Out of Africa

May 4 - After a relaxing stay in Swakopmund with runs on the beach more good food (lot's of meat on the barbie) and cold beers, it's time for another long stretch on the motor of approx 230 kms to Solitaire. The name says it all... it's a lonely place! But the landscape is amazing... and the the apple pie served in the local general store is world famous... haha , funny the things you pick up when doing your research! Anyhow, you better stop here, cause it has the one and only gasoline pump on the way down to Windhoek... It's a common tourist stop-over, with a some main road junctions coming together; there's also a gravel airstrip for tourist flight and self flyers. Werner who's been their local guide and organiser of the trip offered the boys a "flight on the house", since they've been helping out all along the trip with cooking and cleaning. An amazing 1 hr flight over the local landscape and the moving red sand dunes.. absolutely stunning!

Werner Schulz, is a veteran motorbike trip organiser and has his own business in Namibia http://www.africamotiontours.com/ Hans, who's organising and selling motorbike trips all over the world from Holland, is adding Namibia to their list of destinations and this was the stipping out of this trip. Werner will be his local contact for renting of motorbikes, guiding etc. They're both pretty cool dudes... Werner looks like Indiana Jones and his lifestyle is kind of similar ;-)

May 5 - From Solitaire to Sossusvlei , the sand dunes often referred to as the highest in the world. Various arguments are laid out to support this claim, but all miss the point, which is that Sossusvlei is surely one of the most spectacular sights in Namibia. Located in the Namib Naukluft park, the largest conservation area in Africa, and fourth largest in the world - the sand dunes are just one excellent reason to visit beautiful country. The best time to view Sossusvlei is close to sunrise and sunset; the colours are strong and constantly changing, allowing for wonderful photographs. The sand is amazing and feels and forms just like snow! Reason enough for climbing a high dune and to take 5m long jumps all the way down. Fantastic and fun!

May 6 - Last stretch, and quite a long one too, the last + 200 kms down to Windhoek. The trip is coming closer to the end and it's been just amazing. Every day a new adventure, new sights and new landscapes. A land so full of variety, so beautiful and friendly. Full of opportunities. Land is cheap but the already existing tourism industry quite expensive. Lodging, park fees and sightseeing is quite costly but food and gasoline quite cheap.

Upon arrival in Windhoek we return our well served motorbikes and gear and check into the hotel. We spend the last day by relaxing at the pool but Werner takes the boys for a ride in his truck - on the roof and on the front of his car through town, with the local population cheering at the roadside. Dangerous... but fun. In the pool Arno realises he might have made a serious mistake... the return trip scheduled for 8th of May turns out to be the 7th on his flight ticket. Trouble indeed. The first flight from Windhoek to Johannesburg was not too bad, for a 125 dollars he could get a new one way ticket. But in Johannesburg... short transfer time, not enough for Arno who had to pick up his luggage and check in again. Plus the flight was full. What a hazzle and expensive too. I believe he finally got on some Egypt air flight via Cairo (long stop-over...) to Amsterdam for another 500 dollars. Poor Arno. The other guys, Bram, Peter, Hans and a 4th name I cannot remember got on their KLM flight and landed this morning safe and sound at Schiphol. So I had a very happy Bram on the phone already at lunch!!!! It was, impression wise, his best trip ever. Stay tuned...

Beachboys

Today is restday, beach and relax in Swapkopmund. Swapkopmund is a town along the atlantique Namibian coast, with approx 35000 habitants and was constructed in the end of the 19th century by german colonists for their shipping. It's the most german spoken (and also afrikaans) town, has a considerable german population (still) and is said to be the "whitest town" in whole Africa! Amazing architecture with wooden houses in pastelle colours, situated at the sea with a beautiful coastline with the famous red sand dunes... looks very inviting for swimming but is actually not a friendly place at all! The place has particularly cold water and... seriously shark infested!! Swapkopmund is quite rich, especially since the find of Uranium which now is being mined, but also from its beautiful tourist resorts. For you who reads the gossip lines probably know that Brad and Angelinas daughter was born here... That was totally irrelevant and I couldn't care less... but it made big headlines at the time!

Arno has read the blog, and there are some changes to the names of the places visited since the route has changed as they've been going, but all for the better though! I believe they're kind of ahead of schedule and travelled from Epupa to Uis, leaving one or two places behind. I'll fill in the details when I get more information!

