Hardwear Sessions

Our climbs took us through two different countries, five distinct ecosystems, and temperatures ranging from 70 degrees F to 10 degrees F. Conversation on the mountain ranged widely given that our crew was comprised of Americans, Australians, Kenyans, and Tanzanians. As a result, four national anthems were sung on every summit and matching flags were flown. Needless to say the 3 Peaks expedition did not go unnoticed through Kenya and Tanzania.

The timing of our expedition was very tight, leaving us with only two rest days between climbs. While a significant portion of our rest time was exhausted by transport between mountains, we still had enough time to visit with our non-profit organizations; the Laikipia Wildlife Forum (laikipia.org), Students for International Change (sichange.org), and The School of St. Jude (schoolofstjude.co.tz). All funds raised for 3 Peaks support specific projects within these non-profit organizations and we had the great privilege of seeing each project in action.

Before we started up the slopes of Mt. Kenya, we spent two days in Laikipia, Kenya, visiting our non-profit organization, the Laikipia Wildlife Forum. We traveled by truck, plane, and boat to meet a group of Masai women entrepreneurs who run a small lodge in Laikipia. They rent the lodge out to Safari outfitters and schools, generating revenue that they invest back into their community. Their business sprung from the Laikipia Wildlife Forum's Community Conservation program and is single-handedly challenging the Masai community to rethink the role of women in their community. It was empowering to meet these women and climb Mt. Kenya in their honor.

Between our climb of Mt. Kenya and Mt. Meru, we met with a group of 20 women living with AIDS in Arusha, Tanzania. The women's group is organized and supported by Students for International Change (SIC), another 3 Peak's non-profit organization. These courageous women are confronting stereotypes about HIV/AIDS and raising awareness about the virus to help educate and protect others. The torrential rains on Mt. Meru only made us more determined to reach the summit in their honor of these brave women and SIC's HIV/AIDS mobile testing project.

Finally, before we summited the third and final peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro, we spent time at the School of St. Jude in Arusha. The student's insatiable appetite for knowledge gave our team a much-needed boost of energy to tackle Mt. Kilimanjaro. On days five and six of our trek up Kilimanjaro, we kept slogging toward the summit in order to make St. Judes students proud. We are excited to use 3 Peaks funding to help the School of St. Jude build a Secondary school campus so that all 800 of its Primary School students can achieve higher education.

Thus, frozen hands, out-of-control bowels, blistering sunburns, and weeks of camp food seemed a small price to pay in comparison to what our partner organizations must fight. It was exciting for us to experience first-hand how 3 Peaks is making a difference in Africa.

Was it worth it?! Absolutely. Our team pushed through two years of training and endured three weeks of high altitude trekking in Africa to support causes for which we are passionate. We are proud to have exceeded our original fundraising target of $180,000 and we are eager to continue fundraising. In late 2007, Serac Adventure Films (seracfilms.com) will release a documentary on 3 Peaks that we will use to continue raising awareness for our 3 Peak causes around the world. Meanwhile, you can check out photographs of our treks and view the trailer for the 3 Peaks movie on Serac's website (seracfilms.com). Also, log on to 3peaks3weeks.org to learn about the future of 3 Peaks. Will you climb in 2008?

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