Kilimanjaro

I successfully made it to the top of the 19,341 foot summit of Kilimanjaro. It was a rough climb. My group chose the Machame route (also known as the whiskey route) which is one of the more challenging climbs to the top.

I was graciously joined by a fantastic Canadian family and a professor from the UK. Our group of five climbers required an entourage of 15 porters, two guides and one cook to carry us up the mountain.

The scene certainly brought images of the Colonial Era expeditions in Africa. I thought I had signed up for the budget tour but that even came with the full floral display on our dinner table which the porters took to each campsite.

Other groups on the mountain had as many as 200 people in their company with house-sized tents, elegant meals, gas generators and flat screen TVs. Each night was like staying in a tented village. Not quite the camping I had in mind.

The physical and mental challenges of the climb were intense and at many points I seriously questioned my ability to continue. It took us five days to climb and one day to descend back to the town of Moshi.

The more time people spend on the ascent the better their chances are of avoiding altitude sickness.

The ranger station at 14,000ft sold cold beer.

The summit of Kilimanjaro was one of the most spectacular views I have experienced in my life. It made the whole journey worth all the troubles.

Now that I have mastered the two tallest peaks in Africa, I will set my sights on the Americas, Asia or Antarctica.

One more job update:

I was recently given an enticing offer by a UNDP organization called AMSCO that places expatriate managers in companies across Africa. I will now be working under AMSCO instead of Accenture with my new role as General Manager and Chief Financial Officer of Juhudi Kilimo. AMSCO provides all the benefits of a UN employee such as diplomatic immunity and tax free salary. I will still be in Nairobi until December unless our team can finally raise some money to keep the company going.

I will be in the US for the next two weeks which includes a long fishing trip on the Colorado River.