly due to two things:  the incredible cold temperature/wind and the fact the air is so thin. Each step was incredibly taxing on my breathing, especially when we had to do a couple quick moves in succession on the rock scrambles. And the fact that I was shivering for about 7 hours that night didn’t make matters any easier. When we got to the crater I was so excited I thought we were on the summit (I was ignoring the fact that there was another bit of ascending trail  to my left, the mind can play tricks when there is little oxygen). Amy said, ‘Come on, lets go,’ and I said, ‘Where?’ I was pretty happy just being on the crater. But she reminded me I didn’t come all that way not to summit so up we went the last stretch to the summit. . . pole, pole. Reaching the summit was a dream of mine for about 10 years and I am so excited I made it. What a spectacular sight to behold and sense of accomplishment to be standing on the highest peak in Africa!”