Kilimanjaro Archived Dispatches - Click Here
 

January 30, 2008 (1:08 p.m. PDT/ 2:08 a.m. Tanzania Std Time) :
 Hello. We finished our trek of Kilimanjaro today as we descended from our last camp to the Mweka gate. We had a nice lunch and then made the drive back to the Dik Dik Hotel. We spent the afternoon relaxing by the pool and finished the evening with a great celebration dinner. After a long day, we are heading for bed and looking forward to leaving tomorrow morning on our four day safari.

January 29, 2008 SUMMIT DAY (email received 6:07 a.m. PDT/ 7:07 p.m. Tanzania Std Time) :
After having very unstable weather all week we were amazed to wake to clear skies at midnight. We sat down to a quick cup of tea and a light breakfast, packed our packs and began the climb. The skies were so clear that we turned our headlamps off and climbed with only the light of the moon and stars. We watched the Southern Cross move across the sky as we climbed higher and higher.

The first rays of light found us several hundred yards below Stella Point (the crater rim) and we watched a magnificent sunrise from the Roof of Africa. A short time later the entire group stood atop Uhuru Peak, the highest point of Kilimanjaro, and all of Africa. There were relatively few other climbers there and the clear skies and warm temperatures allowed us to enjoy the views over Tanzania and Kenya for nearly an hour.

2008 team on the summit of Kilimanjaro

The good weather stayed with us for our descent and we returned to high camp at Barafu by late morning. After a hearty meal of fresh fruit and french toast we broke camp and continued our descent to Mweka Camp where the air feels thick at 10,000'! After a long day we are settled into camp for the evening and will be waking up early for our last stretch to the Mweka Gate tomorrow morning. We will check in tomorrow night from the Dik Dik before we begin our four day safari.

January 28, 2008 (email received 8:06 a.m. PDT/ 9:06 p.m. Tanzania Std Time) :
Today we moved up from Karanga camp to our high camp - Barafu at 15,200'. We hiked most of the day in the clouds, but the weather was starting to improve by the late afternoon. The relatively short day of hiking allowed us to get into camp with plenty of time to make the final preparations for our summit bid which begin in just a few short hours. We are going to wake up at 12:00 am and plan to be on top around 8:00 am. As we go to bed, the entire group is well acclimatized, and excited for the big day tomorrow. We will check in again from our last night's camp at Mweka.

January 27, 2008 (email received 10:26 a.m. PDT/ 11:26 p.m. Tanzania Std Time) :
Jambo. This was the first morning that we awoke to clouds and they have remained with us for most of the day, occasionally sprinkling. Nevertheless, the team climbed strongly and we made our way up the Great Barranco Wall, traversing below the Southern Breach Wall of the summit,and arriving at Karanga Camp in time for a hot pasta lunch. We have spent the afternoon playing backgammon, reading, writing in journals, and resting.  We will be moving to our high camp tomorrow - Barafu at 15,200' - in preparation  of our summit bid the following day.

January 26, 2008 (email received 6:47 a.m. PDT/7:47 p.m. Tanzania Std Time) :
We have had a great day today. After breakfast, we continued our ascent up the Shira Plateau and then traversed towards Lava Tower (15,200') -  the highest point of the day. The summit of Kili - Uhuru Peak - was visible all morning,  with a fresh dusting of snow, but the afternoon clouds   concealed it as we headed downhill to our evening's camp in the Barranco Valley. Our route allows us to practice the mountaineer's adage "climb high, sleep low" and our ascent today has helped everyone in their acclimatization. The team is excited to climb the Great Barranco Wall in the morning; we will check in from Karanga Camp tomorrow evening.

January 25, 2008 (email received 10:01 a.m. PDT/ 9:01 p.m. Tanzania Std Time) :
Greetings from Kilimanjaro. We had a great first night on the mountain. Everyone is adjusting well to altitude and excited to be moving up higher on the mountain. After breaking camp, we started the climb to the Shira Plateau (12,600'), and arrived in Shira Camp early this afternoon. The climb is quite steep immediately out of Machame and provides dramatic views towards Mt. Meru over the giant heather and forest below. The typical weather trend has been clear skies in the morning and clouds by afternoon and today was no different with brief showers hitting us later on but the clouds are lifting as we are heading to dinner.

