They all reached the summit today!

Here’s the check-in from Marcus: “Cumbre! We have made it to the summit and back. We left camp at midnight under an almost full moon. After six hours of hard work, we were standing on the roof of Africa! After getting the mandatory summit pics, we headed down and back out to Mweka Camp, back in the rainforest. We walk out tomorrow morning and are psyched for some good R&R before our next adventures!” – Marcus Bailado

It’s a big push to get to the top! Climbers get up in the middle of the night and hope to reach the summit just after sunrise. The Schmidt family did great today, getting to the top in six hours from the Barafu Camp. It was a 4,000′ climb and approximately 2.75 miles traveled to get to the summit this morning, and then they had to come down… They descended back to High Camp, where they took a break and had some food, and then continued down the mountain another 5,000 vertical feet to get to tonight’s camp down below treeline at 10,000′.  That means they climbed 4,000′ this morning and then descended over 9,000 vertical feet today. It’s a big day, but they’re back down in the warm, thick air and happy to celebrate their accomplishment with the team. It took a team of nearly 20 porters, cooks, and guides to make this trip happen and we appreciate not only the climbers, but everyone who contributed to their success.

After well-deserved sleep tonight, they’ll continue down to the trailhead and end up in a beautiful hotel tomorrow, where they can celebrate and prepare for their upcoming Safari!