Update from Africa

Home town newspapers like carrying feature articles on adventures that are being pursued by residents living within the area served by the publication. Writers, who more often than not are non-climbers, usually have a challenging time trying to describe climbs to the lay public, but author Kie Relyea did a really good job with her article in the Bellingham (WA) Herald:

Kie's Article from the Bellingham Herald.

Here’s an update from Shawn that came in via e-mail:

The vegetation in all the non-cultivated areas around
Gibb’s Farm is incredibly thick and lush.

Hello again from Africa! Now that I have access to a computer, I can provide a few more details, but the Internet connection is horrible. I can't upload pictures right now and I have to be very brief, but I wanted to make a quick post anyway. We are having a fabulous time. After 26 hours of traveling, we were so happy to be at the Kilimanjaro Lodge, which was very lovely and had great food. The best part, of course, was having a real bed and not a cramped airplane seat. Wow, this keyboard is really horrible...did I mention I would have to be brief?

The gardens are gorgeous.

The next day, Tuesday, we left the lodge and drove the three hours to Gibb’s Farm, stopping on the way to see traditional Maasai housing, baboons, and even giraffe. Very cool. We arrived at Gibb's and promptly took a nap in our super, amazingly luxurious cottage. Our cottage is something out of my best of dreams. and so is the food. And the people, and the gardens, and the smells and flowers and views in this incredible jungle on a hill...but more on that later.

The buildings are all in remarkable settings.

We saw our first elephant today (Wednesday). It was partially obscured by bushes, but no doubt it was an elephant. We took a two-hour walk accompanied by two locals, one gun bearing, into the jungle to the elephant cave, where they roll and dig for minerals. Incredible....saw so many plants that I grow indoors at home in Bellingham - orchids, philodendron, spider plants - all growing wild of course.

While the buildings look simple on the outside,
the interiors are incredibly comfortable.

Tomorrow, we head for safari - to the Ngorongoro crater and the Serengeti (by the way, there is a beer here called Serengeti Lager). More later, hopefully with a better computer....

Shawn

AAI's Communications Coordinator heads to Africa!

Shawn Olson, AAI's Communications Coordinator, started her journey to Tanzania and South Africa last Sunday, November 11. It's a combination research trip for upcoming AAI program and a vacation, and among her many activities will be three safaris, a trip to Zanzibar (the tropical spice island off the coast of Tanzania), and a climb of Kilimanjaro. She will be traveling with her mother, Mary Ellen Shields, who is a pediatrician and who will be volunteering in a village health clinic while Shawn is climbing Kilimanjaro.

Preparing for departure: Foreign Programs
Coordinator Andy Bourne gives instruction on the use
of the SAT phone, and Shawn ponders if she’ll be able to
look nearly as cool as Andy when using it in Africa.

Shawn will be giving us updates throughout her trip, including daily satellite phone dispatches during her climb. We were excited to receive our first dispatch from her today!

9:23pm Tuesday (8:23am Wednesday in Tanzania)

Hello Everyone! This is Shawn calling from Africa. After a non-stop flight from Seattle to Amsterdam and a leisurely change of planes there, we arrived late Monday night at Kilimanjaro International Airport near Arusha in Tanzania. We were quickly whisked away one kilometer to Kilimanjaro lodge, which is beautiful and restful and where and we had a great meal in their outdoor restaurant.

View from Gibb’s Farm with coffee
plantings in the middle distance.

It was dark when we got in, so we didn’t see a lot to confirm we were in a wild new land, but when we awoke at six in the morning, it was to amazing birdcalls and snarls. It kind of smells like a combo of Hawaii, southern California, and Arizona desert. It’s really awesome. We got up and drove four hours up to Gibb’s Farm, which is south east of the Kilimanjaro Airport. That’s where I am right now – just woke up, had tea, and am about to have breakfast. They have amazing meals here, and they grow all of their own food. It’s really quite posh – I was really surprised. There are tons of coffee bushes all over, and it looks really tropical, surreal. It’s really beautiful.

