Mark Tucker checking in from High Camp, Kilimanjaro. It is very breezy but hopefully that will change. We are in clear skies. We have a sea of clouds below us. The route looks like it's in pretty good shape. May need a little bit of luck with the weather. The team is all together up here. And you know, we're doing okay. There is the typical this, that and the other thing, but so far so good. So we got our fingers crossed and we have a great group of support team with our local staffing and an early, early dinner. The sun is just setting or we're gonna crawl into the tents for a 5-hour nap and then we're gonna hop on up and get goin'. Hopefully the next call will be from the summit, if I get the chance. So we will be checking in sooner than later. Thanks for checking in with us as well.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Mitch/Dad and Dion: We knew you would go great things!! We are very happy for you both. Can’t wait to hear stories and see photos. Woots & Dubs!! Connie, Kirby & Mac, Blaire, Scott
Posted by: Connie Barnhart on 7/29/2012 at 5:57 pm
Love You All Very Much Glad you made it this far with hopfully minor things Be safe going down Can’t wait for your safe trip home Mom & Dad I know your all in Gods hands
I don't mean to brag. I don't mean to boast. I like jelly on my breakfast toast and I also like every team member on the summit of Mt. Elbrus, which is where we are right now and I'll tell you what, the team did a fantastic job today. We have beautiful weather. About a 15 mph wind on top to keep us cool. But I'll tell you what the team hung in there, it was a long day climbing and everyone has their feet on the summit, up here on Europe's highest mountain, Mt. Elbrus. Thank you guys so much for following along and we will touch base with you when we get down. We still have a little bit of work to do so we're drinking some water, eating a little snack, and take some photos, and then we're gonna do the really kind of the hardest part to be honest, which is getting down but everyone is doing fantastic. We'll touch base with all of you later. Ciao from Russia.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
RMI Guides Win Whittaker and Seth Waterfall topped Mt. Rainier in very calm winds and beautiful skies. The teams checked in at 7:15 a.m. and had already began their descent from the crater rim. With the cloud layer just below Paradise, they have been enjoying the view since sunrise and the weather should stay in their favor as the sun continues to shine upon them.
Congratulations to today's teams!
Today is our rest day in final preparation for our summit attempt of Mt. Elbrus. To fight the boredom we spent some time this morning going over some mountaineering techniques. Some of the team are putting the finishing touches on our summit packs while others are relaxing watching the movie "Step Brothers".
We received an updated weather forecast and it has remained the same. Tonight and tomorrow is calling for clear skies with increasing clouds mid day. Basically, the weather has me smiling. So keep your fingers crossed and wish us luck. The team is doing great and we will give a call from the summit.
RMI Guide J.J. Justman
JJ checks in as the team prepares to start their summit bid.
Mark Tucker checking in from Mt. Kilimanjaro 12,826’ at Karanga Camp. We had an ascent of the Barranco Wall today. More fun than fear. We have some great photos, that I can’t wait to see. The Karanga Camp is situation a bit on a hillside so we had to get creative with our extra clothing to buffer up some of the slope. Hopefully, it is not going to take away from a good night’s rest. Everybody is pretty fired up for, really the start of the ascent, tomorrow morning. We will move up to our high camp, spend a few hours of rest and then begin our climb tomorrow evening, early, early morning.
We experienced intermittent clouds and a high of about 65 degrees today, cool, but not bad, reasonable weather. We have a good view of the upper mountain from our camp here right now. At times in the clouds, but a bright half moon above us and the team is doing well. Wishing you were all here. Maybe next time.
We’ll check in tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
RMI Guide Mark Tucker checks in from Karanga Camp on Kilimanjaro.
Hello!
Mark Tucker checking in from the Barranco Camp, situated at 12,992’ on Mt. Kilimanjaro. We had great conditions for our hike today. Sunny and a little bit of clouds down in the low lands. Our conditions were just perfect. Everyone on the team, except for myself, had record breaking altitudes. We got up to 15,272’ was our high point and then descended back to his camp at 12,900’.
