Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Jeff Martin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
We had a great first day in Moscow. It started with a short walk to the heart of Russia - Red Square and the Kremlin. First up was Lenin's Tomb. It is sort of an eerie experience seeing an embalmed man who has been dead for so many years, but definitely worth it. The trick is to move just slow enough through the viewing room that you do not get the guards' attention and be told to move ahead. After exiting the tomb, we met up with our tour guide who lead us on a grand tour through Saint Basil's Cathedral, the GUM, Red Square, and finally the Kremlin. The day was certainly a mini history lesson of the czars and rulers of Russia, and of wars and power struggles, and Moscow has been around for almost a 1000 years so it gets a little complicated.
After the tour of the Kremlin and feeling like we were close to information overload, we started our walk back to the hotel for a little down time. We are back from dinner now and heading to bed so that we can leave early in the morning for our flight to our next town - Kislovodsk. We'll check in once we get settled there.
Best,
RMI Guides Jeff Martin and Pete Van Deventer
Hey, this is David Hahn with Kilimanjaro team and we are on the summit! We are at Uhuru which is 19,341 feet above sea level. And we are in spectacularly good conditions. And as an added bonus, we have the summit all to ourselves. The whole team is up here and the wind is blowing about one and a half miles per hour. And it's extremely pleasant. [Broken] ...happens to be cloaked in clouds right now, but it's still beautiful. We're enjoying being up here stepping into the throat of this great volcano. We'll let you know when we're down safe but all is going very well now. Thank you.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Dave Hahn Recaps the Summit Day:
We left Barafu Camp shortly after one AM and set out for the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. It was an absolutely splendid night for climbing as there was no wind and no cloud above. There was also no moon, so the stars and meteors and Milky Way were prominent and mesmerizing. At first it wasn't terribly cold, but of course as we gained altitude and got closer to dawn we had to contend with the big chill. We made steady progress and watched sunrise from about an hour below the crater rim. There was still no view of Africa, other than the cloud sea far below us. We reached Stella Point on the crater rim at 8 AM and made our way around the rim to Uhuru -the high point- by just after nine. It was calm and comfortable up there at 19,340 ft and so we stayed for forty minutes. Descent to Barafu took until 1 PM. Once there we packed our gear, ate a fine lunch and at 2:30 continued our descent toward the cloud sea. All were a little weary (understandably) but we made good progress in any event reaching Mweka Camp at 10,000 ft by 6 PM. It was quite a journey, from the ice and glaciers down through numerous transition zones to the start of the forests and jungles. The team was optimistic about sleeping straight through this night and at last conquering our collective jet lag.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn checks in from the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.
On The Map
RMI Guide Zeb Blais and the Four Day Summit Climb reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Zeb reported light winds while on the summit. The team departed the crater rim around 7:30 am and is making their descent to Camp Muir where they will pack up before continuing their descent. We look forward to seeing the team in Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations Climbers!
Posted by: Jeff Martin, Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
Greetings from Moscow,
The team arrived in Moscow today and our Russian adventure has officially begun!
There are no more trips to the store to buy that last minute item that you think you might need to bring just in case, no more chances to clear off your desk of the last few remaining to-do items. It is go time. We are headed for Mt. Elbrus.
But before we fly south, we are going to explore Moscow tomorrow and all it's amazing sights. And we will get a big dose of Russian culture, food and history along the way. The perfect introduction to this country.
RMI Guides Jeff Martin and Pete Van Deventer
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Success! We did it!
We officially stood on top of the highest point in Europe. It was the nicest day I've ever had here on Elbrus- clear, calm, and great overall climbing conditions! Add on top of that our local guide Vladimir (hero) not only negotiated a snow cat ride of a life time, but he broke trail all day to help us achieve our goal. The team did a great job of climbing and taking care of themselves all day.
We enjoyed the summit and amazing views for about 20 minutes before descending back to camp, where we had a quick lunch and headed all the way back to Cheget for hot showers and beer! We have just wrapped up the evening with dinner and are headed out to explore the Cheget nightlife.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and a happy crew!
