Entries from Expedition Dispatches
All is well here at 10,000ft Machame Camp, Camp 1, on Kilimanjaro.
We left the Arumeru Lodge this morning and enjoyed the views of the local community and lots of farms growing bananas, coffee and corn. The flanks of Kilimanjaro provide very fertile grounds for all of these great crops. After a couple hour drive we arrived at the Kilimanjaro Nation Park gate. We registered our team and paid our entrance fee to the Park Staff and with permit in hand, we loaded our packs and began our climb. We had a steady ascent of 4,000ft and in just less than five hours arrived at our first camp in fine form. Perfect conditions in the cloud forest made for an enjoyable climb. We all settled in to our tents and discussed camp life and our prperations for tomorrow's ascent. Dinner is now complete and we are certain to enjoy many more great meals thanks to our wonderful chef and staff. Everyone is returning to their tents as we are still adjusting to our new time zone and catching up on a bit of jet lag.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
Posted by: JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
The team made it to St. Petersburg yesterday. We went out to a nice team dinner, and a few folks left early this morning to get back home. The rest of the group spent the day touring the wonderful city of St. Petersburg. The cathedrals and palaces here are ornate beyond measure. We spent the afternoon cruising through the canals on our own private boat, and finished the evening with an excellent dinner at the historic Astoria Hotel, complete with a celebrity appearance.
Most of the team leaves early tomorrow morning for the U.S. It's been a great trip all around. Thanks to all of the team, and to everybody following along.
RMI Guide JM Gorum
All is well here in the Baksan Valley, at the base of Elbrus where we've settled into our comfortable hotel. We made the most of the local ski lifts, (to save our knees of course) and hiked up the neighboring peak to start our acclimatization. It started off a little cloudy today, but eventually cleared for some decent views of Elbrus. After our ascent we headed back down to town for a nice lunch and headed over to the local climbing shop to pick up a few last minute things. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, getting our bags packed and just wrapped up another enjoyable Russian dinner with some wonderful Georgian soup.
All is well here and we'll check in again tomorrow!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Amazingly, most of the team actually got some sleep last night before I made my rounds to wake folks up just past 11:00pm. The night sky was amazingly clear and calm, and though the temps at camp were below freezing it felt a lot warmer than I had expected.
Our 7 1/2 hour ascent covered a variety of terrain from scree to rock, and got colder as we gained altitude. In fact, all the Camelback hydration systems people insisted on bringing froze and became useless until low on our descent.
What a big mountain. Our team couldn't believe that our summit bid could go on for so long. But, at about 7:30 we finally reached the summit, Uhuru Peak at 19,340'. What was most impressive was that everyone summitted! The team just put their heads down, pressure breathed and got it done. But a big thanks needs to go out to our local guides: James, Freddy, Peter, Patrick, Naiman and Venance. They worked tirelessly to help the team achieve this dream.
Following our summit, we were greeted with a nice lunch upon arriving back at camp, then there was the five-hour hike to our next camp at about 10,000' Mweka Camp. Sore feet and knees were casualties of the descent, but it sure feels good to be down here now. Especially after another great meal prepared by Tosha, our chef.
The eyelids are growing heavy, so I'll bid you all good night.
RMI Guide Brent Okita
On The Map
Posted by: Mike Walter, Lydia Johnson, JT Schmitt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb July 22 - 25, 2017 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. RMI Guides Mike Walter, Lydia Johnson and JT Schmitt reported clear skies and calm winds. The team will return to Camp Muir and continue down to Paradise. They will conclude their program with a celebration at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Must have been spectacular up there! Great accomplishment guys!
Posted by: Jennifer on 7/25/2017 at 9:50 am
Well done! Can’t wait to hear about it and see the photos. Amazing day for it!!
Posted by: Carla on 7/25/2017 at 9:36 am
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Jambo -
The team is all here. We arrived throughout the day and are now gathered at the beautiful Arumeru River Lodge.
After our drive from the airport we had a quick dinner then everyone retired to their rooms to recover from the flights and get sleep.
Today, after a very nice breakfast, we had a great team meeting with personal introductions and discussion of the plan for the next few days followed by a check that everyone has the essential gear for our climb of Kilimanjaro.
We spent the remainder of the day packing and relaxing here at this beautiful lodge.
