In reply to IainMunro:
I've just come back from my second trip to Kilimanjaro (summitted 3rd January). I wore the following on summit night:
- Thin merino wool base layer. Micro fleece top. Softshell jacket. I also had a large down jacket in my bag but 3 hrs into summit day, my wife complained of being very cold so I gave the jacket to her (on top of her own down jacket). As such, it was the coldest I've ever been on a mountain and I really suffered until the sun came up around 6am. I run very warm, but on this occasion I was utterly freezing. I also took a pair of PHD Omega down mitts as an emergency back-up to my Black Diamond gloves. The PHDs were used pretty much all night (it's hard to keep your hands warm when your core is so damn cold).
On my legs, I wore a pair of merino wool leggings with a pair of softshell 'winter' trousers (i.e. fleece lined). Just about did the job down below.
Moral of the story: be wary of a wife that still gets cold in 6 layers, two of which are down jackets.
- The first time I was on Kili, (August 2006) I wore a base layer, fleece, thick fleece and a Paramo Cascada jacket. I was suitably warm on this occasion.
With regards to the pace, it's predictably slow as you would expect at 5000m+. Can't recall anyone overheating in their down jacket on summit night.
EDIT: Footwear-wise, I wore these on every single day, including summit night.
http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/scarpa-r-evo-gtx-walking-boots-p304782
With a light trekking sock lower down, and a thick wool pair for summit night, they were absolutely spot on.
Post edited at 11:36