- Kilimanjaro Revisited -
Pictures, Videos & Questions
( Xpedition Members - In their own words )
From: Joy Elementary / Fairbanks, Alaska
Hi Kenji,We wonder who you are sharing your tent with on this trip? Have you seen any "weird" creatures? We have noticed some real interesting plant life, but like to learn about animals too. What kind of insects have you seen? How deep is the snow on the top of mountain? What is the oxygen level? Hello! I am sharing tent with Dr. Narita, who is biologist from Japan. Yes, we saw many tiny warms in the moss layer at 4700m above sea level. I do not know how this developed, but we did not see last year! We are lucky to not have snow on the top. Once wet seasons start, snow can accumulate sometimes more than 30cm. most of the climbers’ oxygen level is around 70-75% saturation. So we need walk slow to take maximum oxygen. Dr. Kenji / Xpedition Faculty Member
( Xpedition Members work with Students from Iriboru High School on Mt. Meru )
From: Curtis, Innoko River School, Shageluk, Alaska, United States
Is there pressure on your ears when you are climbing?
Like our guides kept saying Poli, Poli, Swahili for slowly, slowly…. The higher we went, the less oxygen available to breath and you notice the pressure in your ears changing… Actions that we wouldn’t even think twice about near sea level became very difficult due to the lack of oxygen. To give you one example, I remember waking up out of breath at Crater Camp. I then realized it was because I was tossing and turning from side to side in an attempt to get comfortable…. Mike O’Toole / Xpedition Leader
( Xpedition Members & Iriboru High School Students test the water on Mt. Meru )
From: George H. Gilson Junior High School / Valdez, Alaska
What was the best part of your expedition? I would have to say the best part of the expedition was the new friendships I developed with other members of the expedition and knowledge of the Swahili culture, although swinging on the vines in the jungle was a lot of fun too! Jenny Heckathorn / Xpedition Faculty Member
From: Silva Agnona, GLOBE Program Office, Boulder, Colorado United States
Did you notice any difference on the mountain compared to last year? There was an obvious difference in the reduction of the glaciers near the summit of the mountain. We took a number of pictures at the same location as last year to compare the difference. Mike O’Toole / Xpedition Leader
( Dr. Kenji Narita works with students on measuring tree height )
From: Alyssa - Innoko River School / Shageluk, Alaska
Why isn't the ground muddy around the glacial ice? Where is the runoff going? Yes, sub glacier materials are sand here. So it’s drained well! We saw many runoff between immediate after glacier and 1000m below.
Dr. Kenji / Xpedition Faculty Member
From: Charity - Innoko River School / Shageluk, Alaska
Now that you are gathering the data from the sites that you set up on the mountain, what have you noticed about the results? Any patterns? We found permafrost around summit!!!
Dr. Kenji / Xpedition Faculty Member
( Xpedition Members taking hydrology measurements in the rain forest )
From: George H. Gilson Junior High School / Valdez, Alaska
How did you feel at the top? At the top of the mountain I felt a great sense of accomplishment since I had achieved my goal and I was standing on one of the 7 summits! I felt great, not out of breath at all considering we were at 19,341 feet and I made a few phone calls to family and friends when we were finished taking pictures.
Jenny Heckathorn / Xpedition Faculty Member
( Xpedition Members in search of permafrost )
From: Silva Agnona, GLOBE Program Office, Boulder, Colorado United States
Are you planning to publish a summary/report of the data collected on the mountain? Dr. Kenji Yoshikawa PhD University of Alaska Fairbanks is going to use data collected from the data loggers left on the mountain in his paper to be submitted for publication later this year. In the paper it will be cited that data was collected with the help of GLOBE Students in both the 2009 and 2010 GLOBE Xpeditions.
Mike O’Toole / Xpedition Leader
( Xpedition Students stop for a picture near Lava Tower )
New Panoramic Pictures
Click on the images below to open a larger version of the photo that will allow you to zoom in and explore the mountain in much greater detail.
