Entries from Locations
Yesterday we awoke to a crisp morning, with a blanket of fresh snow up high. Enough snow to stop our van in its tracks on the approach road to
Lonquimay, but we didn't mind the extra skinning. The weather was a bit stormy the top 2,000' of the mountain, so we decided to save the summit for the next day. We still got to ski a couple long, very fun laps above massive lava fields, and later our crew went for a pre-dinner soak at the local thermas.
Today we had perfect Southern Hemisphere spring weather and were able to ski from the summit. We skinned up to about 8,500', where we transitioned to boot crampons and threw our skis on our backs. Another 900' of methodical climbing and we were on top.
The big news however is that Sergio, our host here in Malalcahuello, is cooking his famous Chilean asado for us tonight - something I look forward to every year.
All is great with us.
RMI Guide Tyler Reid & the Chile Ski Team
The whole group is here and today we put skis on our feet for the first time. We found some nice corn on the lower flanks of
Lonquimay that made for smooth turns. Now we're settled into our casa at the Suizandina Lodge here in Malalcahuello, next to a warm fire. The crackling of logs is interrupted by sizzling water droplets, vaporizing as they fall from our damp skins onto the hot stove. Life is good!
RMI Guide Tyler Reid & Chile Ski Team
Our team has safely reached Base Camp. They will spend two nights there before descending to Driver's Camp on Tuesday, October 4th to meet their vehicles and begin the two day drive back to Lhasa. From there they will take a flight to Kathmandu. They intend to spend a few days in Kathmandu to honor their friend and fellow climber. Team members will then depart Kathmandu to make their way back to family and friends.
All of the team members are doing well and are supporting each other. Our hearts are with them.
The RMI Office Team
We enjoyed more fine game viewing as we exited the park and our Safari guides continued to impress spotting out cats all over the place this morning. Things went as smooth as you could expect even on 4 wheel drive roads. Our great drivers and local support assisted us as we continued focusing on some of the things we do best, eating and shopping. After a quick stop at the
Dik Dik Hotel to gather our climbing gear and have a quick dinner, it was off to the airport. We said our good byes happy to be heading home but still smiling from our grand adventure.
Happy October, it's time to come up with my Halloween costume.
Until the next adventure.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
It has been a difficult few days for our team members. Today all climbers descended safely to Depot Camp (Advanced Base Camp) where they will spend the night. They plan to descend to Base Camp tomorrow.
The RMI Office Team
Hello Everyone,
We received very sad news earlier today. One of the Sherpa team members was caught in an avalanche this morning and has died. The rest of the team are safe. All team members are spending the night at Camp 2 and will be descending in the morning. The accident occurred below Camp 3 as a Sherpa team was moving up. This is all the information we have at this time. We will provide updates as we get information from the team.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Sherpas, climbers and their families.
The RMI Office Team
Safari just doesn't get any better than this. We cruised out if the
Plantation Lodge well fed and ready to go. Of course shopping and a visit to a Maasai village were on the agenda today. Both of which are always interesting and amusing. We couldn't spend too much time on either, for the call of the wild was a big priority for this team. As usual, Tarangire National Park impressed even the most veteran of game viewers. It is always amazing to see survival in its purest form. We were all glad the wildebeest (and not us) was the meal for that pride of lions we viewed tearing it apart. We had just entered the park gate when we encountered them on their lunch break. We rolled our way through the park and exited the other side to the remote and tented Kikoti Camp. This place is nothing like the camps on Kilimanjaro, believe me, it would be very easy to spend a lot of nights here. Luxury is the word that comes to mind. We enjoyed a great dinner and are thrilled to be spending our last night in Tanzania in this awesome location. Like I said, it’s tough to match this one.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
And the heavy winds kept us bounded at
Camp 1 today, folks. We woke up to clear skies that soon turned cloudy, but the if we had some hopes to move up early on, the everlasting winds killed it for today. We did what what we had to, and was rest, re-hydrate, eat, and fortify the wall we made around camp. Our forecast gives us hopes to move to Camp 2 tomorrow, so we're ultra motivated for that. In the meantime, we know that the extra night here will be beneficial for overcoming the thin air that awaits above. We're armed with plenty of food and desire to continue this fight, so stay toned for more. Everyone is healthy and eager to climb!
RMI Guide ElÃas de Martos and team.
A very nice day on
Safari. We descended into the crater some 1,800 plus feet to get below the clouds surrounding the rim. Interesting forest of flat-topped Acacia trees surround the drop from the top. We as guests felt welcomed to this community of over 30,000 animals. Such a unique experience to be part of the tribe of the crater. The animals sense no threat so to be able to observe these creatures interaction in such a pure form is truly amazing. You can really think you understand their train of thought and why they are behaving a certain way. Probably not even close to the reason behind the action but fun to think I may be a wild animal whisperer. Great food and drink of course as we continue to enjoy the friendly local hospitality. The team continues to impress with their ability to persevere through the challenges of the day like what picture to take. Life is good, all is well, get out while you can.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
The
Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir reached the summit of Mount Rainier this morning. RMI Guides
Brent Okita and
Billy Nugent with their teams started the day with a glorious sunrise as they ascended the mountain. Weather was crisp with wind speeds around 20 mph. They began their descent to Camp Muir at 9:15 a.m. and will spend the next two days learning additional mountaineering skills to wrap up the week on Mount Rainier.
The seminar is the last RMI Mount Rainier program of the 2016 season. We look forward to
May 2017 when the next season begins!
Always thinking of you and praying for all of your safe return.
Posted by: Jane Knoff on 10/3/2016 at 4:58 am
We’re so relieved you all made it back to base camp safely. We hope you get plenty of rest. Please extend our deepest condolences to the Sherpa’s family and friends. We’re looking forward to seeing you soon.
Posted by: Hikari on 10/2/2016 at 10:09 pm
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