Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Adam Knoff
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
After learning cramponing, rope travel, ice axe arrest and crevasse rescue skills, to name a few, the Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir made their summit attempt today. The teams have been training at Camp Muir since their arrival on Monday.
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Adam Knoff lead their teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning on a beautiful, clear and windless day. They will enjoy the views, give hugs and high fives and take a few photos before beginning their descent from the crater rim. They will return to Camp Muir for their final night on the mountain. Tomorrow they will descend to Paradise and return to Rainier BaseCamp for a celebration and wrap up of their week together on the mountain.
Congratulations to today's teams!
Namaste from Phakding,
We made it in! But... what a day! The weather on the mountains grounded all airplanes, and after a six-hour wait, with the news that there were people backed up from previous days' weather delays, and with the bad forecast ahead, we decided to make a small sacrifice and hire a private helicopter, which can fly below the cloud deck, and safely fly to Lukla.
A little bit of a late start brought us to late lunch rather than breakfast at the 2800-meter high Himalayan village that serves as the start point to arguably the most famous trek on Earth. But, hey... we were in the Himalaya!
We then enjoyed a short late afternoon hike through the low villages of the Khumbu until our arrival to our lodge in Phakding.
The journey is on, and we're heading upwards!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hello again everyone
Today we visited the famous Ngorongoro Crater, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The crater is roughly 100 square miles and is home for more than 25,000 animals that reside here year round, as its one of the few places that has natural springs. We started early with hopes of catching a few big cats before the heat of the day sent them in search of shade.
We saw many hyenas, jackles, ostrich, plus countless other huge birds, and even managed to get close to a large pride of lions with very full bellies. There was a Black Rhino spotted not to far off of the road also which was a highlight.
We wrapped up the day with a visit to a Maasai village not far from the craters rim. The Maasai people are a semi-nomadic tribe that exist almost entirely off of their cattle. The team spent time asking questions and enjoyed being shown around their small and simple village.
We have just finished another wonderful meal here at the Plantation Lodge and the team is off to bed after a long, but very rewarding day on safari.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Greetings!
We officially started our visit with a mandatory tour of the city, and some of the sights that proclaimed Kathmandu a Word Heritage City by the UNESCO.
After a full morning of enriching our cultural perspective, we proceeded to another big meal all together, tasting new Nepali dishes over vivid discussions at the table. Like the day before, the jet lag kicked in, and the afternoon was spent relaxing and packing for the mountain flights.
Our next dispatch will be from the mountains!
Stay tuned for our progress uphill.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
To Elias and Team,
Have and amazing adventure through the Himalayas. Eat some Dal Bhat and spin a prayer wheel for me!
-Christina
Posted by: Christina Dale on 9/26/2018 at 12:04 pm
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Today was our first day of safari and we headed northwest to visit the beautiful Lake Manyara. The lake is a brief stopping ground for many migratory animals and home to more than 300 different birds. Everyone enjoyed the day cruising around in our safari vehicles with cold beverages in hand while seeing the animals up close.
We managed to see a few wildebeest, zebras, Cape buffalo, lots of baboons, a few impalas and many hippos, and several elephants pretty close. It was a nice introduction to the incredible diversity of wildlife that Africa has and the team is looking forward to seeing more tomorrow.
We wrapped up the evening with a wonderful meal at our new lodge, The Plantation Lodge, and even celebrated one of our teammate's birthday with a cake and plenty of singing.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari crew
Namaste from Kathmandu,
Everyone arrived on time, bags made it no problem... and jet lag, as expected, kicked in early. We met at our hotel, Yak & Yeti, and headed out for lunch and coffee, as the first activity as a team. It was funny to see how we all were craving bed shortly after, as the massive time difference started to trigger a need for sleep at an awkward local time.
With not much else to report, we're scheduled to have a good day tomorrow of touring some of the city's historical landmarks, and of course, getting excited to start our mountainous journey.
That's all for now, the adventure begins!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Today we woke at 6:30 after a wonderful night of well deserved sleep, had a quick breakfast, then enjoyed a few goodbye songs from our hardworking and kind crew of porters, cooks, and local guides. We finished the little celebration by handing out their well earned tips and then hit the trail one last time descending back into the thick forest surrounding Kilimanjaro. It took about three hours to reach the park gate where the team had lunch then hopped aboard our awaiting bus for the ride back to the lodge.
The team is doing great after relaxing for a few hours and some and well deserved long, hot showers.
Everyone is looking forward to our game viewing safari which starts early tomorrow!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and a happy Kilimanjaro crew
Posted by: Christina Dale, JT Schmitt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,100'
The Four Day Climb September 21 - 24 made a valiant effort in their summit attempt of Mt. Rainier this morning. With cold temperatures and clear skies the teams ascended to 14,100' before being forced to abort their climb due to high winds. The teams will return to Camp Muir and then continue to Paradise. We look forward to greeting them at Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon.
It was still an adventure of a lifetime and I am sure an experience to always remember. Jamie and Landrum - if this the team that you are with, I can’t wait to see you both. I am proud of both of you for all the time and preparation that you put into this not to mention your pursuit of a dream.
Posted by: M.Watts on 9/26/2018 at 6:32 am
SOOOOO close!!!! I am sure the views were worth every effort. Glad you guys are keeping safe and not risking it all to get to the top! Can’t wait to see pics.
Posted by: Melissa Passero on 9/24/2018 at 10:19 am
We did it! Summit success!
The team got up at 11pm and were all ready by 11:30 for the ascent. We then had a quick midnight breakfast of porridge, tea and coffee before starting our climb under a mostly full moon.
The weather was very calm and the route wasn’t all that busy allowing us to take our time and enjoy the ascent. The climb took just under seven hours to reach the summit, and thankfully the sun rose shortly before reaching the top to help warm us and boost morale after climbing through the night.
On the summit we hugged each other, enjoyed the views and took plenty of pictures and even made a few phone calls to loved ones back home.
It was a true test of endurance for most of the crew, and I'm really proud of everyone.
We descended back to high camp, where we had a quick lunch, repacked and then continued further down the mountain to our final camp in the thick warm air at 10’000ft, where we just finished another fine meal prepared by our gracious staff. Now it’s off to bed for some well deserved sleep.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and a happy Kilimanjaro summit crew
On The Map
When I looked at the picture of the summit crew I knew it was you Judge Junell!!!! Congrats on another summit. I have another trip for you- The Lofoten Islands, Norway. I’ll send you the info!! Cheers to everyone.
Posted by: Elsie Bemiss on 9/24/2018 at 5:18 pm
kudos to Hans/Alix. You guys overcome all obstacles. Proud parents.
Posted by: Margot badenhausen on 9/23/2018 at 3:44 pm
Posted by: Robby Young, Chris Ebeling
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 8,500'
Today was a day of weather on Mt. Rainier. Unfortunately, that weather was not cooperating for the summit climb teams and they were turned back at 8,500'. Mountaineering has its weather uncertainties- we take what Mother Nature deals to us. Today was not a day for aces but there will be more days in the mountains.
A great effort by the team today.
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I was thinking back to this day one year ago when a group of strangers set out to climb to Camp Muir.
Little did we know the challenges we would face and how we would be far closer then we started and with such an amazing story to tell. Hope everyone is doing well.
Posted by: Jamie Watts on 9/24/2019 at 10:56 am
Congratulations P! You did it! So super proud of you! Yahoo! Glad your on your way back! Phew! Xoxoxox ❤️❤️
Posted by: Wilson Family on 9/30/2018 at 11:58 am
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