Hello from Mexico City!
Our team arrived throughout the day, and by 7pm we were all gathered on the rooftop patio of the hotel for an equipment review and logistics breakdown of the days to come.
We are all looking forward to leaving the hustle and bustle of urban life and heading into the hills for our first acclimatization hike.
We'll check in again from the La Malitzi Resort.
Thanks for following!
RMI Guides Solveig Waterfall and Billy Haas
Hello from our last camp on Kilimanjaro. I just wanted to send a quick note to say this all the climbers have descended safely from High Camp.
Our climb was warm with partly clear skies but clouds built up on our descent. As we left high camp our old friend the rain returned and stayed with us most of the way to 10,000'. We're all getting ready for our last dinner on the mountain right now. Tomorrow we will walk to the Mweka Gate and then transfer back to the Dik Dik Hotel for celebrations!
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Congratulations Karen and JJ what an amazing accomplishment!
Posted by: Courtney Rams on 1/18/2016 at 9:02 am
Congrat!!! Steve and team. Anybody ready for a hike to the top and back a second time? (Maybe next year?) I hope you can take care of those feet, Steve.
8:04 pm Pacific Time
Hey, this is a Seth checking in from Uhuru Peak, the top of Kilimanjaro and the highest point in Africa. Everybody made it to the today, we had a really nice climb, good weather, warm weather I should say, there were some clouds. Everybody hung in and did awesome and everybody did make it all the way to Uhuru Peak, the tippy top. A few parties of started to head down and I'm just up here with the last folks. We're about ready to head on down to our High Camp and then we are going to pack things up and head down at 10,000 feet where plants actually grow right out of the ground, I've heard. And spend one more night on the mountain and then we will be out tomorrow. I'm going to check in when we get down to 10,000, report in and hopefully all will be well, I'm sure it will be. This is Seth checking out.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall calls from Uhuru Peak, the summit of Kilimanjaro.
Congratulations Annie. I knew you could do it! I know how hard you worked for this. I am so happy for you. You are amazing! Now you can really enjoy the rest of your time! I can’t wait to hear all about it and see some pictures too.!
Posted by: Becky Hamilton on 1/17/2016 at 5:31 pm
Woot! Woot! Way to go Annie! What an amazing accomplishment! I am looking forward to the stories. Love you!
Summit day on Chimborazo. Not only were our bodies still recovering from the two previous big climbs of Cayambe and Antisana, we saved the trickiest and tallest climb for last. Towering over the surrounding landscape at 20,700ft, Chimborazo was our final objective. And boy, did it deliver!
Even in the best conditions, this peak isn't an easy target. But coupled with uncharacteristically dry season this year, this climb proved to be the most physically and mentally demanding of the trip.
We hiked up yesterday to our High Camp at around 17,500', made some dinner, and hit the sack. Our climb this morning began with our 11pm alarms waking us from our sleep. After tidying up camp, slamming some calories, and chugging some coffee, we pointed our tired feet uphill towards the summit.
The climb began with about an hour and a half of walking on trail, exposed ridges, and a couple of 5th class climbing moves. As the trail steepened, we cramponed up and prepared to hit the glacier.
Because of the dry spell Ecuador has been experiencing, the glacier was a challenging beast! Steep, firm, icy, exposed. Perfect footwork was required for the entire ascent, but our team delivered! From challenging cramponing to sections of pitched-out steep ice, this team persevered and tackled everything that crossed their paths. After a grueling 7.5 hours, we reached the Veintemilla summit at 20,561', 30 minutes later we had turned tail and began the descent.
The steep ice and exposure made the descent as difficult as the ascent, but the team kept their heads in the game and we made it safely back to high camp by 2pm. Our porters had already packed up camp for us, making it easy for us to continue on our final descent back to the bus.
The (thoroughly exhausted yet happy) team is now back at Estrella de Chimborazo, enjoying some much earned beverages, and reminiscing about these crazy last two weeks. It's hard to believe we're heading back to the big city tomorrow and flying home!
