December 29, 2012

Lion Cub (Phil Ershler)

Jangbu was able to email us today with the following message:

“Our flight landed at Seronera at 4 pm.  We were on the Regional Air flight and left Arusha at 3 pm.  Started our game drive right away and continued on our way to the Serengeti Sopa Lodge.  Saw lots of animals already.  Just finished dinner and the climbers headed to bed.  Our plan is for an early breakfast tomorrow and an early start on the game viewing.  We should be able to check in tomorrow from Ndutu.”

The adventure continues.

Phil Ershler

December 28, 2012

Approach to the crater rim at Stella Point (Ang Jangbu)

The Kilimanjaro team is back at the Keys Hotel.  Hot showers, food and clothes drying were the order of the day.  Soon, they will be flying out to the Serengeti and beginning the first of 3 days on safari.  Of course, the only way to do a Kilimanjaro trip is to do the climb first, then safari.  Can you imagine the thrill and sense of accomplishment in enjoying a gin and tonic which watching the sunset across the plains of the Serengeti?  And, after just having climbed Kilimanjaro in not the easiest of conditions?  Priceless.

Ang Jangbu sent us this photo of the team approaching the rim of the Crater at Stella Point.  A little new snow, a tight, focused team and knowing that the summit is now in sight.  Good stuff.  A really Happy New Year to these guys!

Phil Ershler

December 27, 2012

Kili Team at the summit (Ang Jangbu)

Received a short email from Jangbu today.  All it said was ‘Made It – The Whole Team’.  He followed up with a phone call saying that he was standing at Uhuru, the true summit, and with all the team members.

They threaded the needle on this one.  Weather didn’t make it easy but the team kept it together and pulled it off in style.  The rain came back, in earnest, as they descended from Barafu, our high camp, and chased them all the way to Mweka Camp.  But they all made it!

A big congratulations needs to go out to this entire team and to their lead guide, Ang Jangbu Sherpa.  Doesn’t hurt to have a highly skilled climber/guide and Everest summiter in the lead.  And none of it comes together without the skills, strength and support of our Chagga crew, both the guides and the staff.  Individually and as a group, they are simply amazing people.  We thank them, again, for sharing their mountain with another IMG team!

Phil Ershler

December 26, 2012

The following email from Jangbu over on Kili greeted us this morning:

“We pulled into Barafu camp by 11:30 this morning. Everyone is doing really well. Like every day, we got rained on a bit, but not too bad.  Had a great lunch at 12:45 pm and doing early dinner at 5:00 pm.  Up at 11pm tonight for a midnight departure for summit.   Wish us luck. Hopefully,  I will call you from the summit tomorrow morning.   Here is a photo I took at the switchback below Barafu.”  – Ang Jangbu

The switchback below Barafu (photo: Ang Jangbu)

If we hear from Jangbu and team later today, we’ll get a dispatch up with the news.  They’ll be walking through new snow up high but nice to know that the precip is slowly backing off.  With everyone healthy, they have a good shot.

Phil Ershler

December 25, 2012

Climbing up the Barranco wall on Christmas (photo: Ang Jangbu)

Christmas at Karanga.  The team’s at about 13,500 ft for Christmas.  With the new snow on Kili, they certainly are having a white Christmas, at least higher up.  Here’s the email Ang Jangbu provided Christmas morning:

“We are at Karanga Camp. Pulled in to camp at 12:15 pm, just before the big down pour. It started to rain a little when we were getting ready to leave the top of Barranco Wall and rained lightly until we reached Karanga River and then stopped but It’s pouring right now at 1:00pm as I type this message. Hopefully, it will stop raining at some point so people can dry things out.

Everyone is doing well. Here is a shot I took on the wall. We did not get the view from on top Barranco wall.

Lunch here pretty soon when the rain gets little lighter.  Can’t sign off without wishing everyone back home a Merry Christmas.”

