The Kili summiters we spoke to before our climb told amazing tales of their porters. The theme was that they would not have made the summit without them. Our porters more than lived up to those expectations.
We had about 100 porters for our group of 32 clients. Porters fall into different groups starting with the younger ones who carry our food, tents, duffel bags, porta-johns, etc. Much of this gear is carried on their heads as they weave their way up steep trails! Assistant guides are next, followed by the cook (very imp.!) and the chief guide (Mickie--who climbed Kili over 200 times!)
Assistant guides have worked their way up from porters, have climbed Kili anywhere from 20-100 times. They are invaluable to us clients. As you climb, assistant guides walk beside you and start up very interesting conversations. They love to tell you the names of birds and plants, tell you to walk Pole Pole (slowly, slowly) and learn about your country. Baraka (think Barack Obama), a tall, elegant Maasi Warrior and Alpha (brother is named Omega!) usually walked with me. They patiently taught me Swahili words. They asked questions about the US and George Bush (they didn't like him).
The kindness of the guides and porters moved me to tears many times, especially as the rain made our climb so difficult. When the rain first began, Alpha opened my back pack, took out my rainpants, helped me put them on and zip up properly. He double-checked things, such as making sure my camera stayed dry. Tuesday night we arrived late in camp and I was trying to figure out how to sleep on a wet mat. A porter offered to take off his jacket and put it down on the mat for the night! He even offered to switch his dry mat for my wet one! He was willing to be wet, while I stayed dry. In the end, I used Dave's space blanket between my mat and sleeping bag--but what amazing generosity!
It gets better. On the 2nd day, I started out with Martina, where we had a fascinating chat as we climbed. After an hour or so, I was winded at her pace and dropped to the back. Alpha was suddenly there to encourage me, checked the weight of my pack and took out about 1/2 of what I was carrying, plus my 2 water bottles. This happened day after day, until finally on the last day, my guide carried my entire pack, while another carried Dave's pack. The guides helped you up/down the steep scrambles and for the summiters, they literally kept you standing as you stumbled from the altitude. They loved to sing to you as we climbed--Swhahili songs, but even more, Bob Marley songs.
They had a positive attitude and reminded you that would would make it to the summit. Friday was my hardest day. Martina had been rescued during the night and Denise had to descent with altitude sickness. We climbed to 15,300 ft from Horombu Camp to Barrafu. The snowstorm was especially bad. The walk was meant to be 5 hours, but it took Dave and me 7 hours, climbing two steep, high ridges. We were all getting pretty cold and soaked. A porter ran ahead to the cook and returned with cups and a thermos of soup! The warmth of that soup kept us going another 2-3 hours! Baraka kept telling me he knew I was climbing strong and would summit. He emphasized that I had no symptoms of altitude sickness and would definitely make it that night.
So--the porters and guides are special. It's easy to give them gear when you are done. Dave and I dropped our down jackets into the gear bag, plus my gaiters, my MP3player and my watch.
Dave and I were in our tent at midnight on summit night when our group left for the top. We could hear the guides singing loudly and happily as a way to encourage the summit team all the way to the top! These guys are the ultimate positive psychologists!
still exhausted,
Linda
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
FELLOW CLIMBERS
Top athletes:
Martina: she did not act like a world-class star, asking for special treatment; she was one of the climbers from the start--eating, camping, getting cold and wet, even using the loo (as all the Brits called them). Kevin Bacon tried to climb Kili a few years ago and ordered in a heliocopter to take him off the mountain! We had lots of time to bond with Martina on the trails and in the mess tent. Martina plans to install solar on her Aspen home--so we will be in touch about that idea--cool!. She planned to play tennis at Uhuru Peak on the summit. Only 1 racket came through customs, so Dave suggested she hit it against the sign at the top--an idea she liked.
Michael Teuber: German Gold Medalist paraOlympiian, paralyzed from waist, but using special technology to move his feet: very sweet and encouraging to all of us; German film crew climbed with us to make a doucmentary which you will all see in a few weeks.
