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Kilimanjaro:
Roof of Africa Trek Team A native of Denmark, Heidi,
23, is a successful model and an accomplished painter. She
grew up taking camping trips to the Alps with her family and
developed an abiding fascination for mountains and
adventure. Throughout the expedition, her extroverted nature
inspired her comrades. No matter how thin the air grew or
how high the team ascended, Heidi's energy never flagged as
she sketched, painted, wrote and photographed her way to the
top. Born in England, Roger, 55,
is now based at the University of Boulder in Colorado. A
leading authority on earthquakes, volcanoes and tectonic
plate movement, he has been studying the movement of East
Africa's Great Rift Valley for years. His work takes him
around the globe studying shifts and strains in the earth's
crust, monitoring and collecting data with the goal of
better predicting areas most at risk for seismic
catastrophe. A born teacher and communicator, the professor
inspired and taught the two youngest members of the team
with his boundless enthusiasm for the science of
mountains. Hansi, 13, lives with his
family just outside the town of Arusha, where he can see
Kilimanjaro from his own backyard. He excels in math, plays
soccer, is accomplished on the computer and speaks English
as fluently as Swahili. His father's experiences climbing
Kilimanjaro fired Hansi's imagination. Throughout the
journey he displayed remarkable tenacity and willingness to
learn, taking a keen interest in the science of the volcano
and the IMAX camera. Audrey, 64, is an
award-winning author and historian, who writes largely on
the subject of mountaineering. She has been
researcher/consultant on many films, including Breashears'
large format film Everest. Audrey is at work on the National
Geographic Society book about Kilimanjaro and co-authored
Last Climb: The Legendary Everest Expeditions of George
Mallory with David Breashears. Audrey lives in Cumbria,
England, with her husband and has three grown sons. Although
she's spent her career traveling to the mountains of the
world, she had never been to Africa or climbed a peak as
high as Kilimanjaro. Nicole, 12, lives with her
family in Massachusetts. She loves to ride horses, hike and
tackle the walls at an indoor climbing gym. She is also a
seasoned world traveler, thanks to her parents' safari
business. Nicole's most vivid memories center on East
Africa, where she has often gone on safari with her parents.
After she saw the ice-capped summit of Kilimanjaro for the
first time and heard her father's tales of ascending to its
peak in 1979, Nicole vowed to climb it herself. There aren't
many girls of 12 who have climbed to the Roof of Africa, and
none have overnighted in the crater at 18,700 feet. Nicole
proved to be the delight of the entire team, and her fresh
observations enliven the film. Leading the trek team is
Jacob, 50, a Chagga mountain guide who has climbed
Kilimanjaro over 250 times. With a lifelong connection to
the mountain, he has always lived at its base in Machame
village. On his small farm he raises cows and chickens and
grows coffee and corn in the fertile volcanic soil. The
heavy rains and thick mists that nourish the rainforest help
irrigate his crops. Jacob helped design and construct some
of the mountain routes and, during the Kilimanjaro team's
ascent, shared his knowledge of flora and fauna in the
various climate zones. Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of
Africa Sche HOUSTON (Nov. 16, 2001)
''Pole! Pole!' chant the Chagga guides during treks up Mount
Kilimanjaro. Meaning 'Slowly! Slowly!î in Swahili,
this phrase is a mantra the guides use to remind trekkers to
tread cautiously as they ascend the great
mountain. Every year 15,000 people
attempt to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro, and almost half
fail. Located 3 miles south of the equator in Tanzania,
Kilimanjaro is the largest freestanding mountain in the
world at 19,340 feet, so it's no wonder why explorers travel
here to scale Africa's 'Mountain of Greatness.' Join a team of trekkers as
they travel to the roof of Africa in the new large-format
film Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa. Photographed in the
world's largest and most evocative motion picture format,
this film allows audiences to experience up close the
immense distances, the countless challenges and the profound
mysteries of Mount Kilimanjaro. There are many routes
leading up the mountain, ranging in level of skill from
basic trekking, walking or hiking, to professional
mountaineering, which occurs on steeper trails and requires
rope and hardware. Although Kilimanjaro is not a challenge
for seasoned mountaineers, the more than 55-mile climb is a
test of endurance and the ability to adjust to the
mountain's drastic climate changes is critical. In the film the trekkers
travel along the Machame Route, deemed the most beautiful
trail on the mountain. During their 11-day journey, the
trekkers experience the conditions of five climactic zones
ranging from equatorial to arctic. Once the Machame Route
ends, they continue their trek to the summit on the
challenging Arrow Glacier Route. No matter which path
visitors choose to ascend, they must first obtain a permit,
pay fees and hire a guide. Kilimanjaro climbers are not
allowed on the mountain without a guide. Although supplies
can be rented on site, it is best to bring along the most
standard equipment, such as sleeping bags and cooking
gear. While the mountain is open
to visitors year round, the best months to climb are
January, February, August and September during the drier
seasons when the skies are fairly clear. January and
February are warmer, while August and September are cooler.
Kilimanjaro's heaviest rainy season occurs from March
through June. During this time the summit is often covered
with clouds; snow falls in the higher altitude and rain at
lower altitudes. A shorter rainy season occurs October
through December that typically brings afternoon
thunderstorms. Evenings and mornings are generally
clear. The large-format film
Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa is an adventure of the
human spirit that follows the journey of five trekkers led
by a local Chagga guide up the mountain. The film is
scheduled for a March 2002 release, in tandem with a
National Geographic Society book, Kilimanjaro: Journey to
the Roof of Africa, authored by trekker Audrey
Salkeld. Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of
Africa is a David Breashears film produced by Kilimanjaro
Inc., in collaboration with the Houston Museum of Natural
Science; the Denver Museum of Nature & Science; Museum
of Science, Boston; and Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo. The
Houston Museum of Natural Science is the executive producer
and worldwide distributor of Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of
Africa.
David
Breashears is the world's leading adventure filmmaker. As
co-producer, co-director and expedition leader of the
landmark large-format film Everest, Breashears captured some
of the most breathtaking images ever seen on a movie screen,
taking the audience on a triumphant journey to the top of
the world. As Everest gained unprecedented media coverage,
Breashears became internationally renowned for his
accomplishments and for elevating large-format filmmaking to
a new level of cinematic power and storytelling. The
movie-watching world is waiting to see where Breashears
turns his lens next. With Kilimanjaro, Breashears returns to
the high-altitude environment where he feels most at ease
and to a subject exceptionally suited to his filmmaking
talents.
The
Trek Team of Kilimanjaro:
To the Roof of Africa
In choosing the trek team, Breashears sought engaging
individuals with wide-ranging interests, ages and
backgrounds. The goal was to appeal to a broader audience by
presenting the wonders of Kilimanjaro as seen through the
eyes of a 13-year-old African boy, a 64-year-old English
woman or one of the four other distinctive perspectives
represented on the team, allowing audience members to easily
imagine themselves joining this small band of amateur
adventurers.Heidi
AlbertsenRoger
BilhamHans
'Hansiî MmariAudrey
SalkeldNicole
Wineland-ThomsonJacob
Kyungai
David Breashears'
Latest Large-Format Film Adventure
duled
for Release March 2002
