Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Buenos Dias from Team Mexico,
We are all tucked in safe and sound at La Malintzi resort a few hours down the road from this planet's second largest metropolis, Mexico City. Of course half the time getting here is spent literally getting the 20 kilometers out of town but witnessing the traffic of Mexico City is a great adventure in and of itself.
Our morning started as most mornings do. Coffee, breakfast and lots of Europeans. Well the European thing probably more so in Europe but the hotel did feel very international. After food and packing it was off to our first mountain, La Malinche. At a height just higher than Mt. Rainier, reaching the summit was not our primary objective. Starting our at 10,000 feet and cranking out 4500 vertical feet on our first go seemed a touch ambitious. Although we did crest the 14k height, we left the summit in peace because of tired legs and threatening storm clouds. The hike was beautiful nonetheless. Everyone did great and are bonding well as a team. Now we are ready for bed and the move to bigger mountains tomorrow.
Until Then, this is team Mexico saying good night.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff & Team
Update: 8 pm PT
Summit day on Orizaba- Today our team bagged the 3rd highest peak in North America! This was quite a feat and the whole crew was feeling the effects of a hard and rewarding day on the mountain. We celebrated with dinner at the Reyes family dining room, sharing stories with each other and climbers we had met on the mountain before retiring for some much needed sleep.
Earlier in the day, and I mean a lot earlier in the day, we woke to perfect starry skies, grabbed a quick breakfast and began the climb. After warming up on the first stretch of the climb, the trail deteriorates into a jungle of rock, snow and ice known as the labyrinth. Our team made short work of this challenge and advanced to the Jamapa glacier. The struggle ascending the Jamapa was rewarded with an amazing sunrise, views Ixta and la melinche and the impressive summit crater. Our team climbed strong back to the Piedra grande hut where we were transported back to town by 4x4.
All in all it's been a great trip. Everyone is worn out but happy to have succeeded as a team on some impressive peaks. It's hard to believe 9 days in Mexico have already come and gone!
RMI Guide Zeb Blais
6:00 am PT
Hey all this is Geoff Schellens and team standing on the summit of Orizaba. It was a tough climb but everybody is quite happy to be here and enjoyed very good climbing conditions. It’s a beautiful day with light wind up here and a beautiful sunrise this morning. That’s all for now. We will check in when we get back down.
Adios,
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens calls from the summit of Orizaba.
On The Map
Today was a relaxed travel / rest day. After a good breakfast in Puebla we loaded our van and started driving to Tlachichuca. We arrived at Dr Reyes' historic soap-factory-turned-climbers-hostel around 10:30 and began sorting our gear on the lawn. With our gear packed for Orizaba we went in for lunch. By early afternoon we found ourselves bumping along the dirt road in 4x4 truck towards the Piedra grande hut on Orizaba. When we arrived we were surprised to find the Refugio buzzing with activity. A few other climbing teams and a large group filming a documentary will be our company for the night. We ate an early and fantastic dinner of tacos with chicken, veggies, rice, and beans as clouds swirled around offering short glimpses of the upper mountain. We are all feeling good and heading to bed early before our summit bid tomorrow.
We will check in tomorrow from the summit.
Thanks for following us on our fantastic Mexican adventure.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
On The Map
Posted by: Geoff Schellens, Zeb Blais
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Hi All,
Today was a much deserved rest day in Puebla. The team slept in, did laundry, and enjoyed the sights here in Puebla. Famous for mole sauce, a thick chocolate and pepper salsa, so we had to go to one of the most well known mole restaurants for dinner. Everyone is well rested and excited for the next leg of our journey.
Thanks for following!
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens & Team
Posted by: Billy Nugent
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Well, we are off the mountain safe and sound back at the hotel in Quito. Our descent went extremely smoothly with the snow conditions making for a much easier time than we had on Cayambe. At our lunch pit stop on the way back to the city we happened to randomly run into another RMI team headed by Casey and Topo that was headed from Illiniza Sur into Cotopaxi. I hope they come across the same great weather and conditions we enjoyed today. Anyway, we are all resting and cleaning up at the hotel before we meet one last time as a team tonight for a celebratory dinner.
Until next year...
RMI Guide Billy Nugent & Team
Hey, it’s Billy here checking in with our crew 100% on top of Cotopaxi. Enjoying another gorgeous day and another summit of an Ecuadorian Volcano! We have been taking probably hundreds of photos here on the top and we are going to gear up shortly and begin our descent. We will check in when again when we are down safe and sound, so wish us luck.
Ciao ciao!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent & Team
Billy Nugent calling from the summit of Cotopaxi.
Posted by: Jeff Martin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hello from Kikoti Camp,
It was another amazing day on safari. We left the Plantation Lodge this morning and headed south to the last park we will visit on our safari, Tarangire National Park. En route, we stopped at a few curio shops to get gifts for our family and friends back home. Wood animal carvings, Maasai blankets, African masks, carved bowls, and few paintings will all make the journey home.
Once we got into the park, the game viewing was a little slow at first. Our luck certainly changed after lunch. Not only did we see a leopard, we also saw a female cheetah with three cubs, several big elephant herds, giraffes, warthogs, and even a unicorn. Actually it was Thompson Gazelle that lost a horn, but from a distance, it definitely looked like a unicorn.We have seen a lot of animals the last few days and covered a lot of beautiful miles. We are now at our last lodge, a luxury tented camp right on the edge of Tarangire. The views are incredible and the sounds around camp remind us that we really are out in the African bush.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and what a perfect spot for our last night in Tanzania. Tomorrow, we drive back to Arusha, pick up our climbing gear and head to the airport for our flights back home.
From literally the snows of Kilimanjaro to the African plains, this has been a hell of a trip. Thank you again to those who checked in daily to read our dispatches and to everyone who left the motivating comments while we were on the mountain.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin & Team
Posted by: Geoff Schellens, Zeb Blais
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Successful summit of Ixta!
The team is resting in Puebla after our successful summit of Ixta today. We started off today just before 2:00AM from our high camp with perfect climbing weather, a clear warm night. Battling loose scree, rock and hard snow our team made the summit just before the break of day. Watching the morning light slowly pour over the landscape around us we snapped our last pics and began our descent. Snowy ridges and rocky slopes brought us back to high camp. After a well deserved rest we broke camp and made our way to the trail head where we were greeted with cotton cloths and a celebratory feast of sandwiches, beer, chips, and soda. Soon we were back in our van bumping along the dirt road and dozing off one by one all the way to Puebla.
Congratulations to our team and thanks everyone for following!
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens & Team
Posted by: JJ Justman, Katrina Bloemsma
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
We have arrived! Ahhh, it feels so good to be back at Base Camp! Let me tell ya, this team has faced some enormous adversity. Now don't get me wrong, I don't want to scare friends and family because this Wisconsin boy has faced worse weather watching the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in December. The weather on this expedition has flip flopped from beautiful to not so beautiful. And wouldn't you know it, the weather followed us down to base camp. However, it doesn't matter now. We've enjoyed pizzas, fresh fruit and coca colas. And we all deserve it! Everyone says hello and we are looking forward to our trek out.
This is our last dispatch for this season's Aconcagua expeditions. Thank you so much for following along and thanks for all the comments!
RMI Guides JJ Justman, Katrina Bloemsma and Team
Jeff…What’s up brother? You should explain that while in Green Bay the best way to stay warm is to have a couple of drinks! Kids say hi. Hope all is well.
BillBoy
Posted by: Bill on 3/23/2014 at 2:09 pm
CONGRATS TO ALL!!!
JEFF VERY PROUD OF YOU AND ALL YOUR GROUP!!!!!
Posted by: LARI&B0B; on 2/26/2014 at 8:01 am
Posted by: Jeff Martin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hello from the Plantation Lodge,
The Ngorongoro Crater did not disappoint today. In fact, it was a five star day! We started off early so we could spend the whole day down in the Crater. The first sighting was a big bull elephant, followed by seeing 5 black rhinos, a pride of 7 lions, a lone male lion, many hippos including a hippo out if the water and three hippos that were 15' away from us at our lunch spot. Hyenas, baby jackals, and Grant and Thompson Gazelles, plus all the other animals we saw yesterday, but in even greater numbers.
The grass in the Crater is really green because of the recent rains, and the animals were everywhere. After we were almost cross-eyed from looking at all the animals, we headed up to the rim of the crater and went to a Maasai Village. The Massai are a tribe of 70 different clans, totaling almost 55,000 people. They inhabit the land around Ngorongoro and to the north into Kenya. They are trying hard to live in their traditional ways but still exist in a modern world. This was our opportunity to see first hand how they are doing it.
It was definitely a very full day. Now we are back at the lodge, just finished dinner and making our plans for tomorrow. We'll head south to Tarangire National Park for our final two days of safari. Still on the list of animals to see - a leopard.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin & Team
Wow! Sounds like a fabulous day on safari. It’s great to hear that all of the rain we witnessed has been so good for the Tanzanian flora and fauna.
35 hours after leaving the Dik Dik I arrived home, safe and sound with all of my luggage in tow. Dang the air is thick and heavy here at sea level! I think about you guys all the time and I can’t wait to see your animal photos.
Hugs,
Sarah
Posted by: Sarah on 2/19/2014 at 10:17 pm
Congratulations team! Looks amazing. Can’t wait to see more pictures DTP. Hugs.
Posted by: Elizabeth on 2/22/2014 at 4:35 pm
Congratulations to all of you on your summit! Michael, I couldn’t tell if that was you in the second photo and I am really hoping that you made it. See you Sunday! Love, Kristin
Posted by: Kristin Stollov on 2/22/2014 at 4:16 pm
View All Comments