Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Hi this is Seth. Today we did a dry run for our climb by heading up to Ingraham Flats this morning. The wind was blowing us around a bit but at least the sun was still out. After spending an hour at 'The Flats' we dropped down onto the Cowlitz Glacier for a round of
crevasse rescue training. The crevasse that we picked out was great and everyone was brave enough to go down in it. Now we're relaxing for the evening. Tonight we climb!
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
We were greeted by crystal clear skies this morning which allowed some amazing views of
Kilimanjaro and the route ahead. The team did a great job this morning getting packed up and hitting the trail after a breakfast full of fresh bread, fresh fruits and fried eggs. Not to mention the 10 hours of sleep we had!
The trail out of camp slowly climbed out of the forest and up onto the Shira Plateau. We watched in amazement as the porters moved past us with ease while balancing loads on their heads. Our crew certainly out did themselves by having prepared another feast for lunch about half way up the climb. It was a nice surprise to arrive at lunch with the tables and chairs waiting on us.
It took us about five hours to reach our next camp on the plateau and again camp was set up and our group was happily awaiting our arrival.
Needless to say the team had a wonderful day and everyone is doing great. We will rest here at 12,200' for the night to help with acclimatization and will head up again tomorrow morning.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
The
Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir is on our third day of the program and our second day on the mountain. After a great day of training at Rainier BaseCamp on Sunday, we spent most of the day yesterday getting up to Camp Muir and today we are launching into our training. The weather has been great so far and it's supposed to hold for the week. We're psyched for that. Here's a pic of
Senior Guide Lindsay Mann teaching ice axe arrest.
We'll check in again soon.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Time to climb!
We left the Dik Dik hotel early today and headed to
Kilimanjaro. We passed many tea, coffee, and banana plantations before we arrived at the southern gate called the Machame gate. Which is also the name of the route we will be climbing. Our team checked in with the local agency that manages the climbs, while our local guides hired porters and split up the 60+ loads that will follow us up the mountain.
We hiked through soaring rainforest and giant heather in route to our camp for the night. It took us just over four hours to reach camp, where we were delighted to find camp already waiting on us.
The staff provided yet another amazing meal for the team and we were even fortunate enough to glimpse a view of the "Roof of Africa" right after dinner.
Everyone is in great spirits and are looking forward to some well earned sleep.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Hello everyone,
RMI’s
Kilimanjaro expedition is underway.
The team members arrived late last night after some very long flights, two back to back 9 hour legs to be precise. Needless to say we didn’t do much other than check into our hotel and head to bed.
We started today off with a team meeting/orientation to the program and gear check. After getting to know one another a bit we explored the beautiful grounds of the Dik Dik Hotel, which was teaming with monkeys and exotic birds and some views of the surrounding mountains.
The team had a nice lunch then headed off to visit the nearest town of Arusha, a bustling city of about 1.2 million people. Its a diverse culture made up of Christians, Muslims and local tribes people from the Chagga and Masai.
We had a quick stop off at the local grocery store called Shop Rite to pick up a few last snacks, then visited the local cultural museum. We also picked up a few umbrellas to protect us from any rain that might try and dampen our spirits on tomorrows trek.
Last but not least we finished up the night with a delicious five course meal that left everyone with a smile on their face.
Just a few last minute touches on packing and its off to bed.
Everyone is doing great and we are very excited for tomorrow's start to this grand adventure.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
The Four Day Summit Climb led by Tyler Reid and the Five Day Summit Climb led by Zeb Blais were on top of
Mt. Rainier this morning in blue skies, light winds, and some smoky haze due to wildfires burning around Washington. Both teams started their descent from the crater rim just after 8 a.m. They will check in with us from Camp Muir before descending to Paradise.
Day 2 of Mountain Fest is here at Rainier Basecamp. Check out the mountain gear sale,
RMI Guide slideshows, and stop by the RMI tent to enter in our raffle to win a free summit climb!
The
Four Day Summit Climb September 12 - 15 led by
RMI Guide Billy Nugent reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The team reported calm winds and cold temperatures with high cirrus clouds above. Shortly after 9 am PT they began their descent from the crater rim. They will return to Camp Muir and then continue down to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them in Ashford later today.
Congratulations to today's summit climbers!
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir stood on top of Mt. Rainier today! RMI Guide Jake Beren called in at noon to say they were starting their descent back to
Camp Muir. The team has been based out of the 10,000' high camp all week learning many mountaineering skills to help them achieve their goal of reaching the
Mt. Rainier summit. They have also learned more advanced skills to go on to summit bigger peaks, such as
Mt. McKinley in Alaska or
Mt. Elbrus in Russia. The seminar team will stay on the mountain tonight and descend to Paradise tomorrow.
Congratulations to the summit climbers!
A climber from Mark Tucker's
Kilimanjaro Climb, Mike Wyatt, composed the following poem about his summit day.
BLUE SNOW by Mike Wyatt
The air is cold, burns the lungs deep – Wish I was in bed fast asleep.
Obsidian night – Black as a raven feather.
Buttery crescent moon shepherds in good weather.
Heavy limbs fight the rocky slope – Trekkers tied by an invisible rope.
The echo of fatigue resonates down the line – Fiery meteorite the color of red wine.
The air is cold, burns the lungs deep – Wish I was in bed fast asleep.
Blindly pushing forward, we pass another team – What is reality? What is a dream?
Summiteers from years past whisper in my ear – not give in, for the peak is near.
I chase the heels before me repeatedly catching my breath – One unconscious slip could mean injury or death.
Tangerine pink color accent the sky – It’s pure silent beauty is no lie.
The crater rim now in sight – Ebullient hikers descend in weary flight.
Icy dry wind burns my face – Tired scarred boots don’t leave a trace.
The air still cold burns the lungs deep – I’m glad I am not in bed fast asleep.
For the glacier’s blue snow is still cold, hard and deep.
At 9:30am the
Four Day Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides
Billy Nugent and
Geoff Schellens we descending from the crater rim. They reported 60+ mph winds on the summit. The teams are making their descent back to Camp Muir and will be back in Ashford late the afternoon.
The
Expedition Skills Seminar – Muir is beginning their ascent to Camp Muir where they will spend the week training.
Congratulations to today's summit climb teams and good luck to the Expedition Skills Seminar!
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Hi mom & dad! I miss you guys but i am having a great time with Kara! She has shown me your pictures and they look amazing! Kara Has taken me on a lot of walks and I get to sleep on her bed with her!! I miss u guys but I’m hiking bull run with Kara this weekend so it’s pretty much the same thing hehe hope you are having a fantastic time :)
Love your darling dog jake!
Posted by: Jake Mountain on 9/19/2012 at 7:25 pm
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