Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Posted by: Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Today the group toured the Urubamba River Valley that was and continues to be a fertile farming area for the local people of Cusco. With large varieties of corn and potatoes being grown, we could see terraces that the Inca used reaching well above 12,000 ft.
We had several stops on our way to Ollantaytambo, a wonderful Incan site featuring farming terraces, ceremonial stone work and intact buildings used for storing food. Our impromptu stop to sample chicha, a fermented corn drink that locals enjoy while playing a fun coin toss style yard game also yielded two cute puppies sleeping by a fire and a guinea pig farm. Cuy, or guinea pig, is a common form of protein consumed by locals and tourists alike.
We wrapped the day finalizing our packs for an early departure. Tomorrow morning we begin our Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu, the entire group is excited to leave Cusco.
RMI Guide Mike King
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Eric Frank
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 12,430'
Good evening from Huaripampa, our camp on our way to Artesonraju Base. For the writer here, starting the Santa Cruz trek from this side has been a revelation of yet undiscovered beauty. We're currently enjoying an incredible dinner of fresh trout, zucchini soup and fried banana, fueling for tomorrow's hike. We're all enjoying social time and laughter inside or pyramidal dining tent.
Stay tuned on our progress,
RMI Guides ElÃas de Andres Martos, Eric Frank, Peter and team
Sounds amazing! Have a great climb!
Posted by: Jim Thayer on 8/4/2016 at 6:58 am
Sounds yummy! Happy climbing (and eating!)
Posted by: Pam on 8/3/2016 at 5:19 am
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Safari is on! That's it, I am buying a good camera. The photos taken today were impressive by one of the team members, shown on his computer screen downloaded at dinner was fantastic. To get so near a wild animal and feel no threat is an unusual experience unless you do it all the time. Such a thrill to relive the game viewing later. So many and such a great diversity in such a short time span, tough to take it all in at the moment. Look out cover of National Geographic, we are well under way. Lake Manyara was a nice tour this afternoon after a leisurely departure from the Dik Dik hotel this morning. Tomorrow the Ngorongoro Crater, better go charge my camera battery.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
We have all assembled in the Russian capital city of Moscow. Most of the group arrived this afternoon after nearly 24 hours, or in some cases more, of traveling. Needless to say, everyone is tired, a bit jetlagged, and we're still waiting on a few bags, but psyched to be here and ready to go. We caught a great dinner down the street at a gastropub, and then are now headed to bed to sleep off the travel and be ready for our tour of the Kremlin and nearby cathedrals tomorrow. Thanks for following our Russian adventure, we'll be in touch again soon.
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer & JM Gorum and team
Have fun dad! Can’t wait to see you in a few weeks! -Mitch F.
Posted by: Mitch Freeman on 8/5/2016 at 10:56 am
Great expedition Pete + crew…Methinks you are a rookie to Russia right ? Best Waltero
Posted by: Walter Glover on 8/3/2016 at 4:00 am
RMI Guide Tyler Reid and the Four Day Summit Climb July 30 - 2 August reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team reported cold and windy temperatures but clear skies about 8,500'. The team will return to Camp Muir for a short break before continuing down to Paradise this afternoon. We will look them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon as they celebrate their accomplishment.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb team!
Today was a great day for the first day of our RMI Artesonraju Expedition- incredible landscape on the acclimatization hike, a stellar crew, and great weather. We hiked up to 14,400’ to our traditional destination of Lake Churup, and we had incredible views of the range, the glacial lake and the mountain of the same name. We hiked back to town and had a team lunch before returning to our hotel for some packing and relaxing. We’re heading tomorrow to the trailhead, at the town of Vaqueria. Everyone is doing great and is very excited.
We’ll be checking from the trail tomorrow, as we camp on our way to Base Camp.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
So happy you have such a great team. Enjoy! Rich, I love you. Xo
Posted by: Christina on 8/3/2016 at 7:38 am
So glad to know you’re doing great and had wonderful views! Wish I could see them.
Posted by: Kay Roberts on 8/2/2016 at 7:17 am
Posted by: Eric Frank
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Hello from the little Swiss oasis that is Huaraz's Hotel Andino! The Artesonraju team had a full day of acclimating. Early this morning we taxied across the city to a local rock climbing area and snuck in a few pitches before the sun got too hot. By noon we were spent and trekked back into the city to grab some lunch. An afternoon siesta left us refreshed to walk to the city overlook and enjoy the sunset.
We are all packed up and ready to launch into the mountains tomorrow morning. Wish us luck as we embark on this adventure.
RMI Guide Eric Frank
That’s some rock! Way to go, guys!
Praying for great weather and another great adventure.
Via con Dios!
Pam
Posted by: Pam on 8/2/2016 at 5:08 am
This is RMI Guide Mike King checking in from Cusco. Our team has arrived with high spirits and all luggage accounted for. We spent the day touring 3 Inca sites and admiring the phenomenal rock work and immense size of the what the Inca accomplished without iron and wheels in just 80ish years. Cusco sitting at 11,400ft elevation requires the Team to acclimate before we reach 16,010 ft on our second day trekking. Tomorrow we will tour the Sacred Valley along the Urubamba river.
We will check in tomorrow, thanks for following along!
A fine adventure was had by all on this Mt. Shuksan Climb! Our team chose the Fisher Chimneys route and all that it had to offer. This route is fantastic for the variety of conditions it offers, from snow and ice to technical rock and a truly stunning approach via the absurdly picturesque Lake Ann.
We found the mountain to be in perfect shape, with smooth glacier travel and few other climbers on our route. As we made our attempt on the summit, we connected with climbers from the Sulphide Glacier route at the summit pyramid. There's plenty of room for everyone on that mountain and though it was a little busy, we somehow had the summit all to ourselves!
It was a fantastic three days in a crazily beautiful place, shared with a fun team. Peter and Ann rocked and we had a great time learning how to move through the mountains. Thanks everyone!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Great trip! Jake and Ann were terrific climbing companions!
Posted by: Peter on 8/3/2016 at 11:45 am
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
We had to put up with perfect weather again today. A quick 3 hour hike to the park gate where we said good-bye to our mountain adventure. We all boarded our monster truck that held about 30 of us including all mountain gear on the roof. A stop along the way for a lunch to break up the 3 hr drive and we are back at our lodge. The Dik Dik lodge welcomed us with open arms and has done an outstanding job assisting us with desired creature comforts. They are going to supply us with our safari guides and vehicles for the next phase of our adventure tomorrow. Tonight we just finished up a great celebration dinner. Now we are off to bed, everyone is doing well and we are looking forward to starting our safari tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker & Team
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Not there yet?? Steve, I thought you’d have run all the way up on the first day ;P Sounds like you are having lots of fun on the way!! Hope the weather holds out for you all and you have enjoyable travels back down.
Posted by: Audrey on 8/8/2016 at 7:43 am
Sounds exciting, wish we were young enough to join your excursions.
Posted by: Uncle John Aunt Jan on 8/3/2016 at 7:26 pm
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