December 21st, 2003

Hello everyone,

Happy Holidays. Just returned from Africa and our climb of Kilimanjaro (19,340’) was a total success. Our entire climbing team, consisting of 10-members, reached the highest point in Africa, Uhuru Peak, at 8:00 AM on December 5th, 2003. Team members included: Randy Peeters (Expedition Leader, CA), Ginnie McDevitt (NY), Al Albright (WA), Ron Abram, Gordon Morrice, Pat Royan, Ellen Gragg, Durk Gragg, Doreen Franke & Craig Horganic (all from CA). We arrived at the Kilimanjaro International Airport late in the evening on Saturday November 29th after a marathon flight of approximately 30-hours and transferred to the Springlands Hotel in Moshi. Early the next day we departed for Machame Gate (5800’) and the start of the climb. We selected the Machame Route, which is about 30-miles in length, because it is exceptionally beautiful with several steep sections and superb views Kilimanjaro and its southern icefields. It also provides an excellent opportunity to properly acclimatize as it traverses approximately half of the mountain. Kilimanjaro is a huge mountain with a very diverse ecosystem including a total of 5-clmitalogical zones. On the mountain we slept in tents and the support team included 20-Porters, 2-Cooks, 4-Assistant Guides and 1-Head Guide. The first day we hiked through rain forest for 6-hours arriving at our camp near the Machame Hut (10,000’) late in the afternoon. Day 2 involved 5-hours of travel along steep forest and rock ridges and through giant heather arriving at Shira Camp (12,350’) about 2:30 in the afternoon. We had snow and rain during this portion of our climb and some of our gear got pretty wet. On day 3 we began to traverse around Kilimanjaro climbing up to Lava Tower and then arriving at Barranco Camp (12,500’) about 4:00 in the afternoon providing just enough time to begin drying our gear. In this next section we scrambled up the Great Barranco Wall and then a traversed over scree and ridges to the Karanga Valley Camp (13,000’) located beneath the icefalls of the Heim, Kersten and Decken Glaciers. This was a short 4-hour day and was added to our itinerary to allow for better acclimatization. After climbing out of the Karanga Valley we ascended a ridge arriving at the Barafu Camp (15,000’) around noon on the 5th day. This final camp is located on a bleak and exposed ridge with virtually no vegetation. The final ascent began at midnight from the Barafu Camp first ascending to the rim of the Kibo Crater between the Rebmann and Ratzel Glaciers and from here to the actual summit known as Uhuru Peak. The views from the top were spectacular including Mount Meru to the west and the jagged peak of Mawenzi to the east. While on top, Ron and I took a moment to honor Donald Berry by distributing a portion of his ashes into the Summit Crater. After about 30-minutes on the summit we descend to the Barafu Hut for a 2-hour rest and lunch before continuing on down to camp near the Mweka Hut (10,000’) located in a giant heather zone. The next morning we descended through the rain forest to the Mweka Village arriving around 11: AM. The total descent from the summit took 1 ½-days. After checking out with the local authorities, we returned to Moshi and our hotel for a much welcomed shower. It was an incredible experience and we were all very pleased to have accomplished such a tremendous feat. Anyone that says it is “piece of cake” is either Superman or just plain crazy. While technically it is not a difficult climb, it is indeed very demanding physically and everyone was pretty spent following the climb.

The following day, December 7th, we began a 5-day Safari and tour of Northern Tanzania which included Lake Manyara National Park, Serengethi National Park, Olduvai Gorge and Ngorongo Crater Conservation Area. The wildlife and scenery were beyond belief. I felt this was the finest blend of landscapes, wildlife, people and archaeological sites that I have seen anywhere in the world. Our accommodations were excellent, the food was exceptional and our Driver-Guides were very knowledgeable. We saw elephants, rhino, hippos, cape buffalo, giraffes, lions, cheetahs, serval cat, sand fox, wildebeest, zebras, impalas, dik-dik, gazelle, waterbuck, reedbuck, topi, hartebeest, wort hogs, jackals, hyena, baboons, monkeys, mongoose, tortoise, crocodile, and a gazillion birds including ostrich, flamingos, eagles, hornbills, heron, etc. Also of great interest were the Masai Tribes which live in small rural villages practicing centuries old customs and the area known as the “cradle of life” discovered by the Leakey’s.

After the safari everyone except me is returned home. I continued via local surface transportation to Mombasa, Kenya and the fabulous beach areas of Malindi and Watamu for scuba diving and sight seeing. Returning to Nairobi, Kenya by overnight train, I then returned to Sacramento arriving home December 18th, 2003.

I now have a 54-minute DVD available entitled To the Top of the World and Back. It covers the Climb of Everest last May and is a multimedia presentation complete with video and slides. I first put this show together for the Monte Verde Inn event back in late August - it actually scared me when I saw the video footage from the South Col to the Summit – it never registered on me just how dangerous the climb was until after I mixed the footage for that live presentation. Well – it took some real effort on my part to get this into a DVD format – but at last it is done. Anyone who wants a copy can e-mail me back and I’ll send them one. The cost is $22.50 which includes postage and handling. I really think you will enjoy the presentation.

The expedition to Vinson Massif (16,067’) in Antarctica Departs January 2nd, 2004 and I will share the details on that trip in a future update. I am currently trying to get a flight to the South Pole in conjunction with this expedition – keep your fingers crossed, it will take some luck for this to happen.

Sponsors play a key role in my attempt to complete the 7-Summits and I really appreciate their support. They include: Abram Interstate, Donner Ski Ranch, Epiphany Sales Inc, Foresthill Beacon, Foresthill Messenger, Foresthill Telephone, Grant Hardware and Plumbing, Guard Transmission, Klinger Construction, Monte Verde Inn, Power Play Energy, Ragen MacKenzie Investment Services, Pasco Scientific, Power Play Energy, SciTech Astronomical, Townsend Design, VG Donuts and Bakery and numerous individual contributors.

Summit of Kilimanjaro – Left to Right: Ginnie, Juma, Al, Doreen, Graig, Randy, Gordon, Ron, Abdi, Pat, Durk, Ellen, Chombo, Lucas, and Shaban

Home | About Us | Clients | Contact | Gallery | Awards | Links