Berg

Hear Wally's Call from Africa

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It's a really exciting day for us. We know that 15 members of this Kilimanjaro III expedition with Alpine Ascents, are now en route down from Nairobi to Arusha. Sally and I spent a few days wondering around the dusty streets of Arusha and we're definitely ready to see some folks and get another adventure underway now.

Tom Elliot is on that bus coming down here, along with a lot of other folks, he is someone who was with me on my attempt of Mera Peak, last December on the Alpine Ascents trip, which we did cover on some dispatches from Mountain Zone. Tom and, his new bride, Lark have been travelling around the world much of the time since we split up in Nepal. I've been getting great adventure dispatches from him via email from time to time. I'm looking forward to hooking up with him again and sharing another climb.

Kilimanjaro more than anything else is about 19,340 feet. I think we all have our images about Africa: the equator, the tropics. Certainly, you hear me talk a lot about safari because that part of our adventure here is a big part of what keeps me coming back. The effort of climbing 19,340 feet is awaiting these 15 people who are on their way down here now. It's always big. It always requires a mountaineer's resolve, and effort, and determination at some point. We'll be giving reports about how that goes as our days continue to pass here.

We're looking forward to meeting these folks and we'll keep you updated about the climb and the rest of our adventure as time goes on.

—Alpine Ascents Guide Wally Berg, MountainZone.com Correspondent