Uis is a small town, in the middle of nowhere, next to the highest mountain ridge of Namibia, the Brandberg, standing 2573m high, hosting "the white lady" rock painting, believed to be 20000 years old. It's kind of a "Ayers rock" standing by itself, burning red in the sunset... I wonder if Bram climbed it?

Anyhow, time to enjoy our own place, great weather today, it's sunday and last day of the springbreak, think I'm going to get my book and hit a sunchair at the poolside! Sounds like a good plan to me... stay tuned!

Himbas and zimbas

Happy 1st may - a vacation day for many of us. But yesterday's memories of the crazy guy driving his car into a Dutch queen's day crowd overshadows the celebration. Horrible images, so many dead and wounded. What goes on in a man's mind, you might wonder... Well, we might never find out, the driver died this morning. A day that should have been full of happiness turned out very sad. Queen's day 'koninginnedag" has already a special place in my heart.. it's been 23 years since I met Bram on that special day. Can you imagine 2 3 Y E A R S !!! Time flies... it really does. This year I celebrated on my own but accompanied by great guests in our 3 houses who had dinner here last night. Good fun, good talk! And good food and drink too.. And much too late!

Bram's leaving Epupa this morning if they're still on track. I have a few days to catch up on, let's start byt telling you I was wrong about the place they were going to, it was not to Etjo but to Etosha they were leaving from Otjiwarongo. Etosha is a huge nature reserve (+22,000 km2) 400 km north of Windhoek. Only a third of it is open for the public, all around the dry salt lake Etosha Pan, that fills up with water in the rainy season. Due to the water, it accomodates an enourmous variety of wild life, among them thousands of birds, especially the pink flamingos, but also more than 100 different species of mammipheres and another 100 species of reptiles.

The gamedrive scheduled in Etosha was spectacular, so beautiful, so much wild life. Unfortunately no elephant and lion to be seen this day among the big 5... Hopefully they'll run into them (not with their bikes though!) another day! From Etosha they drove on to Epupa at the Kunene river, land of the ethnic and nomadic group "Himbas". It's one of the few still living tribes who's maintained their traditional way of living, due to the desert and harsh land surrounding them, which has protected them from the outside world until the 20th century. The himba females are famous for their "reddish skin" which is created by a mix of red clay, to protect them from the sun and insectes. They also braid their hair in beautiful creations adding in the red clay. Such an intriguing population, of course in danger from the growing tourism and the modern lifestyle on their doorstep. Read more about them on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himba Bram said it was so humbling to meet them, they're so kind, great hospitality. Fantastic.

In Epupa, the next visit on the agenda went to the Epupa falls which lie on the Kunene river, on the border of Angola and Namibia. The river is 0.5 km wide and drops in a series of wateralls spread over 1.5 km, with the greatest single drop being 37 m. Stunning!! And as an extra bonus.... finally the elephants! Awesome. I can just only imagine what they're experinceing by trying to convey the short messages I get on my phone once (sometimes twice) a day on my mobile phone. Luckily you have internet... so that I can do my own research and add more meet to the story. I really enjoy doing it, you learn so much!!

Time to take Gabriella to horseriding, she does an afternoon course everyday this week, to prepare for her exam to go up one level to diploma Galop 4. She does just great... Stay tuned, love you all, xx Jen

Windhoek - Otjiwarongo

Saturday 25 april: The group is gathered, the gear is loaded and off they went on their "bikes" this morning on the 250 km stretch between Windhoek to Otjiwarongo. Good hard road to ride over the savann. Beautiful! Bram sent a text upon arrival in Otjiwarongo after settling in at their campsite, fully enjoying good company and a barbecue! Sounds terrible, doesn't it?
Otjiwarongo is a small prosperous and green town with approx 12000 inhabitants, living mainly out of cattle breeding enterprising. The soil in this area is rich due to heavy rainfall and therefore suitable for farming business. The town offers a few attractions such as:

An old steam engine No. 41, built in 1912 by the Henschel company in Kassel, Germany. It used to run on the railway line from Swakopmund to Otavi;
A crocodile farm where you can study and photograph them at close range and learn about their breeding; and a..... beer garden! (wonder if they visited ???)

But after all, the motorbike drive is not about towns and beer, but to experience the nature and wildlife of this beautiful country. And outside Otjowarongo you find some of Namibia's most reputable private game farms and reserves, the Okonjati wildlife sanctuary at Mount Etjo. Here, you can watch elephants, rhinos, giraffes, lions and others animals. You will also find one of Namibia's national monuments: 160 million year old footprints from a three-toed dinosour, left in the red sandstone at a time it was soft clay. A short bike ride will take them to Etjo tomorrow, where they're on for a game ride!

