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BOOKING FORM
EXPEDITION SUMMARY
Join Richard C. Wiese, past President of The Explorers Club and AMNH Expeditions Explorer-in-Residence , on this epic adventure of a lifetime to the Roof of Africa. We begin our journey with an optional visit to Ngorongoro Crater , a self-contained eco-system that boasts the highest concentration of wildlife in East Africa , and known to many as “The Eighth Wonder of the World”. The first day will be spent on a warm up hike up and down the Empakai Crater. On the second day, your stay at the a lodge on the Crater rim (7,600 feet above sea level) will allow you optimal conditions for acclimatization as well as spectacular views of the Crater floor.
With a head start on your acclimatization for Kilimanjaro, you will return to your lodge located in the hills outside of Arusha. At the climb briefing, you will be meet up with the rest of your group who are not able to join the Ngorongoro extension. This group will have a day before the start of the climb to relax - or to join an optional short hike on Mount Meru Mountain , followed by a picnic lunch and an afternoon game drive in Arusha National Park . These options will give this group some recovery time from their trip and/or a chance for additional acclimatization.
 
The Kilimanjaro trek begins, pole, pole (Swahili for slowly, slowly) , on the most scenic route ascending through Lemosho Glades , via the Western Breach of Kilimanjaro, and joining up with the Machame Route mid-way. Your journey will take you through five distinct climate zones as you reach the glaciated peaks of Kibo. Buffalo and elephant sightings are possible on the first day trekking through the forest. The trail leads up to the western edge of the Shira Plateau, and the hike across the plateau is said to be one of the most stunningly beautiful hikes in Africa . We've also planned to camp inside the crater on the night before the final ascent. We will likely be the only group which is a rare and awe-inspiring experience. The beauty about this plan is that we will be one of the first groups at the summit. The camp is set in soft "beach" sand, and looking from the tent, you can see vertical ice walls up close.
Moreover, the final ascent only takes an hour and a half, versus the normal eight hours beginning at midnight.
 
This program has been especially designed for optimal acclimatization, safety, comfort - with summit success in mind. The total period on Kilimanjaro is 9 days / 8 nights, the climb/ascent being seven and a half days and the descent a day and a half.
All the trekking is done by daylight except for a few hours of the early morning departure up the Western Breach. Overall this trek is designed to get you closer to nature, and to experience Kilimanjaro in a way that so few others do.
This program is tentatively planned for reaching the summit at sunrise on Easter Sunday (with an optional Easter egg hunt!). Shortly after leaving the summit on Easter Sunday, we will pass by Leopard Point, a location made famous by Ernest Hemingway in the The Snows of Kilimanjaro.
At the end of your climb, you may chose to join an optional safari extension to the Serengeti or Lake Manyara both of which boast an incredible wealth of habitats and diverse African wildlife.
 
