February 2010
8 posts
Last hour...
Well we had our last day today which consisted of visiting many local shops and re-organizing ourselves for the flight home. We had a great last meal at this restaurant that employs challenged workers to make jewelry and Tara had a nice moment with one of the workers showing her leg. It was really nice. Also, a store owner today gave Erica a free set of Tanzanite earrings for accomplishing the...
Off the mountain...
Hello Everyone,
Well we are officially off the mountain. Yesterday, we made our final decent from Millennium Camp which was at about 13,000 feet to the gate at 6,000 feet. From there we were greeted by song and dance from our porter team (which were our rocks), as well as a small ceremony with our guides and presented certificates of our great accomplishment. From there we drove for about an...
Day 8: We made it down!
Hi Everyone,
Well, we actually made it all the way down today and got back to camp about 3pm!
(unfortunately, the rest of Derek’s message was garbled!)
A Cause Worthy of Support!
Hi All,
Paul Chek here. I suspect you are as proud and amazed with the Killi Team as I am! What an amazing statement of possibility and personal integrity Erica and Tara have made being the first handicapped females to summit the mountain!
We entered this project with hope that you would all be willing to support a mission that shows all the other handicapped people of the world that there is no...
We did it! Mt Killimanjaro Descent!
Hey Everyone, this is Derek and I wanted to give you an quick update!
We are headed down right now because we summited early Sunday evening instead of Monday morning. We are almost at Barufu Camp, which is about 15,200 ft and we are heading down to Millennium Camp which is right around 13,000 ft. Everything seems to be going well, we are adjusting to the descent. I’ve been helping Erica and...
Day 7: We ALL Made it - Killimanjaro Summit!!
Hi Everyone,
This is Derek, we summited early last night and caught a sunset from the top of Kilimanjaro! So pretty spectacular! Everyone of us made it - Erica and Tara and the rest of the group - even the ones who were not feeling so well! It was very successful! Stay tuned for more updates - Through the Roof!!
January 2010
24 posts
Day 6: 18,000 ft. on the way to Crater camp
Hi Everyone,
I’m about 18,000 ft. and we just stopped for lunch on our day from Barafu camp to Crater camp, which is our big summit push. It is really hard to breathe at this altitude! Erica is doing well, she is stretching right now, and it is a bit cold today. Tara is doing well too!
The trail has been very rocky and steep, and everyone forgot their air shoes. From here we go to Crater...
Day 5: Barafu Camp 15,200 ft.
Barafu Camp 15200 ft Today we moved from Kibo Hut to Barafu Camp which are at similar altitudes (minus a couple hundred feet), but opposite sides of the mountain. Barafu is our staging point for our big summit push in the morning to Crater Camp, which sits at over 18000 ft. We actually went down for the beginning of the hike today and then moved over some of the roughest and hardest terrain we...
Day 4: Kibu Hut Camp approx 15,500 ft.
Kibo Huts, Friday evening, approx 15,500 ft.
I am feeling great today, I feel like I’ve found my calling. Mountain climbing….just kidding but seriously I am very content and happy and very much enjoying this journey. I couldn’t imagine this to be any better. I went ahead of my team today and had some solo time. I met them at out camp site and was happy to show them our hut which...
Day 4: En route to Kibo Hut, 15,400 ft. - on trail
En route to Kibo Hut, 15400 ft, on trail We got up this morning at 6 am at Horumbo Hut to get ready to make one of the most important jumps of this climb. So far only minor illness or injuries have occurred but up to 15000 ft, things get more stressful. Tonite is our last nite in huts before we get into tents tomorrow nite at Barafu Camp. These huts are the bare minimum though. The bathroom is...
Day 3: Horombo Huts 12,200 ft - Acclimatize Day
Horombo Hut 12200 ft Mt. Kilimanjaro Day 3 - Acclimatize Day Thursday, 28 January 2010
Hi Everyone!
Today we are at the Horombo Hut for a day of rest and acclimatizing to the altitude. We went for a short hike up to Zebra Rocks and to 1300 ft to get our bodies used to the heights and then we came back down. After the quick hike we grabbed some hot lunch. ...
Day 2: Horombo Huts 12,200 ft!
Horombo Huts, 3720m / around 12,200 ft Wednesday 27th January, 9pm We have made it up to the Horombo Huts, a major overnight stop for both climbers ascending and descending. Today was a longer day’s hike of about 15km - and I am quoting kilometers as that is what is on my map! - and we climbed another 1000m (3300 ft approx) up the mountain. We set out from the Mandara huts around 9am and...
DAY 2: Climb to Horombo Hut: 12000 ft
Mandara Hut 8800 ft Mt Kilimanjaro, 830 am This morning is the first morning on the mountain and everything seems normal. I got up once in the middle of the night to pee which I think prompted everyone else to the same. Everyone was super warm as our sleeping bags are made for -20 degree temperatures. Tara said she had some trouble sleeping but that could be because she said a few of us guys...
DAY 1 CLIMB: 8800 ft, Mt Killimanjaro
Mandara Huts, approx. 8800 ft, Mt. Kilimanjaro Tuesday 26th January, 10pm Here we are at the end of our first day on the mountain. And what an absolutely beautiful day it was. Sunny, warm (but not too hot), no rain whatsoever and all in all we couldn’t have hoped for a better day to start our climb. Our day started out at Rivertrees lodge where we all woke up around 6am to finish doing the...
We're Off and it is a gorgeous day!
