Sep 2009 Kilimanjaro Climb Trip Report
September 15, 2009

This page is dedicated to following the progress of our Kilimanjaro Climb that began on September 15, 2009.

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Success at the Summit!
Last Night on the Mountain

Day 1, September 15, 2009 7pm, Moshi, Tanzania
Our climbers left the Park View Hotel in Moshi right on time at 8am today. After a few hours drive, they arrived the trailhead of the Rongai route, near the Kenyan border. With good weather and sightings of Colobus monkeys, our trekkers made it to Simba Camp at 8,500' in 3.5 hours. Once in camp, they enjoyed a great meal and will get to bed nice and early tonight. Tomorrow's a long day!

Day 2, September 16, 2009 8pm, on Kili
Our hikers had a long day today, leaving Simba Camp at 8:15am and our last hikers made it into Kikielewa Camp at 5:30pm. Everyone is doing well. During their hike today they had partly cloudy weather with light winds, and beautiful views of Mt. Kilimanjaro and Kenya. They are all resting now at Kikelewa Camp at 11,500'.

Some of our guests are taking the time to learn Swahili from our awesome guide and porter crew - poa!

End of Day 3 Trek, September 17, 2009, 4 pm on the mountain
The day was a shorter day and the weather was a bit rainy and foggy. All of our trekkers made it to the base of Mawenzi Peak, the jagged sister peak of Kibo, Kilimanjaro’s summit peak. They arrived at camp between 12 - 1, Mawenzi Tarn (14,000').

End of Day 4 Trek, September 18, 2009, 7 pm from high camp, Kibo Hut, at 15,000' All climbers have made it successfully to the high camp. Everyone is in pretty good spirits although some of the hikers are tired and starting to feel the altitude. The weather during the day was cloudy with mixed rain and snow. Our climbers have finished dinner and headed to their tents to get as much rest as possible before they all attempt the summit at midnight tonight!

Success at the Summit!
At 8:13 am September 19, 2009 most our climbers were on the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro - UHURU! 8 hours from high camp to the summit and everyone is doing well. One climber, Deme, choose to turn around before Gilmans, but she is doing fine.

They reported that the weather was rough on the face, but sunrise at Gilman's Point was beautiful. Now from the summit, the skies are clear and amazingly beautiful. What an amazing thing to be on the roof of Africa.

Last Night on the Mountain, September 19, 2009 6pm on the mountain
After their summit, our crew made it down to the Kibo Hut with a little bit of time for a snack and rest before beginning the rest of their descent down the Marangu Route to Horombo Camp at 12,200'. With each step down our climbers are enjoying more oxygen and feeling better. The weather from the summit to Kibo Hut was great, a little wet from Kibo to Horombo. Everyone, including Deme, is doing very well at Horombo and heading to enjoy one last beautiful sunset and dinner on the mountain.

Tomorrow they will descend the rest of the way off the mountain and enjoy sleeping in a warm comfy bed back in Moshi at the Park View Hotel.

Congratulations to everyone, guests and guides!

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