At home, things were busy busy until the very last minute yesterday when the guests arrived in their houses. But me and the kids worked hard all day, oiling the last garden furniture, making up the beds in one of the houses, cleaned out and sorted everything in the garage, finished the cleaning of and around the pool, putting out the last tables and chairs etc. The place looks picco bello! The sun shined, the birds sang and three happy dutch families settled into their new homes for the coming week. The kids are all in the range of 10-14 years old, so it wasn't for long and they were all out having a badminton tournament, including Alex, Gab and Ben. Happy days are here to stay.... Stay tuned!

Windy corner

Hi - A safe and smooth drive through France and Belgium and Bram finally arrived in a crowded and traffic jammed Holland. The last few kilometers through Naarden took him an hour to get through! They've turned the whole place upside down... so that MORE traffic can come through. We're too used to the quiet life of southern France... Holland's just crazy! Anyhow, Bram drove straight home to Hella and Pim, since little Guusje was celebrating her birthday and having a party. Tons of kiddos, tons of snacks, tons of chatter.. it was fun, but enough is enough and Pim was very kind to drive Bram to Arno's apartment in A'dam. A long day finally came to an end and Bram tucked himself in early.

Next morning the boys packed up and off the went to Schiphol and their departure to Johannesburg with a direct KLM flight. Around midnight last night Bram sent a text they'd arrived safe and sound. Another SMS dropped in around midday today, confirming that all is well and that they've now arrived at their final destination, Windhoek in Namibia. Johannesburg/south africa has the same time zone as Paris but Windhoek is an hour behind, like London. Nice to be able to travel so far and not suffer from any jetlag!

Hopefully i'll have some more news in the coming days. I guess it all depends on how often and how far out they camp in the bush! We'll find out...

I had a long long day today, getting everything in place for our official season start tomorrow of our rental houses. I still have quite a few items on my list for tomorrow, but I feel confident now that I'll be able to meet the deadline. Yesterday though, I did not feel so confident... Shitting in my pants from stress (not literally though!), feeling absolutely shit by pollen allergy and being on my own with the kiddos for the coming 5 weeks, I ended up having a bit of a blues :-(

But good news today from Seb in Sweden with Bo and Anette visiting Uppsala and its University, checking out student accomodation, cheered me up, plus got heaps of stuff done and also had a good night of sleep. So good old Jen is back in business, so stay tuned for more news! Jacky di Jack, don't look back..

Love you all,

xx Jen

And for Pim who today celebrates his 40th birthday we say: HAPPY BIRTHDAY !! Sorry I had to stay home looking after the kids instead of partying with you... Let's just say I'll be there on your 50th!

On his way

It's 3:45 in the morning and I've just kissed Bram goodbye. He drives north to Holland with his car and will spend the afternoon and evening with family, celebrating Guusje's birthday today, before flying off to Windhoek in Namibië thursday morning.

Everything is packed, that is the stuff we could put together from home. The missing parts, such as the motorbike clothing, helmet, boots etc... are provided for by Arno.

Here's a description of the trip, provided by Arno in his own words:

"Er gaat een wensje in vervulling. Twee weken geleden nog 3 afleveringen van mijn vorige motorreis ingeleverd bij de redactie van Motor Magazine. En nu, na een toevallige ontmoeting op de motorbeurs in Utrecht mag ik mee naar Namibië om een nieuwe reisroute uit te zetten en een artikel te schrijven. En daarmee kan ik weer een land wegstrepen van mijn reiswenslijst. Deze keer geen solorit maar met een groep ervaren rijders. Bram Mul, een vriend die ik afgelopen zomer nog op de motor heb opgezocht in Zuid Frankrijk gaat ook mee."

"A wish comes true. Two weeks ago I delivered another three parts of the story from my last motor trip, to the Motor Magazine redaction. And now, after a coincidently running into some people on the Motorbike exhibition in Utrecht, I've been invited to go to Namibia, staking out a new travel route and writing a new article. With this trip I can remove another country from my travel wishlist. This time no solo-ride, but with a group of experienced riders. Bram Mul, a friend that I visited on my last motorbike trip in southern France, is also joining me."

