Climb for Hospice

Weird Robyn Facts

I was born “in the caul”. According to myth, this is a sign of good luck, and apparently I am destined for greatness. I am also immune to drowning, have a fairy accompanying me wherever I go, have the power to read palms, and can see into the future. It is also a sign that I may become a vampire.

I had my collar bone broken when I was a kid after SOMEONE tossed me under a spinning merry-go-round. Of course, I had just smacked that someone in the face with a tree branch, so I guess I got what I deserved. Sorry Steven.

I foster Border Collies for the That’ll Do Border Collie Rescue. Errr… well, I did. I keep adopting my foster dogs, so I kind of ran out of room. (But if YOU want to foster Border Collies, click HERE for more info) .

I cannot even THINK about the movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron without tearing up. A “friend” of mine used to sneakily play the trailer just to see me cry. I CAN’T HELP IT! That poor horse… all tied up… and… and… *sniff*… oh god. I am really, really hoping that when I go on a safari in Tanzania that I don’t witness a lion mauling a zebra or something.

You know that sound when you remove the lid from a piece of unglazed pottery? Yah, I hate that sound. A lot. You know what kind of sounds like that? Walking on scree. Thaaaaat’s right. I get to climb an Unglazed Pottery sounding scree slope on Kili.

Greeeeeeat.

Weird Kili Facts

-The ice cap at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro is about 200 feet thick!

-Kili is also known as Ngaje Nga, meaning “House of God”

-In 1952 the movie The Snows of Kilimanjaro was made – based on the Ernest Hemingway short story of the same name. However, the only thing Hemingway liked about the movie was “Ava Gardner, (and) the Hyena”.

-Kilimanjaro supports five major eco-zones: rainforest, heath, moorland, alpine desert and glaciers.

-The bronze plaque at the summit of Kili reads: We, the people of Tanganyika, would like to light a candle and put it on top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, which would shine beyond our borders, giving hope where there was despair, love where there was hate, and dignity where before there was only humiliation.

Weird Kilimanjaro Facts – Lesson One

-Kaiser Wilhelm was given Mount Kilimanjaro as a birthday present from Queen Victoria (which is why it is part of Tanzania and not Kenya, as Tanzania was a German territory)

-Mount Kilimanjaro’s name means: “Mountain of Cold Devils”

-Mt. Kilimanjaro is the only permanent snowcap within sight of the equator

-Although mostly living in North and South America, porcupines have been seen on Mt. Kilimanjaro (at about 11,000ft)

-First summit (in Oct 1889) by: German Geology professor Hans Meyer, Marangu Army Scout Yoanas Kinyala Lauwo and Austrian mountaineer Ludwig Purtscheller