Entries from Expedition Dispatches
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Mike Uchal and Five Day Summit Climb reached the summit of Mt. Rainier after a 6 1/2 hour ascent. Mike Uchal reports sunny, beautiful weather and a busy route. The teams are en route back to Camp Muir, and will be back at RMI Basecamp later today.
Congratulations to today's teams!
Saturday, July 20, 2013 - 9:20 p.m. PT
RMI Guide Mark Tucker checking in, I guess they call it Uhuru Peak, the tallest point in Africa. Here we are!
Pretty good conditions. The team did fantastic. I am happy to report 100% on top! Yes, everyone is doing well. A few beautiful clouds above Mt. Kilimanjaro and clouds below, a beautiful sunrise. We are having a gas, everyone is doing well. A couple more photos and we are going to start the descent. We are going to head down into the rain forest. That will be the goal.
Thanks for everybody’s support back home. We will check in again soon.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker calls from the summit of Kilimanjaro (19,340 ft) with 100% of the team.
On The Map
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Hello everyone,
Teams all here! Excited and I'm sure a little tired after such long flights and the big change in time zones. We kept things pretty simple with just a brief round of introductions and dinner. Tomorrow we'll stretch our legs and explore the city.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and Crew
Best wishes to everyone! Enjoy and be safe!
Posted by: Les on 7/22/2013 at 12:51 am
Savor the Journey. Listen to the Mt. Enjoy!
Wish you all well! Thinking of u lots, G!
Posted by: The Pit Crew on 7/21/2013 at 8:10 pm
Mark Tucker checking in from Barafu Camp. We are at the lower camp at about 15,000’ just under the southeast edge of the Kilimanjaro Summit. We have the jungle below and the top of the mountain above and a team that is rip-roaring and ready!
We put on a couple of miles today from the Karanga camp. The upper mountain is a bleak zone, but quite beautiful in its own way. We’re going to have a quick dinner and crawl into the tents for about five hours of rest to get us ready for an early a.m. departure. I am happy to report that we are 100% go power with this team. Everybody is getting pretty excited and doing really well. A couple of minor headaches but the overall health and well-being is very very good. We are ready the weather is cooperating we had to puffy clouds in the afternoon not unusual. Last night was beautiful so we are keeping our fingers crossed that we have one of the same. We have a pretty bright moon illuminating our trip so we are in pretty good shape.
Talk to you later,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker & Team
Mark Tucker Checking in from Barafu Camp
Posted by: JJ Justman, Chase Nelson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The RMI Four Day Summit Climb team led by JJ Justman reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team reported a beautiful morning with clear skies and light winds of about 20mph. The ascent to the summit took about 6 hours and 10 minutes. The team left the summit and will descend back to Camp Muir and then continue to Paradise.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent led a team of climbers in the North Cascades. They reached the summit today around 2 pm PT. They returned to camp around 5 pm and will spend their final night in the mountains. Tomorrow they will descend to the trial head and complete their trip.
Congratulations to today's team!
Great job guys! I have enjoyed seeing the pictures on facebook. Anxious to hear the stories. Congratulations!
Posted by: Jeff Lindmark on 7/20/2013 at 3:36 pm
You guys rock! I never thought I’d see my mom in shorts while in the snow..must have been working hard. Congratulations on summit!
Posted by: Erica on 7/20/2013 at 12:05 pm
Hello,
This is RMI Guide Mark Tucker checking in from the Karanga camp on Kilimanjaro, situated at about 13,160', or 4011 meters above sea level. We are looking so good. Having a gas - wish you guys were here. We have the most amazing night out. The moon is getting fuller and brighter as we speak. We are poised for our next push to the Barafu Camp tomorrow which will be our high camp. Things worked out very well today, we timed our selves perfectly for the ascent of the Barranco Wall, which is right out of camp, some step traverses, some ledges and face, several rock bands. Just really fun climbing. Everybody did great and we took some really nice hero photos. Then we did a traverse, only a couple miles today, and into this camp. And we're on the impressive south side of Kilimanjaro with the Diamond, Heim, Kersten, Decken Glaciers hanging right above us. It's quite a sight. So, the weather is holding and everyone on the team is healthy. They are definitely keeping our kitchen staff busy keeping those pots filled. No loss of appetite for this crew. We are doing so well in and we are psyched up. We had a bit of a summit talk today, passing along some information going over some tactics that will be useful in the near future. So all is well, and we will check in tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker calls in from Karanga Camp, 13,160 ft, on Mt. Kilimanjaro
On The Map
The Four Day Summit Climb July 16 - 19 led by RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer and the Expedition Skills Seminar -Paradise led by Garrett Stevens were unable to summit this morning. A snow bridge over a crevasse collapsed this morning preventing the groups from continuing their ascent. This collapse happened at approximately 13,600’. All climbers are continuing down safely. The teams will return to Camp Muir to re-pack and take a short break before continuing down to Paradise.
