CTSS Team

More good news from our climbing teams! On January 5th, all CTSS climbers reached the Roof of Africa. On the team:

• Pam C.
• Chrystie W.
• David G.
• Eva S.
• John W.
• Jack W.
• Griffin K.
• Jessica G.
• Abigail L.
• CTSS Guide Dr. Brenton Systermans

A massive congratulations to all of our climbers and guides for your summit success on Kilimanjaro. For the rest of the day, the team will descend back to High Camp, where they will take a brief respite before packing up and heading down to their final camp at 12,000ft.

Tomorrow, they will hit the park gates and conclude the expedition with a celeration team dinner before heading home or onto our signature African Safari.  

Photos from the CTSS Archives

Great news coming in from South America. On January 4th, the following climbers and CTSS guides summited Aconcagua:

• Guy S.
• Becky N.
• CTSS Guide Gianni C

A massive congratulations to all of our climbers. We had additional climbers on our team who turned at or before 6,400 meters with CTSS Guide Macarena. All climbers are doing well and resting easy at Plaza de Mulas Base Camp. Today, the team will begin their trek from Base Camp to the park entrance, then return to Mendoza.

Photos from Macarena.

Our Vinson Team Climbers made their way to Vinson Base Camp and have successfully moved to Low Camp and carried gear to High Camp. Today they are taking a rest day at Low Camp; tomorrow they will move to High Camp. Their next step will be to begin strategizing their summit window.

On Kilimanjaro, our climbers are in position to summit. They will be staying at High Camp, which sits around 15,500ft. We will keep you posted on their trek to the Roof of Africa.

Vinson photos from the CTSS Archives

2026 has arrived, and we have three teams on the mountain ringing in the new year in style!

First, our Vinson team climbers touched down at Union Glacier on December 31st, catching the last plane of 2025. Since then, the weather has been clear and calm, and the team celebrated the New Year with a dance party, costumes, and plenty of sunshine (thank you, midnight sun).

CTSS Guide Josh McDowell shared this with our team: “Everyone did an amazing job to help set up camp, folks are in good spirits, and all is well at Vinson Base Camp!”

Photos from CTSS Guide Josh McDowell.

On Aconcagua, our team continues to make their way up the mountain via the 360 Route. Today they are resting at Camp 2, and tomorrow they will move to Camp 3.

Photos from CTSS Guide Macarena Zanotti.

And rounding out our 2026 New Year’s, our team on Kilimanjaro officially hit the trail. They are progressing at an intentionally slow and steady pace. Today, they will make their way to Barranco Camp, climbing over a 15,000ft pass before dropping back down to 12,800ft. A classic climb high, sleep low, day for our team. Tomorrow, they will take on the famed Barranco Wall, a steep, hands-on scramble that looks intimidating but is far more fun than difficult.

Photos from CTSS Guide Dr. Brenton Systermans & Climber Eva Steinwald.

A great first full day in Tanzania for our Kilimanjaro climbers!

Today, the team visited the Materuni Waterfall and even got caught in a little downpour (welcome to Tanzania) before enjoying a traditional lunch. The lunch was in a nearby village, where they also roasted coffee at a local Arabica coffee plantation.

The team then returned to the hotel, where they met our local porter team (more on Kilimanjaro porters below) and had a guide briefing with Dr. Brent. Tomorrow, the team will head to Machame Gate to begin their trek to the Roof of Africa. Everyone is happy and excited.

Photos & Video from Dr. Brent:

More on Kilimanjaro Porters:

Every expedition is only as strong as its team, and no one plays a more vital role on Kilimanjaro than the porters. They haul the gear, set up camp, prepare meals, and ensure climbers have the best possible chance of success. Yet, approximately 70% of operators on Kilimanjaro DO NOT meet ethical standards, meaning hardworking porters are often exploited and mistreated, receiving little to no wages, tips, food, or proper sleeping conditions.

Here at CTSS, we are proud to be a certified Kilimanjaro Responsible Trekking Organization (KRTO), formerly known as the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP). This organization sets the standards for fair porter treatment and holds climbing companies accountable. We believe that climbing in good style isn’t just about reaching the summit—it’s about how you get there and ensuring that every member of the team is treated with dignity and respect.

To learn more about KRTO, head to our blog: Kilimanjaro & Ethical Trekking: Why Porter Welfare Matters.

It’s here! Our December Team Climb to the Roof of Africa has arrived, and we have an INCREDIBLE team gathering in Tanzania.

We are excited to share that on our 2025 Kilimanjaro team, we have not one but TWO families climbing together: a mother-daughter team from Australia and a father-son team from the USA. As we mentioned in our 2025 Year-End Updates, this past year, we saw a massive uptick in families and friends climbing together. These shared experiences are more than just a trek or a climb; they are defining chapters in a family’s story and provide an opportunity for reconnection, shared goal-setting, and, increasingly rare, the ability to disconnect from the noise that surrounds our daily lives.

