Day 1: The Journey begins to Tanzania

Today marks the beginning of an incredible journey! Everyone has arrived safely at Mount Meru Hotel in Arusha, Tanzania. Similar to Mount Kilimanjaro, which comprises of three volcano cones, Mount Meru is also a dormant volcano and stands at 14,968 ft. Let’s hope our climbers have good weather on Mount Kilimanjaro because on a clear day, you can see Mount Meru from Mount Kilimanjaro which is 43 miles west! Keep an eye on this trip journal! We’ll be posting everyday from now until the end of the trip!

My name is Zac West and I’m the trip host for our climb. This journey started for our family years ago. We adopted Zara 12 years ago from Tanzania.  We were living there for a 5 year stint on Young Life staff from 2008-2013. Bringing her back to her homeland for a Kilimanjaro climb has always been a dream for us. We have been connected to Beyond Adventures for years so we knew they would be the perfect host. Soon we will be joining ten other climbers to prepare our gear and hit the trail. We will all remember this trip for a lifetime. As a dad, I’m the luckiest guy in the world. This is an absolute gift. If you want to go fast…go alone. If you want to go far…go together. Pamoja Pamoja!

—Zac West