Goodbye South America!  We had a great time.  Hello Africa…jambo!  We are excited to switch continents even though it took us 4 flights and 30 hours of travel time!!!  Now, on to our Kilimanjaro climb…

Definition:  Kili, aka Mount Kilimanjaro, is the highest mountain in Tanzania, the highest mountain in Africa, and the highest free-standing mountain in the world at 19,341 feet above sea level (the Uhuru Peak/Kibo Peak)

Just when we thought we were expert trekkers after the Inca trail, reality set in when we met our guide Dismass.  He laid down the law on how the trek was going to happen.  This is because there are serious health risks, due to the altitude, if you don’t follow his rules.

1. No sleeping during the day after hikes because you can’t risk slowing your heart beat down after strenuous activity.  Not an easy task for Greg!  Also, a 15 minute nap during the day could cost you an entire night of sleep since it is hard to sleep at a high altitude already.

2. We must drink no less than 3 liters of water everyday, the goal being 4 liters.

3. Eat what is served.  It doesn’t matter what else you have eaten during the day on your own.  If Dismass didn’t see you eat it, it doesn’t count.  And I quote, “It’s not optional, eat what I give you.”

4. We test oxygen levels at least twice a day, and then practice the correct breathing technique in order to get your oxygen levels up.  If you can’t get your levels up above the mid 90’s he may not let you attempt to summit.

5. Wear what he tells you…which was just about everything we brought come summit time.

6. Commit that you will tell him everything you are feeling, he needs to see the issue progressing to determine the best course of action. Don’t wait until it is unbearable.

Dismass had summited 271 times, stayed on top of the mountain for three days straight and made it up and down in 18 hours.  So he is a basically a bad ass, like a Navy Seal or Delta Force Special Ops on Kilimanjaro.  To give some perspective, the average mortal has a successful summit rate of 64% for a seven day trek (successful summits as reported by Kilimanjaro National Park for all climbers and all routes is only 45%) and people die every year attempting the trek.  So given these stats the entire group quickly fell in line and listened to EVERYTHING Dismass said.  He made it very clear that he has one goal – to get everyone to summit safely.  We later learned that he takes a hard stance since most people he guides are both type A and successful so they are used to being in control and giving other people direction, not taking direction.  It even got to the point where we were telling him about our pees and poops and asking really basic questions like we were small children.

 Now for our group.  When first meeting new people, it is easy to judge the book by it’s cover.  Luckily for us, we are meeting so many new people during our travels  that we don’t even try to judge in advance because we all know the prejudgments are typically wrong.  Side note, judging is typically negative so we have taken it out of our vocabulary.  Starting lineup is as follow:

• Tom – A salt of the earth farm boy from Ohio. Former military and was always on time (really he was early) for every briefing and meal. He has a few marathons under his belt.
• Felix – It turns out he lives in Bethesda and is a travel expert. The marathon and triathlon he recently completed kept him going with only 10 hours of sleep all week. Insomnia is a common issue when in high altitudes.
• Cat – Originally from South Africa now living in CA. A competitive cyclist who races for a sponsored team. Nothing was getting in the way of her finishing this trek.
• Betsy – Married mother of two in-between leaving CA and moving to Vail to continue her competitive cycling on a sponsored team and throw in some extreme skiing to keep her busy. As fit as they come and Linda’s new hiking BFF.
• Chris – Fellow Florida resident who trained extensively and lost 30 lbs coming into the trek. First time doing anything like this and fully committed to summiting.
• Roz and Anita – Long time best friends from New York with the accent to prove it.  Like an egg, hard on the outside but soft on the inside. Many adventure trips under their belt.  Both fought through hard times on the trail and always stuck together. Lots of giggling coming from their tent.
• Linda and Greg – Totally clueless with what they got themselves into but will give it the old college try.
• Last but not least, our fearless guide Dismass. A six foot something Tanzanian born, husband and father of two. Our summit was his 272nd!  Now, if that doesn’t impress you close your browser and stop reading! ;-). A true professional in his field. He started off his career as a porter for two years and quickly realized that there was a need for someone that could not just lead the way up the mountain, but could handle every aspect of the clients needs…and trust me, there are plenty. So, after furthering his education he became the all knowing Guide that can handle any emergency that is thrown his way!  He was our leader up the mountain, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. He was also our medical specialist, dietary needs analyst, fluid intake detector, doctor, psychiatrist, gear consultant and director of a crew of 60+ hard-working men that helped us at every turn.

