Hello and thank you for following along my 6th team climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro.  We will be 26 strong on the mountain and I will be updated this blog daily letting you know how we are doing as a team.  Visit daily because your support is greatly appreciated. 

Enjoy!

June 21 - Hello everyone.  I am sitting in the Amsterdam airport right now as the rest of my team are off on safaris.  I have to say this trip was amazing in many aspects and one I will never forget.  Our team of 26 was incredible from start to finish and worked together really well.  Mountains are never climbed alone and team success is directly related to how well we all work together using the strengths of each other.

Summit day brought on many challenges as we set off for the summit at midnight.  All 26 team members made it to high camp at 15,400 ft. but only 25 of us set out for the summit.  Shortly in to our ascent two members dropped out do to the cold and not feeling well.  Several hours in, we had two more members drop out do to exhaustion but never the less made it above 17,000 ft.  As we continued towards the summit the temperatures dropped to 10 degrees F as we reached Stella Point at 18,700 ft.  It was approximately 6:30 am and we all watched an amazing sunrise as the horizon blazed orange over Africa.   From here it is only an hour to the summit as we walk along the crater rim enjoying the warm rays of the sun. 

At 7:40 am, we walked to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro as a team and enjoyed an incredible moment.  After a half hour stay on the summit and many pictures taken we headed back to high camp.  There was a lot of snow up high this year so the descent was slower then normal.  There were several "fires" that had to be put out on the way down but we finally all reached high camp at noon.  Being on your feet for 12 hours is a long day on any mountain but we still had to pack up and move down to our 12,000 ft. camp for our last night on the mountain.  This evening was spent rejoicing about the trip and enjoying a party with our 72 porters and guides. 

After a wonderful nights sleep just above the rain forest we headed down to the gate where we were met by Alan Silverman, Bethany Christiansen, and an incredible two man band that sang wonderful African songs to greet our team.   After a wonderful lunch we were off to the lodge. 

There are so many stories to tell and everyone is looking forward to returning home and sharing them with all of you.  I appreciate all of you for following along and hope you enjoyed reading the dispatches.

On a side note, Gordon Silverman who will be a 10th grader next year, became the first person in history to be a third generation summiter of Mt. Kilimanjaro.  His grandfather, mother, and two uncles made the summit in August of 1986. 

I want to thank my wife, Jenny, once again for updating the blog while we were on the mountain.  I love you!

Cheers!

June 20-  Everyone is back at the hotel and all are doing well.  Alan Silverman and Bethany Christianson have arrived to join the team for safaris in the morning. Kevin promises to write more when he can.

June 19-  Kevin called early this morning and said that the team left at midnight (Kili time) and at 7:40 AM, 20 out of the 26 climbers made the summit.  They all then made it back down to camp at noon, and are doing well. I lost the cell phone connection, so I wasn't able to get any more details, but I will post more as soon as he is able to call back.

June 18 - At 1:00pm Phoenix time, Kevin called to say that they are all at Camp 5 and will be heading for the summit in one hour.  It will take about 6 hours to reach the summit. 

June 17 - The team is at Camp 4 and all are doing well.  They are all in great spirits and having lots of fun and laughter.  They enjoy playing charades and cards in their down time.  

June 16 - After a long day, the team has arrived at Camp 3.  They are all feeling fine, but glad that their 8 hour day was nice and sunny!

June 15 - It rained all night and the team walked in the rain again all day today.  As they got into camp 2, the rain stopped and they got to see the mountain for the first time during dinner. 

They want to wish everyone a Happy Fathers Day today.

June 14 - Everyone arrived at Camp 1 and they are all doing well.  It rained for 6 hours non-stop whilethey were on the trail.  As theywere walking today, they got to meet the former president of Tanzania who wascoming down the mountain.  Theystopped and shook hands and took pictures with him. 

Kevin called as the group was getting ready to have dinnerand they are hoping the dry weather now will last.

June 13 - Amazing, gracious, and moving would be three words to discribe our day.  This morning, all 24 of us visited the Miracle Corners of the World community center in the heart of the poorest section of Arusha, Tanzania.  The community center was filled with 150 students from the age of 2-20.  After getting a tour of the facitily we took a walk through the neighborhood talking with the locals and seeing how the poorest of people can live and love as they do.  Once we returned to the community center we performed a "Community Circle" with 60, 14-20 year old students that was so heart touching.  We all introduced ourselves and then proceeded to have a round robin type table session of just asking questions back and forth to one another.  These students have so many dreams of what they want to become and were very knowlegable of American politics.  They wanted to know how we built our homes, about our healthcare and healthcare sysems, and they shared who their favorite movie stars and actors.  Incredible!  We then exchanged gifts and talents with one another.  We headed outside to play Frisbee and hacky-sac for the first time in their lives.  We played basketball, created cool handshakes, sang happy birthday to Danna in Swahili, and Michael performed mind blowing card tricks to the eager and bewildered faces.  The grand finally was a performance by 11 of the older students who are inspiring to be professional traditional dancers and musicians.  They performed 5 tradional Tanzania dances that would take any champion on American Idol.  Trust me they were fabulous!  The energy in this courtyard, only the size of half a basketball court, could have powered all of Phoenix!  It was electifying!  After saying our goodbyes, we passed out Jolly Ranchers, lollie-pops, and a lot of hugs.  There are certain events that happen in our lives that we will never forget or that have an ever lasting impact.  Today was one of those days!

