Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Not so much to report today.  We were up early and off to the airport to begin our Gokyo trek.  But it was raining as we passed through the streets of Kathmandu.  It turned out that it was rainy and cloudy at our destination -Lukla- as well.  Our gear was loaded on the helicopter and everyone and everything was ready… except for the weather.  There were periods of clearing at either Kathmandu or Lukla, but never at both.  And ultimately, by 2 PM (we’d been at the airport since 6 AM) the weather was still bad at both ends and getting worse.  We called it quits for the day.  So we finished back at the comfortable -and increasingly familiar- Yak and Yeti hotel.  We’ll give it another try tomorrow. 

Best Regards

RMI Guides Dave Hahn

We began the day with a team meeting over breakfast.  The intention was to get everybody squared away on the details of preparing for our Gokyo trek.  But the coffee was good and plentiful, so our business meeting just turned into a story-telling session as caffeine levels rose.  At 10 AM we set out with Naraj for a tour of the city.  During the ride through busy streets, Naraj explained the mix of Hindu and Buddhist religions and the various ethnic groups making up Nepali Society. 

Our first stop was the Swayambhu Temple -known as the monkey temple for the great number of monkeys scaling the stupas and Buddha statues.  We  were lucky -on this partly cloudy day- to get great views of the city from the hilltop temple.  Next stop was Boudinath Stupa.  We made a circuit and then visited a school for artists constructing mandalas.  We finished our outing with a relaxing lunch on a rooftop overlooking the giant stupa. 

Back at the Yak and Yeti, we used the afternoon to finish organizing gear for an early trip to the airport tomorrow morning.  With all preparations complete we set out in a downpour bound for dinner.  Luckily the walk was only 5-10 minutes.  An impressive amount of monsoon rain fell while we were eating.  And an even more impressive amount fell as we were walking back to the hotel afterward. 

Best Regards

RMI Guides Dave Hahn

The 2023 RMI Gokyo Trek Team hasn’t accomplished much yet… but we sure are tired.  We each arrived in Kathmandu, via separate routes, in the last day or so.  By modern travel standards, we are lucky!  No flight cancellations, no hijacked luggage.  We all made it.  But those deluxe, extra length flights and passing over half the planet’s time zones has us sleepy.  We started the program with an easy and enjoyable dinner in our hotel “The Yak and Yeti”.  Perhaps tomorrow we’ll have more bandwidth for looking around the dining room and lobby to recognize the climbing celebrities present.  This evening we just needed a little sustenance before turning in.  Kathmandu was rainy today.  Tomorrow, when we’re rested and ready to explore our surroundings, it will certainly be better. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Hello everyone,

We spent our final day yesterday touring Tarangire National Park, which is home to more elephants per square kilometer than any place on earth and it didn’t disappoint. There were plenty of other animals as usual, and we got pretty close which was amazing. There were also plenty of the other large African mammals, including a bunch of Giraffes and even a leopard napping in a tree.

We ended our day at a remote and off grid camp within the National Park and surrounded by wildlife. The camp has screened in rooms that allow the night sounds and smells of Africa in.

It's been a memorable experience for everyone with great friendships forged. But finally it's time to return home to our families and loved ones.

Thanks for following!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari crew!

Today we visited the famous Ngorongoro Crater, considered by many to be the eighth natural wonder of the world. The crater is roughly 100 square miles of what was once an enormous volcano similar to Kilimanjaro that erupted and collapse on its self. It is known for its abundance of animals that call the crater home with some estimates as high as 30,000 mammals.

We hit the road early with hopes of catching a few of the big cats before the heat of the day.

There were many sightings today of hyenas, zebras, wildebeest, Cape buffalo, ostrich, and countless other birds. We managed to see several lions, including one huge male very close.

We also saw a few Black Rhinos far in the distance, which have become very rare due to poaching.  

We have just finished another wonderful meal here at the Plantation Lodge.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Today was the start of our safari adventure and we visited the beautiful Lake Manyara National Park. The lake is a brief stopping ground for many migratory animals and home to more than 350 different birds. Everyone enjoyed the day cruising around in our safari vehicles with cold beverages in hand while seeing a few animals up close. 

We didn’t see a ton of animals today, but we did get up close to a few elephants, baboons and 6 beautiful lions! Also managed to see a couple of zebras and a giraffe off in the distance. 

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 www.plantation-lodge.com see for yourself!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari crew

Our final day on the mountain!

Today the gang got up at 6:30 refreshed after a much needed nights sleep, we had breakfast, then hit the trail one last time. It took just around three hours to reach the park gate where the team had lunch and said our final goodbyes to our amazing crew that took such great care of us on the mountain. 

We finished the little celebration by handing out their well deserved tips and then hopped aboard our awaiting bus for the ride back to the lodge. 

Finally we are all safe and sound, cleaner, and smelling fresh after an exciting seven day journey up and down Kilimanjaro. 

Stayed tuned, Safari starts tomorrow!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

 

The RMI Kilimanjaro September 16th team reached the summit of Kilimanjaro, 19.340'!  All team members climbed strong and were all at the summit together.

The team has descended and is currently at Mweka Camp, 10,000', their final camp of the climb.  

Way to go team!

Hello again everyone, 

The team had a good nights rest last night and today was just a short 3 hour hike up to 15,000' to our high camp. Everyone is excited and maybe just a touch nervous, which is very normal! 

The team has just wrapped up lunch and discussed in great detail the plan for tomorrow’s climb. Everyone knows what we’ll be wearing, what will be in the pack, as well as the schedule. 

Our game plan will be to wake at 10:30pm and have a quick breakfast at 11, then hopefully hit the trail around 11:30pm. It’s looking a little busy, so will hit the trail a little early to hopefully avoid any traffic jams and allow us to cruise at our own steady pace. 

The team has been doing great thus far and I’m expecting us to reach the summit in 7 to 8 hours if things go according to plan. 

We had trivia challenge, and one lucky winner will get a phone call from the summit. 

So everyone back home please keep your phones handy and if you receive a call from a strange number please answer. We are 7hrs ahead of the east coast time zone. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the RMI summit bound team!

Hello everyone 

Right out of camp we were faced with the only significant technical obstacle for this climb. This hurdle is the great Barranco Wall, which rises about 1,000ft and looks as intimidating as it sounds. Thankfully there is a nice narrow trail that weaves its way up and through the wall and all the way to the top. Most of it feels more like steep hiking, but there are a few places that require the use of our hands to help us climb up. 

The team did a good job of moving steady and allowing a few porters through with their loads precariously balanced on their heads. Which was astonishing to see!

After reaching the top we took a nice break and enjoyed the amazing views of the ice ladened south face and valleys below. The team continued our hike for a few more hours up and down through a few valleys before reaching today's endpoint. 

All in all, it took only about 4 hours for us to reach our next camp called Karanga, named for the big and beautiful valley which it overlooks. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew