Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Around 7:20 AM PT the
Four Day Summit Climb August 22 - 25 led by
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer rolled into the crater of Mt. Rainier. Pete reported a light breeze with some high clouds above and a low marine layer near Paradise. There was a beautiful sunrise this morning as they were making their ascent and the temperature was not too cold. The team will enjoy some time in the summit crater before starting their descent. Once back to Camp Muir they will pack up and continue down to Paradise. A celebration at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon will conclude their program.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb team!
The
Mt. Rainier Summit Climb, led by
RMI Guides Mike King and Bryan Mazaika, turned this morning at 12,800'. The winds were high on the upper mountain and the team returned safely back to Rainier Basecamp this afternoon.
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Elias deAndres Martos and JM Gorum reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Elias reported a beautiful and almost smoke free morning. The teams were spending some time on the summit enjoying the views before starting their descent.
Congratulations to today's team!
RMI Guide Steve Gately just called from the
Mt. Shuksan summit. The wildfire smoke is not too bad today, which is a nice shift. The team is happily snacking and will call us later from camp.
Congratulations to today's summit climb team!
The
Four Day Summit Climb August 19 - 22 led by
RMI Guides Brent Okita and Andy Bond reached the summit of Mt. Rainier right around 7 AM today. Brent reported a nice day overall with 5-10 mph winds but very smokey skies. The teams will spend a bit of time on the summit before starting their descent. Once back at Camp Muir they will repack and then continue down to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
RMI Guide Mike Walter reported in this afternoon that the team made it to the summit of
Mt. Baker with 100% success! Mike reported that conditions were smoke free starting at 8,700' and were clear and calm on the summit. The team had a long day on a long route with a late season West Ridge variation. They will spend some time on top and begin their descent back to camp.
Congratulations!
The
Four Day Summit Climb teams are standing in the summit crater of Mt. Rainier as of 7AM PT this morning.
RMI Guides Robby Young and Hannah Smith led their teams to Camp Muir yesterday and awoke them around midnight to start their summit climb. Robby reported a light breeze and a very nice day above the top of Disappointment Cleaver where they were happy to find clear air. After enjoying some time on top, the teams will return to Camp Muir and continue down to Paradise. This afternoon they will enjoy some beverages and a celebration to end their Four Day Summit Climb program.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
RMI Guide Eric Frank & Team decided to swap the smoky air of the
North Cascades for the cleaner ocean air of Mt. Erie. The downside to the change is less significant peak objectives, but still quality rock climbing and rock movement training grounds. The team ended the program on a high note and under blue skies. Forecasts for the coming days in the North Cascades are predicting that the smoke will clear out and should provide ideal climbing conditions for climbs on
Mt. Baker,
Mt. Shuksan, and in the
Boston Basin.
The
Four Day Summit Climb teams reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning led by
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Jess Matthews. The teams spent time in the crater before starting their descent. Once back at Camp Muir they will repack and continue to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later today.
Congratulations to today's climbers.
Up before dawn, just one more time.
Balloon Camp was kind to us... such a quiet night and such an easy morning -until just after breakfast when we had to split up with Emily and Phillip who were off to the Serengeti. We loaded up again with Ibrahim and Edson to see what we could see. We saw tracks in the road. We saw the vastness of a marsh, stretching to the horizon, dotted here and there with big animals, we saw a very pretty morning. And after an hour, we saw an amazing and beautiful leopard close up. We scared him and he scared us. Ibrahim looked up to find him on a branch as we passed nearly underneath. We skidded to a halt and he hopped up on his feet. We fumbled for cameras and he showed his teeth. He growled in a low and ominous rumble and we each wondered if he was considering jumping through the open top of our Toyota. Instead he climbed quickly and gracefully down the tree trunk, bared his teeth at us again and went hunting in the marsh. We followed his progress by watching his tail above the tall grass for a bit and then drove on, stunned and excited by our quick and awesome encounter. We were still talking to each other about our good luck twenty minutes later when we saw another beautiful leopard up another tree. This one from a relaxing distance of 100 meters, which took away the pressure to photograph and record. We just watched and appreciated for a time before moving on. We had a few more hours in the park... hours of trees and rivers and eagles and vultures, elephants, zebra, gnu and impala, giraffes and Cape buffalo. We even saw kudus, which is a rare thing (don’t try it at home).
By late morning we’d left the park and were cruising back toward Arusha. We made a stop for more shopping and a little culture at the cultural heritage center and then pressed on to the hotel. Saying goodbye and thanks to Ibrahim and Edson for a big five experience and a wonderful four days, we set to repacking and prepping to fly. We had one last dinner together, while watching the Dik Diks and monkeys play in the garden and we practiced our Swahili while saying goodbye to the staff at Arumeru River Lodge. Said then drove us out to the airport as the sun set on our great adventure. Lots of flying awaits and there are lots of pictures to go through now. We haven’t said much in the way of goodbyes, it will be easier to just say “see you all on the next mountain.”
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Congrats Mira and team!! Glad that conditions and route were great! Enjoy your recovery and time soaking it all in :)
Posted by: Kelsey Neukum on 8/25/2018 at 3:40 pm
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