Today we are going for a 2-hour hike to an elephant cave* nearby, and tonight I am going running with the manager. We are at six thousand feet right now, so I am starting to acclimate for my climb, which is good…. (TRANSMISSION CUT OFF)

(* cave-like structures created by elephants digging up the earth to ingest the vitamin-rich soil)

Gibb’s Farm notes:

We assume that the Gibb’s Farm foods are
part of Shawn’s rigorous acclimatization schedule.

Gibb's Farm is a working farm located on the forested slopes of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. It lies half way between Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro Crater, near the village of Karatu, and its lands hug nearly a mile of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, part of a 3,200 square mile reserve. It was built in 1929 and now offers accommodations in the heart of the working farm where organic coffee is grown, processed, and roasted. The farm's 10-acre organic fruit and vegetable garden provides most all of the ingredients needed for the home-cooked meals that are prepared for guests.

The farm's panoramic views of the Ngorongoro Highlands above the Great Rift Valley include the famous caldera of the Ngorongoro Crater, a range of extinct volcanoes, and the vast Serengeti Plains.

The veranda appears too be the perfect spot for
planning out final details of the Kilimanjaro ascent.

Travel notes:

Shawn will be on a Serengeti safari and trip to Ngorongoro Crater November 15-18 and will be climbing Kilimanjaro November 19-25. Then it will to on to Zanzibar and South Africa after that.

AAI guide Peter Kuhnlein buys photography and film studio

So, what do guides do when they're not guiding? Many of them are photographers, like AAI guide Peter Kuhnlein. Peter and his wife, Lisa, just bought and moved into a new photo and film studio in Anacortes, WA. They specialize in wedding, portrait, commercial, artist, and stock photography - check out their website: www.kuhnlein.com. Peter also does film work - one of his most interesting projects is he and Lisa's current assignment of traveling around the world and filming the traditional foods of indigenous people. This project is funded by the Center for Indigenous Peoples Nutrition and Environment. So far, they have been to Micronesia, Japan, Kenya, Nigeria, China, India, Thailand, Bella Coola Canada, and the NW Territories. In May, the husband and wife team will be traveling to Baffin Island for more filming. Way to go Peter!

Successful summit on Ama Dablam!

Climbers descend for Base Camp with Ama Dablam in the background.

We received word over the weekend that the joint American Alpine Institute/Adventure Consultants expedition has summited Ama Dablam successfully! The first summit team, including three clients, AAI guide Andrew Wexler, and Sherpa guide Lhakpa Dorje, summited between 12:30 and 12:45pm Nepal time on November 2. The second summit team made it to the top as well on November 4. You can read all their dispatches and see pictures from the expedition by visiting www.aai.cc/currentnews.

The two guide services, American Alpine Institute and New Zealand-based Adventure Consultants, created an international alliance years ago to offer a wide range of diverse and challenging expeditions and programs all over the world. Guides from both companies have the opportunity to expand their horizons and participate in work trades with the partner company. American Alpine Institute guide Andrew Wexler was participating on a work trade with Adventure Consultants during this Ama Dablam expedition. Congratulations to Andrew and all other guides and team members for summiting!

A tidbit of history: The Mt. Baker Marathon

A 1930s postcard of Mt. Baker

For you history buffs out there, here is a cool link to an essay written about the original Mt. Baker Marathon. The race only took place for 3 years, from 1911-1913, because of the dangers of the course. Contestants started the 120-mile race in Bellingham, where they then traveled by car or train to the base of the mountain, ran to the summit and back, then returned to town the same way they started. Though nobody was ever seriously hurt, one racer took a 40-foot crevasse fall, in which he was unhurt but got people thinking that running up the glacier in the dark unroped was probably not a very good idea.

The Ski to Sea race was started in 1972 with somewhat of the same idea as the Mt. Baker Marathon. Today, the Ski to Sea is as big as ever. It is a relay race in which each team member completes one of seven segments: cross country ski, downhill ski, run, road bike, canoe, mountain bike, and kayak. The race covers 82.5 miles, and thousands of people participate each year.