We started the trek at 6,000 feet in the rainforest.  One of the neatest things about this adventure is that we go through five climate zones.  Temperatures could range from 80 degrees to negative 10 degrees.  The group is already bonding, I guess we are all here for different reasons but still have a common thread of wanting to accomplish a major challenge.  For some it’s therapeutic and for others it’s adrenaline, either way we are all respecting each other because without saying it, we will need each other in order to get to the top.  It’s really interesting how deep a conversation can quickly get when you are walking next to someone for hours on end, or how such inappropriate conversations about peeing and pooping become normal like saying hello or asking how your day was.  I think it’s like being in war, the bond instantly becomes strong when dealing with fear.  Outside of the nerves and anxiety we get up to 10,000 feet with no problem.

Wake up time day 2, like everyday, was about 5:00 AM.  We wake up freezing cold and in no mood to put cold baby wipes on our body, but you must clean up since the trail is very dusty.  Our clothes were already trashed to the point that we couldn’t even tell what color our boots used to be due to the crud buildup.  The day started out going up a narrow switch back (when it’s very steep you make S turns 5-10 feet in either direction instead of trying to go straight up) trail and climbing over large and small boulders for basically six hours straight.  Our walking sticks came to the rescue since our thighs burnt out around lunch time.  The step up to the next boulder could be high enough that without walking sticks or grabbing the upper rocks with your hands, you couldn’t get up the mountain.  None of the group expected this level of difficulty already.  The next day was even harder as we headed up to 15,000 feet.  Most of the terrain at this level is dirt and lava rocks as far as you can see.  We get our first look at the summit and man was it far away and high in the sky.  At this point we just want to get one more day complete so we can start telling ourselves we are 50% done!  The entire trek was 6 nights camping and 7 days hiking.  The mental games have begun.  Without breathing properly altitude sickness will easily end your trek at this altitude.  We headed back down to 13,000 feet to sleep.  Trek high and sleep low, is a way to better acclimate to altitude.  Dinner is served like every night at about 7:30pm.  We all stuff ourselves with as much as we can eat.  Why?  Because Dismiss said to and you need to start storing more calories or something like that, anyway we did it because Dismass said so and I’m sticking to that reason.  Apparently during the hike one can burn 4,000 calories per day and between 7,000 to 11,000 when it is summit time.  So, eat now and use it later!

The next morning after breakfast I am standing with Tom trying to figure out what direction we are going since we are in a valley surrounded by mountain ridges.  He is pointing in a direction where the peaks break apart so you could almost walk in-between two peaks.  I tell him that last night Dismass pointed to another area on an opposite ridge. Tom says we can’t go that way because it is straight up along a wall on the mountain.  Of course, this is where we ended up, the Barranco Wall.  Basically you climb up the side of the mountain where a 5 foot ledge is sticking out for us to walk on, there were two places on the wall that could have sent me down (as in falling down a few hundred feet). With our guides spotting us, we are told to cup a small nub with our left hand while your right foot reaches out and stretches to the other side.  As you stretch to reach the foot hold a guide on the other side of the break in the trail yanks you across by grabbing forearm to forearm.  In another area there was a small one foot ledge and nothing to grab with your hands since you are smashing your face against the mountain side to keep balance.   As much as I tried to bear hug a flat wall it wasn’t working.  Thankfully Dismass to the rescue again, he is on the other side and basically pulls you firmly across once you get in arms reach.  One more hour up and we take a break and all of our faces show disbelief that we even attempted this technical climb.  At one of the more difficult points a girl that was not in our group was sitting down hysterically crying and wouldn’t move until a certain guide came to talk to her.  I guess a small mental breakdown was occurring.  Over the ridge was a beautiful landscape, on one side Kili’s peak and on the other we could see clouds below our feet and the ridge we just climbed.  Risks versus rewards are starting to balance out.  Three more hours of trekking today through a dry riverbed equally as difficult as the wall. Clinging on to tree trunks as you pass to keep your balance is necessary as your thighs are shaking and your hands are cramping from using the walking sticks too much.  Not many options other than just suck it up.  We are in the fog so we can’t see much, which is just fine because at this level of exhaustion you really don’t want to know how much further you have to go.  And if you can’t see the camp area you aren’t going to get an answer from Dismass, his canned response was “we will get there when we get there.”  A politician in the making…an answer, but not really an answer.  🙂

