Jambo from Barafu Camp,
Our fifth day on Kilimanjaro and we again have a bluebird day. There are clouds in the valleys and plains below us and nothing but blue skies above.
We did not rush out of camp this morning as it was a relatively short day for our climb to Barafu Camp. We have been walking really well all week long, and today was no exception. The team is feeling strong and is ready for the summit.
There is a lot of activity in camp this afternoon as the descending climbers are busy packing up to head down to Mweka Camp and the ascending climbers are organizing their gear for the climb tomorrow. We will have an early dinner tonight and try and be in the tents by 6:00 pm in anticipation of our 11:45 pm wake up time. The hope is to be walking by 12:30 am and standing on the Roof of Africa by 7:30 am. We will try to get a satellite phone call out when we are on the summit.
Thanks to those who have made blog comments. We appreciate the encouragement.
RMI Guide Jeff Martin & The Kili Team
Oh, you’re so close to the Uruhu peak. So cool! Just read that Kilimanjaro “...is an inactive stratovolcano”. Sounds nasty. Be careful, Natasha. I love you.
PS
Can’t find washing machine manual. Where is it?
Posted by: Anatoly, Moscow on 8/2/2011 at 3:59 am
As I post this you will all have made it to the roof of Africa.I was very busy and could not post you all today, but you were all in my thoughts.I “bragged to complete strangers how my friends were nearing the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro with Jeff Martin.Why the hell not! you are all amazing for achieving this amazing feat. I really hope everybody’s in good shape and safe.I’m looking forward to the images and stories.
God Bless you all. Cant wait for the Sara arms in the air picture. Go Sara! woooo hooooo Rusty!
Gummi Worm Man (at sea level)
Hola from Ecuador,
We woke up to a beautiful morning with beautiful views of Cotopaxi. We hung out at the Hacienda Chilcabamba, enjoying the breakfast and the sun. We began the drive up to the parking lot, running in to a crazy hailstorm, thunder and lightning, and TONS of people. The National Park is only an hour from Quito and is a popular weekend getaway for the locals. Our driver, Victor, worked his magic with the bus and got us all the way up to the parking lot in the snow. We then had dinner and hung out in the hut this afternoon.
Everyone is settling in to go to bed now. The team is psyched to get up and climb in the morning and is psyched to have guide Jaime Avila come climb with as well. We will be climbing tonight and hope to be checking in from the summit tomorrow!
RMI Guide Maile Wade
Hello,
This is Mark Tucker checking in from Kilimanjaro. A group of happy climbers are crawling into their tents as I write this dispatch. It has been a long day, we have ascended more than 4,000', descended over 9,000' and stood as a team of nine climbers on the "Roof of Africa". Just another day in the office!
We left our High Camp, Barranco Camp, at 12:15 a.m. and were standing on top of Kilimanjaro, Uhuru Peak, 7:05 a.m. It was a great team effort and everyone did a good job.
Conditions on the mountain were perfect: light wind, clear skies and a team hungry for the top. All of the months of training and the good techniques learned over our many days of climbing were put to good use.
I am very proud of this team and am looking forward to more adventures with them.
For now, all we can think about is three more hours downhill tomorrow to reach the Mweka Gate and the drive to our hotel to a hot shower.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Jambo from Karanga Camp,
The great weather continues and we woke up to another cloudless day on Kilimanjaro. Barranco Camp can be a little cold in the morning so we decided to sleep in an extra 1/2 hour to make sure that the sun was hitting our camp by breakfast time. We all slept well and were excited to start climbing the Barranco Wall. You would guess from most people's description of the Barranco Wall that it is a vertical climb of almost 800 feet. Fortunately, this is not the case and it definitely proved to be a highlight of the trip for everyone. Bibiana dedicated this section to Gabriel.
This is the shortest day of hiking on our trip, and once we reached the top of the Barranco Wall, we continued traversing below the south face of Kilimanjaro. The Heim, Kersten, and Decken glaciers were glistening in the sun above us as we approached Karanga Camp. We had a big pasta lunch waiting for us as we walked into camp. After lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying our new camp.
