3 Summited and 1 down

Hi everyone,

Just dropping you all a quick note, Spencer, Salim and Safiya summited Kilimanjaro on the evening of the 16th but I had to drop out of the final climb due to a rare form of altitude sickness called pulmonary edema. I had to go down the mountain to prevent further complications and for treatment. It was a much more difficult climb than any of us had expected. It was well worth the challenge in spite of various difficulties encountered. We are all safely down the mountain now with many stories to be told. It will have to wait until we return in October. Thank you all for the tremendous support.

Bill

Short update

Hi,

We finally arrive in Kilimanjaro after 38 hours of travel due to delayed flights and re-routing to Nairobi and finally to Kilimanjaro. This is a quick update as we are preparing to start day 1 of the hike up Kilimanjaro. The weather here is great and we all arrived safely. This will be the last update until we comeback down the mountain due to no internet access. Even here at the Marangu hotel, there is limited internet access. We need to get started early this morning. Until the next post, happy hiking!

Bill

Tracking The 2016 Kili ClimbTeam

Tracking Bill, Spencer, Salim and Safiya!

For those who are interested you can track us as we climb Kilimanjaro.

Courtesy of the Alzheimer Society of B.C., with the Spot Gen3 GPS device, we are able to send GPS coordinates via satellite to track where we are on the mountain. It is not an automated process. We will have to send the GPS coordinates every hour or every 30 minutes or however frequently we can schedule the coordinate alerts.

You will be able to see our ascent and descent accordingly.

Happy Tracking!

Bill

 

Rongai Route Schedule

Hi Everyone!

I cannot believe it but it is just a few days before we leave for Tanzania to begin the next phase of our journey, the actual climb up Kilimanjaro. We’re scheduled to leave September 7th. The actual climb starts on September 10th and we’re summiting on the 17th.

From my earlier posting, I’d made mention that we will be climbing up the Rongai trail to reach the summit. Check out this video for an overview of the Rongai route.

Here is a detailed schedule of our trek along the Rongai route:

Day 1: Trailhead to Simba Camp 3-4 hrs
Day 2: Simba camp to 2nd Cave 4-5 hrs
Day 3: 2nd Cave to Kikelelwa 4 hrs
Day 4: Kikelelwa to Mawenzi Tarn: 4 hrs
Day 5: Stay at Mawenzi Tarn
Day 6: Mawenzi Tarn to Kibo Hut: 5-6 hrs
Day 7: Kibo Hut to summit and down to Horombo Hut: 14 hrs
Day 8: Horombo Hut back to Marangu Gate: 6 hrs

The above are regular suggested times but on most days we can easily take more time if needed and get to camp before dark. Summit Day will be tough and very long.

All four climbers, myself, Spencer, Salim and his daughter, Safiya will be accompanied by the following expedition support Team:

One Senior Guide

Two Assistant guides

One Cook

One Assistant Cook

Thirteen Porters

For a total of eighteen on the support team.

           

So, we will be well taken care of. Many of the Kili Alumni’s I’ve connected with said the three meals provided by Kili support teams were fabulous. I will let you know when we get there.

Signing off until the next posting.

Bill

Ps. We have a global tracking device, the Spot GPS, lent to us by the Alzheimer Society of BC for our climb. You will be able to see where we are on the mountain via Spot GPS’s web page. Stay tuned to the blog for further posting details.

Live A Life That Matters

Spencer and I are embarking on a trip of a lifetime. We’d started this adventure earlier in the year, meeting with the two charities, Alzheimer Society of B.C. and the Down Syndrome Research Foundation to plan the Pink Pearl fund raising dinner event, group hikes with Kilimanjaro alumni’s, on various local hiking trails, purchasing the right equipment and visiting the travel clinic to ensure we’ve got all the proper vaccinations and medications for Tanzania, etc.

This Kili Challenge is much more than meets the eye. It’s a physical challenge, a mental challenge and a spiritual challenge but, most important, it is a tribute to Lana who passed away February 1^st, 2015. Amongst all the hustle and bustle surrounding the Kili Challenge and planning for the fund raising dinner, the passing away of a friend due to cancer just last week, August 30^th, was another reminder to seize the moment and to take stock of one’s life and to move forward with intention rather than have life drive you.

I am reminded of a short article by an unknown author titled “Live A Life That Matters “. It reads as follows (and, for those who are not into reading we have a video for you below.)

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.

There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.

All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will

pass to someone else.

Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.

It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.

Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear.

So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will expire.

The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.

It won't matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks

you lived, at the end.

It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.

Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built; not what

you got, but what you gave.

What will matter is not your success, but your significance.

What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.

What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or

sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate

your example.

What will matter is not your competence, but your character.

What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will

feel a lasting loss when you're gone.

What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in

those who loved you.

What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a

matter of circumstance but of choice.

Choose to live a life that matters.

-- Author Unknown--

As Spencer and I, Salim and his daughter Safiya, begin the climb on Sep 10^th, I will think on these things and, hopefully, you will think along with me.

Bill D. (The Blind Guy who thinks he can climb Kilimanjaro)

Pink Pearl Fund Raising Dinner – Part 2

The fund raising dinner event raised approximately $25,000. It was an amazing event and successful beyond our wildest dreams. Even the media got wind of the event.

Thanks to all the volunteers that made this event a phenomenal success!

Bill

Pink Pearl Fund Raising Dinner – Part 1

Date:  August  21, 2015  (Sunday)Time:

Time:  6:30 pm

Place: Pink Pearl Seafood Restaurant (Vancouver)

Ticket Price:  $50 per person   

Venue:  Dinner / Dance / Karaoke (by donation/pledge), Dance

The fund raising dinner was to raise money to support two charities, the Alzheimer Society of B.C. and the Down Syndrome Research Foundation  (see initial postings for the full story of why we’re supporting these two charities). The fund raising event was very well attended.

The following will give you some idea of what happened during the evening:

See the next posting for Part 2 of the fund raising evening.

Bill