In addition to these four climbers, we have two other climbers who are featured in our 2025 Year-End Updates, including Eva Steinwald and Chrystie Watson.

Eva Steinwald will continue her 7 Summits x 70 journey on Kilimanjaro this winter, after successfully ticking off Everest in 2025 with our team (and for a short time holding the record as the oldest American woman to summit Everest). It’s her goal to summit all Seven Summits by the age of 70, and with Denali, Aconcagua, and Everest already under her belt, she’s well on her way.

Chrystie Watson will continue her sustainability research on Kilimanjaro, a partnership with CTSS and Charles Darwin University. Our partnership will not only inform how we can improve our own practices but also how we can promote greater social, economic, and environmental stewardship across the mountaineering industry.

We have three additional climbers joining this powerhouse group, including our very own staff photographer, Griffin Kerwin, who was with our teams on Everest this past season.

All of these climbers will be guided by Dr. Brenton Systermans (we warned you this was a star-studded team), who is a seasoned expedition doctor and CTSS guide. Dr. Brent, as we like to call him, spent 2 seasons volunteering at the Himalayan Rescue Association’s famous high-altitude clinic, including the Everest ER and the Pheriche Clinic, and he’s guided across the world, including in Australia, Nepal, China, Tanzania, and Europe. When Dr. Brent isn’t guiding for us, he works with high-performance winter athletes at the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia. The team will no doubt be in great hands with Dr. Brent leading the expedition. 

Stay tuned for more from Tanzania and the Roof of Africa as our team makes their way to the Machame Gates in the coming days.

Photo from the CTSS Archives:

Here’s the latest from our teams in South America and Antarctica.

Our second South Pole Last Degree Ski team successfully made it to 90°S on Saturday! A massive congrats to all of our skiers this year.

Also in Antarctica, our second Vinson team of the season has completed their gear checks and guide briefings in Punta Arenas and topped off the day with a team dinner. Today, they will be doing their pre-flight orientation before making their way down to the blue ice runway at Union Glacier. The team will check in their baggage today and hopefully be on their flight tomorrow.

In Argentina, our Aconcagua team continues to make progress on the 360 route. Yesterday, they arrived at Camp 1, which means today should be a rest day before the move to Camp 1 tomorrow.

Photos from our Vinson team in Punta Arenas:

Our first Vinson team might not have had a visit from St. Nick so close to the South Pole, but they did manage a successful Christmas summit on the tallest peak in Antarctica!

Congrats to:

• Jeremy T.
• Rakesh T.

We have our second team of the season landing in Punta Arenas tomorrow, and they will be led by a fantastic trio of CTSS guides, including Mike Bennett, Ty Sauerbrey, and Josh McDowell. We are excited for our successful season to continue in Antarctica.

Our Aconcagua team has arrived at Plaza Argentina Base Camp (not to be confused with Plaza de Mulas Base Camp, their Base Camp on the trek down the mountains). Once there, the team feasted on Argentinian asado and were all in good spirits as they made their way up to the summit of South America’s tallest peak.

The route of choice for all of our team climbs on Aconcagua is the False Polish Traverse Route, also known as the 360 Route, which CTSS Owner Mike Hamill helped pioneer as a guided option over a decade ago.

This route ascends the Vacas and Relinchos Valleys, using three camps to get our teams into summit position, before descending the opposite side of the mountain to Plaza de Mulas Base Camp. We run this route for several reasons: we find the days more manageable, the scenery better, and the water sources more stable. Plus, it takes our climbers away from some of the more crowded camps, and it’s pretty cool to go up one side and down the other, seeing the whole peak.

Photos from CTSS Guide Gianni Capano:

Just before the Christmas holiday, our Aconcagua season officially kicked off! Our first team of the season landed safely in Mendoza, where they did gear checks and obtained their climbing permits from the Parque Provincial Aconcagua. The team’s first stop on their way to the Roof of the Americas will be at Punte Del Inca near the park’s entrance. There they will stay the night and then begin their trek.

Here is a peek at their anticipated itinerary:

• Day 4: Mule-assisted day hike to first camp, Pampa de Leñas
• Day 5: Mule-assisted day hike to second camp, Casa de Piedra
• Day 6: Mule-assisted hike to Plaza Argentina Base Camp
• Day 7: Rest and acclimatization day at Base Camp
• Day 8: Load carry to Camp 1 and return to Base Camp
• Day 9: Rest in Base Camp
• Day 10: Move to Camp 1 with gear
• Day 11: Carry to Camp 2 and return to Camp 1
• Day 12: Move to Camp 2 with gear
• Day 13: Rest day in Camp 2
• Day 14: Move to Camp 3
• Day 15: 1st potential summit day

Best of luck to all of our climbers headed to South America this season!

Photos from CTSS Guide Gianni Capano: