The July 15th Russia team has officially begun with a great day touring the great city of Moscow. The team is great and we certainly are looking forward to heading to Cheget to get the climb underway tomorrow. However, today we had a relaxing day seeing some of the highlights of this great city. Check out the video below and we will check back in from the little ski town of Cheget soon.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Early up, early down. You would be amazed at what you can accomplish before noon when you have a strong team. We're all together here at our 10,000ft Camp Mweka. A tired crew for sure but that can't hide the glow on their sunscreen faces. A bit breezy and temps in the teens couldn't keep the whole boat from dropping anchor on the summit. Altitude records for all but that is so over shadowed by the bond between climbing partners I witnessed this fine day. The compassion exhibited to one another during this physical and mental challenge to people that you just met gives you hope for all mankind. The support, friendliness and caring by our local outfitter, the Dik Dik Lodge, solidifies its world wide. Up early, a few hours down hill, then it's lodge time!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
It was so nice to read about the bond that has formed among the group. Not only will this trip create amazing memories for you, but you all have formed friendships that will last a lifetime. Congratulations!
Hey, down there! I have a whole bunch of people on the summit of Kilimanjaro! Beautiful conditions. The team is fantastic. Had a blast; wish you were there. We're going to go ahead and start making our way the other direction. Port of call: Mweka Camp tonight. Thanks for checking in. We'll be talking later.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
RMI Guide Mark Tucker calls in from the Kilimanjaro summit!
Good evening once again from Alpamayo Base Camp. All is well here. After a rest day, we're all eager to start moving uphill for good. We spent the day with a short hike to Arhuaycoccha, a beautiful turquoise lake hanging 15 minutes above BC, and underneath the Pucajirca Group, just at 4,420m. We followed with a review of anchor transitions, and lunch and a nap took care of the afternoon... Being well rested is key for the demanding pitches ahead. We just had dinner, and the funny note was the competition trying to cheat the pulse ox meter (not much room to do so when all these four individuals are as fit as one can be).
That's all for now, tomorrow we'll be checking in from Moraine Camp on our move upwards.
Regards, RMI Guide ElÃas de Andres Martos and tea
Greetings! Buenos dias from the summit of Nevado Ishinca, 18,143 feet. The RMI Peru Seminar team is on top right now. We have a beautiful day, beautiful weather. Not a better day of climbing in the Cordillera Blanca Range of Peru. The team wants to say hi. [Cheers from the background.] The team is on their descent and will check in later.
RMI Guide Robby Young
RMI Guide Robby Young calls from the Ishinca summit!
We did it! We stood on the highest point of Europe.
I have to admit we were pretty lucky with the weather, as it was near perfect. The team did a fantastic job of taking care of themselves and climbed strong. We reached the summit around 7:15 am in clear skies with a wonderful view of the entire Caucus mountain range.
But it didn't end there, after descending a short ways off of the summit we were at the saddle between the two summits that Elbrus has and a few of us decided to climb both summits while the rest of the team descended safely back to camp. It only added an additional 1.5 hrs, so not too bad, especially since we had such amazing weather.
After everyone returned to camp, we had a quick lunch and then packed up to head down valley to our hotel at the base of the mountain.
Everyone is high spirits and smelling great!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and a happy crew
A very nice cup of dark roast Tanzania coffee fresh out of my French press sits next to me as I write this blog. Big climbs like this,when given the option to have a few creature comforts, do wonders for the mental and physical. It has been another perfect weather day with a little breeze here at high camp, Barafu at 15000'. The team had yet another restful and healthy night making the challenge of 2,000 feet of elevation gain no problem, or as we hear about a hundred times a day "Hakuna matata". If you can envision the 8 man varsity Harvard crew boat rowing for yet another crushing victory, that is pretty much what our team looks like. Perfect rest step in unison just like team strokes, a thing of beauty to watch. Only thing a bit funny is our coxswain (me) not weighing in at that perfect 119 to 123 lbs. The incredible meals that continue coming out of the kitchen tent assures me that the loss of any pounds is impossible. Resting, sorting, packing summit lunches are the duties for the day. Our wake up call at 11:30 pm is going to arrive soon and then the start of our summit push. The entire team is in great shape to safely give it a shot. We hope the next time we check in we will be on the summit of Kilimanjaro.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
After falling asleep to a gentle rain last night, our team woke up to to star filled skies. The clouds had dropped a few inches of snow up high and the glaciers suspended above camp glistened in the light of the moon. After a hasty 5:30am breakfast we shouldered our packs and climbed uphill three hours to the base of the Ishinca Glacier. The new snow made the hard glacial ice a bit more forgiving, and we used the terrain to train on basic mountaineering techniques such as rope travel, crampon technique and ice axe arrest. After taking a break for lunch and admiring our beautiful surroundings, we got into more advanced techniques like ice screw placement and V-thread anchors.
Tonight was the current group favorite dinner- Lomo Saltado, a Peruvian mix with beef, french fries, rice and tomatoes. Delicious!
RMI Guides Robby Young and Eric Frank
The Four Day Summit Climb Teams for July 13 - 16 led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Mike Haugen reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. They reported clear skies with winds around 20 mph and an over all great day. Both teams were beginning their descent from the crater rim around 7 am.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Good evening from Alpamayo Base Camp. We had a productive day today, carrying a load to Camp 1 at 4900meters. We set a tent up and deposited half our kit. After that, we remained up there for a while, breathing the thin air and letting the body and lungs get a taste of what's coming up. Some clouds and a drop in temps let us know it was time to head back down to base camp, and a light drizzle materialized around dinner time. Tomorrow we're going to take a rest day here at base, as we are getting excited to get moving up higher soon.
That's all for now,
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andres Martos and team
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It was so nice to read about the bond that has formed among the group. Not only will this trip create amazing memories for you, but you all have formed friendships that will last a lifetime. Congratulations!
Odette, Taylor’s mom
Posted by: Odette Hankins on 7/17/2016 at 6:44 pm
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