Namaste:
And we have started our Shishapangma Expedition!!! The team is all well in Kathmandu... pretty much uneventful arrivals yesterday, that culminated with the expected jet lag on most of us. A nice welcome dinner put us to bed early. Today, we spent the day visiting the Monkey Temple and acquiring some last minute items we determined appropriate after our gear check. Kathmandu has greeted us with the last rains of the monsoon, which is to depart the Sub-Indian continent soon. We sure hope for the dry weather of the northern Himalayas when we are on our climb! However, that's a ways away yet, and we have to wait another day in Kathmandu before we fly to Lhasa, Tibet's capital, on the 6th.
In the meantime, we're going to continue to relax in hectic Kathmandu (is that an oxymoron?) before setting out for Chinese territory.
That's it for now; tune in for our blogs as we start our adventure into the Himalayas!!!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb, led Pete Van Deventer and Mike King, is back at Camp Muir after turning on the upper mountain due to route and avalanche conditions. They encountered snow up to waist deep, providing poor footing on exposed slopes. The weather reported from Camp Muir is clear, calm, and cold. The teams will depart for Paradise soon.
Busy day. The team had coffee and tea brought around to Kikoti's tent cabins a little before sunrise. Fortified with a great breakfast, we got right back into cruising the rough but beautiful roads of Tarangire National Park. Highlights were the family of head-tossing, trunk-swinging, ear-flapping elephants we encountered. Curiously, they were more animated and energized than any of the many families we saw. And we finished our tour on a highlight too, getting to watch up close as five lions followed an alpha female around as she decided what she might be hungry for. We could see her changing her mind from wildebeest to zebra to Impala to warthog. It all looked yummy to her. We left her and the pride undecided and hungry as we hit the road for Arusha and our return to the Dik Dik Hotel.
We got back through Arusha's rush hour and road construction traffic at four. This left time for repacking and freshening up before one final excellent meal in the dining room. Then we said goodbye to the staff who'd taken exceptional care of us, and to our teammate Kathleen. She is staying on a week to do good works up by Lake Victoria. The rest of the gang got on board the bus for a ride out to the airport. We're flying now... Dar Es Salaam.... Amsterdam...and onward. We're all excited to be moving on, of course, but also a little reluctant to let go of this morning's vision of a lion cub telling his mom to hurry up with the food shopping. It has been an incredible few weeks in Africa. Thanks for following.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Dave, thanks so much for making us all a part of this incredible journey. We’re getting Mary back in the states soon and we’re so excited to hear about her journey, and we are so greatfull to you and the guides for getting her here safe and sound. We also thank you for all the pictures you painted with your eloquent words. I’m sure it’s not easy to hike a mountain “hearding cats” so to speak, with all those people in tow, and still have the energy to sit down at the end of the day and find the amazing words to give those of us at home a chance to live vicariously through our family members. A genuine thanks to you and the RMI staff for hosting this site/blog for all of us back home!!
A pleasant journey home to all of the hikers. our daughter, Mary, I’m sure, will take a piece of all of you with her home in the form of memories that will last a lifetime.
With much appreciation and congratulations to all,
Bill and Kathy Harshbarger
Posted by: Bill and Kathy Harshbarger (Mary's Parents) on 9/3/2016 at 5:50 am
What an absolutely amazing journey for all of you. Thank you for taking care of each other and much appreciation to Dave for posting wonderfully detailed blogs that allowed the rest of us to cheer and follow from afar.
Jason—we’re so thrilled for you and anxious for your return. Safe travels. Love you.
Posted by: Jen (Jason's sister) on 9/2/2016 at 9:12 pm
Good morning! This is RMI Guide Eric Frank calling from Goat Creek Camp right in the heart of the North Cascades National Park. This is the final day of our climb of Mt. Goode. We couldn't get a signal to call out last night, so we're just checking in this morning. Yesterday we actually woke up to a fair bit of snow on the rocks for our final 5 pitches to the top of Mt. Goode. We had a pretty entertaining time climbing up through mid 5th last climbing with snow on it. We were able to rappel off the the opposite side of the mountain drop down and walk about 10 miles out to this camp. Today we have 20 beautiful miles on the Pacific Crest Trail. We will be out this evening and touch base then.
Take Care!
Eric Frank Calling in from Goat Creek Camp - Mount Goode
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Nick Hunt were forced to turn at the top of Disappointment Cleaver today. The team faced stormy weather with strong winds with knee deep snow is some places. They are on the descent and will return to Rainier Basecamp early this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's Team!
Mother Nature can be tough. Despite the stormy conditions, the team climbed to great heights…..about 13,000 ft higher than I could muster. Congrats to all….
