Sylmar Hang Gliding Association

Hi guys, it's Aaron here, one of the paragliding instructors at Sylmar. I haven't met a lot of you but I've seen many of you in passing. I'm that guy that hikes up to trash in his funny toe shoes and I also organized the SoCal XC league to fly at Kagel this past year. I've found a bigger mountain to hike up and fly from as a member of the Wings of Kilimanjaro project and I wanted to spread the word with the launch date so close

In less than a month 100 pg pilots from around the world will gather in Tanzania to be the first group to legally hike to the top of Mt Kilimanjaro and fly from the peak at 19,500'! Among that group will be myself and Laura on my tandem wing.

In order to do so, our project is planning on raising $1,000,000 for charity for the surrounding communities through the following charities:
- Plant with Purpose: Sustainable agriculture & fighting deforestation
- The One Foundation: Education resources & micro loans to businesses
- World Serve International: Access to clean water

Each pilot is required to raise $5,000 ($10,000 for tandems) as part of the contribution to the million dollar goal. Laura and I are in our final stretch to meet our fund raising goal and you can see one of our fund raising pages here with many perks for different donations:
http://www.indiegogo.com/pg-with-a-cause
And our main fund raising page here which I've donated all of my paragliding school's proceeds to this year:
https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/do ... =368156102

If you have a few bucks to help us meet our goal it will go a long way to making a difference in Tanzania and to making paragliding history. If not consider sharing it with your friends and spreading the word.

Above all else I'm hoping to generate some excitement around this project in the flying community as the launch day looms. Check out the main page and like the Facebook page to keep up with the latest news! If everything goes well this will be an adventure of a lifetime! The largest ever summit group on Kili, first group to fly from Kili and largest group to launch from such extreme altitude!

http://wingsofkilimanjaro.com/
https://www.facebook.com/wingsofkilimanjaro

Cheers & Happy New Year,
Aaron Price

The IndieGoGo site is now closed but I will still honor any perks offered there through donations to our main site:

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/do ... =368156102

Just spent $700 on vaccinations today:
- Yellow Fever
- Typhoid
- Malaria
- General antibiotic
- Cholera

Jeesh, Africa's a scary place!! Also got all my Hep, Polio, Tetanus shots... I'm starting to feel like a pin cushion but I bet I could answer any vaccination questions you have

Wishing you the best on your adventure. Having climbed Kili a few years back, don't underestimate it. It's not a climb as much as a hike, but it's a long trek and the altitude is significant. You're spending a lot of time at altitude versus a thermal climb to altitude plus descent. Acclimatization, if possible will help. We climbed Mount Meru first then went on to Kili.

Bring Azithromycin. It will help both upper respiratory infection and intestinal issues if they occur. Cipro is also good, but has a black label warning with regard to potential tendon tears so azithromycin is better.

Bring extra TP, you won't regret it. Someone should bring diamox although younger climbers seldom need it. If the porters offer the portable toilet -- TAKE IT. It will seem silly, but they get paid to carry it, are happy to do it, and you will really appreciate it.

Finally, try and enjoy each climate zone as you travel through it. It's a great journey and the summit is only a small part of it.

Best,

Mike

Thanks for all the tips Mike, we are taking 7 days to do the hike and will have 3 days on the peak for a launch window giving us the best possible opportunity to make it happen. Hopefully that will be all the acclimitization we need.

Fingers crossed things go as planned! I'll make sure to post a follow up after the trip!

Hey Aaron, I'm pretty sure I just donated $100 for your adventure through Wings of Kilimanjaro. I'd sure love to get a vial of sand from the summit for my collection. Thanks.

Thanks so much Bob! I'll PM you so I can get your details!

Cheers,
Aaron