12 noon: Everyone’s gear has been weighed, we’ve signed the official hiking record book and we are setting off up the mountain with our guides, our gear and high spirits! Sun is shining, day is gorgeous. Let’s hope it stays like this for another 7 days!
The evening before setting out to climb Mt....
Rivertrees Lodge, Tanzania Monday 25th January, 8:00pm
Hi Everyone!
Once again, we’re sitting down to dinner and I have a few minutes to update you on our first full day in Africa.
Today was a day both to recover from the long flight and to prepare for starting the climb tomorrow. Our guides from Thomson Safaris - Frank, Mus and Hashim - took us out to Arusha National Park for some...
3 tags
We've Arrived in Africa with ALL our Luggage!!
Rivertrees Lodge, Tanzania Sunday Jan 24th, 11:30pm Hi everyone!
We have arrived safely in Africa, after a 30 hour flight from Los Angeles, through Minneapolis with a four hour layover at Amsterdam. The approach into Kilimanjaro airport was a little rough, due to the winds that blow across the plain around Arusha and as it was dark when we landed, we didn’t really get to see much....
LAX
5 AM, headed to LAX, here we go…
DG
WatchYeah, here is a funny video I found of the girls talking about me. It is pretty funny to hear them talk about me behind my back. Thanks ladies.
- Derek (yes, you need to take a bunch of video so I can see things like this)
3 more days!!!!
Are you serious?!?! Like we are seriously leaving in 3 days?!?!?! It is almost go time. It is crazy to think of how fast these past couple of months have been. We are all ready. We are so ready to start this climb and make it to the top! I’ll probably be so excited at the summit I would jump out of my chair if I could. We thank everyone, our sponsors, family, friends, and even people...
Big weekend...
This weekend was a huge weekend for us. From Friday afternoon when I got my official African vaccinations at my local travel clinic (smiling before, frowning after), a small hike at Dixon Lake with just Erica, Tara and Zack on Saturday, and then a HUGE hike today at Elfin Forest with Penny included plus a friend of Erica’s, Travis. It was a huge success but everyone was beat and...
18 days, 5 hours, 44 minutes.
that is it. That is how close we are. Zack and I are stuck in the Phoenix Airport right now waiting to head back to San Diego for the final push towards Kili. This past week was absolutely amazing to see how much support and well-wishes there are for us. I was in Salt Lake City all week meeting with some of the Overstock Execs, Chris Waddell (the paraplegic athlete that conquered Kili in...
San Jacinto hike
Penny here - I wanted to try out hiking at altitude so last weekend I headed over to Idyllwild took a hike into the San Jacinto wilderness. Starting out at the Humber Park trail head around 6000 ft above sea level I headed up Devil’s Slide Trail, climbing fairly steadily for about 2.5 miles until I reached Saddle Junction. There was snow right from the start, but it was a beautiful day with...
December 2009
14 posts
Zackamanjaro growing up...
I grew up in Akron, Ohio my father was going to Kent State to get his PhD in Communications. I was the fourth of six children. One of my fondest memories as a child was feeding raccoon’s peanut butter covered crackers on the back porch of our home. We had a little yellow house as well as a matching tree house out in the back that was also yellow. All I used to wear was a diaper and cowboy...
WatchThe official teaser video for the documentary and climb…
Filming for this teaser took place in San Diego, CA and the Iztaccihuatl Mountain in Puebla, Mexico.
Music courtesy of Six Gallery (www.myspace.com/sixgallery)
Love, Chris & Matt
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you...”
So, this is what I have found out about the hike...
It’s a 20 mile hike, and we will be going through five different climate changes. It’s going to be 5 days up and 2 days down. We will be taking an altitude sickness medication called ‘diamox’. We will take this a week prior from leaving, and the week of the hike. The biggest difference in hiking this mountain normally is that on this trip we are carrying the first paraplegic woman to the...
WatchThe girls and Derek talking about receiving the call!
Boy am I blessed.
Boy am I blessed. I am so fortunate to be going on this trip. My life seemed to have been leading up to this great adventure over the last year. Before I started with Overstock.com, I was in disarray and didn’t know what to do with my life. Overstock.com brought me in and took me under their wing.
Since starting with this company, I have completely turned my life around. And I owe it all to...
““There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is...”
I was planning on a great post about my adventure up San Jacinto (10,834 ft) this weekend. Both Erica and Tara had races out of town, and Derek is off surfing in Costa Rica so that cut the San Diego contingent of our group to one - me! I thought I’d aim for some altitude training and climb San Jacinto peak in the Peninsula Ranges between San Diego and Palm Desert. If you’re very fit,...
November 2009
20 posts
Another Mt. Kilimanjaro fact
I was told today from a church member that the even though Kili is not the highest mountain in the world, but that once you are up there and on a clear day, you see from Mt. Kilimanjaro, the most landmass than from any other mountain. Its because when you are up there, you are looking down on plains and just plains all around. I am sure you can even see the ocean from up there (but don’t...
Mount Kilimanjaro Fact
Kilimanjaro comprises three distinct volcanic cones:
Kibo 19,340 feet (5,895 meters) Summit!
Mawenzi 16,896 feet (5,149 meters)
Shira 13,000 feet (3,962 meters)
-Zackamanjaro
““As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest...”
Happy Thanksgiving!
I started my day with a 10k run for the hungry. Funds raised for the San Diego food bank, food mobile. Beautiful run, great turn out. I am currently waiting for my new hiking leg that is being sponsored by Scope and specifically designed for the Kili climb. Today we are 56 days away and I am anxious to get it and start breaking it in. In the meantime I have been training with my CHEK practitioners...