Mount Kilimanjaro

Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania rises 19,340 feet above sea level, the high point on the African continent and one of the "seven summit" high points of the world that's special to climbers. Outdoors retailer and travel operator REI will offer 20% off a six-day trek to the top of the peak for those fit enough -- and motivated enough -- to make it to the summit. The deal: With this deal, the cost of the Kilimanjaro climb drops from $4.399 per person to $3,599 per person. A post-trek safari to the Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park may be added on for an additional $2,899 per person, a discount off the original $3,599 per person.

Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania rises 19,340 feet above sea level, the high point on the African continent and one of the "seven summit" high points of the world that's special to climbers. Outdoors retailer and travel operator REI will offer 20% off a six-day trek to the top of the peak for those fit enough -- and motivated enough -- to make it to the summit. The deal: With this deal, the cost of the Kilimanjaro climb drops from $4.399 per person to $3,599 per person. A post-trek safari to the Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park may be added on for an additional $2,899 per person, a discount off the original $3,599 per person.

Imagine, you're a network sportscaster, covering college basketball in February, when your boss calls and says, "Next week, we're sending you to Africa to cover an attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. "You'll be accompanying a group of mentally disabled young people on the climb. Oh, and take warm clothing. You'll need it." It happened to James Brown of CBS. "I'll be honest about it," Brown said Thursday from his home in Washington. "When I was first told about it, I hated the assignment.

The wind rustled the mosquito netting above my bed, and the sounds of the African night, a discordant symphony of high-pitched insect song mixed with the distant, plaintive bleating of goats, echoed around the room. "What have I gotten myself and my daughters into?" I scribbled in my journal as the inky African darkness enveloped my home for the evening, the 42-room Mountain Village Lodge in the outskirts of Arusha, Tanzania.

Just before Christmas, Jennifer Lambelet Mencken had hoisted a holiday flag in front of her Spanish-style house in Long Beach. The small red banner with white letters read, "JOY." Friends on Wednesday, remembering the Los Angeles librarian, said that message expressed a lot about Mencken's love for life and her devotion to mountain climbing. Before she departed on what would be her last hiking adventure, to Mt.

Ana Vargas, a diminutive hairstylist from San Diego, used to consider it an exciting climb when the elevator had windows. No longer. Not since July 31, when her self-image, spawned as the somewhat frail and timid one in a family of seven girls and five boys from Guadalajara, took a dramatic turn for the better. Right now, Vargas is a Helen Reddy song. She is woman. She is strong. You might say, these days, she is on top of the world.

Mt. Kilimanjaro is located on the equator. When Europeans first saw the mountain in 1848, they reported snow at the top. They were not believed. How could there be snow in such a hot place as the equator? Geographers said the white stuff must be salt deposited by the dormant volcano. They didn't know that the higher the altitude, the colder the air, even at the equator! As Julie, Carl, and Uncle Bill walked around Moshi in the morning, the air was crisp.

The wind rustled the mosquito netting above my bed, and the sounds of the African night, a discordant symphony of high-pitched insect song mixed with the distant, plaintive bleating of goats, echoed around the room. "What have I gotten myself and my daughters into?" I scribbled in my journal as the inky African darkness enveloped my home for the evening, the 42-room Mountain Village Lodge in the outskirts of Arusha, Tanzania.

Tanzania has bestowed its highest award on the late Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme. President Ali Hassan Mwinyi presented the Order of the Torch of Mount Kilimanjaro grade one to Palme's widow, Lisbeth, in a ceremony last week.

SATURDAY The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer Iraq troop withdrawal: Iraqi Ambassador Samir Sumaidaie. 3 p.m. CNN McLaughlin Group 6:30 p.m. KCET SUNDAY Today The Obamas' weekend in Martha's Vineyard; disabled veterans who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. (N) 6 a.m. KNBC Good Morning America (N) 6 a.m. KABC State of the Union With Candy Crowley Iraq: Gen. Ray Odierno; Iraq: former U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, Adm. William J. Fallon (ret.), Gen. Richard B. Myers (ret.

Mt. Kilimanjaro is located on the equator. When Europeans first saw the mountain in 1848, they reported snow at the top. They were not believed. How could there be snow in such a hot place as the equator? Geographers said the white stuff must be salt deposited by the dormant volcano. They didn't know that the higher the altitude, the colder the air, even at the equator! As Julie, Carl, and Uncle Bill walked around Moshi in the morning, the air was crisp.

Ana Vargas, a diminutive hairstylist from San Diego, used to consider it an exciting climb when the elevator had windows. No longer. Not since July 31, when her self-image, spawned as the somewhat frail and timid one in a family of seven girls and five boys from Guadalajara, took a dramatic turn for the better. Right now, Vargas is a Helen Reddy song. She is woman. She is strong. You might say, these days, she is on top of the world.

Just before Christmas, Jennifer Lambelet Mencken had hoisted a holiday flag in front of her Spanish-style house in Long Beach. The small red banner with white letters read, "JOY." Friends on Wednesday, remembering the Los Angeles librarian, said that message expressed a lot about Mencken's love for life and her devotion to mountain climbing. Before she departed on what would be her last hiking adventure, to Mt.

Imagine, you're a network sportscaster, covering college basketball in February, when your boss calls and says, "Next week, we're sending you to Africa to cover an attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. "You'll be accompanying a group of mentally disabled young people on the climb. Oh, and take warm clothing. You'll need it." It happened to James Brown of CBS. "I'll be honest about it," Brown said Thursday from his home in Washington. "When I was first told about it, I hated the assignment.

Google is continuing to push the limits of its Street View technology, this time by adding images in some of the highest points on the planet. In a series of expeditions by Google employees throughout 2011 and 2012, the company was able to add Street View images for four of the Seven Summits -- the tallest mountains on each of the seven continents. QUIZ: How much do you know about   Google ? Google captured the parts of Mount Everest in Asia and the summits of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mount Elbrus in Europe and Aconcagua , the highest mountain in South America.  The Street View panorama for Aconcagua summit, which is now the highest point viewable on Street View at more than 22,800 feet in elevation, can be seen below.

* Host of "Chocolate City" on KCRW-FM (89.9) and the monthly club Kneedeep in the Countdown beginning tonight at the El Rey. Appetite Building: An ideal weekend starts on Friday morning, when I'd go horseback riding at dawn at a black-owned stable-ranch in the San Bernardino Mountains.