( View of Kibo from Karanga Camp )
( View of the Furtwnagler Glacier )
( Mt. Kilimanjaro's Ash Pit )
( View of the Furtwnagler Glacier )
From: Destiny - Innoko River School / Shageluk, Alaska
Have you noticed any extremes in temperature that would indicate climate change? No, temperature range here (summit) is +20 to -20dC all year around, very mild. Daily temperature variation is bigger than seasonal variation. Dr. Kenji / Xpedition Faculty Member
From: Annie, Chamisa Elementary, Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States
Do you carry all the water that is used on the trek, or are you able to use snow melt or another source of water? Do you filter? Every climber carried at least 3 liters of water every day. One of the biggest challenges while on the mountain due to extreme elevation, was to avoid dehydration. This water, which was collected from streams near each camp, was boiled each night by our guides to make sure it was safe to drink.
Mike O’Toole / Xpedition Leader
( Jenny Heckathorn points to Lava Tower )
From: George H. Gilson Junior High School / Valdez, Alaska
What was the biggest difference in plants? Animals? The jungle biome was very similar in plant-life to our lush coastal rain-forest biome, but of course, we don’t have the cool “Tarzan” vines that the rainforest biome has! The moorland biome had a similar type of lichen (Bearded moss or Spanish moss) hanging from the trees and as we got into the drier portions of the Moorland biome, it reminded me of the high desert in Idaho where I used to live. The lobelia plant was very unique and closed up at night to keep it warm… it didn’t look at all like our garden variety “lobelia”! As for similarities and differences in the animals, we saw 4-lined field mice that I’d call a chipmunk here in the states and they had ravens that looked/acted very much like our ravens only the African variety had a white shoulder patch instead of being solid black. I guess the biggest difference in animals would be that the rainforests in Africa have Blue and Colobus monkeys while ours don’t. Both areas have organisms that are uniquely adapted to survival in each of the different biomes. Jenny Heckathorn / Xpedition Faculty Member
( Members of the Xpedition help drill for permafrost near Lava Tower )
From: Andres, Chamisa Elementary, Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States
Are there any dangerous animals on the mountain? The guides tell us there are leopards on the mountain that hunt monkeys in the rainforest but they live far away from the busy trails. The other animals that would be considered dangerous are snakes but we have not seen any near the well traveled trails.
Jenny Heckathorn / Xpedition Faculty Member
( GLOBE Students at Work )
From: Christensen Middle School / Livermore, California
Congratulations to Elena, Kenji, and the rest of the team on your summit! My students and I gave a loud cheer for you after reading the entry. Beautiful pictures from the ice fields! Question: Do you notice any differences in the environment (particularly the ice and snow) between this trip and last year's? Have the ice fields retreated since last year?
We feel ice was a little bit smaller than last year. The surface ice structure was indicating changing ice volume, such as melting, severe surface sublimation.
Dr. Kenji / Xpedition Faculty Member
( The Xpedition Team stops for a picture near Lava Tower )
From: Jan Heiderer, GLOBE Program Office, Boulder, Colorado United States
What data will you be collecting from the top of the mountain? Are you finding the data-recording equipment you left up there last year? We collected data using GLOBE Protocols at various sites on the mountain, but we also assisted Dr. Kenji Yoshikawa PhD University of Alaska Fairbanks, in downloading data from ground temperature data loggers left by last year’s Xpedition team to get a better idea of the amount of permafrost present on the mountain and at what elevation permafrost exist on an equatorial mountain. Dr. Kenji hopes that this data will shed light into possible reasons for glacier reduction on Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Mike O’Toole / Xpedition Leader
( Parker & Spencer walking amongst the Senecio trees in the Barranco Valley )
( Dr. Kenji Narita hard at work near Moir Hut )
Follow the disguised Orbie to view
Dr. Kenji Narita's Photo collection of plants on Mt. Kilimanjaro
( Head Guide Julius talks about the Giant Lobelia )
From: Andrea Lower Kuskokwim School District / Bethel, Alaska