The next day was the same thing, ground hogs day comes to mind.  However, a few cracks in the groups armour become visible.  Some serious headaches, bad stomachs and insomnia are kicking in.  It’s all altitude related and all we can do is breathe correctly and drink more water.  Either your body adjusts or it doesn’t, not much can be done if you don’t adjust.  I joked with the group that we are paying to go up the mountain, but the ride down is free.  Going to bed cold and waking up in the cold is really getting old.  We have mastered getting dressed and washing up in the morning without leaving our sleeping bags so we can stay warm as long as possible.  Every morning the group discovers and new technique to keep warm and we all agree we will finally figure out on our last morning when it won’t matter any longer.  Dirty, tired and still feeling like we have a long way to go, we get our first compliment from Dismiss.  The group is really bonding and we are all talking about how we are sticking together and everyone is lending a hand to each other when needed.  Sharing snacks, peeing outside together, talking about techniques to keep warm, and motivational talks solidify the bond.  Finishing today in itself was a major accomplishment.  Dinner tonight is full of stories that Dismass tells us about previous trekkers that are simply hilarious.  I’ll spare you the details because writing them won’t do the stories justice.  Just think what a story could sound like with either drunk people, a 360 pound guy, a celebrity that wouldn’t talk directly to Dismass and used an assistant to communicate with him and a few 80-year-old ladies.  In bed by 8:00PM since tomorrow is the big day.  Five days of hiking averaging about 9 hours a day makes everyone nervous about having enough gas left in the tank.

Summit Day:

Wake up at 6AM, hike four hours up the mountain to 15,000 feet to our new camp that we leave from to attempt the summit. We are not doubting ourselves due to our determination to finish and us feeling pretty good after five days of trekking.  We have made it this far across all kinds of crazy terrain to include a rock wall (the Barranco Wall) that we shimmied across holding on for dear life, dried river beds from ancient glaciers and of course hardened lava walls. The game plan was to eat lunch, sleep then eat dinner at five and then sleep so we can leave at 11pm to start our 14 hour trek to the summit. Seven hours up to Uhuru peak which sits at 19,341 feet.  At this level you can’t get enough oxygen to live without killing major brain cells, so you only stay for 15 minutes and use your reserve oxygen in your body. Head lamps turned on, a prayer from a fellow trekker and one of Linda’s famous poems and we are off into the darkness. Dismass is leading the group with each trekker (total of 9 in our group) being assigned a guide.  We are in a single file line and the guides flank us like they are guarding the president. At this altitude, anyone at any point in time can get into serious trouble quickly.  The biggest problem is breathing since we are only getting about 50 percent of our normal oxygen. Imagine running a few 100 yard sprints and afterwards you would naturally be gasping for air, that was our feeling for 6 hours straight.  If you miss a single breath it takes 10 deep breaths to catch up.

 A few minutes into the hike a girl is sitting on the ground in the middle of the trail crying. We are thinking…great, not what we want to see right away. We quickly realize that many people get in trouble along the way, some deal with the headaches and throwing up while others are in serious medical risk so the guide sends them down to a safer altitude as a lower altitude is the best medicine.  About this time I went to take my first sip of water and it was already frozen, so plan B was implemented by the guides, drink their water that they somehow keep from freezing.  Also, Linda shared her water with me as she had already blown the water from the tube so that it would not freeze.  Mine was frozen before I had a change to.  We walked at a snail’s pace up a steep mountain ridge consisting of dirt, gravel and of course large boulders that you either climb over or squeeze between.

At 2:30am we had our first break.  We drank water, ate some chocolate wafers that Dismass handed us as he stood on top of us to ensure we finished it.  Since we will burn up to 11,000 calories on this night you must eat even if you are not hungry as you need your energy.  At 4:40am the porters started singing Swahili songs to keep us motivated, and it was needed!  On the trail for five hours at this point we were not having any conversation because you can barely breathe and you don’t want to waste your precious oxygen talking.  It would not be possible to walk any slower than we walked, the term used is pole pole (pronounced pole-y pole-y) which means slow slow.  We were lucky enough to summit on a full moon so the landscape was glowing.

