The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Solveig Waterfall reached the summit of Mt. Rainier and are now on the descent. Brent reported clear and beautiful skies with winds of about 25 mph.
Congratulations today's team!
This is Mike checking for the last time. The Team finished the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu today and we're fortunate to see the sunrise over the Citadel from the Sun Gate.
It is always a bit of a culture shock when you have spent 5 days hiking in the remoteness of the Andes and arrive at Machu Picchu where some 3000 people visit each day. Today was a light traffic day and we enjoyed a 2 hour tour of the highlights. The scale and shear amount of earth moved leaves people speechless.
The Team is currently at the hotel and enjoying some rest after a hot shower. They will have tomorrow morning to visit the site before we catch our train back to Cusco via the Urambamba River valley and high plateaus. Our trip will culminate with 1 last day seeing some more Incan sites around Cusco. Thanks for following along and RMI's next Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu is July 2018, come join us!
Hey! Dave Hahn & Team calling from the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro! We are at Uhuru 19,340'. We got up here at 6:49 in the morning, nine of our ten climbers. Everybody is doing really well, everybody is happy and healthy. It is an absolutely beautiful morning. It is way clear above us, and it's way clear down below to about 4,000' and then there's a sea of clouds below us. It is a really great day up here. We're going to do a dispatch when we are back to our camps to let you know we are all safe. Bye now!
Sunday, September 10th 10:57am PST
Greetings from Mweka Camp, down at 10,000 ft, down in the forest, down from the summit of Kilimanjaro.
We got walking out of high camp at just after midnight on a perfect night for climbing. It was clear, calm, moonlit and sparkling with stars. As expected, things got progressively colder as we got farther up the hill and into the night/morning. We kept adding clothing and tried our best to keep moving. Eventually, a good chunk of the team had "everything" on and the sun was still hours away. We might have stressed over the cold, but the altitude was kicking in with new stresses with every step higher. The entire team surpassed previous personal altitude records today, so it was very much a voyage of discovery. We hit Stella Point on the crater rim just before 6 AM and caught a magnificent sunrise when we were part way to Uhuru -the true summit. We tagged the top at 6:45, spent a glorious 30 minutes up there... surprised to be in perfectly comfortable temps already. The descent to Barafu took three hours, and we commenced our further descent to Mweka at 12:15, reaching this delightfully low camp at 3:45. All are safe.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team
RMI Guide Dave Hahn calling in from summit of Kilimanjaro.
Curt, Syd and Carol, Congratulations! What an accomplishment! Cannot wait to hear the stories! Travel down safe, and revel in your amazing journey…
Posted by: Judy Gadlage on 9/11/2017 at 6:05 am
Congratulations to the entire team! What an awesome accomplishment! Curt, I shared your journey with your classmates from RBHS at last night’s reunion. We’re all incredibly proud of you!
Posted by: Marilyn Blunier Ott on 9/10/2017 at 10:04 pm
The Four Day Summit Climb Team led by RMI Guides Pete VanDeventer and Andy Bond reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Pete reported winds of about 40 mph, but clear skies as they climbed above the marine layer. The team has started their descent and are en-route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's team!
We are at WinayWayna 8,700' for the night. Today the Team enjoyed some spectacular views of the high glaciated Andes juxtaposed against the semi-tropical orchids and song birds.
Our campsite is located near an incredible Incan ruin that has a series of 10 fountains and more terracing. The Team has been in awe of the manpower and resources needed to build let alone maintain this network of trails and sites that stretch from Ecuador to Northern Argentina.
Tomorrow morning we will get an early start in hopes of catching the sunrise as we walk into Machu Picchu.
RMI Guide Mike King
We began and ended the day far above a sea of clouds. But of course, our end to the day was farther still above the clouds, since we are now at 15,200 ft. High Camp. Last night's camp -Karanga- was kind to us. It was calm and quiet through the night and into our 8 AM breakfast. We were on the road to Barafu -the "Ice" camp, before nine and into our new digs by about noon. There were no longer any pretty plants to linger over as we've entered the Alpine zone. We concentrated on the steady walking and breathing techniques that we'll employ tomorrow. The afternoon was spent in strategizing our summit bid and streamlining our packs. We rested and ate and ate some more before turning in early. Most could not resist staying up for the sunset though as the big ball of fire sank into clouds between Mt. Meru in the distance and Kibo up close. We are ready for an early start and a big day tomorrow.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Don and Jennifer, it’s been so great to follow along on your incredible adventure. You are both rock stars.