We look forward to seeing the groups at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker checking in from Camp 3 Barranco camp on Kilimanjaro. Yet another beautiful day of hiking and climbing for the group, lucky, lucky, us. We are at about 12,800 feet now. We did get up to almost 15,000 feet today and broke a lot of people's altitude records. Everyone did just fine. We are staring up at the Barranco Wall which we will tackle in the morning. It's actually a very fun part of the climb, a little bit of scrambling. For tactical beat we are going to drag our feet a little bit in the morning. There are a few other teams up here so we will let them get a head start and hopefully have the wall pretty much to ourselves which will be great photos and just a bit more fun. It will be a little bit of a shorter day tomorrow getting to our next camp. Some of the folks on a six day climb will push all the way to high camp tomorrow. But we'll go ahead and split that into two days. It really helps out for the success ahead. So, its a beautiful night outside. I am staring up at the glaciers, what's left of them - they have been dwindling, but who knows that could change. I can't ask for a better group of folks, we are having a fun time and everyone is just doing really well. So fingers crossed, couple of more days of this and we will be heading for the summit. Can't wait.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker checks in from Barranco Camp at 12,800 ft on Kilimanjaro,
On The Map
Posted by: Win Whittaker, Elias de Andres Martos
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guide Win Whittaker and his team of climbers with the Climb for Clean Air in support of the American Lung Association of the Mountain Pacific reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The Four Day Summit Climb July 15 - 18 led by Elias de Andres Martos reached the summit also. The skies are clear above with warm temperatures. The teams enjoyed some time on the summit before starting their descent. The teams will stop at Camp Muir then continue their descent to Paradise this afternoon.
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise has enjoyed several days training on the mountain. Yesterday, the team practice their crevasse rescue techniques (see photo below). Today they will ascend to Camp Muir for some additional training. They will make their summit attempt early tomorrow morning.
Congratulations to today's summit climbers!
Great pics - - have a great time and stay safe! Paul, bring us some terrific stories and great photos.
Paul Edelbrock’s sister-in-law,
Maren
Posted by: Maren Chaloupka on 7/19/2013 at 9:09 am
Go boys GO!!!!
Proud of you all! Keep each other safe and have fun!!!!
Xo,
Muffy
Posted by: Meredith Kanton on 7/18/2013 at 7:47 pm
Mark Tucker checking in from Camp 2, the Shira Plateau, about 12,200 feet. We had a nice breakfast and a leisurely pace. A bit of an ascent from our Machame Camp. But a step at a time, a break at a time, and a traverse through a very mystical-kind of environment in and out of some riverbeds. A pretty enchanting walk and everybody's doing very well. I'm very pleased with the performance of the team. We're all happy and healthy. We just finished a fabulous 3-course meal and people are crawling into the tents. We're having this moon interrupt a little bit of our star gazing. It's a little bright because no clouds, clear skies. There was a bit of marine layer type sea of muck below us, but not a cloud in the sky today, perfect conditions. A little bit dusty on the trail but a little handkerchief over the nose at times worked out just fine. We're having a gas. One of our team members, Alberto, wanted do a shout out to his Pops. So, "Hey to you." He's having a good time doing really well. It will be another 6:30 up, and hopefully breakfast at 7:15, hitting the trail by around 8:00. Great day tomorrow, break some altitude records. We are hoping to go just over 15,000 feet and then back down to 12,800' for the night. Very great opportunity for acclimatization. Climb high, sleep low. It is just setting us up for success. So all is well. We'll check in tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
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RMI Guide Mark Tucker checking in from Shira Camp.
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That mountain looks soooo big from my easy chair on the patio where I lounge thinking about all of you, up on top. I can only imagine the sense of accomplishment. You guys are amazing! Welcome back, and can’t wait to hear stories.
Posted by: maryann on 7/21/2013 at 8:17 pm
I am so excited that you all made it! Each of you has been constantly on my mind the last several days! I am envious, but so proud of what you all have accomplished! Welcome home when you get there! Your admirer, Mr. T
Posted by: Thom D. on 7/21/2013 at 4:03 pm
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