Gail H: British Olympic Gold Medalist, badmiton: sweet, unassuming and very encouraging;
Nicholas: Greek Olympian, shooting: (Nick is pretty famous in Greece, where his wife won the Gold Medal-javilin during the 2000 Olympics in Athens!) we hit it off at Heathrow where we all met ages ago; Nick googled me before the climb and loved our two TV interviews on our blog. He thought we were very organized because he saw our clothes spread out in our living room (we were the least organized!). I organized a prayer circle every day befpre we left camp, which Nick really appreciated. Martina also bonded with Nick, especially when Nick gave her a quick back massage during a break on the trail and she said "how do I say I love you in Greek!"
South Africans: great and fun; very connected to Dave and me: Bibi and Babu, which means grandmother/grandfather in Swahili.
English: Karen and I connected over the Law of Attraction and she gave me a healing for my eyes (flashes, etc.from the altitude) at Mawenzi Tarn (14,000 ft) in the snow; Denise, a very fit 40-something had to descend as we headed to our highest camp due to altitude. Porters helped her 4-5 hour climb down, where she was met by an ambulance. We met her on our last day at KIA lodge.
Allana: gave me her fleece sleeping bag blanket, when mine got wet!
This is just a partial list: everyone was wonderful and the bonding of our group was special and supportive of all;
Martina: she did not act like a world-class star, asking for special treatment; she was one of the climbers from the start--eating, camping, getting cold and wet, even using the loo (as all the Brits called them). Kevin Bacon tried to climb Kili a few years ago and ordered in a heliocopter to take him off the mountain! We had lots of time to bond with Martina on the trails and in the mess tent. Martina plans to install solar on her Aspen home--so we will be in touch about that idea--cool!. She planned to play tennis at Uhuru Peak on the summit. Only 1 racket came through customs, so Dave suggested she hit it against the sign at the top--an idea she liked.
Michael Teuber: German Gold Medalist paraOlympiian, paralyzed from waist, but using special technology to move his feet: very sweet and encouraging to all of us; German film crew climbed with us to make a doucmentary which you will all see in a few weeks.
Gail H: British Olympic Gold Medalist, badmiton: sweet, unassuming and very encouraging;
Nicholas: Greek Olympian, shooting: (Nick is pretty famous in Greece, where his wife won the Gold Medal-javilin during the 2000 Olympics in Athens!) we hit it off at Heathrow where we all met ages ago; Nick googled me before the climb and loved our two TV interviews on our blog. He thought we were very organized because he saw our clothes spread out in our living room (we were the least organized!). I organized a prayer circle every day befpre we left camp, which Nick really appreciated. Martina also bonded with Nick, especially when Nick gave her a quick back massage during a break on the trail and she said "how do I say I love you in Greek!"
South Africans: great and fun; very connected to Dave and me: Bibi and Babu, which means grandmother/grandfather in Swahili.
English: Karen and I connected over the Law of Attraction and she gave me a healing for my eyes (flashes, etc.from the altitude) at Mawenzi Tarn (14,000 ft) in the snow; Denise, a very fit 40-something had to descend as we headed to our highest camp due to altitude. Porters helped her 4-5 hour climb down, where she was met by an ambulance. We met her on our last day at KIA lodge.
Allana: gave me her fleece sleeping bag blanket, when mine got wet!
This is just a partial list: everyone was wonderful and the bonding of our group was special and supportive of all;
A DAY ON KILI
Spent 6 nights in a 2-person tent, trying to sleep (Dave succeeded and I mostly did not), stay warm and not be too daunted by the pounding rain/thunder and snow. At 6 am, a porter knocks on our tent door to bring us tea. We wake, try to put the tea in a spot where it will not spill, and change to our layers of thermals, wick-away tops, fleece, down jackets and socks. Some of the clothes were inside our sleeping bags, getting them dry with our body heat. We are also drinking a liter of water as we dress to prevent altitude sickness. Inevitably, some clothing cannot be found or has gotten wet during the night--that slows us down.
