Rotary Log: August 2, 2012 (the big climb)

It was race day for the Thunder Chicken 5k! Soon after our meeting was called to order by President Nancy, Rotarians sang the Star Spangled Banner in honor of the Olympic Games in London and the American team representing our country. There were numerous guests and visiting Rotarians on hand and lucky for them they were able to witness the two minute tidbit from Dave Underhill. Dave discussed the club’s many charitable activities and put Bill Hurley on the spot asking what club activity nets over $10,000 to the club. His answer? Christmas tree sales! Good answer Bill.

The Salvation Army is asking Rotarians to help on Friday, August 31^st at the NH Liquor at the Portsmouth Traffic Circle to ring bells. Six to Twelve volunteers would be ideal!

Our friend Luis introduced the program’s speaker, who happens to also be a Portsmouth Rotarian. Shari Donnermeyer educated and entertained the club with her storytelling and pictures of her exciting trip to climb Africa’s tallest mountain, Mt. Kilimanjaro, which stands at 19,340ft.

Her trip began with a long flight from Boston to Amsterdam, then another long flight due south to Tanzania. Her arrival was well-timed at the start of the southern Africa rainy season. Due to the tough weather conditions and since all the roads were full of water, Shari’s climb had to start at a much lower elevation. The climbing group consisted of six climbers and forty two porters. The porters were there to carry the supplies needed for the climb. The expedition stayed two days at 8000 ft. and each climber had their own tent for the hike. The climber’s showers consisted of a bucket of water! Shari had to wait nine full days for a luxurious shower. Fortunately, she explained, the food was really good. Who needs a shower when you have good eats!

Mt. Kilimanjaro is known as the easiest mountain to climb out of all of the tallest peaks on every continent. Since the mountain is close to the equator, the temperatures stay much warmer than normally found on the tallest peaks in the world. 10 degrees at the summit is still really cold!

The expedition climbed for six hours a day and all the extra time was spent reading books and magazines or you got stuck talking to each other for hours at a time. Shari encountered all sorts of wildlife including giraffes (not at the summit), monkeys, and sophisticated ant hills.

They spent the night before summiting at 18,700 ft. The summit climb was only 500 ft., but that last 500 ft. took an hour since the air is so thin. At 18,700, Shari was not feeling well, but a snickers candy bar and some medicine got her through to the top. The group was able to see the sunrise at the summit. The glaciers on the summit continue to melt at an alarming pace at the summit and soon they will be gone.

The descent was very difficult due to the trail conditions. When they made it to the final camp, all the porters sang and danced. In all, it was seven days up and two days down for a total of 54 miles roundtrip.

We all thought Shari would be the only person we knew that climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, but sure enough, Rev. Allen didn’t disappoint. He climbed it in 1961 and made the point that he did it without toilets!

Shari finished the vacation on a safari and visiting the islands of Zanzibar , best known for its history in the slave trade.

New dad Ben Wheeler won the 50/50 raffle, but missed on the bonus!