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 Kilimanjaro: Trek up the World's Largest Free-Standing Mountain
in David Breashears' Latest Large-Format Film Adventure

 

Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa

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.

Travel from the Amazon to the Antarctica
in David Breashears' Latest Large-Format Mountain Adventure

 

HOUSTON (Nov. 15, 2001) . It's like traveling from the Amazon to Antarctica in just a few days. A contradiction of nature, Mount Kilimanjaro's vast slopes host five distinct climate zones and ecosystems, ranging from equatorial to arctic conditions. These zones include rainforest, heath, moorlands, alpine desert and arctic. Each zone occupies approximately 3,000 feet of the mountain and boasts its own unique plant and animal species. As the altitude increases, rainfall and temperatures decrease, affecting the vegetation on each zone.

The new large-format film Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa takes its viewers to the expansive slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro where they can endure the exceptional conditions of this mystical mountain. 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.

The area surrounding the mountain contains rich volcanic soil in which natives grow coffee and bananas. Common plants found in this area include elderberry, veronia, begonias and colorful herbs. Impatiens Kilimanjaro is an orange-red flower that grows nowhere else in the world but in this cool, moist climate.

Dense rainforests occupy the first zone of the mountain. This forest zone receives the highest amount of rainfall of all the zones, receiving as much as 80 inches a year. Lichens, mosses and ferns dangle from trees making a dense canopy that harbors brightly colored insects, colorful flowers, hornbills, colubus monkeys and leopards.

On the upper edge of the forest, smaller shrub-like trees begin to replace the tall, straight-trunked trees in the second zone. The forest abruptly opens up into an area of rolling, unfertile land that consists predominantly of dense heather. There are splashes of color throughout the heath zone ñ wild gladiolas, wild iris, wild orchids and exotic, spikey orange or yellow flowers called ìred-hot pokers.'

In what may seem like the setting of a science fiction movie, giant prehistoric-looking groundless and lobelia lie on the boggy grou n d o f t h e m o o r l a n d z o n e . T h e u n f a m i l i a r - l o o k i n g t r e e s i n t h i s t h i r d z o n e l o o k a s t h o u g h t h e y b e l o n g i n a D r . S e u s s "! b o o k , a c c o r d i n g t o o n e o f t h e t r e k k e r s i n t h e f i l m . A s a n o t h e r t r e k k e r d e s c r i b e s i t , t h e p l a n t s l o o k l i k e g r e a t c a n d e l a b r a s w i t h p o m - p o m s on top.' The colorful flowers scattered amidst this miniature forest seem like the only tie to actually being someplace on Earth. Buffalo, elephants, elands, common duikers and the yellow-crowned canary are just some of the wildlife here.

The fluctuation in temperature causes desert-like conditions in the fourth zone. Temperatures may range from below freezing at night to simmering during the day. The alpine desert zone receives only 10 inches of rain per year. Only the hardiest organisms can survive this climate. Vegetation is slim, including moss balls, lichens and a few tough flowering plants called 'everlastings.' Although not much wildlife lives here, elands and leopards sometimes pass through. Thin air and strong winds make flying too difficult for most birds.

 

Starkly beautiful glaciers straddle gaping volcanic craters in the summit. This fifth zone is almost completely void of vegetation due to its arctic climate, except for some red and gray lichens that

have adapted for survival. The arctic zone receives less than four inches of precipitation per year, usually in the form of snow. The presence of snow so close to the equator has often been a fascination for explorers. However, many scientists believe these glaciers will disappear within 15 years.

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.

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT

Natalie Rivera (Natalie@vollmerpr.com)
VOLLMER (713) 546-2230

Charlotte Lazenberry (clazenberry@hmns.org)

Houston Museum of Natural Science (713) 639-4725

Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa Scheduled for Release March 2002