It is a wonderful night out. A little breezy, clear and lots of stars. A half moon is illuminating quite a bit of snow cover up there on the summit, not the true summit but up to about 18,500’. A really pretty night tonight, that we are all enjoying.
We had a birthday celebration, one of our team members Carlos, turned 50 today. So, we had a cake, candles and the local staff did a sing-song and a beautiful red-rose covered card all signed by the team. He had quite a day.
We are staring at the Barranco Wall which is our challenge in the morning. It is more intimidating than the actual effort it takes to climb it. It is usually one of the more fun parts of the whole climb. [Call connection lost]
Well, checking back in had a dropped call there. On a satellite phone here so sometimes it does that.
The team wanted to give a shout out a big “hello” to everyone back home. Everyone is doing just fine. Rumor has it there have been some comments made to the Blog site which we are unable to check. But we look forward to taking a look at them when we get back to some computer access. Much appreciated by everybody sending their best wishes. Thanks for following. We will be in touch.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
RMI Guide Mark Tucker checks in from Barranco Camp on Kilimanjaro.
RMI Guides Peter Whittaker and Ed Viesturs led a team of climbers to the summit of Mt. Rainier morning. The Four Day Summit Climb July 23 - 26 led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Lindsey Mann also reached the top today.
Both teams reported light winds and a beautiful day. The climbers will descend to Camp Muir and then continue down to Paradise later this afternoon.
In the North Cascades, RMI Guides Andres Marin, Eric Frank and Geoff Schellens led their team to the summit of Forbidden Peak. All team members reached the summit yesterday. They will break camp and descend to the trail head today.
Congratulations to the summit teams!
We are back from our acclimatization to 15,165 feet on Mt. Elbrus. The team got a closer look at the route. And more importantly, they were able to work out some of the nervous jitters that come from the unknown.
Today's climbing up to Pastuhkova Rocks is very similar to the climbing we will face on summit day. The slopes aren't flat but they are also not overly steep. Nice and relaxed is how I'd define them...just like our team.
Speaking of our team, they are doing fantastic. Everyone is working well together which should make summit day safer, more successful and more fun.
We are back at our camp relaxing in the sunshine. Tomorrow is our rest day. However, we will check in and give you an update on what the weather has in store for us on our summit day, which should be Saturday.
RMI Guide J.J. Justman
Hi Keri Bear and Allen! The big day is around the corner. Will be with you and your group, sending prayers and positive thoughts! Keri, be safe, have fun and take in “the moment” for your accomplishment! Summit Day…............YEA!!! Love, Mama xoxo
Posted by: Rosemary Wallin on 7/27/2012 at 7:55 am
Mark Tucker checking in from the Shira Plateau Camp at 12,500’ on Kilimanjaro. The high today was about 80 degrees and mostly clear skies. There were some cloud layers below but it has mostly cleared out and there are beautiful views of the mountain most of the day.
This evening the crescent moon was illuminating the southern and northern ice fields. It’s been a fabulous night and we had a great dinner. The team is doing well and having so much fun. Wishing you were all here.
We are in the area of one of the three principal volcanoes that make up Kilimanjaro. The Shira Plateau has a bunch of parasitic cones that we are all staring at and getting some great pictures of.
We are looking forward to a big day tomorrow to hit a high point of over 15,500’ feet and then we’ll drop back down to the Barranco Camp which will be situated at about 15,000’. So, we have our work cut out for us but it will be good. We’ll be just fine and will check in tomorrow when possible.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
RMI Guide Mark Tucker checks in from Shira Plateau on Kilimanjaro
Mitch/Dad and Dion: We knew you would go great things!! We are very happy for you both. Can’t wait to hear stories and see photos. Woots & Dubs!! Connie, Kirby & Mac, Blaire, Scott
Posted by: Connie Barnhart on 7/29/2012 at 5:57 pm
Love You All Very Much Glad you made it this far with hopfully minor things Be safe going down Can’t wait for your safe trip home Mom & Dad I know your all in Gods hands
Posted by: mom & dad on 7/29/2012 at 4:11 pm
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