Notre Dame Alumni Climb Kilimanjaro Sept '08
September 12, 2008

The climbing adventure is underway. Below is a day by day update of the status of our climbers as they head up Kilimanjaro.

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
The Climbers
The Guides

Day 1, September 8
After a good night's sleep our climbers met for their final gear check this morning. All cleared and it was off to the trailhead. A great day for a climb - a little overcast and 70 degrees. Early in the day our climbers heard a troop of monkeys. After a short easy trek, our climbers reached Simba Camp (8,500') and will soon be enjoying a hot dinner. They arrived in camp early and will have plenty of time to relax. Tomorrow will be a much longer day and our climbers will need to get a good night rest.

Day 2, September 9
Our climbers made it to their second camp, Kikelewa Camp at 11,500' without any issues. After dinner, inspired by news of the recent Notre Dame win (hopefully the first of many more this season), our climbers were playing a little football in camp before heading to sleep.

Day 3, September 10
Our climbers made it to today's camp, School Hut (14,200"). Once they arrived at camp everyone was up for their acclimatization side hike to the base of Mawenzi Peak, the jagged sister peak of Kibo, Kilimanjaro’s summit peak. Trekking a little higher than they will sleep will help them sleep better tonight. During their day, they saw fresh elephant poo, a wild dog, and were caught in a little hail storm. Everyone is in good spirits and are ready to cross the saddle tomorrow and then start the push to the summit tomorrow around midnight Kili time.

Day 4, September 11
Everyone made it to Kibo Hut, at 15,500' and the effects of the altitude are starting to be felt by some. Mother Nature threw a little bit of everything at our climbers today. Be thinking about your climbers around 3pm MT today as they will start their summit push around that time, midnight their time.

Day 5, September 12, 12:09am
SUCCESS ON THE MOUNTAIN!!! At 9am local time, 6 climbers made it to Uhuru Peak, the Roof of Africa - 19,341 ft! Congratulations to Jed, Jeff, Quinn, Beth, Christina, and Suzan - and of course Arnie! We are so proud of all of you. They left their warm comfy tents at midnight their time, and with good weather they reached Gilman's to see a spectacular sun rise over Africa. More beautiful and more amazing than they could describe. Congratulations again team!

Mr. & Mrs. Smith are doing just fine. Mrs. Smith ran into a problem with a pulled muscle halfway up the summit and they decided to return to high camp rather than risk further injury.

Day 6: The team all made it safely down the mountain and back to town, and apparently had a late night blow out at Glacier Bar with the guides! Congratulations again to the entire team for a successful trip to the roof of Africa!

The Climbers:

• Beth Eide: Beth will graduate from the University of Notre Dame in May 2009 with a degree in Finance. Her interests include hiking, playing tennis, reading, volunteering, and being outdoors.


• Jed Eide: ND South Bend, IN. Married to Paula, SMC, w/ three children - 2 of whom, Quinn and Beth, are also on the trip. Youngest child, Ellen, is a freshman at ND. Jed has an architectural practice, ADG, Inc., in South Bend for the past 20 years. Jed also teaches the Professional Practice course to 5th year & graduate architecture students at Notre Dame. The Eides vacation in Colorado every summer and have done extensive climbing in Rocky Mountain National Park and elsewhere in Colorado.


• Quinn Eide: Graduated in 2006 with a Marketing degree from Notre Dame. Currently lives in Chicago and is a ProLiant/Bladesystem Server Specialist for Hewlett Packard. Quinn has enjoyed being in the mountains since the age of five and wants this to be the first of many big climbs all over the world. Goals for the trip are to see as much of Africa as possible, learn to take better pictures with his new camera, and make sure that his sister Beth gets up to the top, one Oreo at a time. And one last thought, Jeff Anderson makes up lies but Quinn is cool with it because it helps his self-esteem.


• Christina Glorioso: Double Domer, ’95 BBA and ’99 MBA and is honored as she was recently appointed to the Advisory Board of the Mendoza College of Business. Christina works at MTV Networks and is missing both the VMAs and the launch of Rock Band 2!! Christina is an avid scuba diver but is excited for a change in vacation scenery climbing high instead of diving deep.


• Suzan Kidman: Boise, Idaho. Originally scheduled to take this trip in January, unfortunately, Suzan had a knee injury in December and had to cancel. All healed up, she had trained hard and is back in shape and very excited for the climb and the safari! Suzan enjoys many sports including snowboarding, mountain biking and kayaking. She expects this to be one of her most challenging adventures yet!


• Jeff Anderson: A 2006 ND graduate with a degree in Finance, Jeff is now working for the Royal Bank of Scotland trading Latin American currencies. The Eide family talked him into this experience and he is very excited to be partying on the rooftop of Africa with them (despite missing wins over UM and MSU). Although he has never climbed a mountain near this size he believes he can do it because he just beat Quinn Eide in a 400 meter sprint and is generally more athletic. ;-)


• Mr. and Mrs. Smith: Names withheld to protect the guilty

The Guides:

• Anupam Chandola (a.k.a. Arnie) With over 15 years of experience on guiding worldwide, Arnie has a stellar resume. Arnie is originally from India and is the epitome of a professional guide. He has lived in and worked in New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Turkey, Austria, Nepal and India. He has also guided in Colorado, West Virginia, Montana, Pennsylvania and Idaho.


• Bruno Mkerenga


• Godbless Swai


• Saumu Burhani


• Timba Kileo


• And approximately 30 assistant guides and porters

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