Entries from Expedition Dispatches
We enjoyed more fine game viewing as we exited the park and our Safari guides continued to impress spotting out cats all over the place this morning. Things went as smooth as you could expect even on 4 wheel drive roads. Our great drivers and local support assisted us as we continued focusing on some of the things we do best, eating and shopping. After a quick stop at the
Dik Dik Hotel to gather our climbing gear and have a quick dinner, it was off to the airport. We said our good byes happy to be heading home but still smiling from our grand adventure.
Happy October, it's time to come up with my Halloween costume.
Until the next adventure.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
It has been a difficult few days for our team members. Today all climbers descended safely to Depot Camp (Advanced Base Camp) where they will spend the night. They plan to descend to Base Camp tomorrow.
The RMI Office Team
Hello Everyone,
We received very sad news earlier today. One of the Sherpa team members was caught in an avalanche this morning and has died. The rest of the team are safe. All team members are spending the night at Camp 2 and will be descending in the morning. The accident occurred below Camp 3 as a Sherpa team was moving up. This is all the information we have at this time. We will provide updates as we get information from the team.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Sherpas, climbers and their families.
The RMI Office Team
Safari just doesn't get any better than this. We cruised out if the
Plantation Lodge well fed and ready to go. Of course shopping and a visit to a Maasai village were on the agenda today. Both of which are always interesting and amusing. We couldn't spend too much time on either, for the call of the wild was a big priority for this team. As usual, Tarangire National Park impressed even the most veteran of game viewers. It is always amazing to see survival in its purest form. We were all glad the wildebeest (and not us) was the meal for that pride of lions we viewed tearing it apart. We had just entered the park gate when we encountered them on their lunch break. We rolled our way through the park and exited the other side to the remote and tented Kikoti Camp. This place is nothing like the camps on Kilimanjaro, believe me, it would be very easy to spend a lot of nights here. Luxury is the word that comes to mind. We enjoyed a great dinner and are thrilled to be spending our last night in Tanzania in this awesome location. Like I said, it’s tough to match this one.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
And the heavy winds kept us bounded at
Camp 1 today, folks. We woke up to clear skies that soon turned cloudy, but the if we had some hopes to move up early on, the everlasting winds killed it for today. We did what what we had to, and was rest, re-hydrate, eat, and fortify the wall we made around camp. Our forecast gives us hopes to move to Camp 2 tomorrow, so we're ultra motivated for that. In the meantime, we know that the extra night here will be beneficial for overcoming the thin air that awaits above. We're armed with plenty of food and desire to continue this fight, so stay toned for more. Everyone is healthy and eager to climb!
RMI Guide Elías de Martos and team.
A very nice day on
Safari. We descended into the crater some 1,800 plus feet to get below the clouds surrounding the rim. Interesting forest of flat-topped Acacia trees surround the drop from the top. We as guests felt welcomed to this community of over 30,000 animals. Such a unique experience to be part of the tribe of the crater. The animals sense no threat so to be able to observe these creatures interaction in such a pure form is truly amazing. You can really think you understand their train of thought and why they are behaving a certain way. Probably not even close to the reason behind the action but fun to think I may be a wild animal whisperer. Great food and drink of course as we continue to enjoy the friendly local hospitality. The team continues to impress with their ability to persevere through the challenges of the day like what picture to take. Life is good, all is well, get out while you can.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
The
Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir reached the summit of Mount Rainier this morning. RMI Guides
Brent Okita and
Billy Nugent with their teams started the day with a glorious sunrise as they ascended the mountain. Weather was crisp with wind speeds around 20 mph. They began their descent to Camp Muir at 9:15 a.m. and will spend the next two days learning additional mountaineering skills to wrap up the week on Mount Rainier.
The seminar is the last RMI Mount Rainier program of the 2016 season. We look forward to
May 2017 when the next season begins!
Good evening from
Camp 1 on Shishapangma. Good day of climbing we had to here today, without a doubt, the most efficient given the stage of the climb in which we are. We're a little concerned about the weather though, as a non-forecasted storm evolved us as we approached the last few hundred meters to camp. With our Sherpa team ahead at Camp 2, we only hope for better weather to continue our upward progress, and wish for not too much new snow. Everyone did a terrific job today, and all rest and sleep comfortably in their tent. Stoves are being shut off as we speak with water melted for the morning. Stay tuned for tomorrow's outcome!!!
RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and team.
Greetings from the lovely Plantation Lodge about 75 miles east of the town of Arusha, loocated at the top of the eastern great
Rift Valley escarpment. Our morning once again fueled by unlimited quantities of local fruits and anything else your heart desired, gave the team the energy to game view with the pros. That is exactly who we have as our support team. Once again the Dik Dik Lodge has provided us with incredible staff. Our driver Joseph and his side kick Zachery are the best, their ability to see these animals among perfect camouflage is no easy task. So fun to hear the comments of amazement from our team. It's crazy that after about 300 of these game drives I can still enjoy them so much. The terrain in itself is overwhelming let alone the hundreds of animals, it is pretty darn cool. Tomorrow we move into the 1,000s of animals at the 8th wonder of the world, Ngorongoro Crater. Life is very good here in Africa and all is well.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Namaste from
Depot Camp (ABC) at 6,000m!!!
2,000 to go... we're on the move! Day 1 of summit push brought us on the late afternoon to a frigid moraine camp which prompted the funny scene of everyone gathering for dinner in down suits over the rocky platforms of our tents... like an army of teletubbies. Much more talented, though, we didn't let the cold get to us and ventured early to the comfort of our tents, knowing that our move to Camp 1 tomorrow will be a bit more demanding than our hike today, basically a strategic move to shorten the distance between Base Camp and Camp 1 (by the way, these guys are ditching 1.20h from what it was taking on our first trip!) Despite having a strong team of Sherpa support, we decided to endure a one night of alpine style camping.... with our bags at Camp 1, we chose to all sleep in our down suits to avoid carrying our base camp bag, and have lighter move.
At the moment, we're (at the guides' tent) listening to Liam Knoff's playlist, waiting for the early Tibetan night of the fall, to go into full sleepy time. Stay tuned for our progress uphill tomorrow.
RMI Guides Elías, Adam, Robby and the RMI Shishapangma team!!!
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Is the climb over? Reports done from the mountain?
Posted by: Jeff Olson on 10/4/2016 at 7:22 am
We can not imagine how are you feelling right now.
Just send you all our power.
Posted by: Martín de Andrés on 10/2/2016 at 8:05 am
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