Phil Ershler

December 24, 2012

Snow on Kili (photo: Ang Jangbu)

“We are at Barranco camp. We started with a decent morning but it started to rain as we were approaching Lava Junction and rained most of the afternoon. Rains have left us now but still a heavy mist.  Everyone did extremely well pulling into camp.  Couple of minor headaches but no major issues.  We are headed to Karanga tomorrow.”  -Ang Jangbu

For Christmas, we’re going to wish for clear skies for the team.  Nice thing about being on the equator – 5 minutes of sun and everything is dry!  They’re heading for Karanga Camp tomorrow.  Check out the photo Jangbu sent.  Who says there’s no snow on Kilimanajaro?  The team wanted to make sure we sent Christmas greetings to friends and family at home.

Phil Ershler

December 23, 2012

Looking west from Shira Camp towards Arusha and Mt. Meru (14,977 ft / 4,565 m) in the distance (photo: Eric Simonson)

Ang Jangbu Sherpa called to report that the team had a good day moving up to Shira Plateau camp, at about 12,500.  Now they are above the forest line, moving into the “zone of weird plants” that grow at high altitudes near the Equator  (Kili is about 3 degrees south latitude).  Sounds like the team had a little rain during the day but it cleared up in the afternoon and was quite nice.  Everyone is climbing well and acclimatizing normally, so far so good!

Eric Simonson

December 21, 2012

Just in from Ang Jangbu and team on the Christmas Kilimanjaro trip:

“We had a good start this morning.  Everyone did really well and reached Machame camp just before 4 pm. Perfect temperature hiking up today – cloudy, drizzled a bit but it didn’t pour on us and it wasn’t too hot.  Everyone is feeling good right now.  We’re about to have afternoon tea and popcorn.  Check out the group photo taken at the Machame ranger station.” – Ang Jangbu

The crew at the Machame Ranger Station (Ang Jangbu)

December 21, 2012

Kili Crew (photo: Ang Jangbu)

Ang Jangbu Sherpa sent us a team photo of his crew from the courtyard at the Keys Hotel this morning.  The Christmas Kilimanjaro team has now arrived and going through final prep/packing in anticipation of heading up the mountain in the morning.  Pretty cool way to spend Christmas and New Year’s.  The weather doesn’t look half bad, either.

Ang Jangbu Sherpa is the lead IMG guide on this program.  For those of you who don’t know, Jangbu is our Nepalese partner for all our Himalayan programs.  Check our his bio – http://www.mountainguides.com/guides.shtml.  Great climber, great leader and just a great guy with whom to spend a couple of weeks.  The team is in for a real treat with Jangbu at the helm.  They’ll be joined by a staff of about 40 Chagga guides and porters.  It’s always a pleasure to be able to share their mountain with them.  We’re continually amazed by their strength, warmth and skills.

Phil Ershler

October 31, 2012

Kili (Clarissa Morford)

More Oxygen Please!
By Clarissa Morford

It was about 4:30AM, and I was on the side of a dusty mountain at 17,000 feet with chilled feet and tingling hands, feeling generally miserable. This was my first time above 14,410ft., and I was really starting to feel the altitude. What was I doing here?

For the past five days, Kilimanjaro had been so enjoyable. Trekking up through the lush rainforest, enjoying how our Chagga guides made a point to locate the famous and delicate impatiens kilimanjari flowers, seeing my first glimpse of the snow capped summit on the trail and admiring the strange trees growing on the Shira Plateau (curiously wondering if I had stepped into the pages of a Dr. Seuss book) were just some of the highlights of the days before.

But now I was struggling to keep a smile on my face as my entire body seemed to be frowning under the strain of the thin air. My thoughts weren’t completely clear, but I wondered why I had not decided to take a little bit of the edge off by medicating against the altitude. I was angry at myself for potentially causing unnecessary discomfort and added strain. At Barafu Camp (15,000 feet) I was feeling rather good, but now the story was changing. Negative self-thoughts filled my mind as I began to determine that the next high-alti climb — should I make it through this one — would be significantly improved by the use of altitude medicine and that my prideful thought about how cool it would be to summit without taking Diamox, was in fact one of the most stupid thoughts I’d ever had.

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