We will have one more update for you guys tomorrow, but we'll all be home to tell you more stories firsthand before you know it!
Until tomorrow,
RMI Guides Nick Hunt and Adam Knoff
Well, we made it to Base Camp yesterday! The team is moving well and feeling good despite our first abrupt change in elevation since the drive from Mendoza to Penitentes. We are now sitting pretty and all moved in at Plaza Argentina at an elevation of right around 4,200 m or about 13,800'. Anita and Griselda, head honchos here with Grajales, prepared us an over the top welcome dinner complete with soup, veggies, a slab of beef, and tiramisu for dessert! Despite the extravagance of the meal the living still isn't super easy up here and we knew were we are all in for a little bit of discomfort trying to sleep up here on our first night.
Today is another sunny and glorious day up here at Plaza Argentina. The gang actually fared quite well through the night and enjoyed a casual wake up this morning. We all hung out and drank real coffee along with enjoying stuffed breakfast burritos complete with prosciutto and grilled veggies thanks to Katrina's solid work in the kitchen. We'll probably burn the rest of the day today preparing both our group and personal loads for tomorrow's carry up to Camp 1. Everyone's hanging out grooving on the Andes and looking forward to tomorrow's foray higher. That and wondering how the Seahawks are gonna do against Carolina.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Those are some good lookin Donkeys you got there. Now you know what it’s like to hang around West Point in the middle of winter.
Hey, what are the bathrooms like?
You know, I see you doing this and I think, wow! You could have been a Navy Seal and probably led the raid to get Bin Laden.
Remember, one foot in front of the other and if you begin seeing Sharon Steinhauer, get on oxygen immediately.
745796 sends
Posted by: TJ on 1/18/2016 at 2:52 pm
Randy
Sounds like things are going well for my mountain man. You definitely have the better weather right now…windchill of -20 here tonight…yikes! All is good on the homefront…Lucas got a promotion at work and Allison is happy with all her classes. Think of you often and miss you!
Love Lisa
Jambo and greetings from High Camp on Kilimanjaro. We are at 15,000' and the team is doing just fine. We were even blessed with nice weather all day today.
We had another easy morning with breakfast at 8:00. Fresh fruit, eggs and bacon sure is a treat at this elevation.
After breakfast we hit the trail and had a mix of sun and clouds but no rain as we climbed the 2,000 feet to high camp. The climb was gradual all the way except for a steep bit pulling into camp. Everyone was feeling good and had a great climb up here.
It's 12:00pm now and we are planning on having lunch soon and an early dinner. After that it is a midnight departure for the summit. Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
¡Hola de Pampa de Leñas! After a last night in a real bed we got outta Penitentes and hit the trail. Needless to say the team is psyched to finally be on the move after the months of anticipation and the seemingly endless packing and repacking. We enjoyed clear skies and a decent breeze that despite kicking up a bit of dust was actually pleasant in keeping the temps manageable. Everyone moved extremely well and is currently lounging around camp waiting for the herrieros to finish up grilling up some giant slabs of beef for us. Steak and wine, and a crew of happy campers. Not bad for our first day on the hill.
All for now!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Hi Heather and all of you up there.
Sorry to hear about the weather. The New Yorkers have been hit by heavy snow and the weather system is heading to us across the Atlantic but will change to strong winds and heavy rain for us this week. Not quite as bad as you are getting.
Stay positive and try and meditate if the storm noise allows!
Love Diane and Paul
Posted by: Paul and Diane on 1/24/2016 at 11:13 pm
The tough part begins - our thoughts are with you - stay safe
Hey Everyone,
We woke this morning and had a great breakfast. After we were well nourished we decided to brush up on our crevasse rescue skills. This afternoon we packed up and headed for the Chimborazo Reserve, from there it was a three hour hike to 17,500' where camp was set up for us. The team is doing great we had a great dinner and now it's off to bed, for an alpine start awaits us. The summit of Chimborazo beckons...Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Adam Knoff & Team
Based on Justin’s SPOT - I see you on the summit of CHIMBORAZO - seems you all have had a fantastic trip with considerable time high in ice and snow (wish I were there)! Congrats all!! Greetings especially to Justin and Larry - be safe!
Posted by: Tim on 1/16/2016 at 5:33 am
So your aim is to reach the highest point on earth from the earth’s center! Now that’s a story to tell. Sending you hope for good conditions that will permit you to attain your goal. Regardless… You already have great stories to tell and incredible memories for years to come. Excited to hear them:-)
Today we awoke with the same tired bodies we experienced after climbing Cayambe but this time there was no packing up bags preparing for a walk to the bus. Here at Guaytala they prepared us a great breakfast, had hot showers and gave us free range over the espresso machine which helped shake out the cob webs more than anything. At 10:30 Victor arrived and we loaded our luggage once again into the magic bus for our final migration to Ecuador's tallest mountain, Chimborazo.
Six hours after leaving the foot hills of Antisana, we arrived at La Estrella De Chimborazo, "the star of Chimborazo". Here we definitely saved the best for last. It was agreed that no other hotel or hacienda has displayed such forethought in its layout, architecture and decorating. This place is made for climbers. With pictures of Chimborazo on almost every wall and a literal museum of climbing photos and old equipment hanging from every rafter, we can't help but to be inspired to push ourselves one last time into the high alpine in an attempt to make history of our own.
We are all feeling tired from two big climbs but ready for one final go. The weather had been great and most other things have gone as planned. Wish us luck as we move to high camp tomorrow. Adios for now.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
if I look close enough I can almost see you on the map!
Good luck J-man
Posted by: Paul Shepherd on 1/15/2016 at 3:27 pm
Mike R.
Good News, The Grand Jury has chosen not to return an indictment, so it is safe to come home.
Good Luck to Everyone on your Ascent!!
Be safe!
SB & KB.
Jambo! This is Seth checking in from Karanga Valley. Only one more day to high camp!
We have broken out of our daily pattern of clear mornings and rainy afternoons. Today it was cloudy and with rain showers all day. Even though we are not having ideal weather the team is in very high spirits.
Everyone did great on the Barranco Wall this morning. We let most of the people in our last camp get out early and then started up the 800-foot wall. The bottom part of the wall has some really fun scrambling and we all had a blast climbing through that section. We were lucky in that the rain held off until we topped out on the wall.
We hovered around 13,000' all day and the terrain is really cool at this elevation. It's right at the edge of where plants live and so sometimes it looks like a barren waste land. But then you turn a corner and there can be a giant heather forest. It's great trekking here.
Light showers started up after we topped out on the wall and continued to build into a real rainstorm as we pulled into camp. Our tents are nice and dry though and the cook made us a great pasta lunch. We are doing good.
I'll check in again tomorrow from our high camp.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Bobby- we are so proud of you! Just a few days until you can sip tequila!
Love Annie, Grace, Davis and Susan
Posted by: Susan Gallagher on 1/16/2016 at 7:28 am
Annie and team,
I have only seen Kilimanjaro from a distance; cannot imagine the extraordinary experience of being on that awesome mountain and climbing towards the top! Thinking of you today and tomorrow, hoping for fair weather, safety, and boost of energy as you near the summit. Thanks for staying in touch through these blogs and photos!
Posted by: Helen (Gillette) on 1/16/2016 at 7:01 am
Congratulations Karen and JJ what an amazing accomplishment!
Posted by: Courtney Rams on 1/18/2016 at 9:02 am
Congrat!!! Steve and team. Anybody ready for a hike to the top and back a second time? (Maybe next year?) I hope you can take care of those feet, Steve.
Posted by: Phil Sturr on 1/17/2016 at 2:12 pm
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