Release date: 01/16/20

In the Series Finale, Shebbie faces her toughest challenges yet when she sets out to conquer Kilimanjaro.

Inside the Episode: Tanzania

Kilimanjaro:

According to 20th century novelist Ernest Hemingway, Mt. Kilimanjaro was known to the Maasai people as “Ngaje Ngai” or “The House of God”. Gazing up at the tallest peak in Africa as it looms large over the surrounding plains, it’s easy to see why.

Sitting at over 19,000 feet in elevation, Mt. Kilimanjaro draws both the eye and the imagination as it ascends into the clouds. Not just the tallest mountain in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro is also the highest free standing mountain peak in the world, making it a perennial draw for adventurers and explorers alike. Although known to the surrounding African peoples from time immemorial, it came to the attention of European explorers as early as Ancient Greece. Greek historian, Ptolemy, writes of sailors describing a solitary “moon mountain” as the mythic source of the Nile, with this attribution serving to firmly establish the mystique of Kilimanjaro in popular imagination. Contrary to several popular explanations suggesting it’s name is a mispronunciation of a Wakamban phrase meaning “white mountain”, the true origin of the current name “Kilimanjaro” remains a mystery.

Geology:

Geologically, Kilimanjaro is actually comprised of three distinct volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, with the highest of the three being Mawenzi. While Mawenzi and Shira are extinct volcanos, Kibo is considered to be a dormant volcano and thus could erupt again at some point in the modern era. In fact, according to Maasai reports from the 1800’s, Kibo erupted at some point in the recent memory of the tribe resulting in the destruction of a village along Lake Chala, east of the mountain. Beginning eruptions roughly one million years ago, the three volcanoes are responsible for creating the surrounding Saddle Plateau, which serves as a base to the mountain and contributes about 4,000 feet to it’s phenomenal height.

Climbing:

While the first ascents of Kilimanjaro are variously credited to Ludwig Purtscheller or Hans Meyer in the late 19th century, it’s likely that the peaks were summited by native African explorers prior to European documentation. Today, Kilimanjaro’s dramatic beauty and challenging elevation make it an ideal draw for climbing enthusiasts from around the world, bringing as many as 50,000 climbers annually. Kilimanjaro is also listed amongst the “Seven Summits”, a famous mountaineering challenge to climb the tallest peaks on each of the seven continents, further cementing it’s interest for climbers.

Climate Change:

Like much of the natural world, Mount Kilimanjaro has been subject to the effects of global climate change, with its glacial ice cap shrinking by as much as 85% in the last hundred years. Because of it’s long-standing interest to the scientific community, Kilimanjaro’s glacial decline is one of the best documented in the world and serves as an important case study in global glacial retreat. Experts contend that, at its current rate of deterioration, ice will disappear entirely from the peaks of Kilimanjaro by 2060.

The future is never written though, and the choices of collective humanity today will help determine if “The House of God” remains as stunning a natural wonder as it was when it drew those daring, first adventurers to ascend it’s snowy summits years ago.