We have to pee and since it's raining or snowing outside, we got quite skilled at using a pee bottle, just like those Everest guys! By now it's 6:30 am and our porter calls out "washy-washy" and leaves two bowls of hot, clean water jst outside our tent. I missed washy-washy the first few days--too slow. After 4 days, my timing improved and I washed my face and even put on some makeup! All the rain made the entrance muddy--had to watch undoing washy-washy!
Next, we put everything into our duffle bags for the porters to carry on their heads and filled our daypacks with clothing, energy bars for the day. Rain doubled this effort because we had to make sure all our gear and clothing stayed dry inside our bags and packs. We used garbage bags, but by nightfall, sleeping bags and clothing was still wet.
Breakfast was at 7:30, but I don't think I arrived until 8 am most days. Since we started off on the trail at 8:30 am, I charged through breakfast: porridge with honey, eggs and bacon, fruit and toast. It was important to eat as much as possible, for the calories and to counter loss of appetite at higher elevations. We also had to bring our empty 3 liters of water bottles/camelbak for the porters to fill.
Hiked for hours to our lunch spot or, on short days, to our camping spot. Lunch was always amazing: hot soup, followed by rice or potatoes (fries one day!), a stew-like casserole and tea or hot chocolate. The hot soups were different every day: broccoli, zucchini, carrot, leek, etc. I drank 2-3 bowls--very warming and yummy.
Dinner was around 7 pm, preceded by washy-washy and trying to get organized inside the tent, despite the rain and cold. Sundown happened quickly at 7 pm, so we all had to remember to bring out headlamps to the mess tent so we could find our way back to our tent. Once, I almost climbed into the wrong tent!
After dinner our leader Mark gave a talk about what to expect on the trail the next day. As the rain/cold/snow never let up, Mark's talks became both supportive and sobering.
Dave and I squeezed into our tents, took off our soaking/muddy boots and organized clothing and gear for the next day, using our headlamps. Bed around 9 pm or later, depending on how many things could not be found.
We have to pee and since it's raining or snowing outside, we got quite skilled at using a pee bottle, just like those Everest guys! By now it's 6:30 am and our porter calls out "washy-washy" and leaves two bowls of hot, clean water jst outside our tent. I missed washy-washy the first few days--too slow. After 4 days, my timing improved and I washed my face and even put on some makeup! All the rain made the entrance muddy--had to watch undoing washy-washy!
Next, we put everything into our duffle bags for the porters to carry on their heads and filled our daypacks with clothing, energy bars for the day. Rain doubled this effort because we had to make sure all our gear and clothing stayed dry inside our bags and packs. We used garbage bags, but by nightfall, sleeping bags and clothing was still wet.
Breakfast was at 7:30, but I don't think I arrived until 8 am most days. Since we started off on the trail at 8:30 am, I charged through breakfast: porridge with honey, eggs and bacon, fruit and toast. It was important to eat as much as possible, for the calories and to counter loss of appetite at higher elevations. We also had to bring our empty 3 liters of water bottles/camelbak for the porters to fill.
Hiked for hours to our lunch spot or, on short days, to our camping spot. Lunch was always amazing: hot soup, followed by rice or potatoes (fries one day!), a stew-like casserole and tea or hot chocolate. The hot soups were different every day: broccoli, zucchini, carrot, leek, etc. I drank 2-3 bowls--very warming and yummy.
Dinner was around 7 pm, preceded by washy-washy and trying to get organized inside the tent, despite the rain and cold. Sundown happened quickly at 7 pm, so we all had to remember to bring out headlamps to the mess tent so we could find our way back to our tent. Once, I almost climbed into the wrong tent!
After dinner our leader Mark gave a talk about what to expect on the trail the next day. As the rain/cold/snow never let up, Mark's talks became both supportive and sobering.