At 5:15am we reached the top of the mountain, but not the highest peak yet.  A little loopy, feeling nauseous and completely exhausted we had our first celebration.  Lots of hugs and kisses with group members and guides, we made it to the top and only one more hour to the peak. Sunrise is at 6:15am so Dismass timed it perfectly. The volcanic crater is to our right and looks like the moon’s surface and huge glaciers are on our left, the risk and effort are starting to payoff.  Only 45% of trekkers reach the summit so we are feeling great about getting this far. Recent failed attempts include; Martina Navratilova one of the best female tennis players of all time, Ray Lewis one of the best NFL linebackers of all time, and John Corzine who probably wanted one last thrill before heading to jail. So am I saying I’m tougher than Ray Lewis? Not really but….Linda is jamming out on her iPod and of course adds a few very small hip shakes, nothing major since the priority is the summit and not another all night jam session.

We have been judging our process by how close the moon looked and at this point it feels like we can touch it.  It is breathtaking.  We reach the summit just as the full moon is setting and the sun is rising. The feeling of accomplishment is setting in and Linda and I take a moment to tell each other how proud we are of each other.  We are exhausted and excited with excitement giving us a boost of energy for just enough time for a picture before heading back down. This is where all the trouble started. Nothing major but exhaustion combined with altitude sickness made it difficult for some group members to get down on their own. This is very common and the guide team was ready. As mentioned above, everyone is assigned a guide.  For those that need to fly down, their guide locks arms at the elbow like country square dancing and they whisk you down the mountain as quickly as possible. The only solution at this point is lower ground unless you take oxygen from a bottle which is more of a last resort.  It worked, this method beat Linda and I down and everyone was feeling great at the camp site.  A one hour nap, some lunch and off we go for a grueling five-hour trek down to 10,000 feet and our last camp of the trip.  Half way down, I couldn’t deal with the pain in my knee so I pulled off to the side to get it wrapped (in addition to my high tech knee brace).  Again, Dismass to the rescue.  Between the wrap, knee brace and some pain meds I was able to get down, probably too pole pole.

The group agreed it was the hardest thing they had ever done, so everyone was feeling accomplished to say the least. I have been very accustomed to business challenges in my adult life and this was every bit as satisfying and then some.  Achieving whatever you choose to focus on is what is important; business success, raising a family, helping others or adventure challenges – it doesn’t matter, just pick something (or all) and do it with passion. We completed the Machame route nicknamed the whiskey route because it is not for everyone due to it’s difficulty. If you want to attempt the trek there are easier and harder routes, so be prepared to pick your poison.

Time for some Turkey, a little early for thanksgiving but not for Istanbul. Doug and Deena, our good friends from South Beach, are meeting us for a couple of weeks so we are really looking forward to seeing them and feeling a little slice of life from home.

“Climb the mountain to see the world, not to be seen.” A quote I love that my sister, Nicky, pulled out of a commencement speech.

MORE PHOTOS ~ TANZANIA

– Tanzania (Kilimanjaro Region)

Poem for Kilimanjaro written by Linda for our group:

-We are getting fired up because the big day is here!
-We all have strength (and safety in numbers) so have no fear!

-The experience, challenge, and views are what brought us here to Kili
-We have all met great people to share this with; that are intelligent, fun, and often silly

-When hanging at the hotel, Dismass came on the scene
-That’s when we knew we were one hell of a team

-The goal to have us summit, is the only one he has
-And let me tell you, he does it with pizzazz

-He knows all and tells it like it is
-He’s been up there 272 times…this is his biz

-So, please don’t try to fool him and be sly
-Without even looking at you he can tell if it’s a lie

-He’ll do whatever it takes to help you out
-“Dismass honey, I’m ready” is all you must shout

-Whether one is old, fat, senile, drunk or just wants to stop
-My man Dismas will still get you to the top

– We’ve already endured 50 hours of hiking and 200 pees
– Some even had to deal with their shotty knees

– But we’ve done it with a laugh and smile
– So we can certainly pull through not being able to breathe for a while

– When on the way to reach your goal
-Reach hard down in to your soul

-And know your family, Dismass and your team all have your back
-Just give it your all, and do not slack

-Once we’ve summited you can be proud of what you have just done.
-And in your own heart and in ours you’ll always be number one.

……
Climb the mountain so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.

Swahili:
Marisha Marifu – long life
Una Goo Voo – you are strong
Ja sirrrie – brave
Trendi ju – let’s go up
Moja, beelie, tatoo – 1,2,3
Trendi chini – let’s go down
Wa tu – people

Climber Assistants:
Good luck
Freddie
Jacob

Nayroo – Dismass’ assistant

Now, off to Turkey!  Gobble gobble.