Day 1: The Start! We strike a pose at Machame Gate with our head guide, Jonas Rutta and one of the support guides, after signing in at the gate's office. We're excited and nervous and ready to go!
We stop for lunch in the jungle and are surprised by how comfortable the set up is. We have to eat a lot throughout the climb to keep our energy levels up and to help our muscles recover. We eat at a picnic table like this throughout the climb and when it rains, the table is in a tent.
After hours of walking through the jungle, we reach our first camp,
called 'Machame Hut'.
Day 2: It gets rockier as we climb all the way to the Shira Caves camp. This photo shows a typical campsite during the trip. 
We sleep in the green tents which our porters carry ahead to each camp for us before setting them up.
We sleep in the green tents which our porters carry ahead to each camp for us before setting them up.
The washing facilities at camps are very basic. We have to wash in the open using red bowls of boiled water like this and soap.
On Day 2, we also climb a further 100m on our first acclimatisation walk to the Shira Plateau, to help us adjust to the altitude. 
We have to do yoga at altitude to help with the adjustment. Some have better balance than others but eventually we all get it!
Day 3: We climb to the Barranco Huts camp via the Lava Tower, which was formed from magma when Kilimanjaro last erupted by wind tearing up from the valley below.
Some of the team brave the 100m scramble, shimmy and climb to the top of the Tower - it is a bit nerve-wracking coming down though!
Day 4: We wake up and look up at the daunting Barranco Wall, which, at a distance, has a terrifying vertical face. We then tackle the scramble all the way to the top.
At the top, we are rewarded with a fantastic view over the valley below.
When we turn the other way, we can see the peak and stop for a quick photo in front of it. It's then on to the Karanga Valley campsite.
Day 5: Just a short walk today. It starts with an easy decent but then we have to climb all the way up the other side to the Barafu Huts - base camp! Then it's time to chill for a while at camp before an early night at 6pm to recover energy ready for the summit that's ahead.
Here's the drop-pit latrine block at base camp. This is an example of our typical loo during the break. Some were better than others and we had to be really careful when negotiating them by headlamp at night!
Day 6 - The summit: We're woken to much resistance at midnight. Just time for some malt biscuits and some Milo (a malty, hot-chocolate-like drink), coffee or tea before the head torches are adjusted and we're ready to climb each gruelling step to the summit under the breath-taking starscape. We have extra guides today to allow the team to split up based on their pace. We're told to keep walking 'pole pole' (which means 'slowly, slowly' in Swahili) as we're advised not to stop for prolonged periods to wait for others so we don't get too cold - even with all our layers, the wind chill is painful. After hours of walking, we first reach Stella Point, and once we do, the climb levels out and we strive towards Uhuru Peak (which means 'Freedom' in Swahili), the very top of the mountain at 5,895m.
The decent: Depending on the time each team member summited, they were treated to an amazing sunrise on the way up, at the top or on the way down. It was worth the midnight wake-up to get there in time to it. We then climb all the way back to base camp for a quick rest before lunch and then a further decent down the Mweka route to the Mweka Huts campsite back in the jungle. We have to plaster ourselves in a thick layer of mosquito repellent once again!
All in all, each team member walked 14-16 hours on Day 6, turning our legs to jelly!
All we need to do is sign out at the gate and then it's onto the hotel for a heavenly shower! Then in the evening we have a celebration meal, at which we're proud to be presented with our certificates.
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