Kilimanjaro Expedition Dispatch

July 27, 2008 – Back Safely at the Mweka Gate

Father and son ontop of Kibo

This is Larry and Brad we are back at the main camp; we made it to the summit! It has been awesome for me, a physically challenging experience but I made it and we are back down. Hello to everyone here is Brad...

Scree skiing down from the top

A few more details from the summit morning; it has been four or five steps then stop and take a breath, it has been that way for the entire trip up at altitude. The air is noticeably thinner and it is harder to breath, but now back down at 1,800 meters it is good to breath the thicker air.

I forgot to mention earlier that the glaciers on Kibo are fantastic! Big, big, blue and a lot larger up close. We slept in the crater after we summited and now we know how it feels to sleep in all of your gear; cap, gloves, coat and pants. It was very, very cold but we survived.

On the way down we screed skied from the top. Literally sliding down on our feet like we are on skies and using our poles. Today we hiked down to the rain forest which is very beautiful and at the end of our hike, right before the Mweka gate we were able to see about 7 monkeys playing in the trees. It was a great ending to a perfect day. Then Berg Adventures staff, Angel and her friends, gave us a big welcome lunch and met us at the gate with the truck. We are happy to be heading back to the hotel for a hot shower.

Left: Our camp in the crater

Right: Starting our descent