RMI Guide Jeff Martin called from Mweka Camp (10,000') after the team's summit day.
The entire team reached the summit of Kilimanjaro today in great style. They left Barafu Camp after midnight with their headlamps lighting the way and reached the "Roof of Africa" as the day broke over Tanzania. After a quick celebration on top the team began their descent back to high camp where they were greeted with drinks and breakfast. They continued down to Mweka Camp and the thick air of 10,000' tired but in great spirits.
Congratulations to the team!
Hello from Tlachichuca,
Upon our arrival to the Piedra Grande Hut, we heard from fellow guides that they had been turned due to bad weather the night before on Orizaba. It appears as though Central Mexico has been getting hit hard these days by the weather demons, and not just on Ixta. When we woke last night a different story was being written. It was downright balmy! It did cool off as we climbed, but we enjoyed near perfect weather as we climbed through a little bit of new snow to the glacier where most fresh precipitation had been blown far away.
The team did a great job on a huge day and we all stood on top together, with great views of Mexico's volcanoes even Ixta came out for the first time all week.
Thanks to a great team, Mexico crew and fellow guides JJ and Fernando for an awesome trip!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Hello everybody. This is Jake, JJ, Fernando, Mike, Mav, Bob, Jim, Peter, April, Cyrus, Christopher and Matt. We are all on the summit of Orizaba! Everybody did super well. We got 100% of our team up. Everyone climbed super strong. Light winds, beautiful day. We can see all the mountains in Mexico that we've been around and everyone is doing super great. Wish us luck on the descent and we'll call in later. Nice job everybody. Thanks a lot!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Jambo from Barafu Camp,
The team did great today on our move up to high camp. The hard work over the last five days has paid off and we are now ready for our summit attempt. Today was our shortest day of hiking so far, and we made it to Barafu Camp in just under 3 hours. Now we have the whole afternoon to rest up and sort through our gear one last time, just to make sure we have everything we need for tomorrow.
You would not be able guess we are at 15,000' right now. The sun is finally winning out over the clouds and it is warm, especially inside the tents. It won't last long, but we'll take it while it does.
An early dinner is the plan for tonight and hopefully we will be horizontal by 6:30 pm. The alarm is already set for 11:45 pm, and hope to be walking by 1:00 am. We should be arriving at the crater rim around sunrise and then one final stretch up to Uhuru Peak, the Roof of Africa.
Our group is really strong and up for the challenge of tomorrow. Thanks the positive comments on the blog.
Will try and check-in from the summit tomorrow, or when we get down to Mweka Camp.
RMI Guide Jeff Martin and Team Simba Sita
Heidi and David. Excited to follow your daily progress.
Look forward to hearing that you have reached the summit
and accomplished your objective! All the best! Stay safe and
be strong. XOXO Dad
Posted by: Craig Berkman on 2/18/2012 at 8:53 pm
Great to follow your amazing advendure through the blog and photos! Hope today’s ascent exceeds your expectations and that the Roof Of Africa was as phenomenal as it sounds. See you when you return home. Safe travels and have fun!
Great news everybody!
We are back in Mendoza after an arduous 3 days walking off the dreaded beast that is Aconcagua. Sunburned, dehydrated, exhausted, all of the fun stuff about mountain climbing had finally caught up with us and the team was really feeling it by the time we hit the trailhead at Punta de Vacas. But all of that was nothing a cheeseburger couldn't fix... and after a great lunch with a few beers in Penitentes we shuttled back to Mendoza and checked in to our hotel. Showers and aggressive cleanup are definitely in order before we head out tonight for a celebratory steak dinner! Thanks to everyone who followed along for the duration of the expedition. We had tons of fun and appreciate all the support from back home.
Until next time,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Woo! Hoo! Hot damn and halleluiah! Congrats to the whole team. Michael - what a way to celebrate a Bday! and Bruce - yeesch! 13 pounds - holy smokes!
Enjoy celebrating and fattening up. See you when you safely return. ~Katherine
Posted by: Katherine on 2/18/2012 at 7:44 am
Congratulations! And thanks for letting us follow along. What a terrific climb.. Enjoy Mendoza. Party!