January 24, 2008 (email received 9:04 a.m. PDT/ 10:05 p.m. Tanzania Std Time) :
We arrived at Machame camp early this afternoon. The group is feeling strong and settling in for the evening. We started the day with clear skies and great views as we approached the mountain. A brief afternoon thunderstorm gave way to an amazing view of the summit of Kili framed by a double rainbow. We will go to the Shira camp at 12,600' tomorrow.

January 23, 2008 (email received 11:52 a.m. PDT/ 10:52 p.m. Tanzania Std Time) :
We spent the morning packing and preparing for our climb, and then headed to Arusha for the afternoon. After buying a few last minute items and exploring the central market area, we returned to the Dik Dik for a wonderful five course dinner, and a little relaxing before our departure to the mountain tomorrow. Everyone is packed and ready to go and we will check in from the Machame camp tomorrow night.

January 22, 2008 (12:56 p.m. PDT/ 11:56 p.m. Tanzania Std Time) :
Everyone has arrived in Arusha, Tanzania in good spirits and with all their luggage (barely). We have just finished dinner and are looking forward to a good night's sleep. We plan to meet in the morning to go through our equipment and begin organizing our gear for the mountain. We will also try to spend some time relaxing by the pool and trying to get over some of the jet lag.  We will begin our trek on Thursday and will call from the mountain after we have established camp.

January 28, 2008 (via email 8:06 a.m. PDT/ 9:06 p.m. Tanzania Std Time) :
Our group hiked the last leg of our journey today, descending to the Mweka Gate. We are back at the Dik Dik celebrating our success with a seven course meal. Tomorrow we begin our 4-day safari with game viewing in Lake Manayra, Ngorogoro Crater, and Taringere National Park.

January 27, 2008 (via email 10:26 a.m. PDT/ 11:26 p.m. Tanzania Std Time) :
Our group got up early this morning and made our summit bid. Despite some uncooperative weather we successfully  reached the summit of Uruhu Peak - Kilimanjaro's highest point -  around 7:30am. After celebrating on the Roof of Africa, we descended back to high camp and continued to our final nights camp - Mweka (10,000'). We will descend down to the park gate tomorrow morning and return to the Dik Dik for our celebration dinner before heading out on safari on Tuesday morning.

January 26, 2008 ( via email 6:47 a.m. PDT/ 7:47 p.m. Tanzania Std Time): Our group is now at Barafu Camp, our high camp.  We will make our summit attempt tonight after a short night sleep.  We are feeling good and hoping the weather will clear for our climb.  Tomorrow will be a long day as after we make our summit attempt  we will descend to 10,000' to our final camp on the mountain.  We will be crawling into our sleeping bags soon to rest for our big day.

January 25, 2008 ( via email 10:01 a.m. PDT/ 9:01 p.m. Tanzania Std Time) :
Hello.  We arrived at the Karanga Camp early this afternoon and have enjoyed some time relaxing at camp.  We had a great dinner and are now settling in for the night.  Everyone is doing well and we are enjoying our time on the mountain.  We can't believe that tomorrow we will be at high camp.  The weather has been typical for Kilimanjaro with clear skies in the morning and light rain showers in the afternoon.  As long as that pattern continues to hold we should have great views from Uhuru Peak in a few days.

January 24, 2008 (email received 9:05 a.m. PDT/ 10:05 p.m. Tanzania Std Time) :
Our group has arrived at the Barranco Camp (12,800') where we will spend the night. We have enjoyed the last two nights on the trail and are enjoying our time on the mountain. The group is doing great and we looking forward to climbing the Great Barranco Wall tomorrow on our way to Karanga camp. Tomorrow will be a short hiking day as we rest and acclimatize before making our push to high camp on Saturday.

January 22, 2008 (6:14 a.m. PDT/ 5:14 p.m. Tanzania Std Time) :
The group arrived safely into Arusha on the evening of January 20th. We spent yesterday recovering from our international flights, relaxing by the pool and repacking our equipment for the trek.  Our group will leave from the Dik Dik this morning and drive to the trailhead where we will start our climb of Kilimanjaro.  Everyone is doing well and we are looking forward to starting our climb. 

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