We’ve dubbed the new vehicle Kubwa, which means huge or really huge in Swahili depending on inflection. I’d hoped to call it son of a bomba, but no one else seemed to see the humor as much as I did, and “huge” really seems appropriate for this vehicle with it’s wheels straight out of a monster truck rally.

We’ve just left Mobility Care, which will manufacture our donated  wheelchairs. After the climb we’ll meet the first three wheelchair recipients. To me, this is as exciting as our climb of Kili, for which we’re now driving to the Marangu Hotel for an early morning start.

I don’t think that I’m a typical wheelchair user. It’s funny that my life didn’t take an obvious turn after my accident–whatever that means. I realize that I’m a participant in not taking an obvious path, but I’m also the product of some great opporunities. Many people aided me from doctors, nurses, family, friends, and total strangers. We just never know what twists and turns our lives will take. With our Mobilty Care relationship and with the climb and documentary film I hope that we can provide some twists and turns for people who’d long ago assumed an obvious
straight path.

As I lay in bed last night unable to sleep with anticipation, I wondered how I could find that quiet place that would allow me to rest, to relax, and to nod off. I wondered if it was a person, a memory, maybe just counting backwards from 1000 by 3’s. Nothing soothed the disquiet, until I thought, I need help. Ease finally came.  As my friend Nate, our doctor on the trip, said, “If you don’t ask for help, we don’t have a purpose.”

Hi all,

We’re here. Everything arrived but the rigs and Dave Penney’s gear,  which should arrive tomorrow evening on the next flight from  Amsterdam. Not having the rigs will make things more challenging, but  that’s why we built in a couple of days before the climb.

It was really nice to get on the plane after the frenetic pace of getting ready, but the inactivity was difficult too. Movies, books and sleep were not quite enough to rest my flitful mind which is  continually working out mountain scenarios. I know that part of my  personal goal is to quiet my mind, but it’s more difficult when  there’s no physical action. Ah, the lessons begin before the mountain.

The team is tremendous as always. Director Amanda Stoddard, director of photography Patrick Reddish, cinematographer Mike Stoner, and multiple media manager Ryan Gass are excited prepared, and capturing footage along the way. For security reasons they weren’t able to catch  Bob More, in flip flops, giving me a piggyback down the stairs from plane to Tarmac. Bob, who was a fraternity brother and is the President of the One Rev board, and Nate Bryan, who ski raced with me at Middlebury and is our doctor, are new additions to the team. Along with Expedition Manager Dave Penney, it’s a great group that has weathered the day and a half of travel from US Mountain West to slightly sub-equatorial Tanzania.

The air was a soft, smooth 80 degrees as we disembarked into a deep darkness absent of street lights or almost any other lights. I’m writing in the Rover as we drive from the remote airport to the busy city of Arusha. Meeting our drivers, Peter and Kihigo, with hugs and handshakes felt like a homecoming after our previous two trips. The more people we get to know, the more connected we are to Africa and Tanzaia.

I hope for quality rest before the street corner preacher with the speakers, I’m sure he’ll still be there, starts his sermon at about 5am tomorrow morning. From the big, deep dark sky, to the friends, the Rovers and even that early morning preacher, we’re feeling comfortable and ready.

Thanks for all of your help.

Best, Chris

Summit day of my climb will be the most difficult. We will leave Kibo Hut at 15,500 feet for the summit at 19,340 feet, almost 4000 feet of vertical distance in only 5 kilometers of actual distance. Needless to say, it’s steep, and it’s loose and rocky. Bomba, my vehicle, is powered by the two back wheels. On the steep, loose terrain, it won’t power as much as it will dig trenches, so we need an alternative method of climbing the mountain.

Today, we’re testing and putting the finishing touches on the winch—a self-tailing sailing winch that will allow me to climb a fixed rope. An alternate chain will attach my cranks to the winch. Through pedaling, I will pull the rope towards me, effectively moving myself up the mountain. The loose surface will matter less as I roll along the top instead of digging in with the back wheels.

When we did our scouting mission in June, we used a winch really effectively. We hope that this winch will be more effective, but at the moment we’re still putting all the pieces together. I’ll let you know tomorrow how the winch testing went, and I’ll let you know how optimistic we are about that final summit day.

Big wheels were the term of the day yesterday. My climbing vehicle looked like something out of a Batman movie. Each of the four wheels was four inches in width—larger than a motocross wheel. The larger profile grew the wheels from 26” to closer to 29”. When my old wheels sat next to them they looked like toys—ridiculously small.

So we took Bomba, with the new Batman style wheels out for a test ride, and they worked great. I climbed up a steep pitch on rocks that were often bigger than basketballs. While it wasn’t easy, it was possible. The clock is ticking on us. Sunday is coming quickly, but we’re still working to improve the vehicles. Dave Penney has assembled a great team. A lot needs to come together in the next few days. It seems like a crazy situation, but I have a strange confidence that it will all work.