R. A. Dickey, the Mets pitcher, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise awareness for the Bombay Teen Challenge, an organization that rescues and cares for women and girls in Mumbai who are at risk of being abused and exploited. His posts have appeared occasionally in Bats.

It was 10 p.m. when Timo, one of the porters on our climb of Mount Kilimanjaro, tapped on my zipped tent flap to make sure I was awake. Little did he know that I had been awake for at least an hour because of the gale-force glacial winds that were pounding the exterior of the tent, a noise that assured me that something unpleasant awaited. The wind, coupled with my fears and excitement about what lay ahead, allowed for about three hours of partly uninterrupted sleep.

We had been briefed at our 5 o’clock dinner that night that we were leaving for our summit attempt at 10:30 p.m. sharp. This was for two reasons. First, as we ascend the mountain, the rocky skree that litters the steep trail to the peak will be frozen and less likely to give way under our boots. Second, leaving at that time would allow us to reach the summit as the sun was peeking up over the eastern glacial ridge. However, I believe that there was a third reason, one the guide intentionally never discussed. Psychologically, if we were able to see the sheer steepness and distance of the trek, it would have been defeating.

Our departure time came, and we were dressed in our best cold weather gear. At the time we took our first steps from base camp, the temperature was in the single digits and the wind was sharp. We had our headlamps on and could see far above us the dim light of a group of other climbers, evidence that we were not the first ones in what could be a long queue up the mountainside.

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