The Itinerary:

23 april Flight Amsterdam – Johannesburg 10:30 – 21:25 KLM nonstop
24 april Flight Johannesburg – Windhoek 09:40 – 10:40
25 april Windhoek – Otjiwarongo
26 april Otjiwarongo – Okaukuejo early arrival gamedrive Etosha
27 april Okaukuejo – Kamanjab
28 april Kamanjab – Swartbooisdrift
29 april Swartbooisdrift – Epupa Himbatour, waterfall, hike
30 april Stay Epupa
1 mei Epupa – Sesfontein
2 mei Sesfontein – Twijfelfontein
3 mei Twijfelfontein – Uis
4 mei Uis – Swakopmund
5 mei Stay Swakopmund
6 mei Swakopmund – Windhoek
7 mei reserve
8 mei Flight Windhoek – Johannesburg 19:15 – 22:15

8 mei Flight Johannesburg – Amsterdam 23:30 – 10:40 (9 mei) KLM nonstop

Have a safe trip! We'll miss you. Love you.

xx Jenny

Easter surprise!

Two days ago the phone rang. Arno, our dear friend from Holland, calling. On a new mission.. More freelance work for a motorbike magazine writing an article about stipping out a new route in a very exciting country. With live coverage from a motorbiker's point of view... 2 weeks on dusty tracks in one of Africas most beautiful countries. Namibia. And he could use a partner too. Ok... you see where this is heading?? Verrrrrrrry tempting. Very very VERY tempting. For Bram, not me... hahaha. My sister already does the family job on that continent.

Timing of the trip is perfect, leaving on 23 april coming back on May 9. Enough time to get stuff ready at home, reasonably quiet with not so many guests at this time of the year, Bram's parents due to come down in that period... that is all ideal. But.... moneywise it stinks. We have just enough to meet the ends until the season heats up later in May, but not enough to cover the trip, even if it's extremely low budget (only flight ticket and motorbike rental/gazolin). Rest is just some pocket money.

So we've gave it a lot of thought, on one hand an opportunity you just don't want to miss. Bram's mentality is to grab them as they come!! On the other hand, it doesn't feel good to spend money you actually don't have. That's also his mentality! So we, or rather he... ended up deciding not to go this morning. Just didn't feel right.

Then another phonecall. Rob, our dear friend from Spain (however he's dutch, he's also Bram's nephew and he's also a plasterer. A very good one. Like Bram ;-) And he had a top job offer to make. Had been offered two seriously big plaster jobs in Holland with serious deadlines and money and needs a good team to make it. Would Bram be interested??? Isn't it strange that this phonecall takes place today? And that the job is scheduled for May, just as Bram would get off a certain return flight from Namibia?

So we, or rather he... ended up changing the decision from a no to a yes. But of course after consulting with me, if I'd be OK with this, after all he'd be off to Namibia first for two weeks and then for sure another 2+ weeks staying in Holland for the big job. But I'm OK with it. I think it is such a fantastic adventure and opportunity. And there's a good job paying for it, plus it brings in some extra money too at home, which we can use. So it made sense. I'm excited!

And I just might get another extra hand by my friend Ulla, who's lost her job in Sweden, for a week after Bram's parents have returned to Holland too. That would be great and so much fun!

So time will fly... so will Bram. Everyones happy. And more adventures to post on this blog, however not mountains this time. At least not to be climbed by foot, but perhaps by motorbike. Amsterdam - Johannesburg - Windhoek... here they come. Stay tuned....

Papa home again!

Me, Alexander and Benjamin drove down to Marseille yesterday afternoon and had a little mini vacation on our own, enjoying a steak haché frites on the way and kanelbullar and coffee at Ikea. Just enough time for a quick swing through "my swedish shop", get the necessary candy cars and liquorice shoe strings, before parking our butts at the airport, unpatiently awaiting the return of DAD. Slight delay... 30 mins (enough to glance through the Paris Match and get the latest gossip), and there appeared a limping, sun tanned face with heavy luggage, not too unshaven. Big hugs, big kisses... and home we limped/drove. Bram's probably had a little too much pressure on one knee... (rest and chiropractor will fix it). Great opportunity for story telling and catching up. And at home enough time for opening up the souvenir bag full of surprises! Wonderful gifts for everyone. I just love the indian craftsmanship, it's so beautiful! I got a prettty necklace made out of a coconut and an avocado stone and a lovely belt and buckle. The kids had necklaces, bracelets, pan fluits, belts, hats and Bram got his own personal eternal souvenir... Thank you dad for all the lovely things !!

