On Top of the World! (Mount Kilimanjaro)

In July of this year, my wife Petrina and I had the incredible opportunity to climb to the roof of Africa when we summited Mount Kilimanjaro. While Petrina was born and raised in nearby Kenya, she had never had the opportunity to climb this awe-inspiring mountain. It has been a dream of mine for many years and this year that dream became an unforgettable reality.


The group we climbed with couldn't have been more different in terms of geographic location, career choices, and personalities. Later dubbed "The Eclectic 8" the group consisted of: (L-R) Ed Smith from New Hampshire, Paul Irwin of Boston, Michael Yei and JIll Miller from Salt Lake City, Will German of Phoenix, Petrina and Kurt Bestor of Salt Lake City, and Em Green of Los Angeles. Although extremely different, we soon became very united our efforts to reach the 19, 375 ft. summit of the peak the locals call Uhuru peak.

That first day on the mountain found us climbing through lush and verdant rainforest. While we didn't see any wildlife, we definitely were serenaded by chattering Colubus monkeys and the sweet-looking, but evil -sounding hyrax.

At the end of each day, the camp crew greeted us with hot water for a much-needed sponge bath and a traditional afternoon treat of tea and biscuits. After a short nap in our surprisingly comfortable tents, we all gathered for incredible meals prepared by our chef who did wonders in his simple kitchen tent.

For the next four days, we hiked pole pole through dense rainforest, up through high juniper-ed hills, over expansive treeless high desert terrain until finally we stood at the very foot of this fabled mountain.
It was surprising after climbing nearly 12,000 vertical feet, that this giant of a mountain still towered over us. There was almost a sacred feeling among us as we passed Fischer Camp named after the famous New Zealand mountain guide who died on Everest a few years ago. He used to love to guide climbs on Kilimanjaro and we thought of him as we passed through his favorite camping spot.

At our campsite at Lava Tower, we were all surprised to see an elephant skull polished white by the cold winds and icy rains. It reminded us that weren’t alone on the mountain. Cape buffalo and élans were also known to climb as high as 15,000 ft. in search of food.


On day six, a howling wind rocked us all to sleep as we dreamed of climbing the steep Western Breach the following morning. By dawn the craggy cliffs and mysterious peaks above us were shrouded in a misty haze. Warmed by a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, and oatmeal (and plenty of hot coffee) we started our ascent.

Even at almost 18,000 feet, our tireless crew had prepared a sumptuous lunch and had it waiting for us on a colorful Maasai blanket. It gave us just enough energy to pull ourselves over the edge and onto the Crater Glacier plateau. Though tired from a day of climbing, the stunning view of these ancient 5-story glaciers framed by a gloriously blue sky was unforgettable. We all scrambled off to capture the moment on film.



So now, after 6 days on the mountain, we looked at the final 1000 feet with a bit of melancholy – happy to have made it so far, but sad to be so close to saying goodbye to a group of friends who we’ll never forget, to a hardworking crew of porters, camp crew, and guides, and to a mountain that had show us so much incredible beauty.

So, pole pole, slowy slowy we climbed to the top of Uhuru, past the legendary snows first discovered by German explorer Hans Mayer and later made famous by Earnest Hemingway to the very summit of Africa.
There we each left a piece of ourselves - , rock-written on Mount Kilimanjaro.