Category: Mount Kilimanjaro

At the summit of Africa's tallest mountain, a stray dog has been observed scampering around. Vets are baffled as to how the mongrel managed to reach the 19,000-foot-high Kilimanjaro. Last night, experts were attempting to determine how the dog, which was discovered by a party of climbers, had managed to survive the extremely difficult circumstances on the Tanzanian mountain. According to a story in Kenya's Daily Nation, the surprised climbers were so taken aback that they phoned local publications to report the encounter. Wilfred Marealle, a Tanzanian animal expert, was astounded to find that a dog had scaled the massive ice-capped peak. 'A dog hiking to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro is not something you see every day,' he remarked. The animal was discovered by a party of four international climbers, including tourist Antoine le Galloudec. 'As I was emptying myself, I noticed the dog sleeping about a meter away from where I was standing on a rock,' he claimed. Experts were working today to figure out how the animal survived the infamously difficult circumstances at Kilimanjaro's Uhuru Peak. Because the section of the mountain where the dog was discovered is so high, temperatures are regularly below freezing, and climbers are cautioned about the dangers of altitude sickness. Local officials speculated that the stray animal may be the same dog seen a decade ago near a camp lower down the mountain. 'When the visitors showed us the photo of the dog, we couldn't believe it,' said Tanzanian tour guide Abel Edward. What was it eating and how did it live in such bitter cold? Mount Kilimanjaro is the fourth tallest of the Seven Summits, which refers to the highest peaks on each of the seven continents as a group. The dormant volcano is located in northern Tanzania, close to the

Former England rugby star, Andy Blyth, a center, has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro despite 11 years of worrying he might be paralyzed for life. Blyth took part in the AXAWealth Climb alongside Rugby Players' Association chairman David Barnes and former England hooker Mark Regan to raise £100,000 for injured players and wounded warriors. 'What Andy has done is inspiring and nothing short of miraculous,' said Damian Hopley, RPA chief executive. Blyth began his career as a hard-hitting centre for Newcastle before going on to Northampton and then Sale, each move aimed at improving his chances of earning a Test cap to go along with his six England A appearances. On March 12, 2000, those dreams were dashed. Blyth tackled Thierry Lacroix less than a minute into a game against Saracens before getting wiped out by the opposition pack as he sought to battle for the ball. It's a scenario that occurs frequently throughout each game, but Blyth's third disc in his back was displaced on this occasion. It nicked his spinal cord as it moved. Anything below Blyth's shoulders was out of his control. He was a tetraplegic at the time. Blyth had come within a hair's breadth of severing his spinal chord. 'It's time to turn off the lights.' Blyth once quipped, "That's a Christopher Reeve job." Blyth made his first movements 12 weeks later. He was hesitantly taking several steps with crutches a year later. Blyth's balance is still shaky, but he's up for the challenge of climbing Kilimanjaro. He tripped a lot on the way up, but he made it to the top despite all odds. Help for Heroes, the Rugby Football Union's Injured Players Foundation, and the RPA Benevolent Fund are all beneficiaries of the AXA Wealth Climb.

Lino Lacedelli, who was one of the first two climbers to reach the summit of K2, the world's second-highest peak and among the most perilous, passed away on November 20 at the house in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, where he had resided since the day he was born. He was 83 years old. According to Italian newspapers and broadcasters, his family stated that he passed away due to unclear circumstances following a heart procedure. Mr. Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni arrived at the peak on July 31, 1954, but neither of them would admit to being the first to reach the peak. In May, Mr. Compagnoni passed away at the age of 94. Reinhold Messner, a well-known Italian mountain climber, stated to the news agency ANSA that Mr. Lacedelli, who conquered a peak that many climbers consider to be more difficult than Everest, was one of the "greatest climbers" in the history of the sport. Surveyors from the 19th century gave the peak in the Karakoram range that is located on the boundary between Pakistan and China the name K2. This peak is located in the mountain range. Everest, which is located around 800 miles to the southeast, has a height of more than 29,000 feet. K2 is approximately 28,250 feet in height. Following Italy's experience with fascism and loss in World War II, the Italian team's triumph in the battle for K2 was lauded as a national victory. The accomplishment, according to Mr. Messner, who was the first person to summit Everest without the use of additional oxygen, led to "the psychological reconstruction of Italians." Cortina d'Ampezzo was the location where Lino Lacedelli was born on December 4th, 1925. When he was 14 years old, he evaded his father and followed a mountain guide and his customer as they climbed the

A new, independent path to Africa's highest peak was opened by a group of German mountaineers from the firm DAV Summit Club. In 2008, one of the company's top guides, Thomas Laemmle, conducted a route reconnaissance and looked at aerial photographs. Thomas Glacier Route was inaugurated at the end of October 2009 by him, eight guests, three local guides, and a national park official. The Credner glacier connects the west side of Kilimanjaro to the mountain's crater. There were only two access points to Kilimanjaro's crater: Barafu and Kibo Hut, following the closure of Route Western Breach Route in 2005. Thomas Laemmle, a German tour guide, made the smart business decision to create a third route. Thomas thoroughly researched aerial photographs and maps before taking a quick tour of the route. The DAV Summit Club thereafter started assembling a clientele. There were three Tanzanian guides, Thomas, and eight customers in the group. The head ecologist of the National Park Kilimanjaro, Ephraim Mvangomo, joined them at camp Barranco after they had traveled to the top of Meru to acclimate. On October 27, 2009, Thomas Laemmle conducted reconnaissance of the route's rocky wall and ridge leading to the Credner glacier with the help of a local guide named Dismas Marika. There, two pitons and a 25-meter rope were fastened. The next day, the entire party ascended to 4650-meter-high Lava Tower Camp. They are well-rested here and started climbing at 23:30 when the moon was full. It took seven hours to go reach the Credner Glacier's tongue. The glacier's path was difficult to follow since the dried ice was in the shape of calgaspor. The crew took a short break after climbing the glacier for two hours before moving on to journey to the Northern Icefields' ice massif. It was climbed by a

They are considerably more appealing than Chris Moyles and Gary Barlow sweating it out for Comic Relief Justin Timberlake in their attempt to climb Africa's highest mountain for charity. Watch Justin Timberlake till Lupe Fiasco destroys his tent before you smile. Singer Kenna will join rappers Justin Timberlake and Lupe Fiasco in mountain climbing. To bring attention to the clean water shortage, the trio will ascend Mount Kilimanjaro together. Kenna, who was born in Ethiopia, was the one who came up with the idea. He told Elle magazine, "My dad almost perished as a youngster from watery infections." "There are simply too many of my friends who would care about clean water. Perhaps I can assist." Naturally, reaching Africa's highest peak is no easy feat. The six-day journey is frequently attempted by tourists, but because the Tanzanian summit is so high (19,330 feet), altitude sickness is a real danger. The singer's first effort to climb Kilimanjaro was unsuccessful because 5,547 meters (18,200 feet) into the ascent, he discovered an allergy to the medicine he was using to treat altitude sickness. He was fortunate, though, since approximately 10 climbers perish on Kilimanjaro each year. The project is not being treated lightly by Timberlake. He told GQ, "I've been working out four times a week to increase my VO2 [oxygen consumption] levels and open up my lungs." "We'll climb nonstop for a week while toting 30 pounds. It will be quite intense." Due of Timberlake's commitment, Kenna has had to train "in secret". Because Justin is far more physically fit than I am, I won't work out with him, Kenna stated. Meanwhile, Lupe Fiasco has a different set of priorities. "Beating Kenna to the top is part of the incentive," he added. sabotaging his tent, removing the lining from his coat, or