Judging by the conversation over our evening campfire at Kikoti Safari Camp, this was a great day. The team recalled a fine night at the Plantation Lodge and a great start to the day there. We then drove a couple of hours to reach Tarangire National Park. We'd only been in the park boundaries for a few minutes when we got to watch a beautiful lioness clear a waterhole of a hundred zebras and wildebeest. She only had to take a step in their direction to get the herds running frantically and kicking up dust. She did this in a few directions, seemingly just to buy herself some space. We left her in charge and then went exploring, over Tarangire's great savannah expanses, through forests of Boabab trees, across rivers and alongside vast swampland. We saw herd after herd of wildebeest and zebra. There were waterbucks and impalas and elan. There were elephants and giraffes and more lions. There were Cape buffalo and birds of great variety. There were Dik Diks and mongoose. And just when we thought we'd seen everything the park intended to show us for the day, Joseph -our driver and guide- made a typically astounding discovery of a beautiful leopard. None of us could understand how he'd seen her at the distance that he did. She was on a red-dirt termite mound next to the road and she permitted us to get fairly close, which was thrilling. When she moved off the mound, it turned out that she was minding a leopard cub. This final treat of the day made for a sensational finish. The "big five" completed at 5:50 PM. Sunset was at about 6:30 and not at all dull and boring either. We pulled into friendly and tranquil Kikoti Camp then and discovered yet another place we'd all like to spend more time in. Such things are on our minds now, of course, because we are running out of time. Tomorrow evening we'll be jetting back to the world. But first, we'll wake out in this wilderness and see just what we can find in a final morning on Safari.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Another awesome safari day and I’m thrilled you got to complete the Big 5 goal. Thank you for sharing your day with us.
Posted by: Jen (Jason's sister) on 9/2/2016 at 12:07 am
Never a dull moment with you, Dave! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about your adventures on your climb and safari. Glad you got to add the last of the Big 5 to your list before the end of the trip!
Our team got shut down by weather on our summit push, but that didn't stop us from having an amazing trip. The climbing and views on our way to high camp below the Upper Curtis glacier were worth the hard push getting there.
The Fisher Chimneys is an incredible route- alpine rock, a pitch of easy ice climbing, and outstanding views of Mount Baker and the Curtis glacier make it a classic!
We got out last night and the team celebrated a great, safe and fun trip! Until next year Washington.
RMI Guide Zeb Blais and Team
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides JJ Justman and Solveig Waterfall reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. The team was decked out in Gore-Tex and down parkas as they climbed into a cap with cool temperatures and windy conditions. They have started their descent and are en route back to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's team!
Hey, this is Eric Frank calling from high up on the Northeast Buttress of Mt. Goode here in the North Cascades. We are just getting ready to lay down for the night. It's been raining off and on for about the last two hours, but fortunately we're tucked in on a little ledge about 3,000 feet above the glacier. That puts us maybe 80% of the way up the route. Tomorrow morning, hopefully if it's not raining too hard, we should be able to climb up and over and begin our descent down. We're doing well. Had a nice dinner, and we're just floating around in the cloud up here. Take care. Hope everyone has a good night.
RMI Guide Eric Frank
RMI Guide Eric Frank calls in from Mt. Goode in the North Cascades.
The safari gets better and better. Today we were up early -before sunrise- for our visit to the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. It was cloudy and cool as we entered the gates and began the drive up to the crater rim. That rim was cloudier and colder still at 9000 ft above sea level. We stopped in to a Masai village where we got to watch (and join in) as the residents performed traditional songs and dances, made fire and showed us into their simple homes (made of sticks, dung and ash). The Masai are just one of Tanzania's many distinct tribes, but they are prominent because they've held on to so many of their own customs and have largely stayed away from modern conveniences. We were impressed that the herdsmen protect themselves, their families and cattle herds with nothing more than spears. We were even more impressed a half hour after leaving the village when we got to see ten big lions down in the crater. Six females and four males, walking wherever they pleased... apparently without any worries or fears. The zebras and wildebeests wandering around them reacted sharply and obviously upon discovering so many kings and queens of the crater in one place. They seemed to be guarding a kill in the shrubs, driving off the odd hyena who came sniffing around. We were amazed at the vastness of the caldera floor and at the size of the herds of zebra, wildebeest, antelope and Cape buffalo that wandered about. Before long, we'd seen four of the "big five" (lion, elephant, rhino, Cape buffalo) and were looking hard for leopards to complete the set. No luck there today, but that didn't phase anyone. We were enchanted with the setting for our picnic lunch, on the edge of a lake full of hippos, with a big bull elephant casually walking through without paying any attention to all of the Land Cruisers and tourists in the designated lunch spot.
The clouds cleared completely by mid-afternoon and things finally warmed up. That made the ride back up to the crater rim all the more memorable as we could then see the entire amazing valley.
We enjoyed an easy evening ride back to the Plantation Lodge. Cocktails out on the veranda were accompanied by lots of show and tell of the excellent pics taken today. Then it was time for a fine buffet dinner and some birthday cake in honor of both Tom and Tim.
The team is excited to move on to Tarrangire National Park tomorrow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team
Love hearing about your adventures. What memories you’ll have!
Posted by: Sue Rentschler(Jason's aunt) on 9/1/2016 at 4:53 am
What an amazing day all of you had! A combination of generosity from the tribe and generosity from the wildlife - both contributing to what must be (for all of you) great, memorable moments.
All so well deserved…enjoy, take tons of pictures (can’t wait to see/hear) and know how proud we are of you.
Posted by: Kathy and Denny Meyers (Jason's Mom and Dad) on 8/31/2016 at 3:35 pm
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Enjoy and be safe! Mucha suerte y cuidense todos!
Posted by: Bettina ( Wolf's sister) on 9/6/2016 at 1:36 pm
Galina. Lala and I will be following your travels. Enjoy and be safe.
Posted by: JOHN NEWLAND on 9/6/2016 at 7:45 am
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