Entries from Expedition Dispatches
It was a beautiful day here on
Elbrus, not a cloud in the sky!
We had a normal start to our day with breakfast in the hotel and then loaded up all our climbing gear and drove to the base of the ski lift where we rode not one, not two, but three gondolas to reach our new home for the next few days and happens to sit at just over 12,000ft. It's rather comfortable up here, as our outfitter has taken a few shipping containers and converted them into simple bunk rooms that sit atop some makeshift skis so they can be moved. Creative to say the least!
Once we got settled into our new home we headed uphill on another acclimatizing hike and reached about 13,500ft before returning to camp where our wonderful cook Dasha had a nice hot lunch waiting for us.
We spent the remaining of the afternoon relaxing, walking around and just enjoying the amazing view of the Caucasus mountain range.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Greetings!
Today was a great day for the first day of our
Alpamayo Expedition: stellar landscape on the acclimatization hike, for a stellar crew, on stellar weather. This third year of Alpamayo Expeditions for RMI looks very promising! We hiked up to 14,400' to our traditional destination of Lake Churup, and we had incredible views of the range, the glacial lake and the mountain of the same name. We hiked back to town and had a team lunch before returning to our hotel for some packing and relaxing. We're heading tomorrow to the trailhead. Everyone is doing great and is very excited.
We'll be checking from the trail from now on!
Best,
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos and team
Climbers on the
Four Day Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Mike Uchal reached the summit crater of Mt. Rainier at 6:45 a.m. PDT. Brent and Mike reported chilly and breezy conditions on the summit. The teams will spend some time on top before beginning their descent. We look forward to welcoming the climbers back to
Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations!
Hello!
Greetings from Hotel Andino in the beautiful Huaraz City, Peru. Our expedition prep got off to a stunning start with a picturesque trip up to Puca Ventana (Red Window) at 11,600'. The additional elevation and light exercise will be crucial as we prep to move up the
Ishinca Valley at 14,400' tomorrow morning. A casual lunch at the climbing hangout Cafe Andino kept us energized through the afternoon as we began the packing and gear sorting for our upcoming week in the Cordillera. Tonight we enjoy the comforts of civilization at our hotel for one last night. Our next dispatches will be from the high valleys as we move closer to our first climbing goal of Ishinca (18,143'). Stay tuned, friends!
Buenas Noches,
RMI Guides Robby Young, Eric Frank, Edwin, and the ESS-Peru Team
Hello again everyone -
It was a beautiful day here in Russia. We had a nice relaxing start to the day with a traditional Russian breakfast of porridge, eggs and bread. Then made our way to the local ski lifts to help give us a jump start on our hike. I didn't hear a single complaint about riding up 1,500' before we started our two hour hike to the top of a local peak called Cheget, which is also the name of the town we are staying in. The hike went well with mostly clear skies and we even caught a few glimpses of
Mt. Elbrus between the clouds.
After our hike we made it back to town relatively quickly thanks to the ski lifts, where we had a hot lunch waiting on us. After lunch we dropped off our gear and made a quick stop to pick up a few extra items and even managed to try on a few local hats.
We wrapped up the evening with another nice home cooked meal here provided by our local outfitter and to top it off we celebrated one team members birthday!
Things are good here.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Jambo from Kilimanjaro-
We are checking in from Camp One,
Machame Camp at 9,800' and everyone is doing great.
We woke early this morning and had a nice breakfast at the Dik Dik. We loaded the vehicle and after a quick stop at the open air meat market we reached the Machame Entrance Gate at 6,000'. After some photos and the fun began as we started on the trail. Being a cloud forest it held true for most of the climb but now here at 10,000' the skies are clear and beautiful. We have clear views of the summit and associated glaciers and life is good here in the very comfortable dinning tent.
Have a nice day,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
Well... This is it. The final blog for the July 1 - 13, 2016 is sadly here. However, as is the case, we had an amazing day in
Saint Petersburg! Our local city tour guide Elena, was amazing as we strolled around the entire city. I have been here 13 times now and today was simply put, the coolest tour I have had in St Petes. I am sad as I sit here writing this blog during our last dinner. Our entire team has been absolutely amazing. It is not every climb where complete strangers come together and have such an amazing adventure.
Thank you for following along. The team sends giant hugs and kisses back home to friends and family! Thanks for your support.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
RMI Guide Jake Beren and the
Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning via the Kautz route.
Jake reported clear skies on the summit. The team will spend some time on the summit before making their descent. The team will spend one more night on the mountain before descending off the mountain tomorrow.
Way to climb!
Greetings from Huaraz!
The ESS-Peru team has arrived safely in Huaraz. After a short night of sleep yesterday evening, we left the chaos of a busy Lima city behind, traveled up the Pacific coast, over a 14,000' pass, and down into the Ancash Valley; home of the
Cordillera Blanca Range (The White Mountains). We kicked off our stay at Hotel Andino with an incredible dinner, as usual, and are looking forward to the incredible views of the mountains from our hotel balconies in the morning. Tomorrow, our expedition prep begins. An acclimatization hike tomorrow morning to 11,500' into the hills above Huaraz City (pop. 127,000) will serve a crucial purpose as we coax our bodies into their high-altitude form.
That's all for now. Thanks for following along!
RMI Guides Robby Young, Eric Frank, and the ESS-Peru Team
The Four Day Summit Climb led by
RMI Guides Seth Waterfall, Christina Dale, and Katrina Bloemsma reached the summit of Mt. Rainier just before 7:00 a.m. PDT. Katrina reported clear, breezy skies above Disappointment Cleaver. The teams will spend some time celebrating on the summit before beginning their descent. We look forward to seeing them in
Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations climbers!
Glad you survived all three ski lifts Michael:) haha. Hope everyone has a great climb today and the weather continues to hold up for the Summit. We are sweating back here in the US, enjoy the snow!
Be safe.
Jancy
Posted by: Jancy Darling on 7/13/2016 at 8:02 pm
Hi Thad. Hi Sam. Blazing heat every afternoon here now with triple digit heat indices, so to paraphrase WC Fields, all things considered I’d rather be in the Baksan Valley. Lovely scenery! I’ve seen pictures before of brightly painted shipping containers used as dwellings, but hadn’t seen the interiors. Looks cozy, though they might do with a skylight. You guys look pretty happy…
Posted by: Burton Golden on 7/13/2016 at 4:09 pm
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