Some monkeys, lizards, small gazelle roam the property, it's like being in Africa.
We are being well taken care of here at by this gracious and kind staff. We even had a birth party to top it off - HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEVIN!
All is well in this part of the world,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Здравствуйте (hello) from Russia!
We had an early start to the day as we left Moscow this morning and have traveled via plane and bus to the beautiful Caucus mountains. Our flight took us to southern Russia not too far from the Black Sea to a place called Mineralnye Vody, which simply translates to Mineral Water.
This part of the country is predominately rural and is responsible for much of the agriculture that the larger cities depends on. We were meet by our trustworthy guide Yuri, whom I've climbed with many times. Then hopped in our van for the 3 hour drive up the Baksan Valley to the base Mt. Elbrus.
Things went pretty smooth minus a few little traffic jams with cars, motorcycles and cows all humorously trying to use the road.
The small town we are in is called Cheget, and it doubles as a ski town in winter and converts to climbing town in the summer. We didn't do a ton of exploring this afternoon due to the adjustment of the time that we are all still feeling and having started so early. However, tomorrow we will do our first acclimatizing hike and do a little exploring too.
All is well here as we are looking forward to a little exercise tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
The team summits Alpamayo!
We had a spectacular climb starting this morning just after midnight. A short walk on the glacier slowly became steeper as we approach the massive wall of ice and snow in front of us. Once we crossed the bergschrund we pointed our headlamps up the runnel but our lights were lost in snow ice and darkness above. We began pitching it out, climbing a full rope length before building an anchor and belaying the second climber up. In this fashion we inch-wormed our way up into the steep snow and ice. The climbing was superb, soft enough to accept the pick of an ice tool but firm enough to support a crampon. We climbed nine of the 12 pitches in the dark, but as we closed in on the summit the sun began rising across the Cordillera Blanca. Truly outstanding views as we celebrated on the summit before making our descent back down the face. Seven full length rappels brought us to the glacier below and then on to our High Camp. Extremely tired but also satisfied the team is eating, drinking, and napping for the rest of the day before making our descent to Base Camp tomorrow.
Thanks for all the support and following along on this incredible expedition.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens and the Alpamayo Team
Congratulations to all of you!!! Spectacular photos.
Be safe.
Posted by: Lisa on 7/24/2017 at 3:01 pm
Snow and sleet greeted us on our arrival to our high camp on the mountain, Barafu Camp, but that didn't dampen our excitement for getting here. Because we had such a short day today, our camp staff wasn't quite ready for us as they usually are. But through their tireless efforts we were able to get under shelter in no time.
The sleeping tents were ready shortly thereafter, and we had just enough time to move our packs in when lunch was announced.
So, here we are at 15,200', on the eve of our climb. The team is excited, but a little nervous too. Pretty understandable emotions to be going through, and ones that most climbers go through before a big climb.
We've had our summit talk, a briefing on what to bring and wear, and what to expect. We're all now preparing our kit for the summit in the time we have before dinner, We'll try to hit the sack by 6:00pm so we can get some rest before our departure just after midnight, As I write this the skies have cleared again and the ground has dried. Things are looking good for our big day. With any luck we'll be sending a quick satellite phone brief from the summit.
Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Brent Okita
On The Map
Go Team Kilimanjaro! You’ve got this!!!
Posted by: Kay Johnson on 7/24/2017 at 3:34 pm
OMG! I can’t believe the time is here already! Best of luck to each and every one of you. Such an amazing accomplishment to date. So proud of you!!!!
Posted by: Carin Parella on 7/24/2017 at 10:58 am
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Jordan Cargill, Matt Rosenberg
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb July 21 - 24 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 6:30 am led by RMI Guide Dave Hahn. The team enjoyed blue skies and good visibility from the crater rim. They will descend complete today and return to Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon to complete their program.
Congratulations!
Previous Page
Next Page
Very inspiring! Already buying the tickets to Tanzania :-)
Congratulations for accomplishing the goal together having an heterogenous group
Having fun and self-overcoming is a fantastic mix
Posted by: Matias Levin on 8/4/2017 at 7:42 am
big congrats to Kavine and Rohaan! so impressed with you both! mountain climbing for old and young! ♥️
Posted by: kavi moltz on 7/26/2017 at 12:38 pm
View All Comments