Entries from Expedition Dispatches
All of the climbers and guides on the Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. RMI Guide Nick Scott reported clear skies and a breeze on the summit. The team began their descent shortly after 7:00 AM. We look forward to seeing them in Ashford this afternoon and hearing about their week on the mountain.
Way to climb!
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and the All-Women Four Day Climb reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Hannah reported sunny skies and breezy conditions on the summit. The team began their descent at 7:00 AM. The will return to Camp Muir to refuel and repack before descending back to Paradise.
Congratulations climbers!
Posted by: Robby Young
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Greetings from Pisco Base Camp,
The Spanish word of the day today is ‘Tranquilo’, meaning calm, easy, or chill. That’s what we did today here at 15,200’. We ate omelettes and then took a walk up to the top of the moraine to take a look at our route towards Pisco in the daylight. Back at camp, we dove into crevasse rescue skills in the grass before a ceviche lunch. Delicious as always! The rest of our day, we packed a little, and did some resting as the rain and graupel peppered our tents most of the afternoon. It’s clearing up as we bed down this evening after a chicken dinner and we’re hopeful we’ll see stars when wake up at 11:30 PM to start our climb. Not much else to report on a tranquilo day here at 15,200’. We’ll have more to rave about tomorrow if the mountain and weather allow! Stay tuned party people.
RMI Guide Robby Young, Alfie, William, and Team ‘Seeking Blister Tape Sponsorship’
Learned a new word today “graupel”. Hoping that it went away quickly. Cannot wait to get an update on the summit and more pics. Almost there :-)
Posted by: Bridget on 7/26/2019 at 6:04 am
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Today we visited the famous Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. The crater is roughly 100 square miles and is home for more than 25,000 animals that reside here year round. We stared seeing the 25,000 with the not too elusive herd animals. We saw seemingly hundreds and then thousands before we knew it! Soon enough the world of big cats became the focus. A couple of nice sightings of large meat eaters got the team's attention. Many hyenas, jackals, ostrich, plus countless other huge birds brought us to our spot by a hippo lake for lunch.
Just after lunch we observed a small pride of lion trying to take down two different Cape buffalo. The second one ended up against our Land Cruiser. And in the battle our vehicle was charged and dented by the bullet proof horned skull of the Cape buffalo. A mark of bush life not many wear. While our vehicle bears the scars of this battle, we were unscathed.
We are back at the fantastic Plantation Lodge for the night. Tomorrow we will venture to Tarangire National Park for more game viewing.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker and team
Absolutely amazing Safari photos. Have a safe trip home everybody! May God be with you!
Posted by: Tami Reitinger on 7/25/2019 at 8:31 pm
Safe travels to all on your expedition. I look forward to joining the roof of Africa club with you hopefully next season.
Posted by: Jory on 7/25/2019 at 3:52 pm
At 12,500' you're above the trees and clouds, in the highland desert zone, and are looking at Kibo, the summit of Kilimanjaro, all day. As we headed east towards our next camp, we enjoyed easy walking on the low angled Shira Plateau. A nice contrast to yesterday's steeper terrain.
A little over three hours later we arrived at Lava Tower, a conspicuous landmark at 15,200'. Our staff met us with hot soup, tea, sandwiches and snacks, all laid out on a blanket for our enjoyment. Imagine, a picnic in the warm sunshine at 15,000'! Pretty cool.
Following lunch it was all downhill to camp by the Barranco Wall. Easy enough walking to be able to appreciate the change in ecosystems as we began to see dendrosenecios, lobelias and giant groundsels, some of the flora that makes Kilimanjaro so special.
Everyone's doing great after this big day and we're all excited about getting on the Barranco Wall tomorrow morning. A later start to allow the porters in camp to get ahead of us on the Wall will be appreciated, even by this early rising crew.
Oh, and lest I forget. Dinner tonight: butternut squash soup, garlic pepper zucchini, chicken and sausage paella, and pineapple spears drowning in chocolate fondue. Eat your heart out.
Resting well,
RMI Guide Brent Okita
On The Map
Mary , Almost there! Hope you are resting well. My heart is with you . Love you.
