From Gilman's Point we will follow the Rabbits and Turtles separately as the two groups experienced different weather and visibility in spite of the short distance and time separating the two groups.
Photos in this section have been provided by Rick Billingham, Rich Wortley, and Chris Branch.
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L-R Robert DeWolf, Anthony Welcher, and Rick Billingham at Gilman's Point. It is sunny when they arrive there. The long ridge behind them and to the right leads to Uhuru Peak..
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| Rich Wortley at Gilman's Point. |
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Robert DeWolf. This is the 3rd of the Seven Summits for Robert and I am betting he will chase after the other 4 peaks which represent the highest points of elevation in each of the seven continents.
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The Rabbits have departed Gilman's Point and are gaining on Stella Point. The two landmarks are about half an hour apart, both of them on the east rim of the Kibo crater.
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| Almost at Stella Point. The route to the summit follows the ridge to the right. |
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| Stella Point is 18,885 ft. above sea level. |
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Another view of the crater floor to the left and a portion of the trail that follows the crater rim between Stella Point and Uhuru Peak.
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Once on the long summit ridge, several glaciers on the outer side of the south crater rim come into view. They include Rebmann Glacier, Decken Glacier, Kersten Glacier, and Heim Glacier. All of these are part of the Southern Icefield.
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| South rim glaciers are momentarily obscured by local clouds. |
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| These blocks of ice appear to be several hundreds of feet thick. |
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| The trail here angles toward the right and the summit is very near. |
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| L-R Anthony Welcher and Robert DeWolf stand atop the summit ridge. |
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Our destination for the past 8 days has been reached by the Rabbits. This is the highest point in all of Africa and Kibo is considered to be the world's highest free-standing mountain as measured from its base to the summit.
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Many personal celebrations were held and photos were taken at the summit. Here the guides and porters are waiting as a light snowfall descends on the top of Kibo.
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L-R Robert DeWolf, the Seahawks 12th Man Flag, Rick Billingham, and Anthony Welcher are on top of Africa. Well done!
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| The same fellows, plus Rich Wortley in the green parka, also raise a Rainier Club flag at the summit. This flag was later presented to the current president of the Rainier Club, Miller Adams. |
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| L-R Robert DeWolf, Anthony Welcher, and Rich Wortley. It is snowing! |
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All the Rabbits assembled at the summit. The three on the bottom include L-R Chris Branch, Alexandra Branch, and Alicia Chapman. The two in the middle are Robert DeWolf on the left and Rick Billingham. The two on top are Rich Wortley in green and Anthony Welcher.
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While on the summit ridge, there was a short opportunity to explore up close some of Kibo's glaciers which have greatly diminished in size during the past 20-25 years. The combination of wind and thawing, snow storms, and occasional rain squalls have produced a rather exotic look in some places. These waves and the surf are all ice.
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| Another view. |
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Recent snow covered most of the glaciers we saw, but it did not stick in many places on the bare ground.
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| Tangled mass of snow and ice. |
The Rabbits left the summit while there was still plenty of daylight left and arrived at Crater Camp in time to do some nearby exploring and get a good rest.
The Turtles reach Gilman's Point, Stella Point, the Southern Icefields, and Uhuru Peak with slightly different weather conditions and have a very different visual experience for most of the rest of the day.
The Turtles are at the summit or Uhuru Peak late in the day and the sun is sinking below the horizon as they follow the trail from the summit ridge to Crater Camp in the dark. The guides are to be commended for getting everyone to Crater Camp with no trips and falls.
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