Dave and I squeezed into our tents, took off our soaking/muddy boots and organized clothing and gear for the next day, using our headlamps. Bed around 9 pm or later, depending on how many things could not be found.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
LONDON RECOVERY
See: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/sports/13martina.html
See: http://www.laureus.com/ and click on their blog for full details of this extreme adventure.
Flew from Nairobi last night. Martina came to the airport for a tearful reunion. She is very fortunate that she descended on the 4th night. Six porters brought her down on a stretcher in the dark on a bumpy trail. Our medic went with her. One of our fellow trekkers is a physician, which was good, because Doug split his head open on a rock when he came down from the summit and she had to stitch him up at 16,000 ft. with no pain-killers! This expedition was constantly beset bwith challenges!
Midnight on Friday night was summit night. The leaders considered cancelling the summit attempt. We had just trekked 8 hours over high ridges through cold, rain, snow and wind. We were soaked. Three of us decided to spend the night in our tents in the high camp. Two of the climbers returned from the summit attempt due to severe altitude sickness. The rest made the summit, literally on their hands and knees. These were 20/30 somethings, some Olympians. When they returned to camp the next morning they looked totally beat and told us nightmarish stories.
We all climbed down to 12,000 ft., passed 3 stretchers just like the one Martina used--very sobering. Deo Gratias, my guide, was listening/singing to the African music on my M P3 player, so I gave it to him when we got to camp. On Sunday, we had a 6 hour walk down to the gate. Both descents in the rain. I tried to stick to my promise to not count the time to the end, and listened to the lovely sounds of rain in the rainforest--birds and chattering blue monkeys. My big toe looks ugly and swollen and is so sore, I'm not sure if I can walk the streets of London!
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
See: http://www.laureus.com/ and click on their blog for full details of this extreme adventure.
Flew from Nairobi last night. Martina came to the airport for a tearful reunion. She is very fortunate that she descended on the 4th night. Six porters brought her down on a stretcher in the dark on a bumpy trail. Our medic went with her. One of our fellow trekkers is a physician, which was good, because Doug split his head open on a rock when he came down from the summit and she had to stitch him up at 16,000 ft. with no pain-killers! This expedition was constantly beset bwith challenges!
Midnight on Friday night was summit night. The leaders considered cancelling the summit attempt. We had just trekked 8 hours over high ridges through cold, rain, snow and wind. We were soaked. Three of us decided to spend the night in our tents in the high camp. Two of the climbers returned from the summit attempt due to severe altitude sickness. The rest made the summit, literally on their hands and knees. These were 20/30 somethings, some Olympians. When they returned to camp the next morning they looked totally beat and told us nightmarish stories.
We all climbed down to 12,000 ft., passed 3 stretchers just like the one Martina used--very sobering. Deo Gratias, my guide, was listening/singing to the African music on my M P3 player, so I gave it to him when we got to camp. On Sunday, we had a 6 hour walk down to the gate. Both descents in the rain. I tried to stick to my promise to not count the time to the end, and listened to the lovely sounds of rain in the rainforest--birds and chattering blue monkeys. My big toe looks ugly and swollen and is so sore, I'm not sure if I can walk the streets of London!
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
Monday, December 13, 2010
OFF THE MOUNTAIN SORE AND EXHAUSTED
Short update. We leave Mt. Kilimanjaro airport very soon for Nairobi and an evening flight to London.
For best update: go to laureus.com and click on blog. The photos are fantastic. You will get a good sense of how extrordinary this expedition turned out. My feet were so sore last night, they could hardly touch the lovely bed - first bed sleep in 7 nights!
Dave and I made it to 16,000 ft. We were so soaking wet, as well as our boots and all our gear, that we decided to sleep in our tent, raather than join the final push to the summit. The climbers were all much younger by decades, Olympic champions and they ended up crawling to the summit. Our leader was even thinking of cancelling the summit push due to an entire week of soaking rains and snow and cold.
Linda
For best update: go to laureus.com and click on blog. The photos are fantastic. You will get a good sense of how extrordinary this expedition turned out. My feet were so sore last night, they could hardly touch the lovely bed - first bed sleep in 7 nights!
