RMI Guide JT Schmitt led his Five Day Mount Rainier team to the summit this morning. After spending two nights at Camp Muir, they began their morning with an alpine start working their way to the highest point in Washington. They are descending back to Camp Muir and then will continue off the mountain this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's summit climbers!
At 7:36 am the Mt. Rainier Summit Climb team, led by Robby Young, was walking off the crater rim. Their ascent took 6 1/2 hours this morning with colder than forecasted weather and a really nice day. We look forward to congratulating them this afternoon!
Hey everybody, this is Eric Frank calling from the summit of Forbidden Peak. It's a few minutes after noon here, and we finally managed to get above the wildfire smoke. So we've just popped up above it and its nice cIean air here. We had a great climb this morning. We left from Camp around 5:30, and here we are on top two and a half hours later. We're going to enjoy a few more moments, and then get packed up to head down. We will call to check in later today and let you know that we're safely back in Camp. Thanks.
RMI Guide Eric Frank
RMI Guide Eric Frank calls from the Forbidden Peak summit in the North Cascades
Update August 14th at 10:56 am PST:
The nights are long in this part of the world... approaching 12 hours. My Kilimanjaro climbing team knows this all too well after today’s climb to the tippy top. We set out from high camp at 12:40 AM and it was nearly six hours before the sun made an appearance. Our first few hours of climbing weren’t so bad... it was pitch dark -with no moon- but it was also nice and calm. When we reached 17,000 ft though, a 20 mph wind found us and stayed with us, dropping temps and making us all crave sunshine. When we got it -at around 18,500 ft- the sunrise itself was gorgeous, and the winds dropped away, but only until we hit Stella Point on the crater rim at 7:15. Our victory lap along the rim to Uhuru was made in winds up to 35 or 40 mph. That certainly made it tough to do much sightseeing. We each just concentrated on walking and breathing. We hit Uhuru, the true summit, at 8:20 and stayed exactly eight minutes. That was long enough for a few high fives, hugs and hero shots... and then we boogied. We got out of the worst of the wind when we left the crater rim and temperatures got reasonable. We skied the scree to get lower fast. The goal was obviously to get off the mountain safely, but it was also to get back down to the altitudes that don’t hurt one’s head and rile one’s stomach. Our great Barking Zebra staff helped us immensely in getting home to Barafu in good time. We were there at 11:30 AM just in time for brunch in the dining tent. Then -although we were all in the mood for naps- we packed up and got walking down for another 3.5 hours. We shed another 5,000 vertical feet to reach Mweka Camp down in the trees at the 10,000 ft level. It turns out that the days are pretty long in these parts too... in any case, we’re all looking forward to a long night’s sleep tonight.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
[audio transcription]
Hey, this is Dave Hahn with the Kilimanjaro Climb. We made the summit today. We're back at high camp now at Barafu at 15,000 feet. At 8:20 this morning we were at Uhuru,19341 feet above sea level, highest point in Africa. It was a windy cold morning. It was a hard climb, but we did it and we're safely back at high camp and we're going to head down to Mweka Camp, 10,000 feet to finish the day. All for now. Bye.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
RMI Guide Dave Hahn calls in post-summit of Kilimanjaro.
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons team led by RMI Guide Andy Bond reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. Andy and team worked their way up the to the summit via the Emmons Glacier and were standing on Columbia crest. The team will enjoy the views from the top before starting their descent. They will spend more time training at Camp Schurman and return to Ashford Basecamp tomorrow!
Congratulations to the Emmons Team!
The Four Day Summit Climb Team led by RMI Guide Mike Walter reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Mike reported clear skies and light winds above the smoke haze plaguing the lowlands that is sitting around 10,000'. They have started their descent and are making their way back to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's team!
The Five Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Zeb Blais radioed this morning to report a successful climb. The team is enjoying beautiful views of Mt. Rainier's summit crater and surrounding area. They are experiencing light winds and will begin their descent shortly.
Congratulations!
RMI Guide Steve Gately radioed in at 7:00 AM PT this morning to report a successful summit climb. The team was spending some time enjoying the crater and views of Mt. Rainier before gearing up for their descent. Steve reported light winds and good conditions.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Yahoooo!!! Congrats boys!! Not sure if this is your group, but it has to be one of the ones reported! Love and miss you! Can’t wait to hear all about it!!
All the preparation is finished. We’re healthy and comfy (relatively) at high camp. It wasn’t even such a tough job to get here. We woke to perfect weather at Karanga Camp. The sun hit while we were sipping coffee and gazing down on the now-familiar sea of clouds far below. Kibo was cloud-free and out in all its glory above us. Without a puff of wind, it was easy to put the final touches on our packs after breakfast and to get ready for walking at 9 AM. Our fifty man support staff didn’t want us to walk away all grim and work focused though... they quickly assembled and began clapping and singing -and inevitably dancing and laughing, until we joined in and got our morning stretch session done the fun way. We then set out behind Philibet’s capable leadership. It was easy ground compared to the walls we’ve climbed in recent days. Just a steady and slow altitude gain through progressively less desert vegetation. We had the whole move done in three hours and pulled into 15,000 ft Barafu (Swahili for “ice”) Camp at noon. The team alternated between resting and eating, drinking and packing for the afternoon. The normal lassitude and our fair share of intermittent headaches afflicted us as we whiled away the afternoon, but all in all we’re feeling strong and excited... ready for an “alpine start” and a big day of going to new heights and seeing new sights. Tosha is going to serve up a 5:30 dinner and after it, we’ll try not to stare overly long at the sunset and amazing colors... we’ll zip ourselves into the tents for some crucial rest before the alarms go off at 11:30 PM and the climb to the top of Africa begins.
Stay Tuned.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
The Four Day Summit Climb August 9 - 12 led by RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning with clear skies, light winds and cool temps. The team enjoyed some time on the crater before beginning their descent just before 9 AM. There is a marine layer around 6,500' with clear skies above. We will see if that dissipates before the team descends to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
.jpg)
.jpg)
Hooray and Congratulations to Mark, Luke, and John!! This is truly an a’macy-ing accomplishment!
Posted by: Jane M Ferris on 8/15/2018 at 4:54 pm
Praise God you had success and a truly amazing view!
Posted by: Lowell and Melodie on 8/15/2018 at 12:49 pm
View All Comments