Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Posted by: Mike King, Alex Halliday
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Mike King and Alex Halliday reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team reported clear, calm and beautiful Skies. The team just departed from the crater rim and are en route back to Camp Muir.
Congratulations team!
Posted by: Casey Grom, Jenny Konway
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,060'
The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb teams, led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Jenny Konway, were unable to summit this morning. They stayed at Camp Muir due to high winds and rain. The teams will begin their descent to Paradise later this morning.
Posted by: JT Schmitt, Dustin Wittmier
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 10,781'
We just got back down to town after a great climb up the Easton Glacier on Mt.Baker with Wilderness Adventures! The weather could not have been better, with calm conditions and warm temperatures abounding all the way to the summit and back down to camp. The group all climbed strong, pushing their physical limits while trying out mountaineering for the first time, all amidst stunning views of the North Cascade mountains.
Afterwards we ended up back at beautiful Sandy Camp for a relaxing afternoon of eating, drinking glacier water and napping. All in all a great trip.
RMI Guide JT Schmitt
The American Lung Association Climb for Clean Air team led by RMI Guide Hannah Smith reached the summit of Mt. Baker today. The team had beautiful sunshine skies and light winds. They are back at camp where they will rest and enjoy their success. The team plans to walk out tomorrow.
Congratulations to Today's Team!
RMI Guide JM Gorum and the Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning via the Emmons Glacier route. The team will return to Camp Schurman for a final night on the mountain. They will return to Ashford tomorrow.
Congratulations climbers!
Great Job you two!!! Super Excited to hear all about it. Take Care!
Posted by: Susan Stassen on 8/1/2019 at 3:04 pm
Congratulations to all the climbers. Annu I am very happy for you. Can’t wait to hear the whole experience!
Posted by: Viji Thuppul on 8/1/2019 at 11:48 am
Posted by: Christina Dale, Jess Matthews
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guides Christina Dale and Jess Matthews and led the Four Day Climb to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Jess reported steady 25 - 30 mph winds from the summit. The teams are making their descent to Camp Muir where they will rest, refuel, and repack before continuing their descent to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp in Ashford this afternoon.
Nice work teams!
Congratulations to all!! We are looking forward to seeing you at Paradise!
Posted by: Delene gillespie on 8/1/2019 at 8:39 am
Posted by: Brent Okita
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
It just never let up today. Huge herds of zebras, wildebeest, gazelle and other critters surrounded us throughout the day. Ostriches, hyenas, jackals, hippos, birds and other animals also showed up. However, the lions are what really took the cake. Fifteen individual lions graced our day, some just a few feet away from our rigs.
It was just crazy how many we saw. We saw some big males following a female in heat. The biggest male actually walked around and in front of our Landcruiser in slow pursuit of the girl of his dreams. We observed an older female, said to be the best hunter in the pack, sizing up her opportunities for a kill as the herd of hundreds nervously milled around her in the 'safe zone' just out of reach. We also witnessed three females as they cautiously sized up their opportunity for a kill while following a small group of unaware zebras.
And on the road towards the park entrance, when we thought the day done, two exciting events took place.
First, we encountered a pride of four cats walking down the road. Although we made them a little nervous, they didn't bolt until our excitement got the best of us and they slipped away into the thick brush off the side of the road. The last lion actually hung in the brush just 6-7' away watching us watch her.
And to top off the day was a call to action when our group came upon a safari vehicle that had rolled off the side of the road and down a steep, 45-55 degree embankment. Caught with just my flip flops on I quickly donned my shoes, but not before our drivers and four of the team hopped out to the rescue. Normally I'd keep well intended but untrained folks away from a scene like this until we came up with a plan, but three of the four were medical professionals and one just darned strong.
By the time I scrambled down the brushy, vine covered slope the 'walking wounded' were climbing up to safety and the first people on scene had extricated a young boy trapped under the vehicle and were starting the process of hauling him up this very steep slope.
Following that difficult extrication a quick assessment found no life threatening injuries and we transported him in another tour vehicle to a hospital 20 kilometers away.
