Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Posted by:
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Team Orlando was in full safari mode as we explored the Ngorongoro Crater and all the wildlife and beauty it had to offer. We visited a Maasai Mara village to learn the great history and culture of such a strong and beautiful people.
RMI Guide JJ Justman & Team
Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hey, this is Seth. We are all headed to the airport to catch our flights home. We've had a great trip and today was no exception. In the morning, as we returned through Tarangire National Park, we got very lucky and saw two leopards . It was a great cap on what had already been a wonderful trip. Everyone is excited to go home but we all wish we could be on safari forever!
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
RMI Guide Brent Okita and the Four Day Summit Climb reached Columbia Crest, the highest point on Mt. Rainier and in Washington State this morning. Brent reported gorgeous weather and an improved route. The team will spend some time on the summit before beginning their descent to Camp Muir. At Camp Muir the team will rest and repack before continuing their descent. We look forward to seeing them in Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations climbers!
A nice rest day here in Puebla. Beautiful morning to wander around and get the pulse of this historic part of Mexico. We are still at about 7,000 ft, what an nice way to acclimatize. Great food all over here in old town. Add in a bit of sightseeing in some old cathedrals, some more shopping and let's not forget the siesta. We will be in great shape for our summit bid on Orizaba tomorrow night.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hello from Kikoti Camp. We have just finished a wonderful evening around the fire pit complete with Maasai dancing and a BBQ dinner. Kikoti is am amazing place to finish our trip. Today we toured Tarangire National Park and it didn't disappoint. We were extremely close to elephants and giraffes and we got lucky and spotted a pride of lions lounging in the shade if a tree. The best thing about Tarangire though us the sheer number of animals. It was pretty much non stop the whole time. The talk at dinner was about how much fun the trip has been and that's because this group has really made it non stop laughs the whole time.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall & Team
Thank you for the updates and leading the team, Seth. Hope everyone has a safe trip home. We can’t wait to hear the stories!
Posted by: Anne Coats on 8/15/2015 at 5:49 pm
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Team Orlando just enjoyed their first day of our African safari! We spent the day with camera in hand watching elephants, zebras, hippos and much much more! I really would like to write more to describe everything but I'm going to be selfish...because Africa is Awesome! I'm outta here because I'm going to join the team in a glass of wine while we watch the sunset at the Plantation Lodge.
RMI Guide JJ Justman & Team
I’m so jealous! What a beautiful experience for all. So exciting!
Love to Thom and Kara.
Posted by: Judy Heinchon on 8/15/2015 at 12:36 pm
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Zeb Blais
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 12,800'
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Zeb Blais guided their Four Day Summit Climb teams to Camp Comfort (12,800 ft) on Mt. Rainier before route conditions forced the teams to turn. The teams are descending to Camp Muir to rest and repack before continuing their descent to Paradise. We look forward to welcoming the teams back in Ashford later today.
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
We are down in the beautiful city of Puebla today. The team and I had a great time on Ixta. What a sight to wake up to the neighbor mountain, Popo, venting a lot of steam from it's top on a crystal clear morning. No wonder it has been closed to climbing for years now. We spent part of the morning packing up so we would not have to return to the hut after skills training. Fun day getting to practice the nuts and bolts for the climb ahead on Orizaba- crampons, ice axe, and rope training were the featured program for the day. So fun to see the enthusiasm when you pull out and put on this type of hardware. The team did well adapting to some new toys and techniques. I feel that they all performed to a high enough standard that I would be willing to rope up with any one of them. It is a special bond up here in the mountains that can happen very quickly.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
RMI Guide JJ Justman checked in from the DikDik in Arusha. Team Orlando is off the mountain and celebrated their successful summit of Kilimanjaro by swimming in the hotel pool and enjoying live music.
Tomorrow the team heads to Lake Manyara for their first day on safari.
Posted by:
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Greetings from the beautiful Plantation Lodge. We have just returned from a great day of safari. We started off early and visited a Maasai village before descending into Ngorongoro Crater. It was a little cloudy on the rim of the crater but once we were inside the sun came out. The temps were a little cool which I always think is good for seeing lions and sure enough about 15 minutes after we arrived we saw our first lion, a female. She quickly grouped up with several others in her pride. The rest of the day was packed with tons of other animals and we even got to see a black rhino from a distance. It's always great to see that elusive beast.
Tomorrow we are off to Tarangire National Park and Kikoti Camp. I'll check in then.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Almost didn’t see the hippos. You were so close!!
And the gazelle with zebra herd.. amazing shots.
Nice to see the group photo!
Posted by: Andrea/ Mom on 8/15/2015 at 1:09 pm
Way to go! So excited for you!!!
Posted by: Paige on 8/16/2015 at 11:56 am
Great achievement ! Come to Colorado- w have 54 fourteeners!
Go Craig!
Posted by: Beth on 8/16/2015 at 11:13 am
View All Comments