YOUR HOST
Wiese's Kilimanjaro climbs have been featured in The NY Times , Travel and Leisure and in the May 2005 issue of Men's Journal , which called the climb one of the 100 greatest adventures. In a 2004 cover story in Esquire , he was identified by the magazine as one of “Ten Tough Bastards”. His first ascent on Kilimanjaro was at the age of 11 with his father. This 2008 Expedition will be his eleventh ascent of Kilimanjaro. Wiese has prided himself in leading novice and aspiring trekkers.
Wiese is a native of Head of the Harbor, NY and spent many of his childhood days fishing in the Stony Brook mill pond. A graduate of Brown University , he started his career as a science journalist. In 2002, he was elected as the youngest president of The Explorers Club in its 100 year history. For the past two years Wiese has been hosting ABC's Exploration with Richard Wiese and he continues to host various other nature and exploration documentaries. Recently his travels took him to the Denakil Desert in Ethiopia to film a documentary special for BBC and Discovery, The Hottest Place on Earth, for release in 2008.
PROGRAM ARRANGEMENTS Program price per person: $5,900 (land arrangements)
Single supplement: $495
International air from New York : $1,500-$2,000 coach; business from $6,000
The climb is limited to 12 participants. Availability is on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Minimum age is 16. No experience in climbing is necessary.
This program contains strenuous activity, and a good level of fitness is essential. It is advised to consult your physician.
9 days on the mountain.
Optional Safaris available: PRE-climb – Ngorongoro Crater and/or POST-climb – Serengeti
A detailed program information package will be issued upon booking. This will include a packing list & training guide.
Richard Wiese will be available to answer any questions regarding the trek by email or richard@newsweather.com ).
Travel insurance, which provides coverage for injury illness, trip cancellation and loss or damage of luggage and its contents, is strongly recommended.
INCLUSIONS
The price of the travel program INCLUDES:
• All accommodations as specified on Program itinerary
• All meals including mountain cuisine
• Transfers to/from Kilimanjaro International Airport and to/from Kilimanjaro National Park trailheads.
• Tours as specified on Program itinerary
• Porterage of 2 piece(s) of baggage per person
• Lecturer/Host, Richard Wiese, the former President of the Explorers Club and experienced Kilimanjaro climber, who will lead the group.
• Professional mountain guides (NOLS qualified), head guide, cooks and porters.
• All safety equipment (including portable altitude chamber and oxygen for emergency use).
• All camping equipment.
• All communication techniques (radio, satellite phones, cell phones).
• AMREF flying doctors insurance coverage
• Comprehensive medical/first aid kits
EXCLUSIONS The price of the program does not include:
Costs of obtaining passports or visas; laundry; communication charges; optional safaris; optional activities; international airfare; airport departure taxes and any other applicable airport taxes; excess baggage fees; travelers' insurance; health insurance; gratuities to guides, porters up the mountain and transfer drivers; room service charges; sleeping bags, or other personal trekking gear.
 
 
OPTIONAL SAFARI EXTENSIONS
Itineraries for a pre-climb safari extension (Ngorongoro Crater) and/or post-climb safari (Serengeti & Lake Manyara) are available upon request.
The Ngorongoro Crater pre-climb safari is a wonderful experience and only adds two days to your trip. The Ngorongoro Crater is at an altitude of about 7500 feet above sea level and spending two nights at the Crater will help on the acclimatization process. While at the crater guests can have a full day Empakai Crater hike with an armed ranger and a local Maasai guide. The Empakai Crater is full of bird life and an occasional buffalo and other game. This hike will warm the muscles and at the same time, invigorate climbers with the fresh air of the wild African bush…
 
MESSAGE FROM RICHARD WIESE
Probably no other mountain in the world has the same mystique and appeal of Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa at 19,340 ft. It is also the highest mountain on earth that is not part of a mountain range and its snow-capped peak hovers majestically over the African plain. This is the most famous large mountain that a novice climber can scale. It rises majestically from the hot savannah to a frigid glacier . In the nine times that I have climbed Kilimanjaro, I have discovered that journey to the summit can be a profound and life altering experience.
Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the few places in the world where ice and snow can be found on the equator. The ice fields Ernest Hemingway once described as "wide as all the world, great, high, and unbelievably white in the sun" have lost 82 percent of their ice since 1912—the year their full coverage was first measured, but most scientists believe tropical glaciers began receding as early as the 1850's.
According to leading climatologists if current climatic conditions persist, the legendary glaciers, icing the peaks of Africa's highest summit for nearly 12,000 years, could be gone entirely within two decades. Having personally visited Mount Kilimanjaro several times since the early 1970's I can unequivocally say that through observation that the size of its glaciers has noticeably diminished.
However, Nature 's Betsy Mason argues that “although it's tempting to blame the (Kilimanjaro) ice loss on global warming, researchers think that deforestation of the mountain's foothills is the more likely culprit.” With a growing population and more farming forests at the base of Kilimanjaro have been steadily disappearing for decades. “Without the forests' humidity,” Mason reports, “previously moisture-laden winds blew dry. No longer replenished with water, the ice is evaporating in the strong equatorial sunshine.”
On my October 2007 expedition to Kilimanjaro, I placed a weather station atop the Kilimanjaro peak as part of Global Warming monitoring mission. The research garnered from this station will hopefully assist the scientists in measuring the impact on the glacier – both above and below. I look forward to returning to Uhuruh Peak with you in 2010to observe the weather monitoring progress… |
