Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Casey Grom here checking in with
RMI's Kilimanjaro Climb!
All is well here in Tanzania and most of the team arrived late last night after some very long flights. It was a short and uneventful ride to our Lodge that is nestled in between Arusha and Moshi and not so far from the base of Kilimanjaro. The team had a quick dinner and headed for bed as the time change has us all feeling just a little off and pretty tired after all the traveling.
Today we had a leisurely morning with our official meeting at 9:30, where we did a round of introductions and then discussed the upcoming program for the days ahead.
We spent the remainder of the day getting our gear packed up, exploring the grounds of our Lodge, which is incredibly peaceful and has monkeys and Dik Dik running around. See for yourself:
Arumeru River Lodge.
We wrapped up the evening with another delicious meal and plenty of friendly conversations. Everyone is doing well and excited to hit the trail tomorrow and get a little bit of exercise.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew!
The
Four Day Climb teams led by
Andy Bond and
Nick Scott heading up to Camp Muir for their climb tomorrow, September 16th, decided to retreat in the face of blizzard conditions. The team made it just past Pebble Creek and onto the Muir Snowfield despite heavy rains. However, at about 7,300' the heavy rains quickly turned into blowing sideways ice and snow which forced them to make the collective safety decision to turn around and head back to Paradise. The team made their descent and are back in town wearing dry layers and sipping warm drinks.
Today's
Mt. Rainier summit climb, led by Brent Okita and JT Schmitt, was unable to go beyond Camp Muir due to blizzard conditions. High winds were reported through the night gusting 80 mph. The team is currently on their descent from Camp Muir and will be at Rainier Basecamp early this afternoon.
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Shuksan Team has spent the last week in the North Cascades with one day spent on Mt. Erie learning basic rock climbing. And the remainder of the week on Mt. Shuksan to complete alpine mountaineering skills training. These techniques include anchor placements, various self and team crevasse rescue techniques, steep technical ice climbing, belays, rappelling, knots, route finding and fixed rope travel. The team then attempted the summit of
Mt. Shuksan, but were forced to turn at the base of the summit pyramid due to poor rainy weather. The team is breaking camp and will be hiking to the trail head this afternoon.
Congratulations to the Team on a great week of climbing!
The
Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Robby Young and Alex Halliday reached Ingraham Flats today but high winds forced the team to turn. They are currently at Camp Muir with winds blowing steadily at 40 mph. They will plan an early departure, and will be back at Rainier Basecamp in the early afternoon.
Congratulations team!
The
Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir led by
RMI Guides Dave Hahn and
Alan Davis met at Rainier BaseCamp on Sunday for their Technical Training day. The team loaded packs and headed to Camp Muir on Monday morning. They have spent the last few days training near Camp Muir on glacier travel and crevasse rescue techniques. This morning they put their training to the test, leaving Camp Muir with an alpine start. They were rewarded with clear skies and light winds as they reached the summit of Mt. Rainier just before 8 AM. Once they have taken all the hero shots and enjoyed the views, they will return to Camp Muir for their final night on the mountain. Tomorrow the team will descend to Paradise and return to Rainier BaseCamp for the conclusion of their program.
Congratulations to the Seminar teams!
We wanted some sunlight on the Easton glacier so route finding would be a little easier after several days of rain and no summits of
Mt. Baker. By sunrise we had tried three different tracks through the broken up glacier, which all ended in absent snow bridges. Two of the guides went out to sniff out a 4th option that we could see from our break below 8,000’. The Team kept uphill for another 700’ before encountering warm snow and a snow bridge that didn’t look like it would last much longer let alone allow nine people to cross it. Being late in the morning and deteriorating visibility above us, we made the difficult decision to turn around and come back to camp. We enjoyed some great climbing and views of the surrounding peaks as we descended. At camp now after a good nap we are learning some skills and going to eat dinner. Tomorrow morning the team will pack up and descend to the trailhead.
RMI Guide Mike King
The
Mt. Baker - Easton Glacier September 7 - 9 team made their summit attempt this morning but were turned back due to extremely wet conditions. The team returned to their High Camp and was going to take a bit of time to dry out. Later today they will continue their descent to the trailhead and conclude their program.
The
Four Day Climb September 6 - 9 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today with new snow and windy conditions led by RMI Guides Robby Young and Josh McDowell. The teams did not spend much time in the crater, just taking a short break to hydrate and snack before starting their descent to Camp Muir. The program will conclude this afternoon at Rainier BaseCamp with a celebration of today's accomplishments.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
The
Four Day Climb September 5 - 8 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning led by RMI Guides
Pete Van Deventer and
Andy Bond. The guides reported cold temperatures this morning with winds 15 mph and a dusting of new snow on the upper mountain. Mother nature put on quite a show last night with thunder and lightning throughout the area followed by some serious rain. We are glad the timing of the storm happened once the teams were at Camp Muir and cleared enough for them to make it to the summit today. Once back at Camp Muir the teams will continue to Paradise and transfer to Rainier BaseCamp. This afternoon they will conclude their program with a short celebration.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
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Felling mad-jealously for you guys…it’s an amazing trip!
Posted by: Deborah Rutter on 9/16/2019 at 11:41 am
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