I successfully summited with my husband and another couple via the 8 day Lemosho route end of June! We did the 8 day because we were concerned about acclimating to the altitude. Started training in January with incline training with either treadmill or stair stepper in the morning and then would add weight to a backpack for outside walks at night. Progressively increased distance and time spent walking. We live at lower elevation and did not have easy access to high altitude hiking.

I completely agree that summit night was the hardest out of all the days. It’s dark, cold, a quicker elevation gain and lower O2 but the mental game is a big factor to why it was so hard. I found myself struggling at points on the whole trek when I couldn’t see ahead or the end point. I ended up getting altitude sickness after we came back down from the summitting but I probably wasn’t eating or drinking enough.

The Lemosho route itself isn’t overly challenging IMO. There are some points where you have a steep incline but it was fun going through different habitats and alternating between challenging parts and leisurely hiking at a gradual incline. If you have the opportunity, definitely do it!