Sorry about the long delay…we have just reached our hotel in Gondar and can now provide a full summit report!
Summit Day Stats :
Departure Time : 3.30am
Reached summit : 10.40am
Time on Summit : 20 minutes
Distance to summit : 12,8km
Total Ascent : 1428m
Return to Ambiko Camp : 2.14pm
Distance : 12,3km
Total Descent : 1389m
More details below…
We woke up at 2.30am this morning and after packing up camp and eating a good breakfast headed out for the summit at 3.30am. It was a relatively clear night with a full moon and light winds.
We made good steady progress through the night, but were all waiting for sunrise to give us some added warmth. As the sun rose around 6.15am we were presented once again with magnificent views. However, the real challenge was the distance to the summit, which was longer than we expected.
As summit days goes this is a big day out with over 1400m of ascent over 12,8km and the final 100m involves a bit of a rock scramble which can be a test after a long climb. Finally, after just over 7 hours we reached the summit at 10.40am.
With clear skies and magnificent views all around we spent 20 minutes enjoying the summit before commencing our descent. Given our time pressure to get back to Ambiko Camp and get a Land cruiser pick-up back to Gondar we had to make up as much time as possible and descended back down in just over 3 hours.
After a round trip of 25km and over 1400m ascent and descent we were pretty broken and had to jump in to our vehicle and commence a long 6-7 hour drive over the Bawhit pass back to Debark and then on to Gondar.
We are all now in the Goha Hotel in Gondar after a brutal day feeling exhausted, but elated with making the summit and seeing one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in Africa.
We will post some more pics and slideshows over the next 24 hours.
All the Best
Doc, Mike, Charles and Tony
Simien Mountains Expedition 
Congratulations to all of you on a very successful last summit. It sounds like a spectacular part of the world. Have a safe trip home. Julian
Well done guys. If your legs are sore get into a ice bath. Bio advise.
Congratulations to all of you! Must have been hard work but you DID IT. Franschhoek is out of ice – I bought the lot 🙂
Congrats – what a wonderful experience and achievement … safe travels home!
Thanks for all the comments ! We are finally in Addis – just had a burger and chips and a beer ! Cheers Tony
Nice one Uncle Charlie
Congratulations to the team! What a fantastic achievement and experience. Looking forward to seeing you soon.
Ange, Georgina and Thomas xxx
Well done team – its an anniversary date to remember!