Dave and I made it to 16,000 ft. We were so soaking wet, as well as our boots and all our gear, that we decided to sleep in our tent, raather than join the final push to the summit. The climbers were all much younger by decades, Olympic champions and they ended up crawling to the summit. Our leader was even thinking of cancelling the summit push due to an entire week of soaking rains and snow and cold.
Linda
Saturday, December 11, 2010
UPDATE #3
Here's the latest text message from Linda: "Rain stopped, stars out. 6 people did not summit. 1 person went down 12,000 feet. 2 porters got sick. All unusual. Route to high camp very hard."
I texted her back to confirm that this means she and Dave reached the summit. Hopefully we'll hear more news soon!
Sarah
I texted her back to confirm that this means she and Dave reached the summit. Hopefully we'll hear more news soon!
Sarah
NEXT UPDATE
Sarah here again. I got another text from my mom about 3 hours ago, at 5am mountain time (7am ET), which would have been 3pm on Saturday for Linda and Dave. She wrote: "At 12,000 ft. Altitude ok for me, but bit problem for dave. Rain hard again. In tent by 3pm. Tomorrow great but grueling."
I think this means they will be returning to the start point by the end of the day Sunday, which is Saturday night/early Sunday am here. Send them positive thoughts!
I think this means they will be returning to the start point by the end of the day Sunday, which is Saturday night/early Sunday am here. Send them positive thoughts!
Friday, December 10, 2010
QUICK UPDATE
This is Linda and David's daughter Sarah with a quick update. I just received a text message from my mom at summit camp which reads: "At summit camp. Cold & wet. Rain and snow day & night! All gear wet. Martina down by stretcher. We will not summit."
Some news articles on the current situation:
LA Times story 1
LA Times story 2
Laureus Foundation story
Some news articles on the current situation:
LA Times story 1
LA Times story 2
Laureus Foundation story
Sunday, December 5, 2010
AT THE BASE OF KILI!
Up at 4 am for an early departure to Mt. Kilimanjaro airport. We saw Kili for the first time, as we flew into Tanzania from Nairobi--wonderful feeling after all this pre-climb activity to finally see the snows of Kilimanjaro! Martina joined us and is as psyched as we are to start the climb. She was in Kenya a week ahead of us for her Save the Rhinos campaign.
We had to drive for 2 hours from the airport to the base of the mountain. The roads were very good until the final climb to our hotel. Since it was Sunday morning, we saw many people walking home from church. Sights included: Maasi warriors--tall and elegant, red blankets draping them, often with their spears or long sticks. The woman wore long, hooped earings. Almost every van that was driven by locals, was packed, with people hanging on the sides or riding on the top and somehow hanging on. We saw hugh termite hills in the red clay soil.
Food is great--spicy and delicious. We had an African stew last night, and beef strongoff today for lunch. The hotel is beautiful--has a waterfall, a pool and lots of stone and wood.
We get our kit inspection tonight, go to bed early (we are really low on sleep!) and start out tomorrow. We have a 2 hour drive to the northern side of Kili and a half-day hike ahead of us.
I should be able to text to my blog from the mountain.
Happy Trails,
Linda and Dave
We had to drive for 2 hours from the airport to the base of the mountain. The roads were very good until the final climb to our hotel. Since it was Sunday morning, we saw many people walking home from church. Sights included: Maasi warriors--tall and elegant, red blankets draping them, often with their spears or long sticks. The woman wore long, hooped earings. Almost every van that was driven by locals, was packed, with people hanging on the sides or riding on the top and somehow hanging on. We saw hugh termite hills in the red clay soil.
Food is great--spicy and delicious. We had an African stew last night, and beef strongoff today for lunch. The hotel is beautiful--has a waterfall, a pool and lots of stone and wood.
We get our kit inspection tonight, go to bed early (we are really low on sleep!) and start out tomorrow. We have a 2 hour drive to the northern side of Kili and a half-day hike ahead of us.
