On my way to Kilimanjaro

I am just about to leave Butiama for yet another rendezvous at the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro. This time with 12 visitors from Tanzania Development Support in a charity climb to raise money for construction of a library and teachers' documentation center for Nyegina Secondary School.

There is no better excuse for wearing a t-shirt from my December 2011 "Kilimanjaro Uhuru Climb."

posted from Bloggeroid

The weather today

As I embark on my sixth climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro I will post my observations of the weather every day, network and weather permitting.

At Butiama it is a sunny day with a temperature of 28° Centigrade.

posted from Bloggeroid

Getting ready for June's Kilimanjaro charity climb for Nyegina Secondary School

A lot of preparation goes into planning climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. For the individual climber pre-climb activity includes regular training to prepare for the rigour of hiking up Africa's highest mountain and the World's highest free standing mountain.

One important activity is to use the hiking boots one will wear during the climb prior to the climb. These pair of boots have taken me up to the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro a few times, but remain in storage between climbs.

This time, for the first time, I have worn them around to soften the leather for my next climb, the June 3 to 9 climb in aid of Nyegina Secondary School's library and teachers' documentation center.

They probably need some cleaning up also.

Related post:
http://blogkili.blogspot.com/2008/10/why-i-quit-smoking-my-kilimanjaro-climb_19.html

The next Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Climb is from 3 to 9 June 2012

In less than a month, I will be joining more than 20 individuals from Tanzania, South Africa, and the United States to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise money for charity.

Tanzania Development Support is sending a group of 11 from the United States to climb Africa's highest peak to raise funds for building a library and teachers' documentation center for Nyegina Secondary School. A teacher and two students from Nyegina will also participate in the climb.

Tanzania Development Support has raised funds in the past for various projects at Nyegina. For details on past activities and the Kilimanjaro climb and how to donate in support of Nyegina Secondary School, please visit their website at:

http://tdsnfp.org/

To donate in Tanzania, please use the following:

Account Name: Umoja wa Maendeleo ya Bukwaya
A/C Number: 01J1062002302
Bank: CRDB Bank

All climbers pay for all their climbing expenses, and all sums donated go directly to the project.

  Student dormitories under construction at Chief Edward Wanzagi Girls' Secondary School in Buturu, Mara region. More than $US20,000 was raised during the Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb 2008, which contributed to the construction costs of these dormitories.

A consignment of cement donated after the Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Climb 2008 by Mr. Elifariji Lima of Exactline Engineering (Group) Limited is unloaded from a truck at Chief Edward Wanzagi Girls' Secondary School in Buturu, Mara region.

Eleven climbers from Tanzania Development Support will join the climb, in addition to a teacher and two students from Nyegina.

The South African contingent will be raising donations for the Red Cross in South Africa as well as for improving the working conditions of the porters on Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Andrea Wobmann is a member of the Kilimanjaro Club

The Kilimanjaro Club lists people I know who have scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro, including those who join me every year on the annual Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb and those who join me for my non-charity climbs.

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I have described Andrea as a force of nature. And she has not paid me to say this.

She joined me on last year's Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb. We reached the summit, Uhuru Peak, on the morning of 26th September 2011.

The updated list is now:

No.	Name	Nationality	Age	Point Reached*	Summit Date
1.	Madaraka Nyerere	Tanzanian	48	Uhuru Peak	24th August 2008
2.	Le Huyhn	Vietnamese	Unknown	Uhuru Peak	25th August 2008
3.	Markus Geiger	Swiss	Unknown	Uhuru Peak	2009
4.	Gerald Hando	Tanzanian	Unknown	Uhuru Peak	6 October 2009
5.	Notburga Maskini	Tanzanian	49	Stella Point	6 October 2009
6.	Dmitry	Russian(?)	Unknown	Uhuru Peak	13 December 2010
	Jaffar Amin	Ugandan	44	Uhuru Peak	13 December 2010
	Mary Kalikawe	Tanzanian	Unknown	Uhuru Peak	10 December 2010
	William Rutta	Tanzanian	Unknown	Uhuru Peak	10 December 2010
	Steve Kamau	Kenyan	25	Uhuru Peak	26 September 2011
	Jim Becket	American	74	Uhuru Peak	26 September 2011
	Andrea Wobmann	Swiss	Unknown	Uhuru Peak	26 September 2011

*A climber is awarded a certificate for reaching one of three elevations: Uhuru Peak (5,895 AMSL), Stella Point (5,745 AMSL), or Gillman's Point (5,685 AMSL).

Back to training

Wednesday 5 October 2011

I decided time is too short before the next onslaught on Mt. Kilimanjaro in December so I decided to resume my preparations and exercising.

My mountain bike, without the chain.

I decided to ride the 8-kilometre trail to Mwibanza farm and, lo and behold, the mountain bike gear settings I have used in the past suddenly became unfamiliar. The upshot is my conditioning is way above my average because of my recent climb.

I am toying with the idea of following a continuous exercise plan, Kilimanjaro or not.

On my way back, before reaching Butiama Secondary School, I broke the bicycle chain and walked the rest of the way home.

The Mwalimu Nyerere/Mt. Kilimanjaro Charity Climb 2011 (post 13 of 15)

Tuesday 27th September 2011
On a cloudless morning Millennium High Camp offers one of the best views of Kibo from the lower slopes. The porters and guides sang the Kilimanjaro farewell songs and we departed for the 8-hour trek past Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate.

The porters and guides sing the Kilimanjaro farewell songs

On the way I met two female porters who, after some persuasion by Yahoo, agreed to pose for my camera.

The female porters, a rare encounter on Mt. Kilimanjaro.

The forest section was not only traversed by beautiful people, but was also peppered with beautiful flowers.

August, Andrea, Zulfa, and Steve walked ahead with Innocent and Ludovick, the assistant guides, and had to wait for our arrival for more than two hours. They did not sign in their names until we arrived and I became the first one to sign and became eligible for the honour of buying drinks for the whole group, which I did at Springlands Hotel.

Someone called the ambulance, again. Apparently, one of us could not walk for an additional hour to Mweka Gate.

Yahoo said Jim Becket, 74, was the oldest person he had guided to Africa's rooftop, Uhuru Peak, at 5,895m above sea level.

Everyone agreed that Yahoo's guiding skills was the crucial factor in enabling the entire group to reach the peak. He was the group's 4-wheel drive.

And as Yahoo had promised days earlier, we all reached the peak.

Next: At the graduation

Related posts:
http://blogkili.blogspot.com/2012/03/the-mwalimu-nyereremt-kilimanjaro_6807.html