Berg

Hear Wally's Call from Africa

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It is quite a bittersweet moment for me. I'm sitting here alone as 11 of our group has begun to descend ahead of me. This is my final moment up here for what's been an outstanding season. And once again, I'm reminded about why I do this. I was with 12 people who dug down deep with every fiber of what they had, in terms of will and belief in themselves, to get up here today.

This was the most athletic group that I had of the season, certainly. With the exception of Juan, however, no one had been over 14,000 feet. They came looking to find out what it was all about and in speaking of what a true 'Wally Berg adventure's all about' it turned out to be bigger than they thought. And everybody that just turned away from this peak right now will tell you that when they get home.

A great adventure, great adventure, that caused us all to dig in deep and really share the commitment that it takes to get up here. Tears were shed once again, a lot of hugging and camaraderie on the summit. We couldn't all be here together, but as people were passing—I made a couple of walks back and forth, as people were coming up—and the emotion: people arm in arm, arm in arm often with a Chagga guide, pulling people on together. That's what it's all about. Jeff is our one member who didn't make it and he was probably one of the strongest people. Altitude sickness can be a pretty arbitrary thing, and he and Michael, the guide, chose to turn back from beyond Stella Point. So, those guys had a really successful day as well.

As I sit here and savor a few more moments on the rooftop of Africa, I'll just let you know that getting down safely is still on all our minds and the task at hand. And you will know when we get back to Mweka or soon after.

And we've got one more big adventure and that's safari. Somebody asked me today, 'Is safari as big a deal as this?' And in some way it is. You know, it is a totally different deal, but like Kilimanjaro it has a way of being bigger than you thought it was going to be and the adventures we encounter in those three days are something I'm very much looking forward to. And perhaps we'll have some stories to tell before it is all over.

—Alpine Ascents Guide Wally Berg, MountainZone.com Correspondent