My Earth Science class is studying Altitude and Weather. They want to know if it is making you tired to be at such a high altitude? Yes, getting tired especially over 5000m (depend on person). Most of climber’s blood oxygen saturation level drops 70-75% near summit. It will be dangerous, if the level below 60%. We have to careful to move around there to taking extra oxygen. It seems Yoga's breathing techniques are good and obtained more oxygen (?!). Dr. Kenji / Xpedition Faculty Member
( the Furtwnagler Glacier )
From: Maria Gabriella Nadal, 1st grade, Notre Dame School, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. What do you do for food, and what do you eat? We were spoiled in that our guides and porters prepared us with good food that helped keep our bodies working properly. We had early breakfast which always consisted of sweet porridge. We then were presented with snacks to eat each day on the trek (kept in day pack). Next was our scheduled lunch stop in the afternoon, then dinner was served each night with hot soup. Mike O’Toole / Xpedition Leader
From: George H. Gilson Junior High School / Valdez, Alaska
What was the scariest part of the climb? The scariest part of the expedition was our climb up the Barranco rock wall and Lava Tower, however heights don’t bother me… just the thought of one of our group members falling and getting hurt was scary for me. Jenny Heckathorn / Xpedition Faculty Member
( Parker stands in front of the Furtwnagler Glacier )
From: Miss Kennedy’s 6th grade class, Notre Dame School, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Are there any concerns about the highest peak of Kibo erupting in a near future and if so are any precautions being taken? Would a global warming speed up or stop the eruption? I don't think so. I can’t see any reason to the melting ice to cause the eruption of another volcano. From the simple geographic phenomenon: volcano eruption is due to the process in which the hot molten lava from the deep underground come out in a very tremendous force, and many times through weak areas of the land and mostly cracks which in most cases are result of earth quakes, rocks dislocations etc. Mike O’Toole / Xpedition Leader
From: Andrea Lower Kuskokwim School District / Bethel, Alaska
Did the ground stay frozen from last year. How high is the permafrost? Permafrost is presence near summit area (probably over 5300m or higher). Dr. Kenji / Xpedition Faculty Member
( View of the Furtwnagler Glacier )
From: Jerri Sedelmeier, Nottingham Elementary School, Houston, Texas USA
How long did you get to stay at the summit? Have any of the team had difficulty dealing with the cold? Did everyone make the summit? Thanks for the questions and continued support. Since we took a 9 day route to the summit the entire team had the opportunity to acclimate and prepare for our summit attempt. Most groups on Kilimanjaro take a much shorter route, 5 or 6 days and their success rate is much smaller. We stayed the night at Crater Camp which allowed us to walk amongst the glaciers, the snows of Kilimanjaro, and our climb to the summit only took 2 hours the next morning. Due to the long acclimation and the relatively short climb to the summit we were able to stay on the Roof of Africa for close to an hour and a half. Most groups reach the Summit and stay for 5 or 10 minutes and turn back because they are not feeling well.
Mike O’Toole / Xpedition Leader
( Xpedition Members in front of the Furtwnagler Glacier )
From: Jacob - Innoko River School / Shageluk, Alaska
We know that long-term data is important for climate change indicators! Do you plan on making this climb every year to gather the data? We would like to do yes. But reality (time and budget), sometimes difficult. But from now on, we had a data logger that collecting long term data automatically like Shageluk school site! Dr. Kenji / Xpedition Faculty Member
From: Club GLOBE CEG Avrankou, Africa
How did you feel when you reached the top of Kilimanjaro, the Roof of our Continent? We are so curious as this is surely a unique experience!! I couldn’t wait to reach the summit and share in the joy of an amazing accomplishment, climbing one of the 7 Summits of the World, with my Team. We sang and celebrated with our guides and enjoyed looking out of all of Africa. There were very few clouds in the sky and we could see Mt. Meru, and the Serengeti Plains from the summit. Thanks you for allowing us to share the beauty of your continent with the world. Mike O’Toole / Xpedition Leader
( Jenny Heckathorn poses in front of the Furtwnagler Glacier )
( A Tour of the Furtwnagler Glacier )
From: George H. Gilson Junior High School / Valdez, Alaska
Would you take the trek again? I would love to take the trek again with my son Logan in five or six years! It was such a great learning experience that I wish all people could have the opportunity to climb Kilimanjaro!
