Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Posted by: Tyler Reid
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Chile Ski
Yesterday we went out for a wild storm ski as our introduction to the Southern Hemisphere spring. We rode what lifts were open at Corralco and couldn’t see much. But the feeling of having skis on our feet accomplished the days mission, despite having no idea how fast we were going.
Today we awoke to continued dumping snow, roofalanches and a winter vibe here in Malalcahuello. We went up for a ski tour on the lower flanks of Lonquimay with open minds, finding some nice blown in gullies in the monkey puzzle forest. In the afternoon the skies started to clear and we toured up the volcano a ways, enjoying our first real views of the place. A fun day of fresh turns was capped off with a visit to the termas down the road to thaw out.
All is great with our team and the weather trend seems to be improving - fingers crossed.
RMI Guide Tyler Reid & the Chile ski team
Posted by: Andy Bond, Steve Gately
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,200'
The Four Day Climb, September 27 - 30, enjoyed a beautiful sunrise this morning on Mt. Rainier. Weather conditions and new snow on the route prevented them from reaching the summit today, however, they did ascend to Ingraham Flats to check out the views. The group has descended from Camp Muir and will return to Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
This is our final program for the 2019 Mt. Rainier season. Thank you for following along with our climbs!
We just had our first team dinner here in Temuco, Chile. Everyone made it today despite various fight delays and the standard rigamarole of crossing continents, hemispheres and time zones. It’s snowing in the mountains and we might just get to ski some powder tomorrow... but first we sleep.
RMI Guide Tyler Reid and the Chile Ski Team
Posted by: Mike King, Josh McDowell
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,000'
The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb team, led by RMI Guides Mike King and Josh McDowell, called in from Camp Muir. There are six inches of new snow and winds that drifted the snow to knee deep at Camp Muir. The team is doing fine and will ascend up to Ingraham Flats before they begin their descent back to Paradise.
Thanks for posting. Thinking of y’all.
Posted by: Matzen Shelley on 9/29/2019 at 9:31 am
Posted by: Mike Walter, JT Schmitt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,500'
Our Four Day Climb Teams led by Mike Walter and JT Schmitt were turned just before Disappointment Cleaver on their summit attempt. Mike Walter reported single digit temperatures, and deteriorating weather. The team is back at Camp Muir and will be back at Rainier Basecamp early this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's team!
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hello everyone
We spent yesterday touring Tarangire National Park which is home to many elephants, in fact, it has more per square kilometer than any place on earth and it didn’t disappoint. There were plenty of other animals as usual, and we got pretty close to a few lions, which was amazing.
We ended our day at a remote and off grid camp within the National Park and surrounded by wildlife. The camp has screened in rooms that allow the night sounds and smells of Africa in.
It's been a memorable experience for everyone and great friendships forged. But finally it's time to return home to our families.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari crew!
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Today we visited the famous Ngorongoro Crater. The crater is roughly 100 square miles and is known for its abundance of animals that call the crater home.
We hit the road early with hopes of catching a few of the big cats before the heat of the day.
There were many sightings today of hyenas, jackles, ostrich, and countless other birds. We managed to see several lions, including 2 feasting on a fresh kill, thankfully it wasn’t too close though. We also saw one Black Rhino at pretty close range, which have become very rare due to poaching.
We wrapped up the day with a visit to a Maasai village not far from the craters rim. The Maasai people are a semi-nomadic tribe that exist almost entirely off of their cattle. The team spent time asking questions and enjoyed being shown around their small and simple village.
We have just finished another wonderful meal here at the plantation lodge
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Posted by: Brent Okita, Dustin Wittmier
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
So far we've had a tremendous trip.
Our first day started cold and rainy, which posed no problem for us given that our training that day was largely spent indoors or at least under the cover of a roof overhead. That day was spent doing some technical training, going through equipment needed for the week, and getting to know one another.
Day 2, Monday, we moved to Camp Muir on what ended up being a fairly nice day. The group was impressive moving uphill, with nobody having difficulty with the 4,500' hike up the snowfield.
Tuesday was a very full day as we covered all the skills we needed to climb the mountain. Following our skills session we ventured out onto the Cowlitz Glacier to practice what we learned and better understand just how glaciers behaved.Following this it was back to Muir to prepare for our climb. A summit talk, early dinner and early bedtime set us up for our climb. Waking up at 1:00am and walking at 2:00, we were immediately challenged by high winds. Unfortunately, the winds haunted us all day, making for a difficult climb. But we persevered and got lucky, summiting just after 8:00am.
The team did great and we're all enjoying some well deserved rest.
Talk again tomorrow,
RMI Guide Brent Okita & Team
We are super proud of Matthew Roth & Team!!
Love,
Leah, Haddox & Bailey
Posted by: Leah Roth on 9/25/2019 at 2:04 pm
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Today was our first day of safari and we headed west to visit the beautiful Lake Manyara. The lake is a brief stopping ground for many migratory animals and home to more than 300 different birds. Everyone enjoyed the day cruising around in our safari vehicles with cold beverages in hand while seeing the animals up close.
We manage to see a few wildebeest, zebras, Cape buffalo, lots of baboons, a few impalas and many hippos, and one elephant pretty close and even managed to see a few lions relaxing in the trees. It was a pretty nice introduction to the incredible diversity of wildlife that Africa has and the team is looking forward to seeing more tomorrow.
We wrapped up the evening with a wonderful meal at our new lodge [url=http://www.plantation-lodge.com]http://www.plantation-lodge.com[/url] see for yourself!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari crew
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Today we woke at 6:30 feeling good, had breakfast, then enjoyed a goodbye song and dance from our gracious crew of posters, cooks, and local guides numbering 37. We finished the little celebration by handing out their well-deserved tips and then hit the trail one last time.
It took a little over three hours to reach the park gate where the team had lunch then hopped aboard our awaiting bus for the ride back to the lodge.
Finally we are all safe and sound, and a little cleaner after an amazing seven-day journey up and down Kilimanjaro.
The team is currently relaxing and looking forward to Safari which starts tomorrow!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and a happy Kilimanjaro crew
Olga, you did it!!! Have a restful safari and we will see you state side when you return. Hugs, Zena
Posted by: Zena Roberts on 9/24/2019 at 2:19 pm
Olga!
What an accomplishment for you and Igor! And everyone else! Can’t wait to hear all about it! :-)
Have fun the rest of your trip!
Posted by: Susan Wolfe on 9/23/2019 at 3:00 pm
Hey Steve - sorry to hear you didn’t quite summit! How many did you end up with this year? Looking forward to climbing with you next season!
/john
Posted by: John Murray on 9/30/2019 at 2:28 pm
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