Posted by: Autumn Zentz on 7/25/2019 at 1:05 pm
Posted by: Robby Young
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
And we’re back on the horse! We woke up early this morning in Huaraz and took in the last luxuries of hotel life before we loaded our bus and headed down the Rio Santo towards our final climb. It’s a long drive to Quebrada Llanganuco, where Pisco is located, but it’s a stunning sight to take in. We drove past some of the biggest peaks in South America on our way including Huascaran and Huandoy which tower up into the world of 21,000’. We dropped our bags with our donkey drivers and began our 2 hour approach around 11am.
Once we arrived at Pisco Base Camp we took in some warmth inside the Refugio as the snow fell off and on. Our guide team and cook staff got camp built here in this beautiful meadow and we spent the entire afternoon eating, no joke. After dinner finally was finished, we made our way to tents for a good nights sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll do some crevasse rescue training, take a short hike to the top of the morraine above camp, and pack for our big day on Friday. We’ll be in touch, as always.
RMI Guide Robby, Alfie, William, and Team ‘One-to-a-Tent’
Praying all of you make a safe climb. Go Trey!!!
Posted by: Phylis Craig on 7/26/2019 at 4:31 am
Posted by: Win Whittaker, Josh McDowell
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guides Win Whittaker and Josh McDowell lead their teams of American Lung Association Climbers to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Win reported light winds and a fabulous day on the mountain. Congratulations to today's climbers for their efforts in fundraising and supporting the ALA and for all their hardwork training for this climb!
A special congratulations to Josh McDowell, today's summit is his 100th summit of Mt. Rainier!
Congratulations Climb For Clean Air (CFCA) Climb Group #3 for the awesome accomplishment. We hare so proud of you all and happy we got the opportunity to train with you.
Posted by: Tideworks Mountaineers on 7/26/2019 at 10:07 am
Congrats to all! Great work, team!
Posted by: Daniel on 7/25/2019 at 5:33 pm
The Mongolia team has made the jump from Olgii in Western Mongolia back to the capital, Ulaanbataar. We are enjoying the cosmopolitan feel of the city and a final cultural event today - visiting a 13th century recreation of Chinggus (Ghengis) Khan's kingdom and palace. Tomorrow morning we all catch flight home to our love ones.
Thanks for following along!!
RMI Guide Eric Frank
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Packing a Toyota Land Cruiser modified for life in safari was a far cry from stuffing a backpack this morning. That's not to say we aren't missing our tent life and mountain staff but this will have to do for now. We climbed in the Land Cruisers just after 8:00 AM and the left Arumeru River Lodge -- our home away from home. We headed northwest to visit the beautiful Lake Manyara National Park. The lake is a brief stopping ground for many migratory animals and home to more than 300 bird species. We managed to see wildebeest, Cape buffalo, lots of baboon, and a herd of elephants from close up. It was a nice introduction to the incredible diversity of wildlife in Tanzania.
Everyone's eyes opened wide when we arrived at The Plantation Lodge and saw the perfectly cared for gardens, luxurious rooms and friendly staff. This will do just fine for the next couple of days while we explore the nearby parks.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
I’m so happy for the accomplishment y’all have achieved AND for the opportunity now to relax and enjoy your safari days! Congrats on 30 years to Robin and Rhonda. ❤️
It was so good to hear from the Carters yesterday! We love you and can’t WAIT to see you Sunday.
Posted by: Tami Reitinger on 7/25/2019 at 9:03 am
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons July 20 - 25, 2019 led by RMI Guide JM Gorum made their summit attempt this morning from Camp Schurman. Unfortunately high winds forced the group back to camp after reaching 12,200'. The team has returned to high camp, Camp Schurman, and will spend their final night on the mountain. After some additional training they will return to the trailhead tomorrow and arrive back to Rainier BaseCamp tomorrow afternoon.
Still so proud of you, Brandon! Hope you’ve had so much fun!!
Posted by: Jessica on 7/24/2019 at 6:10 pm
Happy birthday Pam! You are amazing!
Posted by: Michelle Howe on 7/26/2019 at 1:44 pm
Whoo Hoo!!! Way to go, Nic!! Many family and friends have been following your progress!!
Congratulations!! What an accomplishment!!! dani, michael, and more!!!
Posted by: Danielle Bartelli Oldfield on 7/26/2019 at 12:23 pm
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