Entries from Expedition Dispatches
After a night of distant thunder and periodic power outages, it was a bit of a surprise to wake to relatively calm weather and clearing skies. The team was ready for a 6:30 breakfast and had no trouble making our planned 7:30 departure from the Dik Dik. But more than one person was heard saying how comfortable the place was and what a shame that we actually had to leave such comfort. These thoughts faded quickly as we loaded into the big green Mercedes Benz expedition truck/bus and started heading East toward our mountain. The skies kept clearing as we moved down the highway, giving us some great views of Kilimanjaro. Two hours got us to the Machame Gate of the national park... the end of the road. We got out and got our permitting chores finished as our local guides figured out staffing and Porter loads. Then we got to the good part. We set out walking. We pushed upward from about 60,00 ft through jungle and tall forest. We'd found cloud cover again, but that just protected us from the sun and we didn't mind a little mist and murk. Six hours of slow, steady work took us from the zone of big trees to the land of giant heather. At almost 10,000 ft we walked into a perfectly built camp -our staff had carried more than us, walked faster, and had enough time left over to get camp all ready for our arrival. We were humbled but happy to crawl into tents. Just in time, as it turned out, since the rain began the moment we did so. Still, it was comfortable sipping tea before dinner in our dry dining tent. We had a fine meal and retired to our tents, pleasantly tired and happy to finally be on our mountain.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
We got up this morning, had a nice breakfast, and departed from Cheget to begin our climb. A quick ten or so minute drive brought us up to Azau, which apparently means something along the lines of "end of the road," where we schlepped all of our gear onto the tram system which eventually brought us up to our home for the next few days. Our camp up here at "The Barrels" is cozy but nice and we've been enjoying the great food from our two Russian cooks Masha and Dasha. Even in the midst of today's shuffle we were able to sneak in a nice hike for a couple hours that brought us up to nearly 14,000'. The weather is looking promising and we're looking forward to another acclimatization tomorrow that should take us even higher on the mountain.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
Way to go, Brian (Parky) and the whole team. Looking happy and strong.
Judi
Posted by: Judi Sarafin on 8/9/2016 at 2:50 pm
Hi James,
It has been great to follow daily and see photos of you and team looking good.
Good-luck and safe climbing to the summit! Love, mom & dad
Posted by: Soonja Choo on 8/9/2016 at 12:31 pm
Posted by: Geoff Schellens
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons led by RMI Guide Geoff Schellens did not have the weather window they hoped for last night and were unable to make a summit attempt. Geoff reported that there was about 6 inches of fresh snow on the route. The team will be finishing out their week training on many alpine mountaineering skills before heading back to Rainier Basecamp tomorrow afternoon.
Congratulations to the Emmons Team!
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Brent Okita reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Brent and team were above the clouds with clear skies. The started their descent at 7:45 am and are on their way back to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's team!
Posted by: Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Rain, early bus ride and some sore legs were the deciding factors to hangout this morning in Aquas Calientes instead of heading up to hike Machu Picchu mountain.
The team will pack up and take a 3:30 train back to Cusco. This will be our final dispatch of what has been an incredible trek through beautiful mountains, culminating in a nice day at Machu Picchu!
Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
Posted by: Zeb Blais, Chase Nelson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 14,600'
Today was the most fun I've ever had acclimatizing. The team was feeling good and moving well as we made our way up to the crystal clear waters of Laguna Churup.
The lake sits at 14,600' and is a perfect day hike to get some altitude in before we move to our base camp in the Ishinca Valley. When we arrived we couldn't resist the glacial-fed emerald pool. Within a few minutes most of the team was fully submerged and paddling as hard as they could to get back on shore. The water temperature was... Refreshing.
Pictured here from left to right are Chase, John, Sarah and Steve.
This inspired group of adventurers is back in Huaraz, packed up and ready to head into base camp tomorrow. Can't wait to get climbing!
Until then,
RMI Guide Zeb Blais and team
What a beautiful color the water is! Nothing better than taking a cold plunge to get more oxygen. Sending blessings to all as you get started on this adventure. Looking forward to the updates as this story is created.
Posted by: Debbie Z. on 8/9/2016 at 7:18 am
Well done all! Looks like great conditions. Enjoy the cold water and the big adventure.
Posted by: Dan Foster on 8/9/2016 at 4:11 am
Inside information, while illegal on Wall Street, totally ligit on the Inca Trail. We got up at 2:30am so we would be first in line to enter the trail leading to Machu Picchu when the gates opened at 5:30am. While we waited some Team members slept, relaxed and 4 of us continued a best of four Hearts game on top of a backpack.
