Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Mt. Everest: Rest Day for the Team at Everest Base Camp

April 14, 2014

Posted by: Dave Hahn, JJ Justman, Billy Nugent, Mark Tucker

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest

Elevation: 17,575'

Today was a well-timed rest day. Following our recent daily pattern, it was sunny and calm in the morning and snowing and socked in by noon. The team took the chance to wash up and get clean during the sunny hours, and then hunkered down within the tents for the afternoon. The much talked about Everest Basecamp WiFi hotspots and 3G cell coverage have both been dysfunctional in the extreme of late, bringing the teams back virtually to the 1990's in terms of connectivity... roughing it. Yesterday was a very popular day for Puja ceremonies and so the drab moraine rubble we call home was transformed by a vast spiderweb of interconnected colorful prayer flags streaming from the numerous chortens. Tomorrow, our Sherpa team is geared up for a carry to Camp II while the climbers have a conditioning hike to Kalapathar in mind. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Luv You! Take care we are with you everyday and are so proud of you. Go for it Nicole and team!!!

Posted by: Mimi on 4/15/2014 at 5:53 pm

Nicole Lobiondo: Sounds like a great day of rest. I am sure you are seeing many amazing things and views. Big hug!!! Nicole

Posted by: Nicole Howard on 4/15/2014 at 6:36 am

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Mt. Everest: Team Continues Training

April 13, 2014

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Billy Nugent, JJ Justman, Mark Tucker

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest

Elevation: 17,575'

Today the team went uphill in a few big ways. The Sherpa team carried loads all the way to Camp II (ABC) at 21,300 ft before returning to base while the climbing guides and climbers geared up and traveled to the first ladders in the icefall route. It takes about 90 minutes or so to reach those lowest ladders, but we figure it was pretty good practice. The "trail" involves a lot of crampon work up and down endless ice ridges before the actual fixed ropes begin. The fixed lines take a little getting used to when it comes to passing intermediate anchors in steep and awkward spots. Then we started encountering the much anticipated ladders, the first few this season being short and simple. But we continued on until we hit a slightly longer set of ladder sections tied together and bridging a pretty deep and dark crevasse. The team took turns tip-toeing across the rungs and from time to time just standing back to watch Sherpa climbers dance effortlessly across in their descent from a hard day of work. Descent from that big and worthy crevasse a little over 18,000 ft was pretty good training all in itself. The team moved better and better as climbers got accustomed to the routines of "arm-rappels" and clipping past snow and ice anchors. We reached the crampons-off point just as the daily afternoon snowstorm began, but that meant we were only ten minutes from camp. Once back in our home away from home it was an easy afternoon of lunch, games, naps and good conversation. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

RMI Guide and Base Camp Manager Mark Tucker checks in with an update on the Mt. Everest Expedition.

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Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Sending nothing but good vibes your way Spenny boy!

Posted by: Danny on 4/15/2014 at 12:37 pm

Nicole Lobiondo: Tracking you every day and thrilled to hear the team and you are going great. Stay warm and enjoy every minute. Love, Nicole H

Posted by: Nicole Howard on 4/14/2014 at 6:36 am

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Dhaulagiri: RMI Guides Spend a Night at Camp 1 and are Back in Basecamp

April 12, 2014

Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Jake Beren, Geoff Schellens

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Guide News

Elevation: 15,584'

Hello, this is Dhaulagiri climbing team on Saturday, April 12th. We have come back to base camp. We had made a move to Camp 1 and spent last night up there. We were forced to move down because of the bad weather. However that was pretty much the plan after moving up there and caching some gear and spend at least a night for acclimatization. We have about a foot of snow at base camp and we got about 1 1/2 feet at Camp 1 last night. Looks like the trend is going to be like that for the next couple of days and we are going to wait it out down here. We'll keep you posted on the move. So far the "mountain of storms." We will see what happens. Hope everyone is doing well and we'll check in later. RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos

Elias de Andres Martos calls in from Dhaulagiri Basecamp.

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STAY SAFE, my brave caballeros!

Posted by: nsb on 4/18/2014 at 11:35 am

Elias: Fingers crossed that you and your team get some good weather in the coming days. Hang in there!!!

Chris Palmer

Posted by: Chris Palmer on 4/13/2014 at 6:37 pm

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Mt. Everest: Sherpa & Guide Teams Check Out Camp 1 as Climbing Team Acclimatizes on Pumori

April 12, 2014

Posted by: Dave Hahn, JJ Justman, Billy Nugent

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest

Elevation: 17,575'

Hey, this is Dave Hahn calling from Mount Everest. We're still doing voice dispatches. We don't have internet connectivity yet. There is hope that we'll have it in the next couple of days if they fix the cell tower down valley. Things are going well up here. Our Sherpa team and our guide team went through the Icefall yesterday. Some of the first to go through the Khumbu Icefall for this season. We went to Camp 1 and came back down yesterday morning. All was well. Today the climbing team, went to Pumori Camp 1. Pumori is one of the beautiful mountains around base camp. Of course we didn't go for the summit of that; it would be pretty technical. But going up to Camp 1 was good exercise and got us up to some altitude. It wasn't the best day for being out in the hills. It was kind of snowy and gray but we made a good outing out of it. And then had an easy afternoon back here at base camp, so everything's going well. The base camp is filling up. Lots of teams coming in now. So it's getting a little bit more like regular Everest season by now. All for today. We'll keep in touch. RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Dave Hahn calls in after first time this season through the Khumbu Icefall.

