February 17, 2014

Serengeti Airport (Eric Simonson)

IMG guide Jenni Fogle called from the Serengeti to check in from their first camp on their safari.  She said that their 45 minute flight from Arusha went smoothly and that on the way from the airstrip to the camp they saw lions feasting on a recent kill and a leopard napping in a tree.  All is well!

Eric Simonson

February 15, 2014

IMG guide Jenni Fogle called on the sat phone to report that the entire team reached the summit of Kilimanjaro this morning.  They experienced some inclement weather during their nightime climb, but kept plugging away and by dawn the conditions had improved and they had a nice summit, though a bit cold and windy.  Today they descended back down to the Mweka Camp at the treeline, where they are spending the night and enjoying the thick air again.  Tomorrow they will finish the descent and return to the hotel in Moshi for some well-deserved showers and maybe a beer or two.  Great job team!

Eric Simonson

February 14, 2014

Route stays on the far right

It’s time.  Jenni called from Barafu Camp (high camp) this morning, Seattle time.  Packing done – check.  Dinner and hydrating done – check.  The gang’s trying to catch a bit of sleep prior to their 11 pm (Tanzania time) wake up call.  Pole, Pole is the mantra for the day.  The route heads pretty much straight up from Barafu to the crater rim at Stella Point.  Another 1.5 hrs going clockwise around the crater get them to Uhuru, the true summit of Kilimanjaro.  Longest, most demanding day of the trip coming up but also the most rewarding.  Funny how that works.

Phil Ershler

February 11, 2014

Shira Plateau (Ken Maclaurin)

IMG Senior Guide, Jenni Fogle, just called in from Shira Camp, about 12,300 ft., on the side of Kilimanjaro.  This is the first camp where we get a full, unobstructed view of the mountain.  She said the team’s doing great, having fun and are tucked into their tents for the night.  The camp’s a bit exposed so they had some wind tonight but it was dry.  That’s a reasonable trade off, especially at night.  Tomorrow’s goal is Baranco Camp, at about 13,000 ft.  It’s the perfect acclimatization day.  They’ll reach an altitude of about 14,000 ft. before heading down to camp.  “Climb high, sleep low” is a long-standing climber’s adage.  Nice, too, because the trail is never really steep.  They’ll log the miles, goose that red blood cell production, but not beat themselves up.

Hope to hear from her tomorrow.  Bottom line – all’s good in Africa.

Phil Ershler