After hearing all the stories and seeing all the photos, I can only conclude; what a fantastic trip they've had together! Bram said 3 weeks felt like 2 months, they've seen and done so many things. Comparing my blog to Bram's own words, the information received from Tim and Bram, conveyed on the blog, is pretty accurate. I've definetively exaggarated about the swimming with piranhas and dolphins though!! The dolphins were there to be seen but were not that close... and they didn't go into any still standing water where the piranhas and the caymans sit. That would have been really foolish... Like only some bones remaining of two strong dutchmen ;-))) But it was good for the story though!! (Note that at the time I wrote it, it was the impression I had at the time!!) And Bram was not THAT tired on his second summit... it was really heavy and he had no legs, but he had enough to get up there. No digging in for some extra magic strength. That doesn't really exist, does it??

I think it's fantastic Bram and Tim keep up their trips together and I envy their friendship. It's rare. Care for it well. Can't wait to hear where your next adventure will go. Tim's got bitten by climbing...

Thank you Brigitte for your reports and thank you Bram and Tim for sharing your souvenirs with us. Stay tuned...

xx Jen

Close, but no cigar..

Well... it was not meant to be. They didn't make the summit, however a good attempt though! Bram wanted to get out really early, some parts are tricky when it gets too warm, with rock falls, the famous "sugar" on the plain between the Venteimilla and Whymper summit and avalanche warnings. It had been snowing, about 20 cm of fresh powder, so they were out already by 22:30, an hour early. No other group was even attempting for the summit, but Bram, Tim and the guide felt pretty confident and decided to give it a shot. And it was good going, no problems at all. Very qualified guide and in the beginning it looked quite promising. Bram felt just great, easy going. But after 4 hours, somewhere around 5900m, Tim started to cave in. Knees were painful and he was very tired. Some paracetamol for the pain, Bram and the guide seriously pushing him to the limit, to try to find that extra strength. But... 1/2 hour later, at approx 6000m, he'd given everything and could not go any further. With one guide, there's only one rule on the mountain and that is to turn back together. That's the game and no matter how great you feel, everyone go down with their mate. Bram WAS feeling super, but today it didn't happen and he's just fine with that. It's been a fantastic adventure, 2 summits and a 3rd one in reach. I know that Bram knows what he's capable of. He doesn't need the summit to proove it. Comradeship and safety always come first and I know they've had a great adventure together. This adventure is almost over and it was a beautiful one. Can't wait to hear the stories and see the photos. And to have my man home again.

Enjoy your last day in Quito, bring some nice gifts with you home to your families, have a safe trip home. Love you.

Stay tuned... for the next adventure and Bram's own "editorial" to be posted soon. With photos. And I'll add the last 900m to the Tenebo project. Hopefully I'll be adding YOU as a sponsor too.

Last night (I hope) on the mountain

Tim and Bram were picked up at 9am this morning by the 4WD, taking them to Chimborazo. It's a 2 hr drive, then another hour hiking up to the Whymper refuge at 5000m. That's even higher than the Mt Blanc! They should actually have reached the lodge at this very moment! They'll spend the afternoon resting, eating and acklimatizing. At 23h they'll start the ascent for the summit, which stands at 6397m. Not a very shy altitude...

Like I always do... I did my research and came across some interesting information about this mountain. There are kind of two summits. Only standing some 50m apart. The first one is the easy one to reach, the Veintimilla summit (right). From here you see the other bump, the real summit, Whymper (left) . But in between there's like a pool of snow and if you get to this point too late in the morning, the snow turns into chrystallized sugar (this is apparently a common phenomenen being so close to the equator), and you'll literally sink into your armpits. Some guides will not even tell their clients that there's a second bump. They hate the 'sugar traverse' since it can be extremely tricky and dangerous. Tomorrow we'll find out if they'll manage to go all he way... stay tuned!

Summit n° 2 - with update from Bram

Bram made the summit! It was very tough going this morning... gave up twice but found strength to go on and it paid off. Super Bram! Don't have more details, they're on their way back to their hotel now, so I'll get a summary from Bram later, which I'll of course post asap! I'm so proud of you Bram! Now two days of well earned rest and hopefully you're both fit for fight friday for the last summit, Chimborazo. Stay tuned..

