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Peak of adventure: Metro-East folks tame Mount Kilimajaro -- sort of

BY MAUREEN HOUSTON

News-Democrat

What would you call a vacation on which you trekked 7 or 8 hours a day, sweat during the day and froze in sleeping bags at night, encountered soaking rain, sunburn and altitude sickness, ran out of water and got diarrhea from drinking water melting off a glacier?

A nightmare? Two metro-east families call it an adventure.

Bob and Addy Ginter, of Millstadt, and John and Katy Stein, of Swansea, and their 30-year-old son, Chris Stein, flew from St. Louis to Detroit to Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, on Feb. 13 to trek to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, one of the tallest mountains in the world.

Five days up and two days down.

They were inspired by "The Roof of Africa," a movie that played at the St. Louis Science Center in February and March 2007.

"(In the film), seven or eight people went up the mountain," said Addy, 55, a senior claims consultant at Allsup Inc. "One was 60. The youngest was 14. They made it seem easy."

The Ginters and Steins figured if a 60-year-old could do it, so could they. After all, they spent John's 50th birthday roughing it on a rustic island off the coast of Belize.

But Mount Kilimanjaro threw them a few curves.

"The trek was a little more taxing than we thought," said Addy. "We were physically and mentally challenged ... When we were doing it, I thought it was torture."

The friends, who met working out at a Scott Air Force Base gym, talked about their adventures over dinner at the Swansea Applebee's. Katy wore a souvenir T-shirt and the hiking boots that took her up the mountain. Addy's bracelet reminded her of the Serengeti, where the group safaried after the mountain climb.

"We had a discussion when we were there," said Katy. "Would we do this again? I don't think so. One lady said, 'It's kind of like having a baby. As time goes by, it wasn't that bad.'"

Thousands of people climb the highest mountain in Africa each year. Their group of five from the metro-east, added three more -- the Steins' niece and her husband, a native Tanzanian, and a friend.

For the climb, the group of eight had a lead guide, four assistants, 20 porters, two cooks and a waiter.

Climbers are not allowed on the mountain without a guide. The porters carry gear -- usually on their heads -- set up camp and prepare food.

Their trek began at the Machame Gate of Mount Kilimanjaro Park, one of five starting points. The elevation was 6,000 feet (The summit is 19,500); the temperature was 80 degrees. A half-hour into the climb, rains came. They walked 4 1/2 hours in the rain.

At the start, they couldn't see the mountain for the trees. As they got higher, they could see farther. But distance played tricks.

"We'd think, 'Oh, good. We are almost there.' Two hours later, we were still not there," said Addy.

Hundreds of fellow travelers and porters followed well-worn paths, leapfrogging ahead or slipping back.

Bob compared the experience to a long run: You just keep putting one foot in front of another -- until you can't.

"On the second day, I became increasingly sick," said Katy. "I believe it was altitude sickness. I don't think I've ever been that sick. ... I thought I was going to die."

The usually smiling Katy was quiet and struggling.

"You're at one point on the mountain where you can continue to go forward or they arrange for you to get off the mountain. It's difficult to make that decision."

She, son Chris and a guide got off at Shira, but still had to trek 1 1/2 hours to reach a ride down -- and what a ride it was in a 4-wheel drive vehicle over rocky paths. They waited at a marketplace for trasnportation to their hotel, but President Bush was visiting and the city was closed down.

"No one was going in," she said. "No one was going out. We sat there six hours, waiting to ride into town."

On Day 4, the remaining trekkers encountered steep cliffs. They negotiated by huggng rocks as they climbed. Then, they ran out of bottled water. Their porters collected water from glacier melts that was supposed to be boiled and treated with iodine, but later that day, they all were sick. Still, they forged ahead.

Guides time the climb to the summit to coincide with sunrise.

When John noticed the first hints of light on Day 5, he asked his guide how close he was. When he learned it would be two more hours to the top, he knew it was time to turn around.

"The state I was in, I could have forced myself to go on, but they would have had to carry me down," he said. "I was only going by sheer will power."

He was surprised he didn't make it.

"I thought I could will myself to do anything."

Addy had made the decision a little earlier.

"It was 18 degrees near the top with bad winds," she said. "A big gust of wind knocked me over. I fell down and stayed there. All I wanted to do was sleep. I didn't care whether I froze."

She closed her eyes. Her 24-year-old guide got her up and led her back down the mountain until it was easier to breathe and she got her bearings back.

Bob, with his guide, made it to the top. His reward? A view of glaciers and snow-capped mountains. He took photos, made a brief video and thanked his guide, telling him, "I couldn't have made it without you.'"

"I was exhausted when I made it to the top," said Bob, "but I had all this energy. You can only stay up 15 minutes. It's hard to breathe. There's 30 percent less oxygen."

A couple months later, the Ginters and Steins are enthusiastic recounting their adventure. They delighted in reacquainting themselves with things they take for granted -- flush toilets, abundant toilet paper, ice cubes, the smell of shampoo and soap, McDonald's cheeseburgers and 600-thread sheets.

"It was a learning experience," said Katy. "I wish I could be there now with the energy I have, without jet lag."

"My colleagues thought I was crazy," said Addy. "They still think I'm crazy."

"Most of the people I work with were fascinated," said Katy. "They thought it must be the trip of a lifetime and it was."

"I am a consultant," said Bob. "Sitting at work in my cubicle I look back and wish I would have spent more time taking it all in."

About the travelers:

Addy is a senior claims consultant at Allsup Inc. Her husband, Bob, 47, is a consultant for Booz, Allen, Hamilton at Scott and a retired Air Force chief master sergeant. They have two grown daughters.

John, 51, a retired Air Force captain, and Katy, 50, own and operate the Swansea GNC (General Nutrition Center). Katy is a Swansea police officer. They're the parents of three.

They're all from military families. "That probably has a lot to do with it," said John. "When you're in the military, you're used to moving around."

Who's climbing? A lot of British, Australian and Israeli.

"Ninety per cent were younger than us," said John. "There were hundreds on the trail with us. You went at your own pace."What they ate: soup, a lot of chicken, fried potatoes, jerky, fruit and protein barsTalk it up: "Everyone had cell phones," said Katy. "They might not have food or a roof but they have cell phones." "Two companies had cell towers. You could just about call from the summit," said John.

What do you do after you scale a mountain? Go on a five-day safari through three parks on the Serengeti that included an early morning ride in a hot-air balloon that seated 18. "The elephants down there didn't like the sound," said Katy. "They looked up and squealed." They also saw giraffes, a jaguar, monkeys, baboons and a black rhino. They saw thousands of wildebeests making their annual migration.

Souvenirs: Bracelets, belts and tanzanite, a blue-purple stone. John's favorite is a wire and gemstone ostrich. They saw a lot of ostrich and used to raise emu.

What they would do different: Hire more porters so they wouldn't run out of water, and use garbage bags to keep everything dry.

Next trips: Las Vegas in May and New York City in July. They'll see a Broadway play, visit Atlantic City, N.J., and attend the Bruce Springsteen concert at Shea Stadium, the home of the Mets that will be torn down after the season. For You Original Stories and Photographs by Bruce Springsteen's Legendary Fans