This was a relatively easy day for our team. We had nice, warm sunshine on the tents when we rolled out for 8 AM breakfast. As we'd become accustomed to, the world below was hidden beneath a thick blanket of cloud and the Roof of Africa was shining and clear above us. The cloud sea rose as the day went on, but so did we, staying one jump ahead in the sunshine. In such nice weather, there seemed to be no hurry, so Eliepende led our crew at a leisurely four-hour pace. We'd left 13,100 ft Karanga Camp at 9 AM and we cruised into 15,200 ft Barafu Camp at 1 PM. After a fine lunch and an inspiring discussion of our summit plans and preparations, the gang retired for a couple of quiet hours resting in the tents. We're doing a 5 o'clock dinner so as to have plenty of rest before our insanely early departure for the top.
The evening is still calm and clear and we have high hopes for success.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Dave - wishin u & ur team the best of the best of views from Africa when u summit. And care on safari, i hear they grow the kitty’s bigger n Africa than we do.
Safe travels.
Posted by: Mary on 8/3/2014 at 6:16 am
I’m Brads sister and have been keeping up with your climb. Very excited for your accomplishment! Good luck at the top!!!! Be careful on the decent.
CAROLINE
Posted by: Caroline on 8/2/2014 at 1:21 pm
Posted by: Walter Hailes, Solveig Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Mt. Rainier summit climbs, led by Walter Hailes and Solveig Waterfall, reached the summit this morning. They reported 15-20 mph winds and were descending through a light cap over the mountain. The teams began their descent at 7:30 a.m.
Congrats on attaining the summit, guys!
Posted by: Rick L. on 8/3/2014 at 6:36 am
Brad, Tommy, Mark and Tanner - Hope all is well. Cant wait to see the pics.
Posted by: cheryl on 8/2/2014 at 5:48 pm
Hello this is Elias with the Machu Picchu Trek. We are at our camp right below Nevado Salkantay under the impressive north face. We had a really good first day of hiking. We are in the vicinity of 13,000 feet. Everybody did really well. We are about to enjoy a nice dinner cooked by our amazing cook, Alejandro. Tomorrow we will visit Incan ruins and the Inca Calendar. and will keep you posted when we get to the next camp.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Elias de Andres Martos calling in from the Machu Picchu Trek.
Just want to shout out a big “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MICHAEL”, we’ll celebrate when you get home. love, Patsy & Bob
Posted by: Patsy Hollie on 8/2/2014 at 12:44 pm
Casey Grom and his Mt. Elbrus team reached the summit! Everyone is down safe and they will check in later today.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
On The Map
Wow. Looks like a clear sky and beautiful weather. Good for you. Congratulations!
Posted by: Fernando de Aragon on 8/2/2014 at 6:33 pm
Congratulations !!! Great summit picture. Thanks to the guides for everything. Enjoy your. success.
Posted by: Josie on 8/2/2014 at 9:41 am
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Being on safari is nature at its most basic form. To see the food chain in the realm of nature makes you ponder on life itself. You take away a certain fresh outlook on the meaning of life on these safaris. And to see the living prehistoric creature that is near extinction, the rhino, keep the wheels spinning. We had a chilly start to the day up in the cloud forest on the flanks of the Ngorongoro Crater. We decided to stop in at a Maasai Boma or village where for 20 dollars each they gave us warmth in one of their cow dung huts with its dirt floor, no chimney, wood-burning modular homes. We got out of there pretty quickly but left with the flavor and fragrance of a life a bit different than ours. Nice folks and enjoyed the visit. The clouds eventually burnt off to a picture-perfect day in the bottom of the crater, the Eighth Wonder of the World. Yes the trigger finger took a bit of a warming up but no animal, bird, or plant escaped the lens of these safari pros. We even had some shots taken with out a memory card due to some rough roads and a bit too over excited at the chase of the perfect picture. Lots more opportunity for photos tomorrow as we move to yet another amazing park in Africa.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
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Brad & Brian, Congrats on the Summit for you and all your team! Can’t wait to see the photos and hear the stories. Can’t think of a better reason to get together for a few cold ones.
See you soon.
Steve
Posted by: Steve on 8/4/2014 at 9:21 am
Hope it was a great adventure for everyone! I am sure you are all ready to get a warm shower and a comfy bed! :) Have fun on the safari! Love you Babe! Heather
Posted by: Heather Davis on 8/4/2014 at 6:36 am
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