With a little under an hour of walking to the site, we cruised through the "Gringo Killer", a 60 degree 50 Incan step section just prior to the Sun Gate. No Gringos were harmed in the filming of this section. The Team enjoyed an amazing sunrise across the cloud forest and in Machu Picchu.
In total we spent 2 hours walking around the immense complex. Listening to our local interpretive guides, Erick and Winder as they described what we were seeing. The Team was shocked at the shear size of the stone work and numbers of people who had arrived via bus.
While a trip like this can be about the destination, we all agreed the last 5 days on the Salkantay/Inca trail was more about the journey; consiting of remote valleys, Andean vista's and a variety of Incan sites.
We are back in Aquas Calientes, showered and resting. Thanks for following along and we will return to Cusco tomorrow evening for departure flights on Wednesday.
After a quick chairlift bump up from the valley we went for a great training/acclimatization hike today up to over 11,000'. Last night was full of thunder, lightning, and steady rain and had me worrying in bed that today would be a drencher. But low and behold, the skies eased off and we enjoyed high overcast skies with some beautiful views of the mountains around us and near perfect hiking temps. The team moved well and even handled some light rock scrambling with ease. Cap it off with a nice lunch and I'd chalk it up as a success. Now we're spending the afternoon handling last minute details before we head up on the mountain tomorrow.
Talk tomorrow,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent & Team
Super fond of Don Cash and proud to be his wife!!Good luck to Jeff and Joe as well! Summit #3! Mo
Posted by: monette on 8/9/2016 at 3:59 am
Beautiful pictures!! We’re following you with amazement Sue!! Have fun & have a great climb!
Posted by: Laura Thompson on 8/8/2016 at 9:20 pm
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Out here in Arusha today it was a little cloudy and sometimes rainy. So we didn't get the high "water tower" view of Kilimanjaro that the Dik Dik hotel is known for, although some of our team ventured about five stories up the steel structure just to check. We had the garden-like grounds of the hotel pretty much to ourselves as we discussed the Kilimanjaro climb and the steps that needed to be taken before departure. We went through gear and clothing and made a few key introductions of personnel from our excellent local staff. Then it was time for getting packed... figuring out what goes on the mountain and what stays at the Dik Dik. This important chore done, the team had ample time to nap, read and recover from endless airporting and frequent flying. We ended the day with some heavier rain showers and a sumptuous dinner. The team was trading laughs and stories as if they'd known each other for years. After about four courses and a couple of toasts, we started wandering off to send last emails and ultimately to hit the sack.
Big day tomorrow, time to walk up a volcano.
Best Regard,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team
What a wonderful opportunity to enjoy such a beautiful place. Wishing everyone an exciting and eventful climb. Take lots of pictures. Love you guys.
Posted by: Janet Armentrout on 8/9/2016 at 7:53 am
Thank You Mister Hahn and all the people of your team ! What chance for us to enjoy this climbing . I remember the movie ” The Snows of Kilimanjaro” with Ava Gardner, Susan Hayward and Gregory Peck by Ernest Hemingway ... What beautiful mountain ...! SRECN0—GOOD LUCK
Posted by: Radmila Radovanovic on 8/9/2016 at 4:07 am
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
It rained last night. Then it fired off a couple blinding flashes of lightning with a throaty growl of thunder that rolled on and on for what seemed like minutes. Then it rained some more.
We did the only logical thing we could think of this morning and put on the brightest clothing we all could find and crawled out to eat a breakfast of champions: cocoa puff and coffee.
The rain eventually diminished and we grabbed empty packs and returned to our cache to be reunited with the rest of our gear. An afternoon of rest and staying dry led to dinner, which showed promise with a brief glimpse of the sun. But it was not to be; within 30 seconds of putting out the dinner call, the hail began, which became rain once again.
Despite the 110% humidity, spirits are high, and we keep looking upwards at our next step, the glacier climbing towards Lenz Rocks and eventually the summit. We shared our current reading endeavors, learning about the reality of fish farming, and the Russian stereotypes portrayed by Dostoyevsky. Tomorrow we will try for an acclimatization hike and small carry to Lenz, with an eye towards making that move the day after to start our summit push. We'll see if that lines up with the weather's ideas.
Best from a soggy camp one,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum, and Team
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Can’t imagine what you are able to see! What an experience! Thinking of you Jason and Jasna! Love you both
Posted by: Pam Bethea on 8/10/2016 at 4:30 am
Hey Rick and carol good luck on your expedition. Liv and I are following along! Will see you guys when you get back.
Keith
Posted by: Keith Staley on 8/9/2016 at 8:30 pm
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