Mt. Kilimanjaro is the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. It's also a dormant volcano and one of the 7 summits. I can now say proudly that I stood on its summit. :) Kili was tough and unlike the other 2 peaks - it was a traffic jam! Tons of people from all over the world equally (well, maybe not quite equally) determined to reach the top. It was at this point we talked as a team and decided that we wanted to stand together on this our third summit. Laura, Paul, and Ema warned us. Kili is different. You are [View Full Entry]

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Mt Meru - or to be forever know (forgive my French!) as "Eff You Meru!" - was another epic battle of mental strength over never-ending mountainous rock face. Day 1 started out pretty well - we walked with a group of 11 girls from the School of St. Jude - the school for extremely poor students in Arusha, TZ. These girls were awesome, mostly chatty, and far more fit that I wish to rehash today. Cecelia was my little buddy. She asked lots of questions, loved Beyonce and Celine Dion... yuck! :) So glad Canada can contribute to the cultural fabric [View Full Entry]

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As per the request of my family back home, I wanted to jot down some initial thoughts on each of the 3 mountains. Yes, I won't be able to add pictures for awhile... but don't be upset. I am still in Kenya - today in Diani, about 30 km south of Mombasa, on the beach for a few days - celebrating my birthday! Horrah! 25! Mt Kenya. As we drove from Nairobi to Nanyuki... I was freaking out. We kept passing mountains, and I was sitting there praying that they would casually mention... "Oh yes, this is the one. This is [View Full Entry]

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Greetings from Kenya!!! Firstly, let me apologize for the complete lack of updates throughout the official time of 3 Peaks 3 Weeks. Less down time and dodgy internet at best. But all of that was irrelevant compared to the incredible experience of a lifetime walking with 10 inspiring women + some super fun guides up 3 of Africa's highest mountains. Please visit our Live 2010 Updates posted daily by Laura, a co-founder of 3 Peaks, and one of our fearless leaders. Enjoy the read and pictures - my thoughts on each mountain to follow. Love, Heather [View Full Entry]

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This is goign to be a quick one- because it isn't that galmorous...but I made it through 2 9 hour flights (without getting up once either time... my camel-like tendencies are impressive, right?). Got some good sleep in my hostel room - very friendly place. Happy and hungry - off to find breakfast. Big hugs from Kenya! [View Full Entry]

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One Last Post Before I Hit the Road... I Mean Air...?!?! Today is an exciting, scary, and wonderful day. By this time tomorrow I will be 40,000 above the Atlantic Ocean. Crikey! :) Warm wishes and good lucks keep coming in on facebook. They've been super motivating and a sweet reminder of all of the people behind me on this journey. I said goodbye to my mom and sister yesterday before going to my dad's who will take me to airport Sunday afternoon. My mom was overprotective as always, but I secretly (or not so much now since she may [View Full Entry]

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Peak Issue in East Africa - EDUCATION To support education in East Africa, 3 Peaks 3 Weeks 2010 will support The School of St. Jude in Arusha, Tanzania. The School of St. Jude is a sponsorship-supported English Medium School in Tanzania that primarily serves orphaned and vulnerable children from the lowest socio-economic backgrounds. The school blends the best of Western and Tanzanian instructional methods to instill critical thinking and high moral Christian values in students who will later become the leaders and builders of Tanzania. In 2002 a young lady, Gemma Rice (now Gemma Sisia), from a sheep farm in [View Full Entry]

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Peak Issue in East Africa - HIV/AIDS Support for International Change Tanzania A few short weeks ago, the 3 Peaks Team receievd an email from Erica Mackey, Executive Director of Support for International Change (SIC) asking the team which of their 3 current funding priorities our team would like to support. This was a very interesting opportunity. But man, was making the decision tough. From my time in development, I really have learned that projects need to be sustainable, holistic, and focus on long-term solutions. But everyone needs our help! SIC believes that the HIV/AIDS crisis creates both an imperative to [View Full Entry]

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Peak Issue in East Africa - The Environment (Taken from Laikipia Wildlife Foum website) The Laikipia Wildlife Forum or LWF brings the people of Laikipia together, to work together, to conserve the integrity of the Laikipia ecosystem by creatively managing its natural resources to improve the livelihoods of its people. The Laikipia Wildlife Forum (LWF) is a dynamic, membership driven organisation conserving wildlife outside protected areas across the Ewaso ecosystem. Its motto: Conservation in Action reflects the spirit of the people who take part in this forum, which brings together local community initiatives, private ranchers, pastoralists, small scale farmers, and [View Full Entry]

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3P3W Climbing Itinerary Tue-05-Jan-10 Arrival. Wed-06-Jan-10 Briefing & activity day Nairobi. Thu-07-Jan-10 Transfer to Laikipia. Fri-08-Jan-10 LWF day. Sat-09-Jan-10 Mt Kenya. Sun-10-Jan-10 Mt Kenya. Mon-11-Jan-10 Mt Kenya. Tue-12-Jan-10 Mt Kenya. Wed-13-Jan-10 Mt Kenya. Thu-14-Jan-10 End Mt Kenya. Fri-15-Jan-10 Transfer to Arusha. Sat-16-Jan-10 Rest day. Sun-17-Jan-10 Mt Meru. Mon-18-Jan-10 Mt Meru. Tue-19-Jan-10 Mt Meru. Wed-20-Jan-10 End Mt Meru. St Jude's visit. Thu-21-Jan-10 SIC afternoon. Fri-22-Jan-10 SIC morning. Afternoon briefing. Sat-23-Jan-10 Kilimanjaro. Sun-24-Jan-10 Kilimanjaro. Mon-25-Jan-10 Kilimanjaro. Tue-26-Jan-10 Kilimanjaro. Wed-27-Jan-10 Kilimanjaro. Thu-28-Jan-10 Kilimanjaro. Fri-29-Jan-10 End Kilimanjaro. January 30th, I travel the 8 hour ride from Arusha back to Nairobi to meet up with [View Full Entry]

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