THE CLIMB BECOMES COSMIC

     Our Kilimanjaro adventure brought us lots of excitement the past few days.  To raise funds for the sports for kids programs, the Laureus Foundation, invited us to join Martina Navratilova on her climb up the 55 flights of stairs at the Bank of America Tower in New York City.  We followed Martina up the 1,000 ft. climb to the roof of this eco-friendly skyscraper.  Martina sprinted, while we went "Pole, Pole." (Swahili for Slowly, Slowly).  But we made it!  It was a test of our training--our hiking and cycling must be on the right track, because we weren't sore and our heart rates were fine. 
     Here's a link to the story of today's stair climb.  The reporter includes an excellent description of our trail, the Rongai Route:  http://blog.gvtnews.com/2010/11/10/martina-navratilova-scales-bank-of-america-tower-in-preparation-for-mt-kilimanjaro-challenge.aspx?ref=rss

         We met the Tanzanian ambassador to the UN today!  He told us that Tanzania is very aware of our expedition and wants to do everything to help our climb go smoothly.  Here's Dave, our friend Bob Preston who climbed Kili a few years ago and Ambassador Sefue, the permanent representative of the United Republic of Tanzania to the UN.  When Ambassador Sefue was a boy he could see the snows of Kilimanjaro from his home.  He said that the glaciers are visibly decreased.  Scientists predict that the snows will be gone by 2025.  Since Tanzanians rely on the melting snows to provide water for his country, there is serious concern about the loss of one of their few water sources.   

Happy Trails,

Linda and David