Entries from Locations
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek
Yesterday we had a wonderful albeit long day climbing to the roof of Africa The team woke at the enjoyable hour of 11 pm to clear skies and a light breeze. Chilly to say the least at 15,000 ft. We had a brief midnight breakfast of oatmeal hot drinks and biscuits Hitting the trail right around midnight We climbed in hour increments with 15 minute breaks in between. Which we've been doing every day thus far. The weather started out fine but the higher we climbed the wind would increase. By the time we hit the crater rim about 19,000 ft it was a bit chilly but we were prepared and ready for all conditions.The climb took about 7 hours reach the top, the sun had risen shortly before reaching the top to help warm us and boost morale after climbing through the night. Once there we hugged each other, enjoyed the view and took plenty of pictures. It was a true test of endurance for most of the crew and I'm really proud of everyone! We descended back to high camp had a quick lunch , repacked and continued further down the mountain, where we had dinner and then headed to bed for some well deserved sleep.
Today we woke at 6:30 feeling good, had breakfast, then enjoyed a goodbye song and dance from gracious crew of porters, cooks and guides numbering 55. We finished the celebration by handing out well deserved tips and then hit the trail one last time. It took a little under three hours to reach the park gate a short drive to where the team had lunch then hopped aboard our bus for the ride back to the lodge. Finally we are safe and sound, a little cleaner after an amazing 7 day journey up and down Kilimanjaro.
The team is looking forward to safari which starts tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker & Team
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Plane, trains and Automobiles!
We traveled nearly all day and have finally arrived in one of the most beautiful cities of Europe, St. Petersburg.
Things went relatively smooth despite 2 van rides and 2 flights. We got checked into the hotel here and then ran out for a quick dinner followed by a short but scenic stroll to the top of St. Issac's Cathedral for a nice view of the city.
While enjoying the view, there happened to be a small fireworks display that was a welcome surprise.
Everyone is doing well and looking forward to seeing this city tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Posted by: Jess Matthews, Joe Hoch, Nate Goodwin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guide Jess Matthews and the Five Day Summit Climb team July 27 - 31, 2017 made an early start for the summit and reached the crater rim at 5:30 am. The team enjoyed blue skies and minimal wind on a beautiful day. The team spent an hour on top before starting their descent. The team will return to the trail head at Paradise and then continue to Rainier BaseCamp in Ashford.
Congratulations to today's Five Day Summit Climb team!
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Hello all,
Thankfully everyone easily survived our celebration dinner and made it home at a decent hour. Today was a rest day for us in Cheget and most of us took it easy. We mostly relaxed, packed up gear, and did a little exploring around the valley. We also went out to a nearby restaurant that has a trout pond where we watched locals fish and enjoyed a nice lunch.
Tomorrow is our travel day from the mountain to St. Petersburg, so we are off to bed as we have a very early departure.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Summit! RMI Guide Mike King was on top at 5:00 a.m. this morning. The warm temperatures are making for early alpine starts as the team left Mt. Rainier's crater rim at 6:00 a.m. They are progressing well on their descent back to Camp Muir.
Congratulations Team!
Hoorah, team! Glad that the vintage crampons got you to the top, Nathaniel. :-)
Posted by: Deb on 7/30/2017 at 2:54 pm
Congratulations Nathaniel. Love You.
Posted by: Dean K-F on 7/30/2017 at 1:03 pm
On Saturday, July 29th at 9:15 pm PST, RMI Guide Mark Tucker called from the Kilimanjaro summit! Please click the link below to listen to the call.
Update 7:44 am PST:
The team is all here at the last Camp Mweka. At about 10,000ft it is very comfortable compared to where we have been recently. It was a tough day and everybody is in tents resting before our last dinner on the hill. Everybody did great and is in good health. More details tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
RMI Guide Mark Tucker calls from the Roof of Africa
On The Map
Pongezi Annie & Phillip!!! The view looks amazing.
Have a great adventure!
Posted by: Åsta on 7/30/2017 at 8:03 pm
Congrats & Way to Go to everyone on the team for summiting Kilamanjaro!!
Glad to hear it was a safe trip!
Hope you all will have lasting memories of this trip.
- Mike Gary (Kevin’s brother)
P.S. Happy belated birthday, Kevin! :)
Posted by: Mike Gary on 7/30/2017 at 7:34 pm
Hello again everyone!
The team has finally made it off of the mountain and we are safely back in Cheget. We sadly had our last meal from Dasha this morning before saying our goodbyes and hitching a ride downhill. She and her amazing mountain food will certainly be missed.
Hot showers were had by all, and its safe to say we are smelling good again.
We mostly relaxed the rest of the day and are just heading out to our celebration dinner where our wonderful local guides will no doubt "introduce" us to a little Russian vodka.
That's all for today.
на здоровье!
RMI Guide Casey Grom
David, and team - what a fantastic accomplishment! Keep climbing safely.
Posted by: Jay McCampbell on 8/7/2017 at 7:42 am
The RMI Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise Glacier, led by RMI Guide Pepper Dee, has had a spectacular week of training. With the many skills they learned, the team topped off their week with a bluebird summit day. Warm temperatures and a light breeze have followed them all week and continues as they descend from the Mt. Rainier summit.
Congratulations to the Seminar Team!
RMI Guide Robby Young led his team to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The forecasted freezing level of 14,500' rang true and the team topped out with warm temperatures, no clouds and endless views. Their descent began about 7:00 a.m. and we look forward to congratulating them this afternoon.
It was a short and uneventful move from Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp,which is our launching point for the summit. The team did great and we arrived in right around three hours. Perfect weather, in fact a bit hot with how intense the sun is here at around 15,000ft. Not much atmosphere above us to filter the sun. We've had our summit talk where we discussed our plan and the team's strategy for tomorrow. Final packing is taking place. Relaxing and of course eating is the job for the rest of the day, then early dinner, off to bed for more rest. Weather permitting, we'll be up at 11pm, have breakfast and hit the trail around midnight. As per usual I'm expecting the ascent to take around eight hours, breaks included, to the Roof of Africa.
My goal will to give a call from the top of conditions allow.
The team is in great shape and high spirits.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
What a way to start a new day! Cheers to all of you.
Posted by: Anna Marie McCormick on 7/29/2017 at 11:22 am
Ross - Good Job brother. Sd. ATA Team!
Posted by: Vasu on 8/1/2017 at 1:03 pm
Congratulations! So proud of you Samantha! You rock girl. ❤
Posted by: Kamini on 8/1/2017 at 8:09 am
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