Last Minute Preparations

Things are a buzz in our household.  Literally.  The boys, including grown Ben, shaved their heads into a "buzz" haircut for the trip.  Since we are on the mountain for 9 days -- we will go a very long time without a shower.  I've never gone 9 days without showering.  Imagine your hair without a shower for 9 days.....hmmm....Thus the boys shaved their heads.  We all agreed that while Hannah looks adorable with a shaved head, Maya and I should probably keep our hair on.  So I went out today and found BIG head bands to cover up my eventual unwashed hair.  Here in Denver - right now - this seems like it's a big deal, but I am sure up on the mountain when it's zero degrees and the wind is blowing, I won't care if I haven't taken a shower in 7 days. Once I backpacked in the Tetons for 30 days -- but it was summer and I jumped in a creek or even glacier fed lake to clean off every few days. We won't have the luxury of any creeks or lakes to jump in for this trip.  I'm already looking forward to the shower when we get back down the mountain.

We have also been talking about our summit day treat for the top of the mountain.  Ben doesn't understand how important a decision this is.  After climbing hard for hours on end, you want to enjoy something extra sweet at the top.  It could be oxygen deprivation, or the need to carbo load, but the sweeter it is -- the better it seems to taste.  I think my body will go into shock - but I'm looking forward to that too.  Chocolate covered almonds is my treat, Maya wants M & M's, Dillon wants jelly beans, and Hannah chose the new peanut butter snickers....Ben said he would choose spinach.  Good luck getting that through customs.  

I Have a Dream.....

I've had a dream since my teen-age years.  That dream is to climb Mt Kilimanjaro.  Kilimanjaro is a mountain in Tanzania that sits on the border of Kenya.  It is the highest peak in Africa and sits just above 19,340 feet in the air.  The safest route is the longest one, and to take it you hike about 25 miles, gaining around 3,000 feet each day.  The round trip journey is 9 days long.  40% of the people climbing never make it to the top.  The 25 miles are not the issues so much as the lack of oxygen above 14,000 feet.  About a year ago I decided to make this dream a reality.  I knew Hannah was graduating from college, Maya was graduating from college, Maya and Ben were getting married, Austin was graduating from high school, and I have a "significant birthday" coming up.  March 18th we leave for this adventure of a lifetime. 

The time is right - it has to be now because I can't see us as a family being able to spend 2 weeks together doing something like this -- maybe ever again.  I have talked about climbing this mountain with lots of friends -- and I would love it if more would climb it with me (Ryan and Amy Paterson are completing our climbing team), but really it's about being able to spend 2 weeks with my children accomplishing a task that most people in the world never accomplish.  Dreaming my dream has been fun, but seeing it to fruition with my children will be indescribable.  Don't ask how I am paying for it, but I am covering every single dime of the cost for all 6 of us.  I figured if it takes me 10 years to pay it all back, it will be money well spent -- to spend time with my children -- time I don't think we will ever get like this again. 

So why am I writing to you to tell you of my dream?  Many of you know about my friends Greg and Sharon Fast and their daughter Abby.  Abby is 15 years old (exactly Austin's age minus one month) and 3 months ago was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in the soft tissue of her back.  Greg and Sharon's dream is that Abby survive this cancer.  Currently it is their only dream.  They have done everything they know to do to see that dream become a reality.  It has been emotionally, physically, and financially exhausting.  But of course they are going to exhaust all their resources to see that happen.  They have good insurance -- but even covering the 20% that isn't covered by insurance will amount to tens of thousands of dollars.  Traditional forms of eradicating this cancer (chemo and radiation) are not proving to be successful, so they are venturing out to try some naturopathic methods.  These are not covered by insurance at all.  So the bills are mounting -- and Greg and Sharon's dream is eluding them.  A dream that all of us have for our children -- that they would out-live us....  We don't know what the future holds for the Fasts, but we do know they need lots of emotional, physical, and financial help...and the financial help is something we all can give.  Whether it's 100 dollars or 10,000 dollars.... every cent donated will help Abby.

So for our climb up Mt Kilimanjaro in 5 weeks, we want our steps to be raising money for Abby's care.  There is a charitable organization you can make your contributions to.

RLC SERVICES send the checks to:  8168 N Pinewood Dr  Castle Rock Co 80108. 

100% of your donation will go toward Abby's care -- and 100% is tax deductible (depending on your individual tax situation). 

