And we're at base camp!
Long day we had today through the plains of Tibet, but it was worth it. After two days acclimating at Driver's Camp, and the preceding three days driving across this vast land, being finally at Shishapangma Base Camp seems like an accomplishment already... And we haven't even started!!! At any rate, the 12 miles over 17,000ft we covered provided incredible views of rustic terrain, but also some headaches and a fight against grapple at mid day. An inch of snow coveted camp upon our arrival, and the light of the moon reflecting on the now cloud free slopes of Shishapangma, seems to also light our desire to climb.
Everyone is in bed now, enjoying a well deserved rest. We're having our puja tomorrow, and we'll dedicate to rest and get used to the new elevation.
Stay tuned,
RMI Guide ElÃas and team
September 11, 2016 - 11:06 am PT
Summit day or I should say night was greeted with clear and breezy weather. It all begins around midnight and as we climbed for a few hours the cold had set in and we were layered in most the clothing we'd brought. When the sun rose, we were at the crater rim looking up to see the high point, Uhuru Peak, across from us and part way around the rim. Down behind us we could see the monster of a mountain we had just climbed. We made it to the summit and hung out there taking pics and enjoying the scenery. I tell all my climbers, it's not the summit, but the journey that is the reward. And I believe that to be true. But the feeling of reaching the summit is sure the cherry on top and this one was no exception. It's a gift and we were all thrilled to have the time to take in the view and our own accomplishments. It was a great effort by all, as we left the crater rim and made the descent to our last mountain camp, Mweka at 10,000'. Sleep tonight was earned. It's now 24 hours since I last closed my eyes. All is well. Good night.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Hello, hello this is Mark Tucker checking in from the Roof of Africa. We have a great summit team up here, they did a great job. We are going to get a few more photos. Today is 9:11 and we wanted to reach out and dedicate this climb to all of those lost. I would also like to make a special mention. We had one of our Dik Dik Staff not be able to make this climb, Salvatory. He was on the summit with me on my last time about a month ago, and he is truly missed. We are all doing well. We're going to get a few more shots and we're going to head on down and get low. Thanks for checking in, we will be in touch.
Congratulations to the Kilimanjaro team!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker calls from the summit of Kilimanjaro.
Here’s a message from Ginny (Paula’s sister) to the Barrs:
Hi Paula,
Just a few thoughts from the people back home that love you the most. Austin sends his congratulations and wishes you luck on your way down, and that he loves you and has been thinking about you. He is a little jealous and Kili is on his list. I am sure it is!! Brian says congratulations and good luck and he is hoping you have fun with the rest of the trip. Your oldest says you owe him $170. I (Ginny) want you to know that I love you, I am proud of you, and I miss you. I can’t wait to hear all the details over a few drinks.
Ginny
Posted by: judy christofferson on 9/11/2016 at 10:10 am
The expansive extent of the Tibetan Plateau dominated our conversation during our approach drive from Lhasa. Today, we put boots on the ground and had the pleasure of experiencing this beautiful wide open space first-hand. An active 'rest' day here at Base Camp started with a 2-hour hike up to the top of a neighboring 17,400' "hill" in order to stimulate our muscles and help coax our acclimatization process along. We spent the afternoon sharing life lessons and enjoying each other's company in the dining tent over an unending supply of coffee, tea, and grilled Nepalese meat snacks. On an expedition of this length and this altitude, our rest days prove just as important as the climbing itself. Tomorrow, we plan to load another 1000 kilos of gear onto yaks and make our way to Advanced Base Camp at 19,400'. 'Progress' as we say. The crew is pumped, and enjoying the beginnings of true expedition life. Until tomorrow.
RMI Guides Robby, Adam, Elias, and your Shishapangma team.
PS- Go Blue, beat UCF.
RMI Guides Casey Grom and Steve Gately led their Four Day Summit Climb September 7 - 10, 2016 teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Steve reported clear skies with 20 mph winds and fairly cold temperatures. The climbing route remains in great shape. The teams enjoyed some time in the crater before starting their descent. Both teams will return to Camp Muir for a short rest and to repack their gear before continuing down to Paradise. We look forward to celebrating with them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!
