Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Here we go!
Our team is set at 15,000 feet at
Barafu Camp on Kilimanjaro. Everyone is getting excited for a great summit day. The prediction is for sunny and clear skies. So it's down to business as usual here in camp. We are recovering with hot drinks and a great lunch prepared by our Camp Chef.
It is at this point that all our physical preparation pays off. However, as I told my team, at a certain altitude the physical shuts off and it turns all mental. You have to stay positive and have the strength to overcome adversity to summit the highest mountains in the world. And Kilimanjaro is no different.
Wish us luck!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
Hi! We're all back at the Plantation Lodge after a great day in the
Ngorongoro Crater. It was a lovely, if slightly cool, day there. The crater is truly one of the wonders of the world and the game viewing did not disappoint what-so-ever.
We're all loving the relaxed pace of the safari after a long climb on Kili and tomorrow we continue on to Tarangire National Park.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
The Four Day Summit Climb led by
RMI Guide Leon Davis reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning at approximately 7:25 am. Leon reported steady winds from the N/NW at 10-15 mph, cold temperatures and a cloud deck below at 10,000'. The Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise led by
Adam Knoff also reached the summit this morning. The teams spent approximately one hour on the summit before starting their descent.
Both teams will return to Camp Muir to repack their gear and take a short break before continuing down to Paradise this afternoon. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later today.
Congratulations to today's summit climbers!
We had our best day yet climbing on the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro today. By no means is it vertical rock climbing, however, ascending the
Great Barranco Wall really makes you feel like you are climbing!
After we reached the top of the wall we traversed at an altitude of 14,500'. The weather didn't turn on us. However, the clouds rose up and engulfed us in a light mist as we climbed the final section into camp. We are now nestled in at Karanga Camp and the entire team is doing fantastic!
Tomorrow is high camp. An then the summit so don't go too far. We will have a summit report for you Sunday!!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
Today team
Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise was relieved to crawl out of our tents to clear skies and warm temps. Last night, directly after arriving in camp after crevasse rescue training we were graced with a purifying rain burst but then rudely interrupted by a brief but intense lightning and thunder storm. It cleared in time for dinner and a peaceful sleep.
After packing up camp this morning, a stimulating walk through a large crevasse field and icy section brought us to Camp Muir at 10,060 feet. Here we will rest and prepare for our summit climb tonight. Folks are happy to be moved into the bunk house here and even happier to hand off some group gear to a guide heading down hill. Yea for lighter packs!
Wish us luck tonight on our climb.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
We're on safari!
We didn't sleep in too much today. We left the hotel just after 9 AM and spent some time in the city of Arusha. We did some shopping and stocked up on drinks for the road. After about 2 hours of driving we had lunch and entered
Lake Manyara National Park. The game viewing here is always great and the lake is very full these days. Here's a shot of a large elephant crossing the road in front of us.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Today was a fantastic day for the team as we achieved greater acclimatization. We entered the dry and rocky terrain of the Highland Desert Zone where large volcanic boulders dot the landscape. Our trail gently ascended the Shira Plateau and we the reached our high point near
Kilimanjaro's Lava Tower at 14,900'.
After a long break to soak up the thin air we descended into the Barranco Valley. We are now comfy and cozy in our SlingFin dining tent drinking hot tea and eating popcorn at 12,800'. Everyone is having a great time and we are looking forward to another great day on Kilimanjaro.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
Today's
Four Day Summit Climbs led by RMI Guides
Brent Okita &
Billy Nugent reached the summit crater of Mt. Rainier just before 7 am PT. Brent reported clear skies, a windless and gorgeous day. The smoke from the Eastern Washington fires seems to have cleared and the cloud deck is below Paradise at about 5,000’.
The teams will return to Camp Muir in the late morning and then continue their descent to Paradise. We look forward to seeing the teams at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!
The
Paradise Glacier Seminar is in full effect with loads of exciting training taking place. We have a beautiful camp at 8,500 feet on the Cowlitz Glacier surrounded by steep walls and breathtaking crevasses. Our team is all in great spirits and thriving in what has been described as a high excitement summer camp for aspiring mountain climbers. The weather is not as sunny as the two previous days but at least some of the forest fire smoke has subsided opening up some great views. We are all getting psyched for our move to Camp Muir tomorrow.
Team Paradise sends their best to family and friends.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
Everyone is back at the Dik Dik hotel safe and sound! It was a whirlwind past few days on
Kilimanjaro as we went from 15,200 feet up to 19,340 and all the way out in just over 24 hours. The team did really well and the weather was good, even though we got rained on a bit after the summit.
The weather for our climb was amazing and we all had great conditions on the summit. We started just after midnight under a partly cloudy sky. It was a windless night and that kept the temps from dropping to extreme lows. That said we did climb to over 18,000 feet before the sun came up so staying warm required us to be vigilant with our gear. Everyone kept their focus though and we all made it up. We summitted in a big wave spread out over about 45 min which was really cool for me as I got to spend a lot of time on top.
After returning from high camp we resisted the urge to relax too much as we still had a decent hike down to our last camp. As we snacked on french toast the clouds came up and we started to get some light rain. The rain picked up as we hiked down to Mweka camp and that added some challenge to the day but our excellent staff had dry tents and hot tea waiting for us. After dinner we dropped onto our sleeping pads for a well deserved rest.
This morning we woke up to more cloud cover. After another excellent meal we had a wrap up celebration with our mountain staff. The guys from the Dik Dik do an amazing job and we all wanted to make sure that they know we greatly appreciate the hard work. Then we hit the trail. A few hours of hiking was nothing for this crew and before we know it we were down at the gate.
We will have dinner in a couple of hours and toast to the great times we had on Kilimanjaro! Tomorrow it's safari time!!!
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Good luck to you all! You guys are amazing! Dom and Kalani we are all cheering for you here in sunny Florida!
Posted by: Bill and janella on 8/4/2013 at 7:57 am
Good luck everyone!! We are excited for you all! Dom and Kalani we are all cheering for you here in sunny Florida!!
Posted by: Janella and bill Raymond on 8/4/2013 at 7:52 am
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