Dream vacation ends in tragedy on mountain

Wade and Betty Orrick Sapp left Melrose the day after Christmas to embark on the vacation of a lifetime: A climb to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, the ''roof of Africa."

But just 3,500 feet from the peak of the 19,500-foot mountain in Tanzania, the Sapps' dream trip ended in tragedy when a freak rockslide surprised the hikers, killing Betty Sapp, 63, and two other American climbers. Wade Sapp, 66, survived.

Kristian Ferguson, 27, of Colorado and Mary Lou Sammis, 57, of New York also died in the rockslide early Wednesday morning.

Five other people were seriously hurt, including a New Hampshire resident and four Tanzanian porters, said James Wakibara, acting chief warden of Kilimanjaro National Park.

Wakibara said an earth tremor or a rapid change of weather, accompanied by high winds, might have dislodged the boulders that slid down the mountain. He said he could not recall a similar event.

Neighbors of the Melrose couple said they were members of the Appalachian Mountain Club who prepared for their African trek with other hikes in Switzerland and the Grand Canyon.

''This was the dream vacation that you work so hard for -- it's what we all hope for later in our lives," neighbor Lata Williams said. ''It's so sad, that they went on their dream vacation and it ended tragically."

The injured were airlifted off the mountain to a hospital in Nairobi, Kenya.

Despite its altitude, Kilimanjaro is not considered one of the world's most hazardous hikes. An estimated 20,000 people attempt it each year, and the success rate is high, according to park officials. About 10 people die each year in the attempt, they said.

The climbers hit by the rockslide had been on the mountain for several days, and were preparing to hike to the summit.

News reports yesterday offered conflicting accounts of the timing of the slide; some reports said it occurred while the hikers were sleeping in tents, and others said the hikers had begun their ascent when the boulders came down.

The Agence France-Presse news agency quoted the American injured in the accident, Paul Cunha, 45, of New Hampshire, as saying that the hikers were walking when they heard cracks, and then saw rocks coming fast down the mountain.

Wade Sapp called a friend in the Boston area yesterday to say that he was OK, and that his return to the United States, originally scheduled for early next week, would be delayed by paperwork, a neighbor said.

In the tight-knit neighborhood where the Sapps have lived for at least a dozen years, residents said they were shocked and distraught to learn of the adventure's fatal end.

The couple were always together and walked everywhere, neighbors said. Both had prospered in careers in science. Wade Sapp is a physicist, according to neighbors.

Betty Sapp, who had retired while her husband continued working, was an active member of the Victorian Melrose Society, a group devoted to the town's Victorian architecture and heritage.

''She was unique, quirky, sweet, to the point, with no pretense -- a natural woman, a modern woman who achieved the things she wanted to," said Barbara Gilchrist, the society's president. ''And she and her husband were so well matched, both tall, slim, adventurous, and sporty."

Thoughtful and interested in other people, the Sapps gave the Williams family a gift membership to the Appalachian Mountain Club after learning that their younger neighbors hoped to become involved in more outdoor activities, Lata Williams said.

The couple took the preparations for their Kilimanjaro hike seriously, and had worked hard to build up their strength and endurance, their neighbors said.

''They weren't foolhardy people," said Williams. ''They didn't expect to climb a mountain like they were walking around the block."

Several neighbors said it was hard to imagine one of the couple without the other. ''I think she was his best friend," said Williams.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.Jenna Russell can be reached at jrussell@globe.com.