Huge kudos go out to Shavran, Liz, Craig and Joe for their selfless and heroic actions. A doctor, nurse, ski patroller and hard man, respectively. This kid was in good hands. Even our driver was instrumental in lifting the vehicle enough to pull the young boy from beneath the wreckage. Shavran and Liz didn't think twice about jumping into the Landcruiser with our patient to maintain C- spine precautions and monitor his airway during transport.
I later found out that both Shavran and Liz did this in their sandals and flip flops. Wow!
Good news, we think the kid is going to be OK, thanks to the efforts of some incredible individuals. (By the way, in general, let the medical and rescue professionals handle this kind of situation. If you want to be prepared to help in an emergency, get training).
Now, on to our last full day of our safari. Tarangire National Park. What are we going to encounter next ...
RMI Guide Brent Okita
My heart goes out to the families and people who were involved. I’m so glad to hear everybody’s going to be OK. Life and love is precious Hold it dearly to our hearts. Mary and everybody have a great safari on your last day.
Posted by: David Workman on 8/1/2019 at 3:58 am
RMI Guide Nick Scott and the Five Day Climb reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning! Nick reported blue skies, light winds, and chilly temperatures on the summit. The team began their descent to Camp Muir a shortly after 7:30 AM. Once back and Camp Muir, the team will repack after their two nights on the mountain before continuing their descent to Paradise.
Congratulations!
So glad you made it! Nice to meet so many of you during our 4 day climb!
Posted by: shannon austin on 7/31/2019 at 11:26 pm
Congratulations to the team! Proud of you! Wish we were with you, beautiful view. How’s the air up there?
Posted by: Sky dog, Hilly, Belle and Rocket Lewis on 7/31/2019 at 4:18 pm
Posted by: Mike Walter, Nikki Champion
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guide Mike Walter reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. RMI Guide Nikki Champion reported good weather with moderate winds on the summit. The team began their descent at 7:30 AM. They will return to Ashford this afternoon.
Way to climb!
Congrats Team! Way to go Andy! \o/
Posted by: Darla on 7/31/2019 at 11:16 pm
Congratulations Team! And special congratulations to our buddy Andy Booth for making the summit this morning. You earned it!!!
Posted by: Tideworks Mountaineers on 7/31/2019 at 8:45 am
Posted by: Brent Okita
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Waking up early this morning after our celebratory dinner last night could have been harder had we not had our safari to look forward to. Day one had us visiting Lake Manyara National Park, home of the elusive tree climbing lion.
Well, no lion was seen ready to pounce upon our Landcruiser, but we enjoyed a spectacular first day. Even before getting off the highway we had giraffes and zebras run across the road right in front of us, miles from the park. Once in the park our drivers, Godson and Fabian, proved to be inexhaustible sources of information on everything from the flora and fauna of the region to the culture of the Maasai. And they have such sharp eyes!
We were treated to wildlife sightings around every bend in the road, it seemed. The cute, curious, intelligent baboons were everywhere and some of the first animals encountered, but shortly after that we saw elephants, water buck, wildebeest, zebras, water buffalo, hippopotamus, impala, monkeys, and probably a dozen varieties of birds.
Liz jokingly commented that she only climbed the mountain to do the safari, and that she really wanted to see an elephant. Well, her wishes came true as we saw perhaps a dozen elephants, some quite close up! Watching a hippo snap its monstrous jaw down (with a reportedly 6 ton force) was another highlight. But perhaps the ever present baboons provided the most amusement as they seemed to like to hang right by the roadside, so up close and personal sightings were common and way too entertaining.
And now we're settled in to the Plantation Lodge, an over the top lodge converted from an old coffee plantation that is luxury and swankiness redefined. At least in my eyes. Dinner can best be described as 'haute cuisine' and a wine cellar and bar lie in a subterranean set of rooms one can peer into from a circular window set in the floor of the dining room above. Crazy!
Ok, after our 'kick ass' day summiting Kili, we deserve this!
Bon appetite.
RMI Guide Brent Okita
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Congratulations team. Job well done!
Posted by: Tideworks Mountaineers on 8/4/2019 at 11:03 pm
Yay! Way to go team!
Posted by: Darla on 8/2/2019 at 7:31 am
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