Finally that phonecall! Bram phoned home late yesterday evening, after returning to Riobamba and the hotel and after having a needed nap... It was a heavy climb but one of the most beautiful ones he ever made. They arrived at the mountain on tuesday afternoon, from there there's a 45 min hike up to the lodge. Lot's of stuff to carry up for cooking, sleeping etc and Bram kept pointing out that their own bag with climbing gear must not be left behind. No problemos senor.. and of course everything, except their climbing bag, arrived at the lodge. Great... anyhow, somebody got organised and the bag finally made the lodge! Tim's intestines were rumbling and he kept going on the toilet, so he decided no to go on this climb, in case he would have to turn around. Bram was up at midnight, and a little bit after 1 am he and the guide were out. A beautiful night, conditions could not have been better! No wind, not too cold and a full moon. Spectacular! But pretty soon, he feels he's got no legs at all. And it is hard going forward, almost too hard. Legs just won't kick in, feeling faint, like you feel after a day of a stomach flue. But after a tea break later on, mental strength and being plainly stubborn, he found new strength and pace and a few heavy last steps... summit! Some parts were very steep and heavy to climb but otherwise not technically a difficult ascent. Photos with the Tenebo flag, an awesome sunrise to humbly watch and down again. Magic.

If I got the altitude meters right, they stand at Carihuairazo 4200 - 5018 = 818m plus Cotopaxi 4800 - 5897 = 1097, a total of 1915m à 1 cent is 19 euros/sponsor. Kind of cheap, don't you think... Stay tuned!

Shitty shits

Tim's too troubled by his intestines and decided not to join Bram on the climb this morning. In case Tim needed to go back, Bram would have had to go with him. At least there's one man giving it a go... keep the thumbs up ofr Bram and that Tim recovers and is in shape for Chimborazo. The shits is a common trouble on altitude... nothing to do with a stomach bug. Heads up boys!

Refuge Jose Ribas - Cotopaxi here we come

At 24h last night (6am our time this morning) the guys were up and getting ready for the summit of Cotopaxi, standing 5897m, the worlds highest active volcano. Rated as a beginners' level of alpine mountaineering, weather conditions and altitude can still turn this volcano into a tough job.

Refuge Jose Ribas sits at 4800m, a popular spot since this mountain is probably the most popular one to be climbed in Equador. Tim's had the shits for the last 2 days.. pills have not done a great job stopping it so hopefully he's feeling good and is there with Bram climbing this morning. Now being out for 2-3 hours, they should have reached good altitude already, if conditions are favourable. Brigitte will hopefully get a summit call, as soon as I have news I'll post it !! Stay tuned....

Story of the Day

Ring, ring... Riobamba calling home. Just had Bram on the phone, so nice to hear his voice. They're doing really great and what a story he had to tell...

Up at 2:30 this morning and after a quick breakfast they were out starting the climb. Tim, Bram and the main guide. It started off really well ;-) with Tim forgetting his headlamp. And after 15 minutes it got even better with the guide not feeling well, returning to the lodge, sending his assistant up to continue. Tim decided to walk ahead while Bram waited for the assistant not being 100% of the path. Wise, cause Tim hit it off the wrong way... He was nowhere to be found. Bram and the assistant yelling their lungs out so that Tim would hear them. No Tim (who's got no headlamp). Main guide shows up and wonders what the hell is going on, taking it all out on the poor assistant! Eventually Tim comes back, main guide sends the other guy down again and off they go. Bram a little mad at Tim for taking off and mad at the guide for yelling. They reach the glacier and strap on their crampons. Turns out it's too warm outside, snow is really soft and especially Tim who's heavy, sinks through the snow all the time. To his hips! It really is no doing at all... On top of that is hailing, snowing and severe winds. So Bram takes his rugsack off and leaves it behind, moves in front and start trailing a path forward. And in this way it works and they manage to pick up speed. At 9 am they're on the summit! They skip the last 4m on that rocky part, conditions were just too hazardeous that it would have foolish. Awesome! The guide ended up apologizing for his behaviour on their way down, so everything is honky dory again.
Bram's just had a shower and they're out grabbing something to eat. Then get some serious rest and sleep cause tomorrow they leave for Cotopaxi, the worlds highest active volcano. A 3hr drive will take them to the mountain with a 45 min hike up to the refuge. Eraly Wednesday morning they're early out again for their 2nd summit. Hopefully a little luckier with the weather and not leaving any headlamps OR each other behind..
Sweet dreams. Stay tuned...

Two more to go...

YES ! Live phone call from first summit at 3pm! They're both on the top of Carihuairazo at 5018m. Very very heavy due to lot's of snow. Bram's up in the front paving way and creating a path, or Tim'll sink in to his hips! One guide with them. Visibility = 5m... Conditions are tough, so super guys you made it to the top. More news later tonight upon return in Riobamba.

The guys on the picture are not Bram and Tim, but conditions seem similar. The bump in the middle of the left image is the actual summit. Pretty weird huh?

Good job guys. Stay tuned..