An article that appeared in Gastronome magazine Vol 3, 1999

(national publication of the Chaine des Rotisseurs)

Mt. Kilimanjaro Climb

Ede Weiner, National Chargée de Presse

On February 25, 1999, five intrepid Chaîne members reached Uhuru Peak, the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa. Foregoing our Epicurean tastes, we trekked without wine and without any food that required refrigeration. In fact all of our meals were prepared over a wood fire and, above the tree line, over a kerosene burner. Iodine pills flavored every sip of water, We had no toilets, and certainly no showers-not even towels. We did, however, have 4 guides, 6 cooks, (not really chefs), and over 50 porters for our group of 14.

We began our climb at 7500 feet and reached 16,000 feet after the sixth day. On the seventh day we climbed for 7 hours over 2000 feet up the steep Western Breach Wall, where many times we had to use our hands to pull ourselves over huge boulders. On the eighth day we were 800 feet from the top. We were awakened that morning at 4:00 AM. Inside our tents it was six degrees Fahrenheit. Our water bottles froze while we were at breakfast. The wind blew, and we were numb with cold, but we made it to Uhuru Peak around 7:15 AM. By then the sun was shining, and we were warmed enough by our excitement to reach for our cameras. We descended by another route and were back in our lodge the next night, the ninth day.