Greetings from the beautiful Plantation Lodge. We have just returned from a great day of safari. We started off early and visited a Maasai village before descending into Ngorongoro Crater. It was a little cloudy on the rim of the crater but once we were inside the sun came out. The temps were a little cool which I always think is good for seeing lions and sure enough about 15 minutes after we arrived we saw our first lion, a female. She quickly grouped up with several others in her pride. The rest of the day was packed with tons of other animals and we even got to see a black rhino from a distance. It's always great to see that elusive beast.
Tomorrow we are off to Tarangire National Park and Kikoti Camp. I'll check in then.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Jake Beren and Lindsay Mann reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Jake reported cloudy, smoky skies, light to moderate winds, and mild temperatures. The teams left the summit just before 8 am to start their descent to Camp Muir. We look forward to seeing them in Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations Climbers!
Never seen a mountain goat like that! During our hike today, off in the distance, on a ridge, it was not that animal. It got one of the camera crew to push uphill hard for a bit to get the awesome shot. We had settled for some other great footage in all kinds of tough weather conditions. We continue to go through loads of batteries and will probably get that Emmy in the end. The team continues to do well and with the help of some great local guys, are capturing these beautiful mountains to share with you all on the big screen. That's a wrap for today; lots more tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
RMI Guide Eric Frank and the Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons were unable to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning due to route conditions. The team climbed to 10,800' before being forced to turn around. Despite being unable to summit, Eric and the team enjoyed and incredible meteor shower in the early hours of the morning.
The team is back at Camp Schurman and plans to spend the rest of the day doing crevasse rescue and ice climbing training around camp. Tomorrow the team will descend from Camp Schurman. We look forward to greeting them in Ashford tomorrow afternoon.
Jambo!
Today was a great kickoff to safari. We piled our sore bodies into the trucks at 9 am and headed out towards Lake Manyara National Park. We shopped and lunched along the way and at about 1:30 pm we started the game drive. We were treated to lots of monkeys, baboons, elephants, and giraffes amongst other animals. My personal favorite, the African Fish Eagle was out in force as well. We are checked into the Plantation Lodge for the next two nights. It's a real treat to not have to pack a bag in the morning. We are headed to Ngorongoro Crater tomorrow morning so I'll check in again when we get back.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Mike Walter and Leon Davis stood on the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Mike reported great weather with no clouds and light winds. The teams began their descent at 7:45 am. We look forward to seeing everyone back in Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations Climbers!
Hey, everyone. This is JJ Justman calling from Kilimanjaro with Team Orlando. Sorry for the summit call way up high; it was havoc. There were a ton of people and for some reason they all wanted to hoot and holler and have a big party while I was trying to send my dispatch. We had a great summit day today; the team did just a fantastic job. Actually, I've had all the great climbs here on Kilimanjaro but this team just did an incredible job getting up and down in style. We're back at Barafu Camp, the high camp here at 15,000'. We're actually packing up and we're heading down to what we call Mweka Camp at 10,000' and that's going to be our last night in the mountains, in the forests here of Kilimanjaro and then we're heading out tomorrow back to the hotel. Everyone says hello to friends and family. Again, everyone reach the summit today. There's no doubt it's a great way to do this climb. And we're now looking at our next objective of just kind of resting, relaxing, having a little bit of a fiesta, and then heading onto safari. So we'll stay in touch with all of you. Stay tuned tomorrow, I'll send a bunch of summit photos and we'll talk to you again from Tanzania. Take care everyone.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Way to go Erwin !!!! We are cheering or you from Charleston! You are the coolest mom at Ashley Hall by a landslide! The images are beautiful. I can’t wait to see more and hear all about it! Enjoy every minute! Best, Susannah and Matt
Posted by: Susannah and Matt Hubbell on 9/11/2015 at 3:02 pm
To Thom, Kara and friends from team Orlando
So proud of all of you. We were with you every step of the way!
Congratulations on reaching the summit.
Enjoy a well deserved rest when you get back to the hotel.
Love you! Thom’s mom
We had a very nice morning at La Malinche. We were well fed and watered for the couple hour commute to Ixtaccihuatl, also known as "The Sleeping Woman" volcano. A stop on the way at the Italian coffeehouse.. in Mexico, then onto the rural town of Amecameca located at the base of the mountain. We picked up some fresh food and now just above 12,000 feet at the Altzomoni Hut. Lots of going over gear and more training till the wind and rain came in strong. A big dinner with my California-style guacamole that received a thumbs up from the local staff. Team still needs to catch up on some missed sleep so off to bed for us.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Greetings from the Dik Dik Hotel. We are all off the mountain safe and sound.
This morning we woke up with the sun just before 7. After some crepes and porridge for breakfast we hit the trail. It was a little slick and muddy from the rain yesterday but everyone was motivated to get down to the trailhead so it didn't slow us down. Once we reached the road it was drizzling so we just jumped in the truck and drove back to the hotel.
Now we are taking turns showering, having lunch and packing for safari. Tomorrow morning the second phase of the trip starts, but tonight we are going to celebrate a great time on Kilimanjaro.
Here is a summit pic from yesterday.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Congratulations on your successful climb. What a great opportunity and adventure to travel to Africa. Look forward to seeing you and hearing more about your trip when you return home. You are in our prayers.
Posted by: Aunt Tout & Uncle Russ on 8/13/2015 at 10:49 am
Llex and all, Have fun and safe travels on the safari! Love you!!!! Mom and Dad
Hey, everyone. This is JJ Justman with Team Orlando here on Kilimanjaro. We're at high camp at the Barafu Camp at 15,200 feet. Everyone is doing really, really well. We had a nice day to get up here to high camp. We are hydrating, resting, taking it easy, organizing gear. Weather is looking very nice. Some happy clouds here in the late afternoon, and we are really looking forward to a beautiful summit day tomorrow. So stay tuned, and we will hopefully, keeping the fingers crossed, which I'm thinking things are going to be great. We are all going to be standing on top of Kilimanjaro. We'll give you a call from the summit. Take care everyone. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
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Almost didn’t see the hippos. You were so close!!
And the gazelle with zebra herd.. amazing shots.
Nice to see the group photo!
Posted by: Andrea/ Mom on 8/15/2015 at 1:09 pm
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