Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Today we are checking in from our camp, Llulluchapampa at 12,303 ft. We had a warm day walking out the Kusichaka river valley through more small villages and got to spend some time in at an Incan site. The series of terraces and walls are believed to have been a trading post for agricultural goods arriving from the jungle and high mountains to be dispersed throughout the Incan empire.
After another delicious lunch we joined the traditional Inca trail at Wayllabamba where our mule drivers departed and our porters arrived to shoulder our camp. The 16 porters are from the same village in the Andes and work as a crew. During the high season they work four to five 4 day trips, carrying 55 lbs each day. The Team is grateful and amazed with how they bound up the trail above 10,000 ft with relative ease.
So far we have not seen another group of hikers the entire trek, that will changed tomorrow evening as we approach the final 2 camps before Machu Picchu. We will get an early start so we can enjoy a quite day. Everyone is feeling great and taking in the amazing vistas of the Andes.
Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
Posted by: Billy Nugent
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Greetings!
Our whole team has officially arrived in Russia without a hitch... even all of our bags made it! Most of the the crew was pretty travel weary so we grabbed a quick dinner here in Moscow and headed back to the hotel to crash early. Jet lag is always a bit of a hurdle at the beginning of these trips but we'll hit our stride soon enough. Excited for a city your tomorrow of Red Square and the Kremlin!
Talk tomorrow,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
Elevation: 8,300'
The mountain was calling and we answered. We spent the last two days making our way towards Elbrus. Our apologies for the lack of a dispatch yesterday, but the small city of Kislovodsk that is our jumping off point is not a hotbed of wifi access. Some smooth flights got us that far yesterday, and we spent the afternoon shopping for food and putting the final touches on our expedition preparations. We were overjoyed when the bags for three of our team members finally arrived in Moscow, and they were able to grab them and rejoin us late last night. The woes of travel.
This morning we boarded a new off-road sprinter van type machine that our driver Alexei referred to as his "Russian hammer," and started the winding drive through the steppes of the Caucasus. After an hour and a bit we left the pavement and set out along the four wheel road - which at times had our hearts creeping towards our mouths with the precipitous slopes that drop from the side of the road - that takes us to base camp at 8,300'. We arrived, said goodbye to Alexei, whose jolly laugh had kept the mood light, and set up our compound. An afternoon hike into the surrounding hills let us stretch our legs and find an incredible waterfall that cuts straight through a large rock ridge, reemerging on the other side. An afternoon siesta led to dinner, and just as we were ready to serve it up, the rain started with a few flashes of lightning. We retreated to our tents with our meals, and are now getting ready to hit the hay as we listen to rain drops beat a percussion on our tents, happy to be dry.
All the best from here,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum, and team
On The Map
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Woke up to a coffee on my porch while watching the bush begin its day. Many a crunch, crack, and snap during the night, below, above, and around our stilted tent platforms. Cloudy and cool as we drove through the park on or way back to the Dik Dik. New contender for shot of the trip, Morgan and her leopard is in the running. Guess a cheetah would have been a shoe-in for a race but we are leaving that shot for next time. Some lions, elephants and a thousand other creatures, we share this amazing world with, bid us farewell during or drive out of the park. The rest of the climbing/safari team is either in the air or going through customs as I write this. My flight is tomorrow. Here taking care of details to set up RMI's next team for yet another safe and successful expedition here in amazing Africa. Thank you back home for allowing these adventurers a hall pass for a visit to this exotic land. It's been a real pleasure spending time with them all. Sharing some insight to our travels in script has been a pleasure, hope they were well received. Get out there when you can. Take care, Safe travels, Safari on!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Katrina Bloemsma
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb team, led by Seth Waterfall and Katrina Bloemsma, reached the top of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Seth reported clear skies and moderate winds from the west.
After a successful summit yesterday, Ben Liken and the Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons will return to Rainier Basecamp this afternoon.
With a squirrelly forecast our team of intrepid explorers launched into the mist surrounding Mt Baker just three days ago. Hiking through the forest and meadows before stepping onto the glacier gave us a pleasant warm up for the climb to come. Establishing camp on the Coleman Glacier just before the rain began was a welcome bonus.
The rain persisted through the evening and we were happy to be snug in our tents. Waking up early wasn't that encouraging and we hit the snooze button for a few hours, waiting for the weather deities to smile upon us. Smile they did at a perfectly reasonable 7:30 am. Off we went to improving skies and an excellent route.
We found excellent conditions and a perfect day in the mountains. As far as climbing Mt. Baker that day, we felt most lucky indeed. Good job team!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Eric Frank
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 13,650'
All is good at Artesonraju Base Camp. We rested today to get used to the new altitude, as we saw the many trekkers of the Santa Cruz go by. We're headed to bed now excited for tomorrow!
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andres Martos
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Pictures say a thousand words. The team was firing on all cylinders with their cameras. Easy picking today for great shots of all the major food groups. Cats that were close enough to pet. The resident genet cat up in the roof of the amazing Kikoti Lodge where we are for the night. It made an appearance at dinner and Aaron with the quick draw got the shot of the night. Perfect weather and great team work. That would have Mario Andretti's pit crew impressed while a tire was changed with a beautiful sunset and some cold libation for yet another chapter in the book. Easy to find some peace in these parts of the bush. Safari on!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Cold morning when we pulled out of our camp at 7 a.m. Not 30 minutes later did the sun start to warm our fingers and toes along with illuminating the glaciers of Salkantay while we climbed towards Incachiriaska Pass at 16,010ft.
The team is doing great after our seven-hour day. After the pass we walked through a beautiful valley filled with dry grasses and expansive boulder fields. We are camped in a small village (read 3-4 stone houses with thatch roofs) listening to the bleating of sheep and watching dogs heard the mix of horse, llama, sheep and pigs back to rustic stone corrals. We are settling into our tents and getting warm as the sun has already left our valley at 3 p.m. Tomorrow our horseman will depart the group as we enter the National Park. Porters will join us to continue the excellent meals and difficult but much appreciated job of carrying our camp towards Machu Picchu.
RMI Guide Mike King
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. RMI Guide Ben Liken Reported that the team was 100% to the summit today with a total round trip climb time of 11 hours. They plan to practice some crevasse rescue this afternoon back at Camp Schurman and then do a bit of training tomorrow morning before returning to Ashford Basecamp.
Congratulations to the Emmons Team!
This was pretty much the most fun I’ve ever had doing anything. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end, and I am happy I got to share this experience with such a great group of people. To the guides: I am thoroughly impressed by your professionalism, knowledge and patience. If I could have you guys on every climb I do going forward, I would.
Posted by: Michael Tamburello on 8/16/2016 at 8:56 am
Way to go, team. Thanks to everyone for making last week’s trip such a success.
I enjoyed meeting and getting to know all of you. Please look me up if you are ever in San Jose or Silicon Valley more generally.
Hats off to our guides for their professionalism, patience, sense of humor and motivational skills! You guys are a class act.
Posted by: Scott Henderson on 8/9/2016 at 6:36 pm
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So proud of our son and his team.
Posted by: Jon Jones on 8/5/2016 at 8:34 am
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