Please help Greg and Sharon's dream become a reality as we all pursue our own dreams.

follow the climb on:   www.rickskiliclimb.blogspot.com

follow Abby's care on:  www.caringbridge.org/visit/abbyfast

follow your own dream...and I hope it's centered on spending more time with your own loved ones.

blessings,

nanci ricks

Of Sound Mind

I was in a wreck on the highway yesterday.  I was driving slowly in the snow on the way to church and a car spun out in front of me and came into my lane.....ca-boom!!!  The whole front end of my car is ruined...the car I just bought in July!  With the Adrienne pumping through my body, I could have thrown a car across the highway.  


I went ahead and went to church because at that moment in time - I felt just fine.  But as the day progressed I got more and more sore, groggy, head ache, pupils unequally dilated, dizzy -- and just not thinking clearly.  I'm better today - but while I was in my "daze"  I kept thinking "I can't be trusted to make sound decisions".  Even though I wasn't thinking clearly -- I was clear enough to know I couldn't be trusted with decisions.  The big decisions were - 
     Village Inn or I-Hop for breakfast? 
     What do we eat for the SuperBowl? 
     Do I sleep first of get in a warm bath for my sore muscles?


Luckily the kids made all the tough decisions and Maya woke me up every 3 hours through the night to make sure I wasn't bleeding into my skull.  


But all of this confusion makes me wonder about altitude sickness on the mountain.  If I get confused - will I say out loud "I can't be trusted to make sound decisions"? Yesterday I knew I couldn't make sound decisions -- but the kids kept looking to me to make them anyway.  When altitude sickness takes over, I think a person isn't sound enough to say to anyone "hey I can't think straight".  Every documentary, article, or film I have ever seen of someone "losing it on the mountain" shows these people who think they are in the right -- making very wrong decisions. I don't want that to happen.  I know that is why we have guides -- and they know their stuff and will keep us on the straight and narrow so we are safe on the mountain.  


But among our family -- how will we know who is of sound mind and who isn't?

Training

Since our first day on the mountain will be March 20, I figured I would begin training 3 months ahead around December 20.  Well....the week before that date, I came down with a stomach flu that rivaled any sickness I can remember having in the last 2 decades.  So my new goal for December was to begin eating on a daily basis and to physically be able to move from one place to another in my house (it's important to not set your goals so high you fail all the time)!  I succeeded.
This past week I went with Dillon and Austin into the mountains to begin our training by cross country skiing in the back country.  As I was sitting in the 90 mile line of cars trying to get into the mountains, I could feel my muscles slowly deteriorating as I was waiting to get to the location to start training.  So we changed our plans, rented snow shoes, and headed up to Loveland Pass.
Austin chose to downhill ski and then climb back up carrying his skis -- an idea that sounded much more fun than it actually was.  Dillon and I headed up above tree line to exert energy at high altitude. As we clipped along at a good pace at 11,000 feet headed toward 12,000 -- one of us could not stop talking.  Dillon had no problem with altitude while I was barely able to answer his non-stop questions!!
The way I see it, there are three main areas that will help us peak Mt Kilimanjaro; physical strength, altitude acclimation, and mental determination.  Clearly I need to work on my altitude acclimation -- I'll let the rest of the family figure out where their weak points are....

Why Kilimanjaro?

So many people have asked me why in the world I would want to take all my children and climb the highest mountain in Africa. And the old adage "because it's there" doesn't do it justice!

When I was in junior high school, I met a man who had worked as a travel guide for Kilimanjaro climbs.  That was the first time I was exposed to this majestic mountain, and immediately the idea of climbing it one day worked its way under my skin.  In high school I actually taught myself Swahili, believing that one day I would live in Africa. That was many years ago, and I have yet to set foot on the African continent.

So when I heard about "bucket lists" - Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro was the first thing I put down.  10 years ago I began "talking-up" the idea to my friends and family.  Several friends wanted to join me -- but as time has progressed, not many have been able to reserve the time or money for the effort.  As I considered who were some of my favorite people in the world -- the people I would want to experience one of the highlights of my life with, I easily thought of my children.  I know that as they get older, it will be more and more difficult to collect all of us together in one spot for two weeks to climb a mountain in Africa!  The girls will be going to graduate school (medical school) and careers will take precedence -- then the boys will be in college and unable to take 2 weeks off.

Within one year I have two girls graduating from college, one of those girls got married, one son graduating from high school, and I will have a "significant" birthday!!  To celebrate I could have booked a cruise, or taken us all to an all inclusive in Mexico, or reserved a cabin in the mountains, but I somehow think that those events could occur sometime in our life, but Kilimanjaro is a once in a lifetime experience. I know the best times together as a family are when we struggle together and accomplish something.  Climbing over 19,000 feet will be quite an accomplishment. So to celebrate -- we are climbing Mt Kilimanjaro!!

Training to Climb

Yikes -- with Christmas season upon us - we have suddenly stopped training and started eating....we can't keep this nasty habit going for long....