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On January 14th at 4:00 in the morning, the adven-
ture began with a long bus ride down to JFK and an
even longer flight to the other side of the world. For
nearly all of the crew, this was their first time to the
African continent. And for three of these students,
this would be their first time out of the U.S. at all. One
student, Ashley Guevara, celebrated her "Sweet 16"
birthday on the first full day in the country. Though far
from the familiar comforts of home, she was surround-
ed by the celebrations of the climbing team and hotel
staff, who brought her cake and sang for her in both
English and Swahili. Embracing Tanzanian custom,
Ashley fed each person a bite of cake before having
any herself.
Under the guidance of the tour company Boma
Africa (www.thisisafricasafari.com) with their guides,
cooks, and porters, the group began their ascent on
Wednesday, January 18th on the Lemosho route, a
route know for high success rates due to the time it
allows for acclimatization. (The majority of hikers who
fail to summit Kilimanjaro do so because of the alti-
tude.) The route led the group east across the Shira
Plateau, over Lava Tower and the daunting Barranco
Wall, with its famed "kissing rock," named so because
the climber has to get so close to the rock in order to
pass safely that she appears to be kissing it.