Afer arriving back at the lodge we met up with the final two going up on the mountain, Dave and Cheryl.  However, they were not as lucky as the rest of us because their bags are somewhere between Denver, Cairo, and Naroibi.  Hopefully they will show up soon and in one piece! 

Early tomorrow moring, 26 of us will head out to accomplish a huge task, a lot of goals, and another life changing experience.  I hope that each and everyone of you, back home or anywhere in between and following along, sends us your kindest wishes, prayers, and positive karma for the next 7 days.  Dave, our guide Nickson, and I are looking forward to impacting the lives of 24 incredible people!

Cheers.  

June 12 - Jambo (hello) everyone.  Today was a fun filled day with various activities.  Cathy and Michael woke up early and ventured on to the 9 hole golf course.  Let's just say they shot'em often!  Many others woke up around noon and after lunch we all headed across the street from our lodge to visit an incredible school, St. Jude's.  From there, it was off to the coffee plantation on the grounds of our lodge to see how coffee is made from start to finish.  Finally, it was a late dinner and early to bed for all.  We have another busy day tomorrow!  Cheers and thanks for following along. 
 
June 11 - Hello everyone.  It is 11:00 pm here in Arusha, Tanzania and it has been a long day.  I left my house 29 hours ago and I am now settled in at the lodge.  All 24 people arrived just fine and with all of our bags.  First task completed of many ahead!  I will continue to update our adventure daily but now it is time for bed!  Cheers.     

- Amazing, gracious, and moving would be three words to discribe our day.  This morning, all 24 of us visited the Miracle Corners of the World community center in the heart of the poorest section of Arusha, Tanzania.  The community center was filled with 150 students from the age of 2-20.  After getting a tour of the facitily we took a walk through the neighborhood talking with the locals and seeing how the poorest of people can live and love as they do.  Once we returned to the community center we performed a "Community Circle" with 60, 14-20 year old students that was so heart touching.  We all introduced ourselves and then proceeded to have a round robin type table session of just asking questions back and forth to one another.  These students have so many dreams of what they want to become and were very knowlegable of American politics.  They wanted to know how we built our homes, about our healthcare and healthcare sysems, and they shared who their favorite movie stars and actors.  Incredible!  We then exchanged gifts and talents with one another.  We headed outside to play Frisbee and hacky-sac for the first time in their lives.  We played basketball, created cool handshakes, sang happy birthday to Danna in Swahili, and Michael performed mind blowing card tricks to the eager and bewildered faces.  The grand finally was a performance by 11 of the older students who are inspiring to be professional traditional dancers and musicians.  They performed 5 tradional Tanzania dances that would take any champion on American Idol.  Trust me they were fabulous!  The energy in this courtyard, only the size of half a basketball court, could have powered all of Phoenix!  It was electifying!  After saying our goodbyes, we passed out Jolly Ranchers, lollie-pops, and a lot of hugs.  There are certain events that happen in our lives that we will never forget or that have an ever lasting impact.  Today was one of those days!Afer arriving back at the lodge we met up with the final two going up on the mountain, Dave and Cheryl.  However, they were not as lucky as the rest of us because their bags are somewhere between Denver, Cairo, and Naroibi.  Hopefully they will show up soon and in one piece!  Early tomorrow moring, 26 of us will head out to accomplish a huge task, a lot of goals, and another life changing experience.  I hope that each and everyone of you, back home or anywhere in between and following along, sends us your kindest wishes, prayers, and positive karma for the next 7 days.  Dave, our guide Nickson, and I are looking forward to impacting the lives of 24 incredible people!Cheers.   - Jambo (hello) everyone.  Today was a fun filled day with various activities.  Cathy and Michael woke up early and ventured on to the 9 hole golf course.  Let's just say they shot'em often!  Many others woke up around noon and after lunch we all headed across the street from our lodge to visit an incredible school, St. Jude's.  From there, it was off to the coffee plantation on the grounds of our lodge to see how coffee is made from start to finish.  Finally, it was a late dinner and early to bed for all.  We have another busy day tomorrow!  Cheers and thanks for following along.    - Hello everyone.  It is 11:00 pm here in Arusha, Tanzania and it has been a long day.  I left my house 29 hours ago and I am now settled in at the lodge.  All 24 people arrived just fine and with all of our bags.  First task completed of many ahead!  I will continue to update our adventure daily but now it is time for bed!  Cheers.