Sunday, September 19, 2010

The Summit

Today was summit day. There was much anticipation and nervousness amongst the group as we prepared for the unknown. The group was divided into two groups. Group one, which left camp at 1am and was made up of nez, erica, sarah, chris, eric w and ben followed one hour later by group two consisting of michael, john, eric o, scott n, scott g and me (tj). The trail was extremely steep and the higher we went the colder it got. Oh, I forgot to mention that our camp elevation was 15200ft and the summit was 19340ft which means we had a long and cold morning ahead of us. Both teams made great progress managing a 5 and a half and 5 hour summit respectively. Adding to the excitement both teams saw an amazing sunrise from the roof of africa which made the early start well worth it. Finally we made it to the top! In addition we accomplished our secondary goal, summiting kilimanjaro with a 100 percent succes rate, every team member made it to the top. Congrats to everyone involved from family to friends and everyone in between. See you all very soon.
-TJ

8 comments:

  1. We are all so excited that you ALL made it! What an amazing accomplishment! We are so proud of you and happy for you! Can't wait to see pictures and hear all about it.
    Love, Amy,Ken,Mom and Dad (Scott G's family)

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  2. So exciting to know you all made it, what an amazing journey you all have taken! Can't wait to hear more about the climb and see the beautiful pictures!

    Love,
    Kelli
    (Eric O's sister)

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  3. So awesome to hear!! I was sitting up late thinking about all of you on the summit. Safe travels to all!

    Lyneen

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  4. So you touched the sky! You'll never feel the same again. Congratulations to you all and a save return. Sara, we kept thinking about how cold you were through this journey and hope that the sun has finally touched your toes, your hands and your heart.
    Love Dad and Mom Papp

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  5. Unbelievable! I'm so proud of all of you and pleased to know that you are safe and all together!!! You are obviously an amazing group of young people.

    xoxoxox
    Dianna (Sarah's Mom)

    P.S. I hope she managed to get an extra something to wear - I KNOW she is freezing. :)

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  6. Truly an adventure of a lifetime! This is a journey that will prove pictures can't do the views justice; but still want to see what I missed. Wishing all a safe trip back down the mountain and eventually home.

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  7. Thank You All for keeping us in the loop and allowing us to take part in your amazing journey. Everyone is very proud of what you are doing for the children and I am sure these memories will only get sweeter with time. So glad you all made it to the top and am waiting for the next post to let us know you back down and are all safe and sound.

    Love Aunt Karen (Eric O's Aunt)

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  8. You did it!

    Congratulations to all. What a milestone in your lives. Something that nobody can take away. More importantly is your cause and the affect it will have on others.......the kids!

    You all are heroes!

    However, a big kudus to our #1 Hero, Sarah McMullin. We are so proud of you. We can't wait to have you back!

    Big Love, scott, ella, and henry

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