If traveling to Africa and climbing one of the world’s tallest mountains sounds like an interesting way to spend some time, then consider the latest fundraiser for the Ward Melville Heritage Organization. World explorer Richard Wiese will be at Stony Brook next week to share his adventures and to organize a Mount Kilimanjaro expedition meant for anyone between the ages of 16 and 65.
Wiese, who stars in the nationally syndicated television series “Exploration with Richard Wiese,” will be at the WMHO Cultural Education Center in Stony Brook on December 19 at 6:30 p.m. He will talk about his past and upcoming adventures, present a slide show and discuss the March 2008 Kilimanjaro trip, according to Marie Gilbertie of the WMHO. The expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro will serve as a fundraiser for the non-profit organization, she said, which offers programs to middle school and high school students.
At 19,340 feet, Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain on earth that is not part of a mountain range and is the most famous mountain that a novice climber can scale, according to the WMHO.
For those who are not mountain climbers, but who still would like to be in one of the most beautiful places on earth, they need not worry, since the climb is meant for anyone who is mobile.
“We take it slowly,” said Nicole Young Wiese, Richard’s wife and logistics manager for many of his expeditions. “It’s meant for anyone who is a walker from 16 to 65 years of age,” she added. This will be Richard’s 11th expedition to Kilimanjaro, she said, with his first climb taking place when he was 11.
The 10-day trip will bring the group to the bottom of the mountain and then slowly proceed to the peak, she said, so the “group will get into a regular walking rate.” Stops will be made to get acclimated to the different oxygen levels during the climb up, she noted, and her husband will lead the group not only up the mountain but also will point out the changes he has seen on the mountain due to global warming and involve them in helping to fix the weather station Richard put at the peak in 2007. The station is helping scientists to track the weather’s impact upon the mountain’s glaciers, which she said were deteriorating.
One of her husband’s goals, Nicole said, is to show how Mount Kilimanjaro is accessible to almost everyone and the free seminar next week will spell out the trip and its demands for those thinking of making the climb. For those not wanting to make the climb, they still will “hear interesting tales of travel and exploration, see a great slide show and hear an interesting lecture.”
Those who do go usually come away with a sense of accomplishment. “They did not think they could do it, but they could,” Nicole said.
The trip also enables people to develop new friendships and leave with a better awareness of how others live in the world through being emerged in a different culture. During the climb, Nicole said, participants will travel through a tropical rainforest, a desert and snowy mountain peaks, and, of course, “the view is breathtaking.” The cost of the trip is $6,900, Nicole said, with about 15% of the total going to WHMO.
The WMHO Cultural Education Center is located in the Stony Brook Village Center. For more information or directions, visit www.wmho.org or call 751-2244.
