Fluge Global Adventures

- Nick reporting down from the mountain. Jambo. Part Two.

THE SUMMIT and THE PEOPLE

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishment toward objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results."

On my plane ride to Africa I brought along a Hemingway compilation of short stories - I had forgotten "The Snows of Kilamanjaro" was only about 15 pages in length. I was about to find out that those 15 pages did not match the number of hours required to climb from high base camp to Summit and back again.

We awoke at 11pm on Summit Day and enjoyed a large late night breakfast to ensure we would have the energy to overcome Kilamanjaro. By Midnight under a relatively full moon we began our final climb. I found the first three hours very challenging in the dark with a quite steep incline. I was in the lead group and another group followed about 15 - 30 minutes behind. The mountain which had conjured up mystery for me for years had turned out to be little more than boulder and rock difficult to climb in the daylight and more than a challenge in darkness.

After about 3 hours, I found my eyes drying out in a high wind filled with grit. At our rest stop my blurry vision began to grow to total darkness. I had no other symptoms of altitude sickness so knew the dirt packed winds had played their tricks on my eyesight. The team needed to move on so as not to lose body heat and they did with the help of several Chagga guides. The second part of our climb team was still beneath me. John Hauf, Lead Guide Kili, Alpine Ascents, stayed with me to ensure safety on the high mountain boulders. He said he couldn't let me climb if I couldn't see, however, we had little choice to turn back at about 17,000 feet down a severely steep and dangerous trail. He encouraged me to close my eyes and rest them for a couple of minutes then put glacier glasses on to avoid further grit. Now darker than before, my vision slowly returned to a point where I could make out his feet in the darkness. He encouraged me to follow him closely. Over the next hour, follow I did with my head lamp directed closely to his dark shoes. My several falls and slips were always handled by his experienced and talented leadership and we moved on. After about an hour he returned to the lead group and left a Chagga guide (Gaudens) to lead me further up. Again, my eyesight allowed me to follow his shoes, and my climbing poles allowed for me to pick out the gradient of the rocks and / or ice.

After about another 7 hours we finally reached the Summit. While I couldn't see much of the distant surroundings (other than white - ice and snow) and dark (rocks and mountain), it was a moment of achievement never reachable without the help of John, Gaudens, or my fellow team-mates' encouragement. All of the FGA group summited.

We then made a fast descent to our 15K foot high base to break camp and go on further down to our final base camp of the night at about 10K feet. I could tell you about my significant fall and subsequent twisted knee, and the heroics once again of the Chagga's but I will leave that for my individual talks with each of you. I also expect to someday write about my 07 adventures focusing especially on this most unique climb to Kilamanjaro.

While I am proud of the success of the FGA team to Summit, and while I went to Africa to climb it's highest mountain of wonder, the thing I will always remember and hopefully participate in will be it's Chagga Tribe. (And yes, I now have learned my first few words in Swahili - Jambo/Hello! I've mentioned they were strong, fast, and very smart. But they also held tremendous personal beliefs about helping others, a wonderful attitude when things were toughest, and an ability to do whatever it took to conquer a challenge. They did it with team work and with a spirit one finds rarely today.

One such example was a young man named Michael who has been camp cook and server for 3 years. He hopes to soon claim a Safari license to drive those interested in wildlife as that will make him more money. The money he hopes to one day put into beginning an orphanage. Those are his dreams. Simple, honest, and yet far beyond those which most of us can ever claim to be ours. John Hauf, Alpine Ascents, and other climbers see his heroic nature as do I. They help guide him and further his dreams when they are on the mountain. I hope to also help in a part of his vision - for he truly knows the values that should be dear to humanity. Kwa Heri.

- Nick reporting down from the mountain. Part One.

"Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow."

Our 07 adventure to Kilimanjaro in Africa, the largest mountain on the continent, one of the 7 summits of the world, and composed of 3 distinct volcanic formations towering above the African plains was quite an adventure indeed.

I would be remiss if I did not begin by thanking my two tremendous Oregon area trainers: Yelena King and Troy Carter. Without their intense help two hours a day, about six days a week for 11 months, I am sure I could not have undertaken what was about to be a most challenging journey. They were by my side as we spent several weeks traveling to Africa, prepping, and then climbing the mountain.

And although my climb was not without it's share of challenges, Shaun Wallace's Colorado High Altitude Training Room also get's kudos as I experienced zero effects of alitude sickness.

John Hauf, Alpine Ascents, most respected guide (an expatriot living in Chile), and the entire Alpine Ascents team from home base in Seattle were outstanding as any guiding group that I can imagine. Also, the local Chagga and other tribes around Kili - were superpeople! They were stronger, faster, and brighter than any group of people I've seen at any time in my life.

Finally my climbing compatriots, about 16 of them, were all talented, smart, and conditioned individuals who also helped their fellows (and me!) and made for great dinner conversations. From marathoners, to outdoors climbers, and from parasailers to search and rescue people, and from extra-military operations folk to off road bikers - this was quite the team. They all stand apart from other groups of diverse individuals with one goal that bound them together - Kili - the great mountain of Africa.

My thanks also to our families and friends who supported us from state-side. I am grateful to everyone.

This story then told today and tomorrow in a two part post and zine series will delve a little deeper into the details of the actual climb if you are interested.

I remember when I first read about Kili I wondered why only between 40-60% of those who begin the ascent never summit the mountain (Alpine Ascent numbers are much higher at about 90%). I now understand why.

Not only does the mountain loom at 20,000 feet, but it is prone to many whims of nature. Even in the dry season, we were mute witnesses to rains, freezing temperatures, grity winds, snows, sleet, and yes, even the occasional sunburn!

The first days at our hotel in Arusha (a throwback to the Bogart days complete with a casino and in room mosquito nets), made us aware of things to come. We witnessed several earthquakes over a two day period that shook the hotel with relative strength.

Our first climbing day was relatively uneventful. A few hour ride from Arusha to the mountain made for interesting if nervous conversation. We departed on our climb and quickly found ourselves being passed by porters from the local Chagga tribe carrying 100 lbs and more of materials each to help with our adventure. Our 25 lb day packs seemed incidental to the Chagga.

We did move quickly to basecamp at 10,000 feet. About five hours of steady hiking (straight up)! The days warmth at lower altitudes and our expense of energy offset the growing cool temperatures. We sat in our dinner tent and traded stories and enjoyed a great dinner. None of us wanted to return to our damp tents in what was now rainy weather with wind chills sending temps below freezing.

The FGA team had most excellent North Face boundary bags but failed to realize that any cotten within them would quickly become moist and then wet our most precious components - our down sleeping bags and "puffy coats"! Retiring to bed at 10 or 11pm in cold weather to a damp sleeping bag was tough. Night one found many of us questioning if we should even take on another day let alone the mountain for six nights. The freezing nights far outweighed the climb in terms of challenge (in my opinion).

The next several days found more rain, some snow, some clearing and sun (enhanced by less atmosphere), more acclimitization (going higher and returning to sleep lower), good food, great exercise and yet a looming awareness that Summit day lay ahead. We made our final high base camp at about 15,000 feet, had a large lunch and turned in at about 5pm to prepare for an 11pm wakeup call and midnight ascent to the summit. The midnight ascent was necessary so that we could arrive at summit around dawn, be moving when we hit the coldest of temperatures at 4am, and still descend back to high base camp and then once again to our lower base camp by the next night. (That's right, about 18 straight hours of significant incline and then decline to achieve what some think is impossible).

PART TWO - TOMORROW - "The Summit"