Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Greetings from BC; the international
RMI Alpamayo Team (a German, a Brazilian, 2 Americans, a Peruvian, and the one who writes, the Spaniard) has arrived to what will be our center of operations from now on. Tents are already up and we're currently enjoying a cup of tea while contemplating wonders of geology, such as Artesonraju, Quitaraju, and of course, Alpamayo. Everyone is doing really well, and hiked to this camp quicker than this guide remembers. We'll continue to enjoy today, before a very likely carry to Moraine Camp tomorrow. Stay tuned for more!
RMI Guide
ElÃas deAndres Martos and Team.
Hello from Africa everyone
Today the team woke to a beautifully clear sky above the valley clouds, and it was a warm day as we made our way from camp directly into the sun and heading straight at Kilimanjaro. Once again we made good time across the
Shira Plateau stopping for breaks and that endless line of porters headed to our next camp.
As we headed uphill everyone was astonished at the beauty of Kilimanjaro and the remnant glaciers still hanging on. Our climb took us up and over a landmark called Lava Tower which sits at just under 15,000ft and lays beneath the massive and steep southern breach wall. As usual we stopped to enjoy the wonderful view and then slowly made our way back down into Barranco Valley. The trail weaves its way between rocky outcrops, giant groundsels and the massive, yet strange Senecio trees that look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.
We are currently relaxing in our camp which has amazing views not only of Kilimanjaro but also of the valley below us. It's indeed my favorite camp of the trip.
Dinner will be ready soon, so that's all for today.
All is well!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
RMI Guides Brent Okita and Mike King lead their Four Day Summit Climbs to the top of Mt. Rainier this morning. Brent reported nice conditions with a bit of wind on the summit.
Both teams began their descent from the crater rim a little after 7 am. They will return to Camp Muir and then continue their descent to Paradise. We look forward to seeing the teams at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's
Summit Climb teams.
Today was a good but tough day for our team on
Mt. Elbrus. We enjoyed a great night's rest at camp along with a hearty breakfast this morning. After several cups of coffee we geared up and headed up towards 15,000 feet to acclimatize.
As we neared Pastuhkova Rocks the wind kicked in and the once clear, unobstructed view of Elbrus became shrouded in clouds and heavy wind. Our team gritted their teeth and displayed great strength as we reached the rocks.
We are now back down in camp where things are a little calmer and sunnier. Tomorrow we will review some more mountaineering techniques before we take on a summit attempt.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
Good evening from Icchiccocha (small lake), where we're camped for the night, on our way to
Alpamayo Basecamp. We did bypass Llamacorral, the standard camp, and continued another couple kilometers up valley... and the reality is that this group is looking really good!!! So continuing on, and secluding ourselves from the different groups who are sharing the trail along this section of the astonishing Santa Cruz trek, wasn't an issue. The cute note of the day, was the two dogs, beautiful but homeless puppies, who followed us all the way to camp, and are currently guarding our donkey pack. That's it for the day, we will be checking in tomorrow from Basecamp.
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andres Martos and team
Today we traveled to Lake Manyara. It was the first day of our four day safari through Tanzania and we had a great day. Here is what the team had to say about our day in the bush.
TOP TEN LIST
One comment about today?
1. The hippos fighting in the pool - Peter
2. The first sighting of a herd of Zebra right next to our vehicle - Chelsea
3. Observing the silver billed horn bird take a dust bath - Bonny
4. Take off and landing of a huge flock of yellow billed storks - Mark
5. Taking in the sights of land and people on the highway while standing up with head out off open roofed Land Rover - Nate
6. Baby Baboon riding on the back of it's mother, with cute ears - Elizabeth
7. Bargaining skills of local guys trying to sell a necklace - Jonathan
8. Vista of the Great Rift Valley from on top of the escarpment - William
9. Diversity of wild life in the field of vision at one moment - Allidah
10. The over easy eggs at breakfast - Madison
Hello again everyone!
All is well here on
Kilimanjaro after a good nights rest. Today the team woke at 7 am to coffee and tea being served at our tent doors by our gracious staff. We had breakfast with healthy serving of fresh fruits, bread, assorted meats and cheeses, and fried eggs. After filling our bellies we hit the trail shortly after 8 am and slowly made our way along the ever winding trail towards the Shira Plateau. Our team did great on the rocky trail as we ascended higher up the mountain, stopping to take breaks and let the never end line of porters pass us.
It took about 5 hours to reach our new camp, which our staff had already set up before our arrival. Clearly we are not roughing it too much!
Everyone is doing well and seems to be enjoying the climb thus far. We'll spend the next few hours resting in our tents and taking in the splendid view we have from just over 12,000'.
RMI Guide
Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Here we are! Today Team Russia left town for the ski village of Azau where we jumped on a couple of trams and rode them up to Garabashi Hut at 12,000 feet.
Masha is our Sous Chef at
Garabashi Hut and she made a great lunch for us before we strapped on our mountaineering boots and went uphill for a little stroll RMI style! Nice and easy! The team is doing great! We made it to 13,200 feet but we didn't enjoy the sights. It was a rather cloudy and windy day on ol'Elbrus but our spirits are high back at camp.
Stay tuned for more exciting action!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
On the Disappointment Cleaver route of Mt. Rainier, RMI Guides Seth and Solveig Waterfall led their
Four Day Summit Climb Teams to the summit this morning. Meanwhile on the Emmons Glacier route of Mt. Rainier, RMI Guide Mike Haugen led the
Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons to the summit this morning. All teams reported light winds and warm temperatures while on the summit. The Four Day Summit Climb teams will descend back to Camp Muir before returning to Paradise this afternoon and the Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons will descend to Camp Schurman for their final night on the mountain.
Congratulations Climbers!
Greetings from Huaraz...
Alpamayo expedition is kicking off!!!
Everyone arrived yesterday in Lima on schedule, and we made it to Huaraz less than 24 hours later. After checking into the Hotel Andino, early to bed was almost mandatory. Today we woke up to the clearest skies ever, and soon after a copious breakfast, we jumped in the van that took us to the Quebrada LLupa, where we'd venture on a morning stroll. What a better way to start acclimatizing than an active hike? Huaraz sits at 3,000m of elevation. Two hours after the van stopped, we found ourselves at the beautiful Churup Lake, "just" 100m above the summit of our beloved Mount Rainier. Lunch by the water with a casual talk and laughter to exercise the lungs without effort at such elevation, and back down to allow the body to rest and start adapting.
We packed our gear, took a nap, went for dinner and got excited about what's ahead... tomorrow we'll leave early towards Cahsapampa, to start the hike in towards Alpamayo BC. Our next post will be from the satellite phone. Stay toned and cheer for the team!!!
Best,
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos and the RMI
Alpamayo team
Best of luck to everyone - especially ze German - thinking of you all and hoping that you are acclimatizing well! xoxoxo, Feli
Posted by: felicitas funke-riehle on 7/17/2015 at 3:12 pm
Happy to hear you have a strong team and are making good progress so enjoy the carry to Moraine camp. Best of luck to everyone (especially the Brazilian).
Posted by: Peter Williamson on 7/17/2015 at 1:00 pm
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