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

February 10, 2014

The trail to Machame Camp (Ken Maclaurin)

9:07 am Pacific Time: IMG Guide Jenni Fogle called from Machame Camp on Kilimanjaro after the team’s successful first day of trekking.  Everyone is doing well and are dry even after a couple hours of rain while on the trail.   Jenni anticipated that rains might be in the forecast and the team is very thankful that she urged them to purchase umbrellas while at the market yesterday.

Keep up the good work, team!

Clarissa Hughes

February 8, 2014

Visiting the local market in Moshi, Tanzania (Eric Simonson)

IMG Guide Jenni Fogle is back in Tanzania leading our February Kilimanjaro climb.  She called today from Moshi to report that the whole team had arrived, with all their luggage.  As we have said many times, that is the way we like to start a trip!  After all of the preparations and international travel, it is great to finally reach your destination and have your objective right in front of you.  From the town of Moshi, nestled right at the foot of Kili, the team literally has it in the foreground!  Tomorrow they will do gear checks, and explore the local town and markets.  Then, the following day, they will be ready to start up the Machame route.  So far, so good!

Eric Simonson