Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
What a way to finish our great adventure in Russia! Today our team had a great day with our local St. Petersburg guide exploring this incredible city! It was incredible day in the city that ended with an amazing canal tour. I have to admit, it is hard to leave Russia. I am so happy that we have enjoyed the many great wonders of this great country! Thanks for following along!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Posted by: Casey Grom, Billy Nugent
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 11,000'
Hello again everyone!
It was a beautiful day here in Russia. We had a nice relaxing start to the day with a traditional Russian breakfast of porridge, eggs and bread. Afterwards we made our way to the local ski lifts to help give us a jump start on our hike. I didn't hear a single complaint about riding up 1,500' on a chair lift before we started our two-hour hike to the top of Peak Cheget. Yes, it is also the name of the town in which we are staying. The hike went well with mostly clear skies and we even caught a few glimpses of Elbrus between the clouds.
After our hike we made it back to town relatively quickly thanks to the ski lifts, where we had a hot lunch waiting for us. After lunch, we dropped off our gear and made a quick stop to pick up a few extra items and even managed to try on a few local hats.
We wrapped up the evening with another nice, home cooked meal here provided by our ever so gracious local outfitter.
Things are good here.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Posted by: Nick Hunt, Lydia Johnson, Hannah McGowan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guide Nick Hunt and the Five Day Summit Climb reached the highest point in Washington State, the summit of Mt. Rainier, this morning. Nick's report from the summit said today was a beautiful day with light winds. The team left the summit to begin their descent just after 7:00 a.m. PDT. The will return to Ashford this afternoon.
Way to climb!
Posted by: Peter Whittaker, Seth Waterfall, Chase Nelson, Jess Matthews
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Peter Whittaker reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Peter reported light winds and clear skies. The team began their descent shortly after 7:00 a.m. PDT. We look forward to greeting the team in Ashford later this afternoon.
Congratulations climbers!
Way to go Troy! We are all very proud of you - another great accomplishment!
Posted by: Dean Fulton on 7/26/2016 at 12:49 pm
Woohoo! Congratulations to the group! Looks like the weather cooperated
Posted by: Becky on 7/26/2016 at 9:55 am
Our departure from the Dik Dik Hotel was right on time. A couple hours of travelling and we arrived at the Machame Gate of Kilimanjaro National Park. We spent a bit of time getting organized and sorting out climbing permits before setting out into the cloud forest at 6,000' plus. Over the course of five hours, 4,000' in elevation gain, and 20,346 steps we arrived at our first camp on the mountain: Machame Camp. Throughout the day we had beautiful views of the mountain and perfect climbing conditions. The whole team is doing well and everyone is glad to have started the climb.
The dinner bell is about to ring so I better run...
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
Well today was a very relaxing day in base camp here on Alpamayo. We slept in until 8, drank lots of coffee with bacon and eggs, and then did some laundry and lounged in the sun. Around mid day we made the arduous 20 minute stroke to the nearby lake for some more chilling. A couple of the team were brave enough to go for a dip in the beautiful alpine lake, there is a glacier pouring into the water at the far side. After they warmed up on the sunny rocks we wandered back to camp for lunch and then a siesta in the afternoon. We have now just finished another amazing dinner and we are heading to bed soon for some rest before our move to Moraine Camp tomorrow. Though the rest day was well deserved everyone is very excited to be heading up hill again.
Thanks for following along on our incredible expedition in the beautiful cordillera Blanca here in Peru.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
Posted by: Billy Nugent, Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 11,000'
An early rise gave way to a groggy ride to the airport this morning that was fortunately on the quicker side because the majority of Moscow had yet to wake. After navigating Aeroflot's slightly confusing baggage system our team was relieved to settle into an airport restaurant and enjoy a decent breakfast and more importantly a decent cup (or two) of coffee. A slight delay, a quick flight to Mineralnye Vody, and a longer bus ride to Cheget completed our traveling for the day. On our drive we watched the rolling hills of farmland become more pronounced, eventually turning into mountains, and finally turning quite impressive with huge relief as we drove up a craggy canyon. Cheget is a little outpost of sorts but our hotel is pretty cool, complete with beautiful views of glaciers above from the forest below and even a medieval motif to the dining room. A bit weary from travel, we're all excited to get out and stretch our legs on our first acclimatization hike tomorrow.
We'll let you know how it goes.
Over and out,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hello from the Dik Dik Lodge. Everyone has arrived.
Before lunch we met for our orientation meeting and gear check. We then spent the afternoon finalizing and preparing our gear for the mountain.
Now we are all set for Kilimanjaro! Once we finished dinner is off to our rooms to finish last-minute packing or a bit more Internet time.
The plan is to meet up for breakfast at 6:30 am and be ready to go by 7:30. We have a couple of hours driving to the national park and it's good to be early.
All the gear looks good and tents and food are all set to go. The team is starting to get excited. We are all looking forward to getting the climb under way.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Good Luck Jim & Hunter from all of us at Floorco.
Posted by: Floorco on 7/28/2016 at 1:56 pm
Go for Guys !!!!!
Posted by: Uncle Chuck on 7/26/2016 at 8:07 am
Mt. Baker did not fail to impress our small team this week! We set out from Glacier, WA to make an attempt on Mt. Baker's mighty North Ridge. Our approach put us at camp at the toe of the Coleman Glacier where we reviewed relevant climbing techniques and relaxed ourselves to sleep.
We awoke under the full moon and set out at dusk to begin the climb. A few hours of casual glacier travel found us at the base of the route. The forbidding clouds to the west stood down and we began our ascent. We gained the ridge and with some steep snow climbing and we were in business! Soon it was time to get into the meat of the route, the ice pitches. Under the snice (snow+ice) there was quality ice, so it didn't take too much excavation to find good placements for our tools. As we topped out the ice pitches the clouds returned and soon we were relying on instruments to find the top. After a bit of thought-provoking route finding we navigated the jumbled glacier that guards the cumbre (summit) and celebrated efficiently before descending the Coleman route back to camp.
It was a great day with good company - all you can ask for in the mountains! Standing on top doesn't hurt either.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Congratulation Jake + team..Thx again support on Rainier ‘12
..Walter / IN
Posted by: Walter Glover on 7/26/2016 at 5:13 am
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Hi Everyone!! First, the entire team wants to say hello to family and friends back home. Today we spent all day traveling to St. Petersburg, the coolest city in Russia. Needless to say, we are tired. However, the team is going to celebrate our first night here by going to one of my favorite restaurants, Jerome’s, a “French-ish” restaurant. Yes, French! We have eaten plenty of authentic Russian cuisine. Tonight, the team is going to kick back, relax and enjoy the “white lights” of St. Petes!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
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52 Peaks! I’m with you in spirit! Stay safe & enjoy!
Posted by: Todd on 7/26/2016 at 10:53 pm
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