Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Greetings from
Tanzania! Our group is getting excited for the start of our trek. All of us arrived yesterday evening and spent today sorting through gear and recovering from the long flights. We also spent some time chatting with the folks from Mark Tucker's Kilimanjaro Climb and they all reported a great experience on the mountain. Tomorrow we'll get an early start and make our way to Kilimanjaro National Park. It should be good times!
RMI Guide
Seth Waterfall & Team.
Summit!
RMI Guide Dave Hahn reached the
Mount Rainier summit at 7:45 this morning. With beautiful blue skies and 10-15 mph winds, the team enjoyed the summit views for over an hour before beginning their descent at 9:00 a.m.
Yet another stellar Safari. Some clouds made for very pleasant temperatures all day.
Tarangire National Park was the place to be. A bit of a terrain contrast from the crater, neither one better than the other, just different. Wide open big sky country out here. Mammals galore, in a very natural setting, as you can imagine. We ended up here at the luxury tent camp called Kikoti. The team has injured their stomachs by over indulgence. We are now sitting around a nice wood fire digesting our pains away. Very peaceful spot, the perfect setting to finish off this adventure.
We will make tracks back through the park in the morning on our way to the Dik Dik Hotel to pick up some gear, than off to the airport.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Hi,
Today we fully immersed ourselves in the culture and history of
St. Petersburg. After an incredible breakfast at our hotel, we hit the streets to begin our city tour. Our city guide, Olga, led us through the maze of streets and canals to all the best churches, museums and cathedrals in the city. We tried our best to keep up with all the dates and facts that she knew by heart, but after several hours, we had to concede that it was a losing proposition. There is simply just way too much to see and learn.
By the time we toured Saint Isaac's Cathedral, the fourth largest cathedral in the world, we were ready to take a break. We met up for an early dinner and then with a second wind, we finished the day with a boat tour of the canals and Neva River. The city is even more beautiful from the water and the perfect view in which to remember this city.
Sadly, this adventure comes to an end tomorrow as we go our separate ways and travel back home. We have had a great time and hope you have enjoyed following along as we traveled and climbed our way through
Russia.
Best regards,
RMI Guides
Jeff Martin,
Pete Van Deventer, and team
With the freezing level at 13,500', the
Mount Rainier summit climb teams reached the top just after 6:00 a.m.
RMI Guide Ben Liken reported light winds and sunny with a cloud deck below Camp Muir. They spent over an hour on the summit taking in the views and crossing through the crater to Columbia Crest, the highest point in Washington. By 7:45 a.m. both teams had crested back over the crater rim and began their descent to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's summit climbers!
Hi,
We are in St. Petersburg! This morning we headed out of the hotel and drove to Mineralnye Vody for our flight. Even though it is just about a three hour flight, it took most of the day to reach our final destination.
St. Petersburg is very different from what we have seen the last two weeks. It is best described as the cultural center of Russia, while Moscow is the center of government and administration. The architecture is stunning and the monuments truly impressive. The harder "edge" found in Kislovodsk is definitely softer and the curiosity surrounding foreign visitors is almost non-existent. It is also much easier to find a dinner menu with a little English.
We headed out for an early dinner at a nearby restaurant and to get a little preview of the city before we get the grand tour tomorrow.
All the best,
RMI Guides Jeff Martin, Pete Van Deventer, and the North Side Team
Our good fortune continues. It must be a residual charm left over from the time spent on the mountain during the super moon. Cold and cloudy to start the day up on the Ngorongoro Crater Rim. That is not unusual, this typically being the coldest time of year. We paid a visit to a
Maasai Village. Warmed up in one of their huts, while a nice gentleman told us fascinating facts and rich history of this unique group of people. I think you would be surprised at the insulation R-value of the walls of their thatch, cow dung and ash mixture construction. Since the funding goes to children education and the offerings were nice souvenirs, we were happy to invest in some of the village wares. We made the descent into the crater floor and spent a magical day with the other natives of the land, wild animals. So much fun and more to come. We move to
Tarangire National Park tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
The Four Day Summit Climb team led by RMI Guide JJ Justman along with the All Women's Team led by Lindsay Mann reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams delayed their departure from Camp Muir due to rain but once the rain dissipated they began their summit attempt. They were rewarded with great route conditions, light winds and clear skies above. The teams will spend some time on the summit before starting their descent to Camp Muir and then continuing down to Paradise later this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!
All tucked into the team villa here at the Plantation Lodge, just outside of
Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area, which is tomorrow's destination. We departed from the Dik Dik Hotel right on schedule and attacked the Lake Manyara National Park with eyes wide open. Great critter sightings all day! Being only two days since summit day, I was impressed with the team's level of energy. Tomorrow we are looking forward to seeing as many of the 29,999+ mammals that live in what is known as the "eighth wonder of the world."
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Hi,
Since we did not use one of our weather days while on the mountain, we had the whole day today in
Kislovodsk. After our long push to get off the mountain yesterday, and the birthday celebration dinner that followed, most of us were happy to have a rest day of sorts.
We had to deal with drying and sorting gear one last time so it is ready for our flight tomorrow, and then it was time to get re-connected with the rest of the world since we had been out of touch for the last nine days.
The weather here was beautiful today in town, sunny skies and about 90 degrees. We decided to head down to the pedestrian mall in the center of town to do some shopping, find an ice cream store and stroll through the city park. Being the height of the summer season, there were many people just out enjoying the day. With a few souvenir purchases under our belt, we walked around admiring the different buildings, statues, fountains, and shops.
With our attention turning to dinner, we found a great restaurant right in the middle of the square. We luckily had a waiter who could help us decipher the menu and helped us order an incredible meal. He thought we were crazy with how much food we ordered, but we ate it all. There were three different meat dishes served in a huge bowl with charcoals underneath to keep it warm, fresh salads, and perfectly grilled vegetables. It was the hands-down winner for our best meal in
Russia.
Tomorrow we head to the airport to fly north to
St. Petersburg, the last leg of this journey. We'll check in once we get there.
All the best,
RMI Guides Jeff Martin, Pete Van Deventer, and the Elbrus Northside Team
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Prayers for a safe and fantastic trip for the team!
Posted by: dotti cummins on 8/19/2014 at 7:38 am
So excited to hear about the first day of the climb!! Good luck to everyone! Liz, thomas, kit and Mary
Posted by: Liz Blaney on 8/19/2014 at 4:58 am
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