Yesterday was a rest day in the colonial town of Puebla. This is a fun day for the team, one where everyone gets a chance to explore the town a get taste of this beautiful Mexican city. We reconvened at dinner to share the day's exploits. Trips to the city's fort, churches, shopping and general exploration were the missions recounted at dinner. Now it's off to Tlachichuca, where we will rig for our attempt on Orizaba. The weather looks more promising today, and we all hope it holds and improves for another few days. Wish us luck amigos.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Hello from Karanga Camp,
The team is doing great and we are happily nestled in at Karanga Camp. The weather has been having a hard time making up it's mind the last few days, and today was no different. The mornings start out clear, but by mid-afternoon, the clouds roll in and stay around until dinner, and then it clears out again. Fortunately, there has not been much rain and the trail conditions have been great.
This morning when we got up, every trekker in camp was looking up at the Barranco Wall. It would be hard to miss this almost 1,000' wall rising up towards the sky, but it is when you see the first few porters working their way up the trail is when you really take notice. You can hear the nearby groups talking about the Wall followed by "we have to climb up that". The vantage point from camp makes the trail appear to be near vertical, but once you start the climb, it is very straightforward trail. In fact, most find it a lot fun and our group cruised right up it.
With most of the elevation gain for the day done while climbing the Barranco Wall, it was easy hiking the rest of the way to camp. We had a spaghetti lunch waiting for us when we arrived and then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. Now it's time for popcorn and tea.
We are all excited to be moving up to our high camp tomorrow and will check in from there.
RMI Guide Jeff Martin & Team Simba Sita
Jambo from Barranco Camp,
Everybody did extremely well today on our move to Barranco Camp. It was the longest and hardest day so far of the trek, but the team was more than up for the challenge. We started at 12,500' this morning, with clear skies and a magnificent view of the mountain. But this was short lived as the clouds soon took over and stuck with us for the rest of the day. We even had a little rain as we approached Lava Tower Camp, our high point for the day at 15,200'. The clouds parted briefly so we could see Lava Tower and a glimpse of the Western Breach Wall. But more important than the view, was the fact the team was strong and handled the altitude well. It was downhill from here and we made great time descending down almost 2,500', the entire amount of elevation we had spent the better part of our morning climbing up. But that is why today is so important for our acclimatization, and will pay big rewards on our summit day.
Tomorrow we tackle the Barranco Wall, and will check in from Karanga Camp.
A few comments from the Team -
Cal and Grayson - We will not fail.
Pam, Jaiden, and Carson - Miss you and love you.
Susan, Jennifer, and Craig - Still standing
RMI Guide Jeff Martin & Team Simba Sita
Now our team is safely in Puebla, getting cleaned up and reorganized after a valiant effort on Ixta.
As we pulled into our high camp yesterday afternoon our fingers were crossed tightly for a break in the weather. By the time we sat up to fire stoves, a ferocious snow storm pelted the tents and kept us at bay. It came down hard for a few hours, then the wind started. Camp remained in a wet windy cloud and still we waited, hoping for a spell in the storm. It never came. After a mostly sleepless night, the sun finally turned our cloud light and we started packing up. The team handled the sub-ideal conditions like true climbers, realistic that safety trumps all and hunkering down in this case was by far the most prudent choice. Now we rest in Puebla and get ready to head to Orizaba for the next climb, just a little hungrier.
RMI Guides Jake Beren & J.J. Justman
Hello from Shira Camp,
Today the team moved from Machame Camp to Shira Camp for our second night on the mountain. The morning started out with clear blue skies as we continued the climb up and out of the giant heather zone. Within a few hours, most of the climbing for the day was done and we started a long traverse. At the end of the traverse the trail cuts through several sections of lava rock and we finally crested out on the Shira Plateau. This is at almost 12,500 feet, an altitude record for most of the group. We descended a couple hundred feet and walked right into camp. The clouds rolled in shortly after lunch and have been with us since. We are all hanging out in our tents now, resting a bit and working on our appetites for a big dinner.
Tomorrow will be the biggest day of the climb so far and we will be adding another 2,500 feet to those altitude records.
The group remains strong and are all up for the challenge tomorrow.
RMI Guide Jeff Martin & Team Simba Sita
240Z I have an awesome nephew! Congrats! So proud of you. 240Z
Posted by: Bev Trauba on 2/21/2012 at 2:21 am
I know this was your dream (a crazy one at that) I am so proud of you KIM AND BOB HEGMAN. Excited to hear all about it.
Safe trip home-
Love, Susan
Posted by: Susan on 2/20/2012 at 11:38 am
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