February 22, 2018

IMG Guide Tye Chapman just called in from Shira Camp over on Kilimanjaro.  He reports that the team had a great hike up from Machame camp this morning. They saw some of Kilimanjaro’s very unusual plants today and got their first view of the upper mountain – always a nice site!  This is a fun day and a tough one, although not super long.  They only had to gain a couple thousand feet of elevation, but the trail is steep in places.  No problem for the team though as we always move slowly up the mountain.  “Pole Pole” is a Swahili phrase which means “slow”.  It is spoken often on Kili and is both encouragement and a reminder to move slowly to conserve energy and acclimate properly!

Sitting at 12,600’, Shira Camp is a neat one.  The Shira Plateau has unobstructed views of the upper mountain and plenty of space to move around.  It can also get cold here at night!  Nice views over to Mt. Meru and the Shira Ridge off the other side of the plateau.  Our schedule puts us in camp in the early afternoon with plenty of time to drink, eat, rest, and take in the amazing views.  Hot drinks and popcorn awaited Tye and the team when they arrived.

Tomorrow they will head over to Barranco Camp at 13,000 feet after first climbing to over 15,000 feet at Lava Tower. Climb high, sleep low is the name of the game for the next couple days.

Dustin Balderach

February 21, 2018

Tye Chapman and team checked in early this morning, our time.  First day on the trail is ‘in the books’.  A couple of hours of drizzle today but everyone’s staked out their tent and settled in.  Snacks, hot drinks, dinner and more hot drinks will round out their day.

Good first day for the team.  The hike from Machame Gate to Machame Hut is on good trail but they knock off a couple thousand feet of elevation gain.  To see the team do well and stay together throughout the day makes for an auspicious start.  All is good.

Phil Ershler

February 20, 2018

Second half of the winter Kili season has begun.  Tye Chapman is leading and the team is gathering.  Here’s the message we received from Tye this morning:

“Great day today!

The team (and their bags) all arrived safely over the past couple days, but today was our first official day together. We all had a nice breakfast getting to know each other. After breakfast we jumped right into gear checks.

Once the gear checks were completed we went into Moshi for a quick tour and to run a few errands. On the agenda was money exchange, the local market, a milkshake, the pharmacy and the supermarket.

Once the tour was complete it was time to get back to the hotel and pack up our gear and get ready to start the climb tomorrow morning. We’ve just finished dinner and duffel weight checks and are officially ready to go!

Oh yeah, Tatsuya’s and my bags arrived, too!!!”

Tomorrow, they’ll start walking.

Phil Ershler