Tomorrow we make our move to Barafu Camp, our highest camp on the mountain. We will then be in position to make our summit attempt the following day.
We will check in tomorrow from 15,200 feet.
- The Kili Team (July 25 - 8 August, 2011)
Congratulations on all that you have accomplished thus far. You should all be very proud of yourselves. You are truly on an adventure of a life time. If even just half of what Sarah has told me is true I have no doubt your summit attempt will be successful. I hear you have an outstanding team and the best dam guide in all of Africa!!! Good luck team. Go with a clear mind and a strong heart.
To Sarah aka (THE HONEY BADGER)
Sarah you are the most extraordinary, beautiful, strong, intelligent and determined person I have ever had the pleasure and honor of knowing. Words can not even begin to describe how proud I am of you. I love you with every fiber of my heart. I am the luckiest guy in the world. I’m really starting to doubt you’re so called time line. I might need to speed that up a bit. Take care of your dad…. I hope you haven’t had to pull out the short rope yet….Only kidding Mr. Griner. I know that as long as he has breath in his lungs Rusty Griner will be on the roof of Africa smiling down. Go get it Dick Bass… I am so fortunate and blessed to have you both in my life. I look forward to some amazing pictures and incredible stories…..
-Sean
Posted by: Sean on 8/1/2011 at 12:51 am
So the Barranco wall was a highlight and not an obstacle? You are all definitely in the right frame of mind. Glaciers, I cant wait for those photos Rusty. 15,000ft…...Oh Yeah. I,m sure the rush from the beauty of the mountain alone is energy to push forward. Stay strong, stay happy. Good luck everybody. Once in a lifetime Rusty and Sara.
Gummi Worm Man
The Four Day Summit Climb July 28 - 31 led by Jason Thompson along with the Five Day Summit Climb July 28 - 1 August led by Linden Mallory reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today! The teams reported windy and cold conditions from the summit with a slight cloud cap descending on the mountain. They began their descent from the summit at 7:00 a.m. en route to Camp Muir and then will continue down to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!
Hey, this is Mark Tucker on the summit of Kilimanjaro the 31st of July 7:10 a.m. I'm here with a bunch of my buddies. They would all like to say hi.
Bryce Adams from Houston, Texas.
Vincent Graffagnino from Durham, North Carolina.
James Brennan from Houston, Texas. Ethan and Kimberly, I love you very much. I can't wait to see you.
John Fletcher from Greenville, North Carolina. Hey, I have got to tell you that this has to be the most beautiful mountain in the world.
Paul Stanford from Louisville, Kentucky. Sherry I love you. I can't wait to see you when I get home.
Joey Graffagnino from Durham, North Carolina, this is the best sunrise of the year.
[Mark Tucker] Hey it’s me again. Let’s pass it around.
Carmen Graffagnino Durham, North Carolina. Love you Sharon.
Edward Graffagnino from Durham North Carolina. You rock.
Monica Garhart, Boise, Idaho – Wahoo!!
Everyone did a great job getting up here. We got a wonderful day, couldn't be any better. These guys were great, they performed well. We are going to sign off and start heading down. We still have a bit of time on the mountain today. Thanks to you all for checking in. We will write you up something when we get down to Mweka Camp.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker and the Kilimanjaro Summit Team!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker & team call from the summit of Kilimanjaro!
Buenas noches from Hacienda Chilcabamba.
We just moved into our rooms after enjoying a stunning sunset on the drive out into the campo [wilderness]. The hacienda sits right on the edge of Cotopaxi National Park, and with any luck we will get a view of where we hope to stand in a few days.
Today was the big market day in Otavalo, so we braved the crowds and headed into the thick of it. The theme of the day was bargaining, and everybody had a chance to practice their Spanish in order to come away with some authentic souvenirs.
The team is well rested and excited for another climb. We'll check in tomorrow from the Cotopaxi hut.
RMI Guides Casey Grom & Maile Wade with the Ecuador Team.
