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Kili Climb Wrap-Up

Two mountaineers navigating a glacier on a Gasherbrum II Expedition
Kili Ice 2.jpg
Kili .jpg
Kili 2.jpg
Kili Team on Summit.jpg
Kili Glacier.jpg
Kili Camp.jpg
Safari.jpg
Tanzanian Sunset.jpg

What better place to write about climbing Kilimanjaro than sitting in the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge staring out at the crater and the countless animals roaming inside.

After seeing 19 lions, along with countless zebras, wildebeests, hyenas, jackals, elephants, and buffalo, we decided to have a relaxing afternoon here at the hotel – drinking coffee, watching Masaai dance, and even catching up on some emails and work.

And finally, our legs are almost back to normal from our climb. As our quick blogs via satellite phone probably suggested, it was a fantastic climb and season on the mountain.

Despite a bit of rain and snow, our summit day was stunning, and the entire group put in full effort to stand on top together. Since the park recently reopened the Western Breach Wall (a non-technical but rarely ascended route), we were able to climb to the summit (via the Umbwe Route to Arrow Glacier, and the the Breach Wall to the crater and summit) completely away from the crowds on the normal routes. We did not see a single climber on our summit day until we topped out.

Each of the team – Brian S., Kara, Melanie, Brian W., Matt, and myself – put in a 14 hour round trip summit day . Highlights included close-up views of Kilimanjaro’s glaciers (they’re not gone yet!), a stunning sunrise, and 30 minutes on top in warm weather and few people.

We will be running our Kilimanjaro Expedition two more times in 2009 – in July and then again just after Christmas (celebrate the New Year on top of Kili!). Contact us today to join the teams!

Congratulations and thanks to this year’s climbers! Here are a few more images from the climb.

-Adrian Ballinger, Alpenglow Expeditions