I should be able to text to my blog from the mountain.
Happy Trails,
Linda and Dave
Saturday, December 4, 2010
OUR FIRST DAY IN AFRICA!
I will be quick as the internet cost is by the minute. Today has been very full. The pace is set by 20-somethings, but we are keeping up. We landed at 6 am and had a 1 hour break, before being whisked off for the kids programs and the slums. We have seen very bad neighborhoods. Driving and walking in front of cars, vans and buses is insane. We had 3 vans transporting us, with guards, to the MYSA kids program and the 2nd biggest slum in Nairobi. At our hotel a soldier, carrying his rifle in a very visible manner, appeared, but he was not one of our guards. He was for some famous person coming to the hotel.
One of our drivers was clipped by a 4-wheeler, and that driver came out and starting to slap our driver! Dave and I joined a pick up soccer game on some hard dirt surface. I stopped on hit towards the goal with my shin--so much for my soccer skills!
The tennis writer for the London Times was on our flight and in our van, sent to interview Martina bout her climb. He was fun to talk to about some McEnroe bad boy stories.
Deshaun was in our van--she has climbed 5 of the 7 summits, and would be on this climb, except that she is pregnanat. She is from South Africa and very sweet and smart about climbing. She has climbed Denali and was on Everest during the famous Into Thin Air storm that Jon Krakauer wrote about.
We are still learning how to eat without getting traveler's dysentry. The hotel gave us a box lunch and we ate the veggie sandwiches, which were washed in tap water--that's a no-no. But we are ok-no aftereffects.
We get up at 4 am for our flight to Mt. Kilimanjaro airport. I should be able to send 1 more email tomorrow from the Marangu Hotel.
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
One of our drivers was clipped by a 4-wheeler, and that driver came out and starting to slap our driver! Dave and I joined a pick up soccer game on some hard dirt surface. I stopped on hit towards the goal with my shin--so much for my soccer skills!
The tennis writer for the London Times was on our flight and in our van, sent to interview Martina bout her climb. He was fun to talk to about some McEnroe bad boy stories.
Deshaun was in our van--she has climbed 5 of the 7 summits, and would be on this climb, except that she is pregnanat. She is from South Africa and very sweet and smart about climbing. She has climbed Denali and was on Everest during the famous Into Thin Air storm that Jon Krakauer wrote about.
We are still learning how to eat without getting traveler's dysentry. The hotel gave us a box lunch and we ate the veggie sandwiches, which were washed in tap water--that's a no-no. But we are ok-no aftereffects.
We get up at 4 am for our flight to Mt. Kilimanjaro airport. I should be able to send 1 more email tomorrow from the Marangu Hotel.
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
Friday, December 3, 2010
ON OUR WAY TO KENYA!
Arrived in London around midnight last night. Our plane was half-empty, so we had the luxury of taking up an entire row for each of us. This was a boon for catching up on lost sleep. We were up till midnight with last minute packing, and woke up at 3 am for our 6 am flight out of Albany.
We are staying at a very nice hotel near Heathrow. The hotel must have thought that Martina was rooming with us. Instead of the room we booked, they gave us the International Suite! We had a fireplace and an incredible bathroom, with a shower that had 6 different spray head things.
A Londoner, upon hearing we were New Yorkers, called us "half a paddy", meaning we were Irish immigrants - which we (sort of) are.
Back to Heathrow for our flight to Nairobi. Blizzard here in England, with lots of flights cancelled--but we are fine.
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
We are staying at a very nice hotel near Heathrow. The hotel must have thought that Martina was rooming with us. Instead of the room we booked, they gave us the International Suite! We had a fireplace and an incredible bathroom, with a shower that had 6 different spray head things.
A Londoner, upon hearing we were New Yorkers, called us "half a paddy", meaning we were Irish immigrants - which we (sort of) are.
Back to Heathrow for our flight to Nairobi. Blizzard here in England, with lots of flights cancelled--but we are fine.
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
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