About Johnamanjaro
2014 is the year of Liz’s and my 50th birthdays. We wanted to do something special – something momentous. We’ve reached a summit of sorts in our lives. How would we celebrate our accomplishments?
Two things made sense to us: First, we should do something challenging that would stretch our abilities and prove we can still achieve. Second, we always want to share our hard work with others.
Thus, Johnamanjaro was born.
Starting on Saturday, February 8th, 2014, we begin our climb of Mount Kilimanjaro in Arusha Tanzania, Africa.
However, starting November 1st, 2013, we begin celebrating our Summit goal by tapping into the generosity of our friends — and their friends — to pledge their support of our climb by helping us give to the charities we most value. We will match your gifts, up to $50,000 dollars, to help us celebrate our 50th birthdays in the best way possible – by helping others.
50 years, $50,000, 5 charities!
Matching your gifts, up to $50,000, is really the easier part. The Climb – well that will be a challenge….
The Climb
Day 1 – Saturday, February 8: We hike for about six hours through dense rubber tree and giant fig forests to our first camp, which is set at an altitude of 10,000 feet. This is almost twice the altitude of Denver, Colorado.
Day 2 – Sunday, February 9: Starting at 6 AM, we’ll hike out of the forest and up into the Hagenia zone. Our camp today will be at an elevation of approximately 12,500 feet.
Day 3 – Monday, February 10: Our route takes us across the Shira Plateau and up to 15,000 feet and then we will descend towards our camp settling at an elevation of approximately 13,000 feet. The summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs is 14,000.
Days 4 & 5 – Tuesday, February 11 and Wednesday February 12th: We hike four to five hours each of these days to Barafu Camp (15,200 feet). These shorter days are to help us acclimatize to the higher altitudes and rest for our big day on the 13th.
Day 6, The Summit – Thursday, February 13: We awake at midnight to start the final ascent. After about six hours of hiking, we reach Stella Point at 18,630 feet on the rim of Mount Kilimanjaro’s crater. We will watch the sunrise and then continue for another hour around the rim to Uhuru Peak, which at 19,341 feet is the highest point in Africa. After savoring our achievement, we begin the descent to 10,200 feet. Total trekking time this day is approximately thirteen hours. We’ll sleep well tonight, regardless of the altitude we achieve, knowing that we’ve helped raise money and awareness to help those less fortunate.
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