Entries from Expedition Dispatches
What a day and what a team. Our luck held out with an evening that was clear, windless and fairly warm. At 12:30am we were walking after being fed by our great kitchen staff. Our slow pace was key to not overheating the engines when climbing in the rarefied air above 15,000'.
We got to Stella Point just after dawn then on to
Uhuru Peak, the summit, shortly thereafter.
Did I mentioned that EVERYONE SUMMITED! Yeah, the team rocked it today, enjoying sunshine and warm temps while taking summit photos at 19,340'.
Our descent back to camp went smoothly and we were treated to another wonderful meal before packing up and hitting the trail for the thicker air of Mweka Camp at 10,000'. Dropping down from 15,000' does amazing things for the body, and so worth the effort to get here after a hard summit day.
And now, dinner awaits before a well deserved sleep.
Goodnight from Kilimanjaro on our last night on the mountain.
RMI Guide Brent Okita
The RMI Summit Climb team, led by
Tyler Reid, is currently on the top of
Mt. Rainier. A beautiful day with hardly any wind on the highest point of Washington. The team will spend some time on top before they begin their descent.
Congratulations to today's summit climb team!
Hello world,
We woke up to crystal clear skies last night, which hasn’t been the norm this season here in the
Cordillera Blanca. But this beautiful night so happened to coincide with our climb of Pisco...just our luck! It was a really long day to say the least. It’s a tricky walk for the first several hours just to reach the glacier; up and over the moraine, across a boulder covered rock glacier, and up steep trail and slabs, all done in the dark. The stars were out which made for some wonderful views at breaks. A few more hours of dark while ascending snow and ice and the we finally saw some sun...which proved to be one of those classic Cordillera Blanca sunrises that are hard to describe. Just spectacular! A few more hours and we found ourselves just under 19,000’, on the summit of Pisco. We were above a thick cloud deck and the highest peaks of the Range were penetrating the clouds all around us. It was a special moment for this team who put in a lot of hard work and dedication into their climbing adventure in Peru. We stayed on top and soaked it all in for almost an hour before we walked down into the clouds for a long retreat back to Base Camp. All in all, 12.5 hours, Base Camp to Summit to Base Camp. We took the afternoon to get super tranquilo, as tomorrow, our journey back to civilization begins.
RMI Guide Robby Young, Alfie, William and Team ‘Fuerte’
The
Four Day Climb Teams led by
Taylor Bickford and
Joe Hoch radioed down this morning to let us know that they turned at 12,300' due to high winds and deteriorating conditions on the upper mountain. The team was safely back in Camp Muir by 7:45 AM PT. After drying out a little and resting, the team will descend from Camp Muir and be back in town this afternoon.
Very comfortable night out in the bush. Not until sunrise when the bird alarms went off did anything but a lullaby come from our surroundings. A couple hours of game driving brought us out of the park but not before some lions, elephant, giraffe to name just a few bid us farewell. Fpur of the team stayed for one more night at
Balloon Camp while the rest of us are back at Arumeru Lodge getting ready for a transfer to the airport. Another fine expedition is now in the books.
Thanks for following!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Greetings from 15,200'. We were rewarded today with a short three hour hike to
Barafu Camp, last stop before the summit. This is it! Tonight we go for the top.
Everyone is excited, and perhaps a wee bit nervous. Climbing to 19,340' is no small feat. But with all the preparation and great acclimatization we've taken advantage of we're more than ready.
Our wonderful camp staff has been spoiling us rotten, greeting us with bowls of hot water once we got settled in camp and a lunch that couldn't be better. It's amazing what they do here, considering that it takes over two hours for a porter to get a five-gallon bucket of water from the nearest stream.
We've discussed the details of the climb tonight and have been preparing our gear so we're all ready for tonight's departure. We'll try to get to bed around 6:00pm and awaken at 11:30pm. Breakfast at midnight and walking shortly thereafter.
Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Brent Okita
On The Map
RMI Guide Robby Young checked in with us after their
Pisco Oeste summit bid. They were able to summit and had a good day on the mountain. They are back at their camp for the night and will continue on to Huaraz tomorrow.
It was a little tough leaving the Plantation Lodge this morning, but it was time to Safari on! We made our way to
Tarangire National Park making a couple of short stops along the way. Treasures from a far off land were acquired and a stop at a local tribal village made for an interesting cultural experience for the day. We enjoyed singing and dancing and a demo of how rubbing sticks together to make a fire. A quick tour of the mud hay and cow dung hut they call home then off to the park for more game viewing. The park is a series of parallel rivers, shallow valleys and broad savanna. Also boasting that it has more elephants per square kilometer than any place on earth. It didn't disappoint us with plenty of other animals as usual. We are tucked into our new lodge inside the park call Balloon Camp. The camp has screened-in rooms out deep in the bush allowing Africa to envelope your every fiber.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Summit!
RMI Guide Steve Gately and his Mt. Shuksan team reached the summit via the
Fisher Chimneys Route. They will descend to Upper Curtis Camp and then possibly to Lake Ann this afternoon because of rain moving in this evening. Tomorrow the team will then complete their descent back to the trailhead.
Waking up in Barranco Camp under the massive headwalls and fading glaciers of the upper reaches of Kilimanjaro was just beautiful this morning. We slept in an hour because the hike to Karanga was just 4 hours and it gave time for many of the porters to get ahead of us ascending the Barranco Wall. Our climb up some of the Wall's scrambling sections went well, with everyone moving competently. Even the most apprehensive of us got stoked climbing this section. Three valleys later we arrive at
Karanga Camp. Lots of up and down today to arrive at a camp only 130' higher than our last, but this is part of the planned magic of acclimatizing for our summit bid that's coming up pretty quickly.
It's amazing how well everyone's doing with the altitude. The fun little tests we do measuring our bodies ability to process oxygen and our pulse reveal that we're all doing better than expected. Great news with the climb looming on the horizon.
Okay, are you ready to hear about what we had for lunch when we arrived? Wiener schnitzel, German Potatoes, sauteed vegetables, vegetable soup. For dessert, watermelon and a home baked chocolate nutty fudge type thing.
Living larger at Karanga Camp,
RMI Guide
Brent Okita and Team
On The Map
Congrats, Mary!!! I am so proud of you. Way to be amazing!
Posted by: Jen C on 7/28/2019 at 3:59 pm
Mary, You did it congratulations! And congratulations to the team. Mary, I can’t express the joy I have for you right now. I will tell you when I see you. And I can’t wait to hear of your adventures, May I say you are truly a bad ass woman with a purpose!Again team well done ,My hat comes off to all of you and everybody who walked that mountain.
Posted by: David Workman on 7/28/2019 at 9:38 am
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