We enjoyed another nice evening here on Kilimanjaro and the good weather continued today as we approached Barafu Camp, our High Camp. The team climbed well as we made the ascent from Karanga Camp to Barafu at 15,000'. Clouds were rolling in and out this afternoon while we were busy making lunches and double checking our kits for the summit push ahead. After dinner we will climb into our tents and hope to get a few hours of sleep before we are awaken at midnight and start our push to the summit of Kilimanjaro. Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
We have arrived at the mountain! Wow! Is all any of us could muster when we rolled into "Driver's Camp" situated in a beautiful prairie at 16,500 feet. Shishapangma is rising 10,000 feet straight in front of me like a fortress not meant to be breached. I don't think any writer in the world could look out his window and see a vista so impressive as he puts his pen down in a stupor of amazement.
This morning we all had to get our final emails and texts out to our loved ones. As we drove we were graced with stunning views of Everest and Cho Oyu 60 miles across the moonscape of the Tibetan Plateau. Fifty miles down the road should lead to nowhere but actually leads to somewhere, some of us still had cell service. We will learn to unplug soon enough. This place to all of us is beyond expectations. No place could be better.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Stars at night climber's delight. Clear below brought out the city lights of Moshi, the town we will drive through on our way back to the Dik Dik after the climb. Look up and it's star gazing at its finest. A restful night for the whole team, with a later wake up call to give us the climb of the Barranco Wall without a lot of other climbers. A number of the team had a nice intro to some real rock scrambling. A fine job by one and all, not without a few gasps and grunts prior to topping out on what ended up being a highlight and lots of fun. The support team pulled off some impressive maneuvers, carrying supplies and equipment, on their heads to boot. Our local guides coached and protected on the more difficult sections. A bit more leisurely today compared to yesterday but no less beautiful. We arrived at Karanga Camp by early afternoon, and were quickly greeted by some steamy hot spaghetti to fill our tanks for the climb ahead. Carb load is on! The team continues doing very well.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Hello to everyone following the Mt. Shuksan Seminar. Tonight we are checking in from the North Cascades logging town of Sedro-Woolley, at the foot of Mt. Shuksan. Today was meant to be our summit attempt, but instead we awoke to pelting rain on our tents, similar to the weather we have been struggling with for the last four days. After having a group meeting and considering the options, we decided as a group to forego our summit bid in favor of descending to focus on training tomorrow. The weather forecast called for improving skies, but that has been the case each day and yet it continued to rain. We opted to find a dry place down here to ensure that we we able to finish all the training, rather then take the gamble on climbing and sit in a tent for another day. A hard decision to make, but one that we feel was right.
Thanks for following along this week.
Best,
RMI Guides Eric Frank, Solveig Waterfall, Jenny Konway and the RMI Shuksan Seminar crew
Good evening from Tingri.
We had a long day of driving on the road through the Tibetan Plateau... but it all was done in great spirits, as the grassy plains started to become rolling hills, and finally, snow capped mountains. We left Shigatse in the morning with rain, and the day became sunnier as we were devouring the kilometers that were also bringing us high. Entering the Chomolougma National Park (Everest) or reaching 17,000ft were only some of the exciting occurrences, alongside spotting the Turquoise Goddess (Cho Oyu) sneak from the clouds. A hike around the town of Tingri, where we're spending the night at an elevation similar to the one of Mt. Rainier, culminated the day. Tomorrow we'll be covering the last three-car hours of our Shishapangma approach, and we'll be at driver's camp, reuniting with our Sherpa team and cooks. Game is on!!!
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andres Martos and team
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Go team!! Capucchino from Better Day yesterday in Wolf’s honor!
Posted by: meme on 9/12/2016 at 7:42 am
Thank you for the vivid descriptions of life climbing. Much love and strength. Jane
Posted by: Jane Knoff on 9/12/2016 at 5:43 am
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