click here for MountainZone.com
AAI
Alpine Ascents




MountainZone.com Marketplace





SEE ALSO
Denali 2000
Ed Viesturs
Climbs 8K Peaks

Everest 2000
Everest Archives





Kilimanjaro
click for:   »HOME   »DISPATCHES   » PHOTOS   »TEAM BIOS   »SPONSORS
Living Life to the Fullest
Thursday, July 20, 2000

Berg
Berg
DISPATCHES
previous next
Hear Wally's Call from Africa
LISTEN:  [RealPlayer]  [Windows Media]

(Requires a FREE media player to listen.)


Mountain Zone, it's Wally Berg on the 20th of July. I told you yesterday from the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater that I was wrapping up the Climb for the Cure dispatches for the season. But now back in the sun in Arusha about 24 hours later, I just decided to post another dispatch to let you know, as we parted ways today, what a great feeling the entire team had about the success of this event: our own physical success on Kilimanjaro, our spiritual success, sharing adventures with wonderful people, one another, and the wonderful people of Tanzania, as we traveled through this marvelous country and, of course, the experience on safari.

It's rough, it's dusty, but it's an adventure — that's what our safari motto is here in Tanzania. We got back exhausted last night, but with a very fulfilled and satisfied feeling. We began splitting up a few days ago, as you know Bonnie returned to Colorado yesterday. Jeannine, and Kathryn, and Eric, one of the long-standing Alpine Ascents and "Wally Berg" guides here in Tanzania — he's been many times with me on these adventures — those three headed off to Serengeti and we're all really envious of the adventures they're going to have out there.

Eric, as a safari driver, is one of the most knowledgeable, and skilled, and best humored of the great bush buck crew that works for us here. Eric's from the Mngoni tribe, in Southwestern Tanzania. He's spent years and years as a hunting guide and he can tell you a lot of stories about some rather hair-raising experiences, often, at least a few times, the loss of human life as he was out hunting on safaris in Africa. And I think Eric pretty much now enjoys using his vast knowledge to share with people who are interested in the wildlife of East Africa that are plenty happy to just go home with a picture and stay inside the security of a Land Rover. I think from some of the stories that got out that good times and all we had out there, in terms of experience, and seeing a lot of East African wildlife, that is going to stay with us all for the rest of our lives.

But most everyone is on their way home now. Jeff Vittal is heading back to Denver — already anxious for the school season to start. We have Paul and Bill Dunker, the father-and-son team, heading home. The entire crew will be — except for Kathryn and Jeannine — will be on a plane out of Nairobi tonight. Except for Mark, Mark Keleher is heading over to Zanzibar; he booked a flight over there with Bush Buck, our agent, and left at 12:30 today and he's looking forward to the beaches and the culture of Zanzibar. And Sally and myself, and James, and Tobias came in today, and we did a little proprietory work for the next trip, and we're unwinding this afternoon and going to catch our breath a little bit and then go right back at it with Tobias, James, Mark, John and the other excellent Chagga guides that work with us on the mountain. We're looking forward to the next trip.

Best wishes just to everyone who supported this Climb for the Cure effort: both family members who have just been behind the climbers and certainly the scores of people who sent big checks and little checks to support the cause and the spirit of this effort that we undertook over here. We're proud of the spirit of life that we carried through in our climb on Kilimanjaro — out in the wind, and the sand, and the dust of East Africa as we took in all this wonderful scene with the wildlife and the topography, the landscape of East Africa. We lived life to the fullest, which was our goal, in honor of many people that mean a great deal to us. We're all satisfied that that was very much just what we pulled off. Best wishes for now, I'll talk to you later as upcoming trips get underway.

Alpine Ascents Guide Wally Berg, MountainZone.com Correspondent

email to a friendEmail this story to a friend


[MountainZone.com Home] [Climbing Home]