Jambo from Barranco Camp,
Another cloudless day awaited us as we got out of the tents this morning. The whole upper mountain was in clear view and even Mt. Meru was visible to the south.
It was a bit colder this morning, but warmed right up as the sun hit our tents. Being our third day on the trail, the team was quick to get everything packed up and we were the first team out of camp. The climb up the Shira Plateau is not steep, but is a gradual incline all the way up to Lava Tower, our high point of the day at 15,100'. The group was strong the whole way up, even as we broke the personal altitude records of eight of our team members. After a nice break at Lava Tower camp, we began our descent to Barranco Camp. Since it was such a beautiful day, we stopped often for pictures and to just take in the views. The Barranco Camp has to be one of the best camps on the whole mountain. It is nestled on a flat bench with Kili's southern face rising dramatically right out of camp and dominating the horizon. On the valley floor, we are surrounded by some very unique plants including scenacios and lobelias, creating a landscape that almost looks like a page out of a Dr. Suess book. A pretty amazing place.
We had an early dinner tonight and are now enjoying a beautiful night sky as we get ready for bed. Tomorrow, we tackle the Great Barranco Wall. Even though it looks a bit intimidating from camp, everyone is up for the challenge.
We all wish Winsor a very Happy Birthday.
RMI Guide Jeff Martin & the Kili Team.
Hi KATERINA!!!!,
We read the blogs and saw the pics from Jeff and are so amazed and excited about your trip!
We are so proud of you! We are also excited and preparing for our trip to Greece this coming weekend. Hope that u continue to be well. We wish you a fun and safe remaining journey. Love Vicky
Hi Catherine its Jason. It must be really cool climbing a mountain. Did you see any animals? Tell me how it was climbing mount Kilimanjaro. Love Jason
HiCathie its me john i looked at the pictures and it looks awesome to be climbing the tallest mountain in Africa. Are u tired? we miss yo u love john.
Posted by: Vicky, Jason & John on 7/31/2011 at 8:56 am
A special hello to my dear friend Catherine! I’m so proud of you (but not surprised)!!! You are AMAZING. DON’T STOP. KEEP GOING!!!! Love and miss you, Angelica P.S. Many thanks to Jeff for the great blogs and best wishes for continued safe climbing for you and your entire team.
We enjoyed a good night's rest at Karanga Camp and woke to clear skies above Kilimanjaro. The hike from Karanga to our high camp, Barafu Camp at 15,000', took the team just three hours and we arrived to a nice hot lunch and every plate on the table was filled and emptied.
Having a shorter day on the trail allows the team to rest, re-hydrate and re-fuel in preparation for our summit attempt tonight and we took full advantage. Later this afternoon we discussed the details of our summit attempt from time of departure to clothing and rest breaks.
So, with an early dinner tonight we are crawling into our sleeping bags a little earlier than usual and will be donning our headlamps in a few short hours to begin our ascent. Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker & the Kilimanjaro Team.
The Four Day Summit Climb July 27 - 30 led by Jake Beren and Gabriel Barral reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams were beginning their descent from the crater rim at 7:30 a.m. PT. They reported light to moderate winds, warm temperatures and clear skies. It's a beautiful day on Mt. Rainier.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!
Oh, you’re so close to the Uruhu peak. So cool! Just read that Kilimanjaro “...is an inactive stratovolcano”. Sounds nasty. Be careful, Natasha. I love you.
PS
Can’t find washing machine manual. Where is it?
Posted by: Anatoly, Moscow on 8/2/2011 at 3:59 am
As I post this you will all have made it to the roof of Africa.I was very busy and could not post you all today, but you were all in my thoughts.I “bragged to complete strangers how my friends were nearing the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro with Jeff Martin.Why the hell not! you are all amazing for achieving this amazing feat. I really hope everybody’s in good shape and safe.I’m looking forward to the images and stories.
God Bless you all. Cant wait for the Sara arms in the air picture. Go Sara! woooo hooooo Rusty!
Gummi Worm Man (at sea level)
Posted by: gummi Worm Man on 8/1/2011 at 11:22 pm
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