Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Posted by: Billy Nugent, Zeb Blais
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Billy Nugent and the Five Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Zeb Blais reached the summit of Mt. Rainier earlier this morning. The team has descended safely to Camp Muir where they will pack up before continuing their descent to Paradise. We look forward to greeting the teams when they arrive in Ashford later this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
We are getting ready for dinner here just outside of Arusha in the lowlands of Tanzania. Everybody is healthy and happy. It’s crazy to think where we were just yesterday--what a great climb. We moved up the hill like clockwork. I was very impressed by the strength, both mental and physical, by one and all during such an arduous task.
This morning we had a nice walk in the cloud forest, and yes we were in the clouds. It was so lush and pretty. After reaching the Mweka Gate and having lunch, we said farewell to our local staff and a “thank you so much” to the staff of the Dik Dik Hotel—one of the best outfitters for Kilimanjaro. They offer great support and I will defiantly use them again. How about next week? Is that soon enough? But first I will spend a few days on safari game viewing with the team. We’ve made some great memories already and more are yet to come. I will do my best to keep you in the loop on phase two of the “A Team” in East Africa.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
The rains came in the wee hours at Machame Camp this morning. We were all snug in our sleeping bags and dry in our tents, but each of the team heard the showers and wondered how things might be if it all didn't quit by morning. Well, it didn't quit, but things weren't too bad, as it turned out. We geared up in waterproof clothing and got out into light showers and persistent mist. We'd breakfasted and busted out of camp by eight AM, climbing a steep and slippery trail with big lava-block steps. We climbed for several hours in the cloud, wondering just which grand views we were missing. It never got unbearably wet and we were spared from the possibility of overheating from too much sun. Most of our altitude for the day had been gained and we were beginning the leftward traverse which would bring us to the Shira Plateau when we climbed out of the clouds. It seemed we were in a great garden of wildflowers as we proceeded around the corner to Shira. And then we could see - for the first time - the upper slopes and glaciers of Kilimanjaro. It was an exciting moment, made better by the realization that we only had some easy downhill walking left to go in order to reach camp at 12,570 ft above sea level. We were looking out over an endless sea of cloud and enjoying the sunshine for a time...the clouds washed back over camp in the mid-afternoon. By then though, we were well-fed and well-sheltered in our new and higher home.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Hey Dad and Mr. Brad! It looks like you are having fun! It looks beautiful!
Brody - I love you dad, and I like your fun trip, and don’t fall on your hike trip, and then I love him. Halle - Hey, Dad. I love you and hope you are having fun. Can’t wait to see you again.
Posted by: Becky, Brody, Halle (007) & Champ on 8/1/2014 at 4:43 am
Glad the Team is climbing well. Keep it up! Go Brad-man & Gally-man!
Posted by: Steve Barker on 7/31/2014 at 6:18 pm
We started our day at a reasonable hour with breakfast at 8:00 am; we had porridge, fried eggs, and of course plenty of the Starbucks coffee we brought along.
After breakfast, we finished the remainder of our packing and headed over to the gondola and hitched a ride further up the mountain to our new base camp. Two gondola rides and one super long single chair lift delivered us to our new home just over 12,000'. Our new home is basically a retrofitted shipping container, and to be honest it's reasonably comfortable.
We had a nice lunch prepared by our wonderful cook, Albina. She's a great cook, but I think is a little over worked as she's been up here since my last trip.
With our gondola and chair lift rides this morning, we needed some post-lunch exercise so we headed out to stretch our legs and continue our acclimatization process by hiking for a little over an hour and gaining well over a thousand feet of elevation. Everyone did great and we are now back at camp watching the evening clouds roll in and getting ready for dinner.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
On The Map
In the North Cascades, Washington, RMI Guide Lindsay Fixmer and team reached the summit of Mt. Shuksan. The team climbed via the Sulphide Glacier and reported beautiful weather throughout the climb.
Congratulations Climbers!
Buenas tardes from Cusco,
The 2014 Machu Picchu trek has started! All members have arrived to the former capital of the Inca Empire...really excited to launch the first edition of this trek, where we will travel a combination of the Salkantay and Inca trails into the citadel of Machu Picchu.
