Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Hello again everyone:
We left camp a little later today to allow the many porters to hit the trail before us as we had our main difficulty right out of camp. This obstacle is the great
Barranco Wall, which rises about 1,000 feet and looks as intimidating as it sounds. Thankfully there is a nice narrow trail that weaves its way up and through the wall and all the way to the top. Most of it feels more like steep hiking, but there are a few places that require the use of our hands to help us climb up. The team did a good job of moving steady and allowing a few porters through with their loads precariously balanced on their heads.
After reaching the top, we took a nice break and enjoyed the amazing views of the ice-ladened south face and valleys below. The team continued our hike for a few more hours before reaching camp. All in all, it took only about four hours for us to reach our next camp called Karanga, named for the big and beautiful valley which it overlooks.
We spent the remainder of the day relaxing in our tents as a light drizzle arrived shortly after we did.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew
On The Map
Jambo Everyone
Once again we woke to beautifully clear skies with even better views of
Kilimanjaro since moving up on the mountain. Our morning ritual has been waking around 6:30 and getting everything in our tents packed up before heading into our very spacious dining tent for our breakfast feast. Normally there is fresh fruit, fried eggs, porridge, bacon, and plenty of hot coffee awaiting us, obviously we’re being well taken care of by our gracious staff.
Today our route took us up and around the well known and beautiful Lava Tower reaching just over 15,000', setting a new altitude record for some.
We also passed by many of the giant groundsels and towering Senecio trees that made us feel as if we were in some crazy Dr. Suess story book.
All in all it was a really nice day with clouds gathering in the afternoon to help keep the temperature comfortable for hiking. We are now comfortably set up at Barranco Camp beneath the Great Barranco Wall.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
On The Map
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir September 16 - 21 met in Ashford on a very rainy Sunday for their Technical Training day. With a gear check completed and their backpacks full they left Paradise on Monday with clear skies and sunshine. The team has been at Camp Muir practicing mountaineering skills and enjoying this great weather. Today they got an early alpine start and made their summit attempt.
RMI Guide Brent Okita reported a beautiful morning with no wind as they reached the crater rim of Mt. Rainier around 8:30 AM PT. The team will enjoy some time soaking in the views from the summit before starting their descent to Camp Muir. On mountain training will continue for the group until Friday when they will descend to Paradise and return to Rainier BaseCamp.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Hello again everyone
The team had a really nice day here on Kilimanjaro today, waking to beautifully clear skies and hiking in sunshine all day. We started the day waking at 6:30 to start packing up before moving into our dinning tent for a nice breakfast with porridge, fried eggs, toast, avocado and even some fresh fruit, and most importantly plenty of hot coffee.
We hit the trail shortly after 8am and slowly made our way up the rocky trail with good views of Kili above. The trail climbs up a ridge and eventually out of the trees and allows for some truly spectacular views of the valley below. The team hiked for about four hours before reaching out next camp that sits on Shira plateau, which is an ancient lava flow.
Everyone is doing very well and we are currently relaxing in our tents.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
On The Map
Hello Everyone:
Casey Grom here checking in with RMI's
Kilimanjaro Climb.
All is well here in Tanzania as the team arrived late last night after some very long flights and a very long process getting through immigration. Normally things go pretty smoothly after landing but last night took a little over two hours to get everyone through. Thankfully everyone is accounted for and all of our bags too!
It was a short drive to our Lodge that is nestled in between Arusha and Moshi and not so far from the base of Kilimanjaro. The team had a quick but wonderful dinner and headed for bed as the time change has us all feeling just a little off and we were a little tired after all the traveling.
We had a nice relaxing morning today and had our first official meeting at 10:00 where we did a round of introductions and then discussed the program for the coming days ahead.
The remainder of the day was spent getting our gear packed up, exploring the grounds of our Lodge, which is incredibly peaceful and has monkeys and Dik Dik running around.
See for yourself.
We wrapped up the evening with another delicious meal and plenty of friendly conversations. Everyone is doing well and excited to hit the trail tomorrow and get a little bit of exercise.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew!
Today's
Mt. Rainier Summit Climb teams, which were headed to Camp Muir for their summit attempt tomorrow morning, aborted their climb at 7,700'. As they were ascending, the weather continued to deteriorate. After climbing several hours in the storm, the guides made the call to turn the climb and descend back to Paradise. This afternoon the teams returned safely back to Rainier Basecamp in Ashford.
The
Four Day Summit Climb September 13 - 16 led by
RMI Guides Christina Dale and Chris Ebeling were unable to reach the summit today. The teams left Camp Muir around 1 AM but poor visibility along with increasing winds and precipitation forced them to turn around at 10,800'. They returned safely to Camp Muir and will begin their descent to Paradise this morning. Their climb with conclude this after once they return to Rainier BaseCamp.
The Four Day Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and JM Gorum reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. Brent reported a cold morning, and the team climbed into the a cap, so their time on the summit was brief. The are on the descent and en route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's teams!
The
Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir September 9 - 14 made their summit attempt today. The teams led by
RMI Guides Robby Young and Andy Bond reached the summit around 9:30 AM PT.
The teams spent almost an hour in the crater and enjoying the views. Andy reported cold temperatures and new snow on the route. The team arrived at Camp Muir on Monday and has been training and preparing for the climb. Tonight will be their final night on the mountain. Tomorrow they will return to Paradise and continue to Rainier BaseCamp.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Hello everyone,
Today we headed to
Tarangire National Park know for its abundant elephants, and it didn’t disappoint. There were plenty of elephants around, and we parked on an overlook to watch a large group of them play in the river.
There were lots of giraffes, impalas, monkeys, ostriches, and many others. One of the highlights was seeing three cheetah not too far off just relaxing under a tree.
We are spending our last night here in Africa at Tarangire Balloon Camp, which has beautiful tented rooms with screened windows to allow the sounds of the wild African night in.
Everyone is doing great and we are hoping to see a few more big cats on our way out tomorrow. Then it will be back to our main lodge near Arusha for a brief stop before catching our evening flights home.
Thanks for following,
RMI Casey Grom and the Safari crew
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Helping you breathe from our home elevation of 500’. Good luck on your final ascent. Love the log.
Posted by: Margot/Dick on 9/21/2018 at 11:18 am
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