Mount Kilimanjaro Climb

Our sendoff from porters and guides. It was really touching. Very impressed by Tanzanian hospitality!

Sent from my iPhoneThe final day descending in a steady rain (the first bad weather on our entire trip!). It was a slippery walk but uneventful. Our first beer in 10 days!

Sent from my iPhoneWhat a difference a day makes. Feeling excellent as soon as we got below 13000 ft. We arrived at Mneka Camp and was warm so finally got wear shorts!

Sent from my iPhoneHelicopter landing at Barafu for a severely distressed climber. Helicopters can barely make it to this elevation.

Sent from my iPhoneOvernight in Barafu after 13 hour summit day and then we began our descent. Saw these park manufactured stretchers with a single motorcycle wheel (including shock absorber!) all along the route down. One of our party had to be stretchered down.

Sent from my iPhoneThe unheralded porters without whom Kili would be very difficult if not impossible. They were indefatigable, always good humored and very supportive.

Sent from my iPhonePanoramic view from the top with our exhausted climbing team. You can see walls of ice that is a glacier.

Sent from my iPhoneMade it to the highest point in Africa! A beautiful, sunny day. Pristine snow all around us and the clouds way below us. It was around 1pm. The glacier in the crater has disappeared.

Sent from my iPhoneTrail from Stella to Uhuru had a snow and ice pack of over 3 ft. Impossible without crampons.

Sent from my iPhoneStella Point which is the first peak on the rim of the crater (to the right). I was struggling in the thin air but determined to get to the ultimate Uhuru summit.

Sent from my iPhoneSummit climb complicated by the largest snowfall in the rainy season (Feb-April) in many years. We had to use our crampons to climb icy trails.

Sent from my iPhoneSummit day we left in the dark at 5:15am unlike most climbers who left at 11pm the previous night (you could see their headlamps lined up along the mountain). Sunrise over Mt. Mawenzi the second highest peak in Tanzania.

Sent from my iPhoneA climber on a stretcher being taken down off the mountain. Unfortunately many climbers do not acclimatize appropriately.

Sent from my iPhoneThe view from our tent at Barafu base camp, we are above the clouds covering the Serengeti!

Sent from my iPhoneThe trail from Karanga to Barafu Camp which will be our base camp to summit Kili.

Sent from my iPhonePanoramic photo of morning at Karanga Camp with Kili in the background.

Sent from my iPhoneArriving at Karanga Camp..

Sent from my iPhoneAfter climbing the Baranca Wall we had a long day trekking to Karanca Camp, including traversing the ravine in this photo. You can see the trail going up the other side of the ravine to the camp.

Sent from my iPhoneNavigating Kissing Rock on the Baranca Wall. Porters were on hand to help.

Ubiquitous Ravens at all our campsites and even at the top of the Baranca Wall where we got a well deserved rest. Sent from my iPhone Sent from my iPhone

Halfway up the Baranca Wall, about 1500 ft vertical scrambling up a steep, rocky slope. One spot called the Kissing Wall had to traverse facing the mountain with both hands and feet. Sent from my iPhone Sent from my iPhone

Long climb up from Moira camp to Lava Rock at 15,000 ft elevation. Beautiful alpine weather and terrain. Lunch was wonderful as usual. Soup tastes so good after hours of hiking. A nice photo with our lead guide Simon and my buddy Bill Forward. Sent from my iPhone Sent from my iPhone

Beautiful sunny morning at Moira camp 13,400 ft elevation. Felt the elevation last night. My blood oxygen level has dropped from 96% at Moshi to 92% at Shira to 88% here. Feeling better this morning. We are climbing to Lava Rock at 15,000 ft elevation by  lunch. The mountain keeps enticing but is still far away. It is a dry and dusty here, typical of a high desert. Sent from my iPhone Sent from my iPhone

A huge boulder at a crossroads. David a 15 yol in our group of course scrambled up and encouraged a few of us to do the same. Sent from my iPhone Sent from my iPhone

Packed up at Shira 1 camp and about to head out to the foothills of Kili. Woke up with frost on the ground and flaking off the tent onto my touque. The sun rose at 6:30 and immediately started melting the frost. By 9 the ground was dry and dusty. Sent from my iPhone Sent from my iPhone

Lunch break complete with tent mess, table and chairs. Vegetable fried rice, pasta (quite spicy), Bao bun and avacado. Delicious! Sent from my iPhone Sent from my iPhone

Me with our guides Nemis, Stanford, Gaudance, Simon at our first camp on the route. Sent from my iPhone Sent from my iPhone

Ubiquitous Ravens at all our campsites and even at the top of the Baranca Wall where we got a well deserved rest.

Halfway up the Baranca Wall, about 1500 ft vertical scrambling up a steep, rocky slope. One spot called the Kissing Wall had to traverse facing the mountain with both hands and feet.

Long climb up from Moira camp to Lava Rock at 15,000 ft elevation. Beautiful alpine weather and terrain. Lunch was wonderful as usual. Soup tastes so good after hours of hiking. A nice photo with our lead guide Simon and my buddy Bill Forward.

Beautiful sunny morning at Moira camp 13,400 ft elevation. Felt the elevation last night. My blood oxygen level has dropped from 96% at Moshi to 92% at Shira to 88% here. Feeling better this morning. We are climbing to Lava Rock at 15,000 ft elevation by lunch. The mountain keeps enticing but is still far away. It is a dry and dusty here, typical of a high desert.

A view of our ultimate destination from Shira 1 camp.

On the trail which are well groomed.

First camp.

At the trailhead, rain gear is on, ready to climb!

Matching but not on purpose....

Ready, set, go!

The final dinner and night at the Bristol Cottages (proprietor a Mr Agarwal whose family came to Tanzania from India in 1920). We are driving to Kili trailhead tomorrow morning to begin our Kili climb. The entire group of 16 will be supported by 4 guides and are pretty much ready. Sent from my iPhone

East Africa's MIT!

Wandering through the farmers market in Moshi with a couple of the Canadian group I am climbing with. On the right is my old friend Bill Forward who is on the board of CODE that literacy in Africa charity we raised funds for.