Berg

DISPATCHES

Hear Wally's Call from Africa

LISTEN:  [RealPlayer]  [Windows Media]

(Requires a FREE media player to listen.)

Hi Mountain Zone. It's Wally Berg and I'm calling you from Tarangire Park in northern Tanzania. I told you I'd report that we got off the mountain safely and, in fact, we have. A rather celebratory and relaxed time caused me to delay my dispatch letting you know we got down safely, but the entire team of 14 has been doing great on our walk down the mountain.

And now, here we are, out— as many of you will recall, if you followed the dispatches last year— in what is my favorite of the parks of northern Tanzania. We had a beautiful, relaxing game drive today. Regrettably, we had to say goodbye to Bonnie Neiheisel, who returned to Denver this morning, but here we are, out on our safari. We saw lions today, elephants everywhere, as always in Tarangire.

The camaraderie and the warmth after this climb is really strong with this team. Those two sisters, Yael and Tali, who did really well on their summit climb the other day, seemed tired today as we took off, but as wide-eyed as the rest of us out here on safari.

I reported to you what it was like up there on the summit—a bit invigorating and a bit hectic. [It's] always humbling being on a mountain like that. You know that you're in a very serious place, you've pushed yourself to get there, you're invigorated and high about being up there, grateful for the opportunity but also serious about getting down.

That was mostly what was on my mind as a guide up there the other day. I found out after we got back down that, in fact, the core Climb for the Cure team had pulled together up there on the summit up there in that wind and they lit a candle— actually it was a match— but they lit a symbolic candle in honor of Nyerere's quote about lighting a candle for the world from Kilimanjaro. They shared a moment of silence about those that we've lost and the determination we have to carry forward with doing what we can to fight this terrible disease: breast cancer.

I think, also, each of the members of this team, all 14 members, [have] a commitment to live life to the fullest and take advantage of every mountain we can and every challenge we can face, and breath deep, live hearty, in honor of those we've lost, and savoring every day that we can.

And that's exactly what's going on out here on safari. I'd like to continue to keep you updated about how this entire group's doing— a lot of fun with our safari drivers, these talented, learned, fun-loving men: Godsen, Abu and Eric, all of these guides who have been with me many times in the past. We have a lot of laughs and we have a lot of fun out looking for wildlife, looking for good times in the safari parks of northern Tanzania. I'm going to continue to report to you as we follow through on this adventure.

—Alpine Ascents Guide Wally Berg, MountainZone.com Correspondent

Email this story to a friend