Posted by: Tina Mooney on 9/9/2017 at 7:42 pm
I am so proud to call Naomi my Friend and Sista. I’m so excited for you. The pictures and blog have been amazing and inspirational (emotional). Fair Winds, TeamKili. Keep your minds in the trail and all will be well. The Celebration is already starting for your great success. Cheers & Hugs
The Four Day Summit Climb September 6 - 9 teams led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Robby Young reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The guides reported winds along the crater rim but calm conditions for the lower elevations. The teams starter their descent from the crater rim around 7:30 am en route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams!
We have not had many blue skies this trip and today was no exception. The morning provided some great views of the glaciated mountains in the distance as we climbed up Warmi Huanusca Pass at 13,600'. The rain set in and would come and go as the Team go closer to the cloud forest after climbing the second pass of the day named Runkurakay 13,022'.
Today we will join a slew of people hiking the Inca Trail, the team has enjoyed the last 4 days in relative solitude. We took in a few Incan ruins and some members continued to document the floral and avian life that this part of the world offers. Some just took in the views provided when the rain would stop and clouds would lift while figuring out a sequence of ascending and descending the wet Incan steps.
Everyone is doing well, resting in their tents at Chaquicocha 9,900' and looking forward to the ruins at WinayWayna and Machu Picchu in the coming days.
RMI Guide Mike King
We were treated to a perfect night and morning at Barranco Camp. The lights of Moshi twinkled far below, the hanging glaciers and ice fields of Kibo glowed in moonlight above us. We slept in 'til a leisurely breakfast at eight. We walked out of camp just before 9:00 as cumulus clouds began to form up. Within just a few minutes we were out of the gardens and streams of the valley and coming to grips with the great Barranco Wall. With great help from our guides -James, Freddy, Patric, Venance and Philibert, we negotiated the ledges and cliffs. We pulled ourselves up to new ledges and found nooks and crannies for the feet. We squeezed through gaps in the lava and avoided loose and rolling rocks. The wall eased into steep hiking in places, but there were always a few more scrambly bits mixed in. We topped out near 14,000 ft in a little less than two hours. By then the clouds were hiding Kibo and almost everything but our immediate surroundings. We walked down into the next shallow valley and across a few more divides to get to the steeply cut Karanga Valley. Some careful and dusty steps were required to get us down one side and up the other to our new camp on the far rim. Karanga Camp sits at 13,160 ft which isn't too much of a gain over our last camp, so we'll hope for a night relatively free of altitude-associated discomforts. The clouds stuck with us through the afternoon and evening, but of course that didn't prevent us from lounging about and enjoying a couple more excellent meals from Tosha, our climbing chef extraordinaire.
The views will keep until tomorrow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Dave,
Thank you for providing these daily updates. i get up every morning in Cincinnati and read about the events of the day before….then I read your update to anyone else who will listen. Great fun to enjoy a vicarious adventure with detail and pictures and commentary from an expert.
Seeing new and exotic places is a lifelong passion but I could never do what you and your climbers are doing…..a thousand loud cheers…
My Best,
Judy Van Ginkel (Jennifer’s mother)
Posted by: judy van ginkel on 9/9/2017 at 9:17 am
Way to go Curt, Carol and Syd!! Getting close, looks amazing!
RMI Guides Tyler Jones and Jess Matthews led their Four Day Summit Climb September 5-8 to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The winds are light but there is a cloud cap near the summit. The teams began their descent from the crater rim at 7:15 en route to Camp Muir. They will continue their descent to Paradise later today.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climbers!
I man’s reach should exceed his grasp or what’s a mountain for!
Neil, I’m awed by what you are doing, but I won’t be happy till I know you are back on terra firma.
Much love.
Posted by: Marilyn Chapman on 9/9/2017 at 5:58 am
We are proud of you. Want to hear all about it.
Bible Isaiah 55:12 “for you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you.”
Posted by: Larry and Virgie Henry on 9/8/2017 at 10:55 am
Curt, Syd and Carol, Congratulations! What an accomplishment! Cannot wait to hear the stories! Travel down safe, and revel in your amazing journey…
Posted by: Judy Gadlage on 9/11/2017 at 6:05 am
Congratulations to the entire team! What an awesome accomplishment! Curt, I shared your journey with your classmates from RBHS at last night’s reunion. We’re all incredibly proud of you!
Posted by: Marilyn Blunier Ott on 9/10/2017 at 10:04 pm
View All Comments