Photos from Ski to Sea 2007:

'Tis the season for seasonal ice . . .

Crossing the Coleman glacier just after sunrise. Mt. Baker
on left, Colfax Peak on right. The Cosley-Houston route
takes the right ice line up Colfax.

October is often a difficult month for those climbing in the Cascades. The uncertainties of unsettled weather, variable snow conditions, and treacherous glacier traveling conspire against the alpinist to keep him or her out of the hills. However, once in a while these challenges of alpine climbing don’t materialize, resulting in incredible early winter climbing conditions without the hassles of snowed-in approach roads, deep unconsolidated snow, and short daylight hours.

After a strong early season snow storm in the Cascades, this October produced a reasonable high pressure system that screamed “it’s alpine ice climbing season . . . NOW!” and I knew that I had to heed its call. Emails were sent with little response. Everyone had plans already. I found myself thinking, "Maybe next year I’ll finally climb the classic Cosley-Houston route on Colfax Peak (a distinct summit near Mt. Baker) because this weather pattern won’t last. Time to go rock climbing, I guess." Perhaps that’s the great thing about climbing in October, you can be rock climbing one day and ice climbing a couple days later.

Ultimately, the weather held through the weekend and a partner was found in Dylan Taylor. We were going to give the route on Colfax Peak a try. I couldn’t help but think of the similarity to the route's first ascensionists, Kathy Cosley and Mark Houston, who were both AAI guides when they established this route in the early 1980’s.

After a short drive, the dry trail was familiar underfoot as we sped along under the strange combination of LED light and a nearly full moon. Soon we were at the Hogsback camp roping up and wondering if the route would even be formed this early in the season. As we crested the first glacial rise, we could discern that the route was in fact formed. Sweet!

Another hour and we were racking up at the base of a stellar looking pitch of moderate alpine ice that marked the start of the route. This ‘warm up’ pitch did little to prepare for the technical crux, a short but overhanging pillar of ice covered with detached icicles. What a way to start the ice climbing season!

Dylan starting up the route.

Kurt leading the first (and crux) ice pitch.
Dylan Taylor photo.

Above the second ice step, the terrain eased but remained interesting. Our crampons and ice tools squeaked into the neve rhythmically as we climbed full rope lengths to the summit plateau.

Dylan leading the ice on pitch 4.

Dylan on the summit with Mt. Baker behind.

After sorting the rack and taking in a unique perspective of Mt. Baker and the other Black Buttes, an expedited descent was necessary since we wanted to get back to the car before dark. Fortunately for us, relatively easy glacier travel and the snow-free trail gave us no hassles. Just an hour or so later we were back in Bellingham, scheming all the while about ways to sneak in a few more climbing days before the winter sets in.

AAI guide Dawn Glanc signs on for expedition to raise cancer awareness

AAI guide Dawn Glanc recently signed on to be part of an awareness-raising expedition to an unclimbed peak in Alaska next summer. This is a unique venture launched by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and the intention is to raise awareness about cancer research. The Center hopes that individuals following the climb will come to appreciate the parallels between the quest to scale an unclimbed peak and the groundbreaking research being conducted at the Hutchinson Center.

Dawn, along with Matt Farmer, Kevin Mahoney, and Bayard Russell Jr. (read bios at http://www.fhcrc.org/about/bigexpedition/climber_bios.html)
will be heading to Alaska next June to climb a peak that has never been climbed. The Hutchinson Center has chosen an unclimbed peak for the expedition's objective because "unclimbed mountains are analogous to conquering cancer." The mountain itself will be chosen by the Big Expedition's Mountaineering Advisory Committee and will be announced this winter.

The project's official name is the Big Expedition for Cancer Research - Unclimbed Mountains to be Conquered.

Link to the Hutchinson Center's press release on this story: http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2007/09/27/bigexpedition.html

Link to the expedition's web page: http://www.fhcrc.org/about/bigexpedition

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You can get in touch with Dawn at info@aai.cc.