Jenny Heckathorn / Xpedition Faculty Member
( Xpedition Members climbing to the summit )
From: Diego Puesan, 1st grade, Notre Dame School, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Why do you want to go to the Kilimanjaro Mt. and investigate new things?
Mt. Kilimanjaro have become a "calling card" for the consequences of the global climate change phenomenon. Yet, beyond its melting glaciers, many wonder if there are other significant changes taking place on Kilimanjaro.
As global temperatures rise, the glaciers on mid and high latitude mountains have been melting. However the disappearing glaciers of Mt. Kilimanjaro, a tropical mountain, is more due to reduced or lack of precipitation and cloudiness rather than rising temperatures. Yet, beyond its disappearing glaciers, many wonder if there are other significant changes taking place onKilimanjaro.
Specifically, we are interested in assessing the effects of climate change on Mt. Kilimanjaro's distinct biomes.There are six distinct altitudinal biomes on Mt. Kilimanjaro: cultivated areas; rain forest; heath; moorland; alpine desertand the summit. Mike O’Toole / Xpedition Leader
( Dr. Kenji, Above the Clouds )
From: Dillon Innoko River School, Shageluk, Alaska, United States
Have you seen any poisonous or deadly snakes, like rattle snakes there?
Although Africa is known for its snakes, We were told that there are not many snakes on the mountain so we were not worried. We got to see several monkeys but were hoping to see some elephants on this trip, that would have been cool.
Mike O’Toole / Xpedition Leader
( Parker standing near the summit of Kilimanjaro overlooking the Furtwnagler Glacier )
From: Paige
How do you know or remember where the sensors are? Great Question Paige, we use GPS markers to locate the exact spot of each data logger. We also take pictures of each site as a backup. We found that the pictures were very helpful this year. Mike O’Toole / Xpedition Leader
( Kotzebue, Alaskan Xpedition Members, Parker, Robbie & Spenser on top of Africa )
To everyone who made this adventure a reality.. To GLOBE Africa, Seasons & Biomes ESSP...
but most importantly to the thousands of GLOBE Students from over 95 countries that shared biomes and questions with us… Thank You…
................................................The Xpediton Team
( Students from the Notre Dame School, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic )New Panoramic Pictures
Click on the images below to open a larger version of the photo that will allow you to zoom in and explore the mountain in much greater detail.
( Mt. Kilimanjaro's Ash Pit )
( View of the Furtwnagler Glacier )
( View of the Furtwnagler Glacier from the Ash Pit )
( View of the Southern Icefield and clouds heading towards Stella Point from uhuru Peak )
From Grzegorz, Gimnazjum nr 2, Zabrze, Poland
How hard is it to breathe at such a big altitude?
I experienced a difference in breathing as the air at high altitudes was dry with less oxygen. Although I had deep breathing, pulse rate increased and the level of oxygen in my body dropped down but my body acclimatized the situation. The higher we went, the less oxygen available to breath… Actions that we wouldn’t even think twice about near sea level became very difficult due to the lack of oxygen.
Mike / Xpedition Leader
From Paulina, Gimnazjum nr 2, Zabrze, Poland
How do you feel taking the first breath on the summit?
Even with the altitude, the first breath once I realized I was at the top of the highest mountain in Africa was amazing. The sense of accomplishment and seeing the pure joy in the faces of each team member was unforgettable.
Mike / Xpedition Leader
From Patrycja, Gimnazjum nr 2, Zabrze, Poland
How old is the youngest member of the Kilinjaro Xpedition Team? Both Parker and Spencer started the climb at 13 years of age. Spencer celebrated his 14th Birthday in Barranco Valley on Day 4 of the climb.
Mike / Xpedition Leader
From Ania, Gimnazjum nr 2 w Zabrzu, Poland
What will you do after coming back home?
I am scheduled to share my experience on Kilimanjaro and in Africa with my classmates back home in Palmer, Alaska by making a power point presentation and talking about the experience and research that we helped with on the mountain. Spencer / Student Xpedition member
Follow Orbie below to view the Amazing Celebration that took place at the Park Gate when the GLOBE Xpedition came down off the mountain after successfully summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro.
( Select the file format below )
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