Friday, July 11, 2008

Kilimanjaro Climb and Safari Photography Workshop 2009. Tanzania, East Africa.

Dear Friends of International Mountain Guides and Adam Angel Photography:

After much planning, scrutiny, patience and determination to make something great, we have finally created a fantastic Kilimanjaro Photography Workshop!  This is the trip of a lifetime to one of the Seven Summits and is an industry first.  This one-of-a-kind trip features a summit climb of Kilimanjaro and an extended Photographic Safari and Workshop in Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area.  We've taken the already popular and proven success of the Kilimanjaro programs run by the world famous International Mountain Guides, and tailored it to photographers.  The trip will feature your own private camera porter on the climb, and an extended safari re-engineered for photographers to maximize shooting time and opportunity.  And much much more.

"Join long time Kilimanjaro guide and photographer Adam Angel for a once in a lifetime expedition in Tanzania. East Africa offers one of the best environments in the world for an enriching cultural and wildlife experience. This is the only photography workshop in Tanzania that features a summit climb of Kilimanjaro with an experienced high altitude climbing guide and professional photographer. Photography Workshops offer a great chance to increase your photographic knowledge and skill in a stimulating environment. They are also great portfolio builders. Many safari companies offer photographic tours or climbs of Kilimanjaro, but none can offer the expertise and experience that IMG and Adam have on the mountain and on safari."

Please visit International Mountain Guides for detailed information on the Kili Photo Workshop.  After you have had a chance to look over the information please feel free to give me a call with any questions that you might have.

I hope that you can join me and the fantastic people in this fantastic place on a fantastic journey to the roof of Africa.
Adam

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Into a Kingdom and out of a Republic. Mt. Everest, Nepal, 2008

Tibet 2008.  Nepal 2008.  A wise man once said “Everyone likes Adventure Travel, right up to the point that there’s some actual adventure.”  We didn’t have any outrageous adventures on our trek to Everest  Base Camp in Nepal, but we did a few weeks before we departed for the Kingdom of Nepal and Tibet.  A “wrap” of this trip would not be complete without a little history of the fiasco that went down before we departed the U.S.  Years from now this will be known as one of the years that Tibet was “Closed to foreign tourists.”

On March 11th we received the final word that all of Tibet was shut down due to safety problems in the region.  Luckily for us, Eric Simonson was able to put together a FANTASTIC alternate itinerary, that I dare say was one of the most enjoyable trips I have led for IMG.


The entire group met in Katmandu, and did the usual tours of the city, a great deal of which included people watching…….


The trek was very similar to the regularly scheduled IMG trek to EBC, but with a great variation/extension up to Gokyo.  The trail to Gokyo is far less traveled than the usual route and was cleaner, smaller, nicer, and the most memorable part of the trip for me.  The view of the impressive South Face of Cho Oyu was only matched by the beauty of the lake (Dudh Pokhari) at Gokyo.


The second highlight or our trek extension was the tough journey over Cho La.  Cho La in literal translation means “Lake Pass,” but in our experience it was more like “kicks ass.”  In order to get back on track to Everest Base Camp it is necessary to traverse the lower Ngozumpa Glacier and Cho La to get to the Khumbu Valley.  I put this pass in the category of the Great Breach of the Baranco Wall on Kilimanjaro… It has all the grandeur and views of steep alpine climbing, but with the safety of a trail big enough to place a barcalounger. 

Those of you that that have heard of Cholatse (6,440 meters/21,129 ft, first climbed April 22, 1982 by Vern Clevenger, Galen Rowell, John Roskelley and Bill O'Connor) can figure out the peaks name if you know that “tse” translates to “peak.”




The group that IMG had put together was truly a pleasure to accompany, and they all deserve accolades (for different reasons) for making the trip a success and a joy.

Congratulations to Tom and Jan Hunter, Jay Marionowits, Shari Keller, Gabby Fredman, Jim Skelding, and Tracy Holland for making it to Everest Base Camp in good style.


Lastly, Nepal was a Kingdom when we entered.  The elections on April 10th made it that we left a Republic.  People of Nepal, after years of uncertainty and even civil war under a monarchy, we wish you the best!