After a near perfect climb, complete with a very bright full moon and excellent sunrise casting a conical mountain shadow over the plateau below, our team made it safely back to Piedra Grande. There we broke camp and loaded the trucks for our cruise back to Tlachichuca. On our drive down we were able to see our day's work with remarkable clarity. Back in town we got cleaned up and packed before a celebratory dinner at Doctor Reyes' house. Everyone enjoyed a well-deserved rest in the converted factory before one last breakfast in Mexico. Then it was off to Mexico City with views of La Malinche, Ixta and Orizaba along the way. Thanks for a great trip everyone and great job!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Jambo.
Mr. Tucker here at the Mweka Camp. You call breath easier as well as us here at the 10,000’ level. All is going well. We had a big day and looking forward to some great deep sleep in the thick air tonight. We’ll have a quick hike to the gate and then back to the hotel and we’ll drop you a note from there.
Thanks.
Good Show!! Now that you guys are back in thick air, how does it feel to reach your goal? MAy everyone have a great time comming home with your adventure ready to share ... even more than this blog I mean ... thanks for the time to post. See you soon Steve!
Paul
Jambo to all.
Well we did it, all the “Tucklings” to the top. We tried to give a call from the summit but I’ll tell you, it was cold and breezy, and a half battery wasn’t enough, the charge wasn’t there. But I’m back down here as well as the rest of the team at our high camp, Barafu at 15,000’.
We are going to toute suite out of here. I’m going to have to start poking a few of them with my ski pole, to keep them moving. But we’ll get another 5,000’ to descend to the Mweka Camp. Pretty easy to crawl into the bag and here and take a nap. But, the old machine may seize up so I'm going keep pushing them along.
Everybody did just fantastic. Of course there were a few issues here and there and people were challenged. Half of them said it was probably the hardest thing they’ve ever done in their life physically. And the other half, you know they were lying. So, all is well. I'll try and get this iPAQ thing working again and do a dispatch once we get down to Mweka Camp. I appreciate you guys all checking in. Cheers from Kilimanjaro, Uhuru Peak!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker reports on the team's summit day
Hello everybody, this is Jake standing on top of El Pico de Orizaba, in Mexico, third highest point on the North American continent.
We did a great job today. Everybody climbed super well. It’s breezy, a little cold, but we’ve got stellar views in every direction had an amazing moon lit climb, barely needed a headlamp. It was completely ideal.
So, everybody did great and we’ll be checking in, probably late this evening with an update after we head down safely. Thanks for all the support back home and we’ll be talking to you guys soon.
Alright, take care.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
RMI Guide Jake Beren checks in from the summit of Pico de Orizaba
Jambo, this Mark Tucker calling. The electronic equipment up at this high camp just isn’t as strong and resilient as my climbing team so I’m resorting to this voice dispatch. I will read what I have written that wasn’t able to be sent.
Here at high camp, Barafu 15,000’, perfect climbing conditions today some clouds in and out, a sprinkle here and there. Just finished our lunch and had a group meeting discussing tonight’s summit bid. The whole team did great up to here with some reasonable weather.
At midnight we will start our push to the top. For now it’s packing and resting.
If all goes well, at this time tomorrow we will be nearing our final camp, the Mweka camp which is about 5,000’ lower than where we are right now.
So, we will try again tomorrow with this dispatch machine, maybe it’ll behave a little more.
But for now, we’ve got our fingers crossed and we will talk to you later.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
RMI Guide Mark Tucker checks in from high camp on Kilimanjaro
After a great rest day in scenic Puebla, our team traveled to Tlachichuca to get ready for our attempt of Pico de Orizaba. We exploded our gear in the 200-year old courtyard of our host and outfitter, Dr. Reyes. Once a soap factory, now climber's hostel, his lovely compound is now the launching pad for most climbers trying Orizaba.
After repacking our climbing gear, we sat down to a great lunch, then boarded our truck with full bellies and drove to Piedra Grande. At Piedra Grande, we set up camp and had another big meal before turning in to catch a few zzz's. We'll wake up in a few hours and give this "mountain of stars" a shot under a full moon. If all goes well, we'll send a shout from the top. Buenas noches and cross your fingers for us!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Beautiful moon rise last night and a perfect morning. Slow roll out of camp, to tackle the infamous Barranco wall. About a half hour section of rock scramble that is more fun than fear, and we got some great photos. We did have to deal with some rain en route to Karanga Camp but we just had a solid hour of sunshine and most of the gear is back in good shape.
Some comments from the team:
Nate- Climb, Hike, Win...Aim High-Kili High
Will- Climb is going well, talk soon
Gary- Hi Vicky and girls, all having fun at wet Kili
Steve- Hi from Kili. Everything is POA {cool} ! On top Sunday !
Jan- Endlich mal Schnee auf dem Kili
Dave W.- Great adventure, fun people ! I hope there is beer at the top otherwise why are we doing this ?
Bob- Enjoy everyday on Mt. Areebaaa ! Missing everybody and you to Indy.
Tuck- thanks for all the support
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker and the RMI KILI Team
Bob.. Sorry spell check… Loven YOU to the top and back a trillion times.. Toot Toot ... Note to self, put glasses on before typing early in the morning. :) Jefferson says he is so excited for you.
Posted by: debbie on 2/19/2011 at 5:54 am
Bob…. Loven tou to the top and back a trillion times.. Toot Toot oh Indy to
We wanted to let you all know that we made it to Mendoza! Got to Punta de Vacas around 1pm today, a couple hours in Penitentes, and then the van ride down here. Headed out shortly for our first big dinner off the mountain!
Hope all is well and we'll be in touch. Ciao.
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
Jambo!
We set new altitude records for many team members today when reaching 14,750' on Kilimanjaro!
Too often climbers seem to decide how they are going to feel at a certain altitude in advance. Today the team climbed steady and before we knew it we were standing at 14,750' and everyone was feeling great.
From about 13,000' to the high point there was about 4 to 6 inches of snow. We were fortunate to stay dry as we hiked up the Shira Platuea to our new camp at Barranco but once in camp the rains began. The rain has stopped now, we are all in good shape and getting ready for a hot dinner.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
It is amazing to think that this morning our team watched the sun rise from the summit ridge of Ixta. We climbed strong today, up the moraines and rock leading up to the Ayoloco Glacier that is the "White Woman's" last major snow veil. There we gained the ridge as the the waxing gibbous moon set to our left and we waited for the sun to warm us from the right. It was a great climb and everyone should be proud of a job well (and safely) done.
Back at camp we enjoyed an early morning nap and packed up for the walk out. Pretty solid amount of activity before 11 am. We made it out over rock fields and steep grassy slopes, crossing pastureland before hopping in the vans and heading to Puebla. On our drive through the back roads of Paso Cortes, Cholula and Puebla gave us great views of smoking Popo (Ixta's warrior Romeo) and many angles of the lady herself. Quite a treat to drive through the lights we looked down on a few hours before on our way to hot showers and a triumphant meal in our new home for a day.
Tomorrow we will recuperate and relax in the historic colonial town of Puebla, and reconvene for dinner to recount our day's adventures to the team. Then it's off to get in position for our chance on Pico de Orizaba, rested and ready.
Wish us luck amigos,
RMI Guide Jake Beren
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Hey everyone, Great job - You are all awesome!Thanks to Jake for keeping us posted along the way. Safe travels home.
Posted by: Deb on 2/20/2011 at 6:51 pm
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