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Nicole Lobiondo: Looks amazing and great job with Camp 1!!!! Go Nikita. Love you. Nic

Posted by: Nicole Howard on 4/14/2014 at 6:33 am

How exciting Nicole! Please return safely. Love Auntie Woo

Posted by: Cheryl Moothart on 4/13/2014 at 4:39 pm

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Mt. Everest: Mark Tucker Checking in after the Puja Ceremony

April 10, 2014

Posted by: Mark Tucker, Dave Hahn, JJ Justman, Billy Nugent

Categories: Expedition Dispatches

Elevation: 17,575'

Hello! Mark Tucker checking in from Everest Base Camp. We had a wonderful ceremony today. The puja altar was just as beautiful as it gets. A wonderful day. Just a real, pretty ceremony. Everybody in attendance and we all had a good time. So we packed up a lot a loads. We have our whole Sherpa staff heading up the hill to carry all the necessary provisions to get a great Camp 1 established. And our three super guides, Dave, Billy and JJ, are going to go get their feet wet and check on the route and check on the camp and get things looking up-to-snuff for the rest of the western team. We will do some maintenance down here- a little bit of hiking, maybe a shower day. We have plenty to do to prep ourselves for the near future. We are going to be up real early and get these boys off to work on their commute to Camp 1 tomorrow. So all is well and like I said, we had a really nice day. We'll check in tomorrow. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

RMI Guide Mark Tucker calls in after the puja ceremony.

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Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

You guys got Four Loko’s in Basecamp?

ROADHOUSE

Posted by: Horatio C.B. on 4/11/2014 at 1:45 pm

Best of luck and prayers for the safety of all. Be careful and have fun!! And don’t bet Tuck in cards!!

Posted by: Bill McGahan on 4/11/2014 at 10:42 am

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Dhaulagiri: RMI Team Making Progress on the Mountain

April 10, 2014

Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Jake Beren, Geoff Schellens

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Guide News

Elevation: 15,584'

Hello, this is the Dhaulagiri climbing team calling from basecamp on Thursday, the 10th of April. We have been here now for a few days. We made some progress on the mountain. We've moved a couple of caches almost to Camp 1. We have had a few peeks of the mountain, in between a couple of severe storms that have fallen upon us. We were pretty close and a move to Camp 1 has been made. The four of us have acclimatized to that elevation, and we will try to push out there tomorrow and spend a couple of nights. The weather forecast looks favorable to us for the next couple of days. The weather here has been a little weird with really clear mornings and snowstorms pretty much every afternoon, so that has been a little interesting. We are enjoying ourselves pretty well here. Everybody is very healthy and in good spirits. We'll try to make some progress and spend our first night at altitude. We'll keep you posted with more once we make that move. We hope you are all doing very, very well. Regards from Nepal. RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos

RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos calls in from Dhaulagiri's Basecamp.

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JAKE!!!!!

Posted by: Mike Poutiatine on 4/10/2014 at 9:59 pm

Daily I am wearing a Tibetan-sourced St. Christopher-like disc to keep you all well and energized for the climbs ahead. These postings mean the world to me—keep them coming and POWER ON.

Posted by: nsb on 4/10/2014 at 4:56 pm

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Mt. Everest: JJ Justman Calls in with Today’s Activities at Base Camp

April 9, 2014

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Billy Nugent, JJ Justman

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest

Elevation: 17,575'

Hi everyone, this is JJ Justman with the Everest climbing team, sitting here at base camp another day. It is the evening, right around 8 o'clock. We just finished another great dinner prepared by our sous chef. Today we had a really great day. It was our second day of training in the Icefall. We set up a nice obstacle course and got everyone familiar with some of the ups and downs and the crosses of what the Khumbu Icefall is going to entail. Everyone's doing really well. It's nice to have some practice on some fairly solid ground before we get to the real thing. Everyone just did a tremendous job. It's really good to see great teamwork. Tomorrow we have some more teamwork with everyone- Sherpas, kitchen staff, climbing team members, Jeff [Martin] and Mark Tucker, our base camp manager. We are having our puja tomorow. That's a nice little ceremony before we actually head up onto the mountain. We'll tell you a little bit more about the puja tomorrow. Everyone's doing well. It's a beautiful night here. We're going to play a little poker, some chess and have another great evening here at Everest Base Camp. Take care everyone. Thanks for following along. Ciao. RMI Guide JJ Justman

RMI Guide JJ Justman calls in from Everest Base Camp.