We have just held our initial meeting and are now ready to hit the restaurant for dinner. We're doing so on the early side to allow for an early bed time, well deserved after the many hours of international travel. Tomorrow, we'll have a morning tour to discover the sights of this incredible city. While exploring Cusco, we will also start acclimatizing since we're about 10,000 ft above sea level.
Best regards from Peru, and stay tuned for tomorrow's post!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Ramona and Michael It was good talking to you yesterday and guess it will be a while before I do again. Hope that you’re enjoying the trail. Love, Momma
Posted by: Patsy Hollie on 8/1/2014 at 8:53 pm
Can’t wait for all the updates. Be safe and have fun! Oh and “GO TEAM JUNELL!!”
Posted by: Beverly on 7/30/2014 at 9:57 am
Our team was up before daylight today, getting set to leave the Dik Dik Hotel. We were piling into the expedition bus at 7 AM and driving out of the garden-like grounds we'd grown comfortable in these past few days. As expected, it took about two hours to reach the Machame Gate of Kilimanjaro National Park, our starting point for the climb. We traveled through corn fields for much of the way, but worked up into banana and coffee plantations as we gained elevation. It took about two hours to register and organize porters and so we set out at 11 AM from the 5,900 ft road head. Clouds protected us from the sun as we walked through gradually steepening terrain in the lush forest. It took about six hours to reach the Machame Camp at close to 10,000 ft, about where the vegetation changed markedly from tall trees to more scrub like heather. The team demonstrated a high level of fitness, but all were relieved to come into a well built camp at the end of the day.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Storm that mountain, Kevin! Good luck and take some good selfies! These are the types of achievement pictures that end up on a board for everyone to see at your surprise 90th birthday party. Make ‘em good!
- John
Posted by: John C Duncan on 7/31/2014 at 1:04 pm
Hey Kevin,
I know your spirits are down with David’s injury…but you got this. This is your dream! Complete it and you will have stories to tell your kids…stories to tell the rest of life as a life’s lesson. You are a trooper!
Love Mom
Posted by: Janna Davis on 7/30/2014 at 8:53 am
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
The RMI Mt. Elbrus July 18th Team spent their last night in Russia on a boat tour through the canals of St. Petersburg. Follow along with them via the video below.
All is well here in the Baksan Valley, at the base of Mt. Elbrus. We've settled into our comfortable hotel here in Cheget, which doubles as a ski town in the winter. Picture a lush green valley surrounded by many large snowy mountains!
We woke to a beautiful morning and finally we were able to get out and stretch our legs a bit. We made the most of the local ski lifts, (to save our knees of course) and hiked up the neighboring peak to start our acclimatization. It started off a little cloudy today, but eventually cleared for some decent views of Mt. Elbrus. After our ascent we headed back down to town for a nice lunch and headed over to the local climbing shop to pick up a few last minute things. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, getting our bags packed and just wrapped up another enjoyable Russia dinner with some wonderful Georgian soup.
All is well here and we'll check in again tomorrow!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Good luck to everyone!! Greg I am excited for you and your dad for this adventure but I still can’t wait to see you when you get back!!
Posted by: Tiara on 7/29/2014 at 11:04 pm
Greg & Gregory Waltz. Good luck, we are tracking your progress.
Posted by: Eduardo A de Aragón on 7/29/2014 at 7:53 pm
Hello!
I hope our phone call from the summit was received. We had a great climb and are now checking in 10,000' later. All is well here at the Mweka camp, our last camp of the climb. What a night for the summit. The temperatures were chilly, but there was very little no wind and lots of sunshine, you can't complain about that. The team did great up and down. Sixteen hours is a long day for anyone, so we are feeling a bit beat up right now. But we are all healthy and happy. We will wake up early tomorrow for a short three hour descent to the Mweka gate where we will meet our vehicle and driver. Once we load up, we will leave the Kilimanjaro National Park Gate and head back to the Dik Dik Hotel. The lap of luxury awaits.
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Congratulations to Jessica and Denise - Top of the World! - as far as I am concerned!
Posted by: Michael Rose on 8/2/2014 at 3:00 pm
OUTSTANDING! WHAT’S NEXT?
Love, Dad
Posted by: Dad on 7/31/2014 at 5:48 am
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