Mission Accomplished, New Goals, and Exciting News Ahead!

We’re back, and what a journey it’s been! We made it to the Stanley Glacier on Mt. Rwenzori, pushing our limits with a 2 a.m. summit climb, scaling wet cliffs, and battling altitude sickness. But we did it, and thankfully, we all came back injury-free!

Here’s a quick rundown of how we did on the tasks you sent us:

Leaving gear: We left behind a variety of equipment to help realize the dream of a Ugandan skiing their own glacier. It’s now possible!
Taking glacier photos: Unfortunately, bad weather made it tough to capture the glacier clearly, but we did our best.
Documenting plants and animals: With the help of our guide Pauli, we collected valuable data for Caleb Norville & Dr. Ivory’s research, and took some fantastic photos.
Female porters: We were joined by three strong female porters, including Jaqueline, who carried our heaviest bag with ease.
The ladders: The old ladders were gone, but we captured where they once were.

During the hike, we shared the vision of Ski Club Uganda with our guiding team, including our goal of spreading awareness about skiing in the Rwenzoris and planting a tree nursery in the region. It was inspiring to learn that the guides had their own tree planting project, which they had to pause due to the pandemic. They’ve planted over 20,000 trees, showing their commitment to conservation.

While talking with guides and porters, we realized the potential of combining efforts to combat climate change. They are already taking action by planting trees to fight soil degradation and annual flooding. In the coming months, we’re planning a student-led project with Middlebury and Makerere universities to teach sustainable farming and conservation techniques in the region.

Now for the big news: After meeting with the Ugandan Olympic Committee, we learned that it’s possible to get Klemen Kosi into the 2026 Winter Olympics to represent Uganda! Although we’ll need the President’s approval for Klemen’s citizenship, this could be a game-changer for Ski Club Uganda and the country’s international profile. The idea is to have Klemen represent Uganda while also promoting the beauty of the Rwenzoris on the global stage.

But we’re not stopping here. There’s still a lot of work to do:

Lukka Wolff has helped us connect with a Middlebury professor about sending students to Uganda for conservation and farming programs.
Morgan Long is finalizing our 501(c)(3) application to officially kick-start our nonprofit.
We’re working on detailed plans for the tree-planting project and gathering support for our Ugandan administration proposal.
A short film about our journey and project is in the works.
We’ve got outreach plans with organizations like Protect Our Winters and exciting updates for the Ski Club Uganda community.

And there’s more! We’ve got Ski Club Uganda T-shirts coming soon. Stay tuned for updates on how you can grab yours.

Thank you for your continued support as we embark on this exciting new chapter. Together, we can make a real impact.

Take care,Florian & Ski Club Uganda