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Hello JJ ....espero que todo bien en esta nueva expedicion ¡¡¡ un gran abrazo desde Tu otro hogar aca en la bella Mendoza¡¡¡ Cuidate bol….... you know¡¡ je cuidate y exito¡¡¡

Posted by: rodrigo on 4/14/2014 at 8:39 pm

Hey Choo,

Glad to hear you are well and relaxing up on the mountain eating good food and playing poker. Really roughing it this time..LOL! Stay safe, keep the feet healthy. Keep you and your team in our prayers. Kendra

Posted by: KAB on 4/11/2014 at 9:23 am

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Mt. Everest: Dave Hahn and Team Enjoy Jungle Gym Training

April 8, 2014

Posted by: Dave Hahn, JJ Justman, Billy Nugent

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest

Elevation: 17,575'

This is Dave Hahn, calling from Mt. Everest. A great day for us today, our Sherpa team set up what we call a Jungle Gym, out in the glacier not far from Base Camp, a network of ladders and fixed ropes for us to practice on. We made good use of that, we went out this morning for a session for a couple hours and then this afternoon as well. It was a pretty nice day here at Base Camp. We are excited because Mark Tucker made his return, our Base Camp Manager is home. Everybody is doing really well we still basically have Base Camp to ourselves. Most of the teams will be rolling in in the next few days, next week but today it was still pretty quiet and we were enjoying it. All is good here and we will let you know what goes on tomorrow. RMI Guide Dave Hahn

RMI Guide Dave Hahn checks in from Everest Base Camp.

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Spencer Uncle Larry and Aunt Dianne wishing you and your climb team all the luck in the world we follow you each day on the blog get home safe.

Posted by: Larry on 4/9/2014 at 10:46 am

Spencer!!

Hope you are destroying that little hill you call everest! Big Dan misses you. Good vibes are sent to you from all your family and friends back home. I know we all miss you! LA has been a tad bit quiet w/out you causing ruckus. I cannot believe I have 2 more months of growing this disgusting beard. You owe me!! My family says hi and they love/miss you and to come back home safe. Every step counts!!

Love little dan

Posted by: Danny on 4/9/2014 at 9:21 am

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Everest Base Camp Trek: Grom & Team Return to Kathmandu

April 8, 2014

Posted by:

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek

Elevation: 4,383'

Hello everyone We have finally returned to Kathmandu! We arrived yesterday in Lukla after a long enjoyable hike down from Namche. It was a beautiful day with sunshine most of the way and just a sprinkle at the end to welcome us back. After a quick shower we stepped out to the local pub and had a drink to celebrate the journey. This morning we were delighted to wake to clear skies and hear that we were on one of the first flights out. And better yet, arrived back in Kathmandu early enough for breakfast. It's been a wonderful adventure and it will be sad to say goodbye to the team. But it's time to get home. Thanks for following! RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Mt. Everest: Hahn & Team Practice Glacier Travel on the Khumbu Glacier

April 7, 2014

Posted by: Dave Hahn, JJ Justman, Billy Nugent

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest

Elevation: 17,575'

This is Dave Hahn calling from Mount Everest. We had a great day today. The team rigged up for glacier travel and we went out in the Khumbu Glacier close to base camp with our crampons and ice axes. We went exploring up and down pinnacles and ridges of ice and just had a good hike in the glacier for a couple hours today. A nice day in the morning. And then in the afternoon and evening, it got a little more cloudy and started to snow a little bit in the evening. Everybody is doing really well. Tomorrow we are hoping to go and work out on some ladders and some fixed ropes in the Icefall on the lower glacier. So a practice day tomorrow. All is well. All for now. RMI Guide Dave Hahn

RMI Guide Dave Hahn calls in from Everest Base Camp.

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Spencer,

I miss you brother. I hope all is going well and you are safe and healthy. My beard is still growing strong and thick. Hurry back so I can shave it already! Have a great trip and every step counts! Can’t wait to see you and hear all about it.

Posted by: Danny on 4/9/2014 at 8:51 am

Nicole!!!! I miss you so much BUT I am so happy you are living out your dream and doing so well w the team!! Wednesdays are not the same without you! Xoxo thinking of you gf!!! Keep up the good work!!

Nicole

Posted by: Nicole on 4/8/2014 at 6:08 pm

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Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Mt. Everest: Rest Day for the Team at Everest Base Camp

Mt. Everest: Team Continues Training

On The Map

Dhaulagiri: RMI Guides Spend a Night at Camp 1 and are Back in Basecamp

Mt. Everest: Sherpa & Guide Teams Check Out Camp 1 as Climbing Team Acclimatizes on Pumori

On The Map

Mt. Everest: Mark Tucker Checking in after the Puja Ceremony

On The Map

Dhaulagiri: RMI Team Making Progress on the Mountain

Mt. Everest: JJ Justman Calls in with Today’s Activities at Base Camp

Mt. Everest: Dave Hahn and Team Enjoy Jungle Gym Training

On The Map

Everest Base Camp Trek: Grom & Team Return to Kathmandu

Mt. Everest: Hahn & Team Practice Glacier Travel on the Khumbu Glacier

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