RMI Expeditions Blog
Wednesday, September 18, 2019 - 9:54 AM PT
Greetings Everyone
The team woke feeling very well rested after about 10hrs in our tent last night. We had a beautiful day on Kilimanjaro today, with sunshine nearly all day and only a few clouds after we reached camp.
We started the day waking at 6:30 to start packing up before moving into our dinning tent for a nice breakfast with porridge, fried eggs, toast, avocado and even some fresh fruit, and most importantly plenty of hot coffee.
We hit the trail shortly after 8am and slowly made our way up the rocky trail that leads out of camp. The trail climbs up a ridge and eventually out of the trees and normally allows for some truly spectacular views of the valley below, but today it was a bit limited. The team hiked for about 4.5 hours before reaching our next camp that sits on Shira plateau, which is an ancient lava flow just above tree-line. Once at camp we were treated to a wonderful warm meal and then hopped into our tents to relax.
The evening was full of great stories and another amazing meal prepared by our gracious staff.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew
On The Map
Tuesday, September 17, 2019 - 8:51 PM PT
Jambo Everyone
The team got off to a moderately early start this morning leaving behind our beautiful lodge and have headed to Kilimanjaro.
We left around 8 am and drove along the rural country side and small villages for two hours to reach the park entrance. Most of the area surrounding Kilimanjaro has been cultivated and primarily used for banana and coffee production as well as a variety of other agriculture needs, but there are still some areas that have been untouched and resemble more of a savannah that Tanzania is known for. The base of Kilimanjaro is more forested and looks more jungle like and is called a cloud forest.
Once we arrived at the gate we had all of our gear weighed and divided into loads for our 37 porters and other staff to carry before hitting the trail. Once everything was in order we started our climb slowly making our way up the winding trail that ascends continuously through the think forest. The canopy is quite dense thankfully, which provided some cover from the rain that arrive around midday.
The team hiked for a little over 6 hours and managed to not get too wet before we reached our camp for the night that sits around 10’000ft.
After settling into camp and get situated the team was served a nice warm meal for dinner consisting of soup, rice, potatoes and steak.
Everyone is doing well and looking forward to a good nights rest.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and Kili crew
On The Map
Posted by: Mike Walter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
With a very unfavorable weather forecast ahead of us, we decided to stay inside on the 15th and have a skills session with knots, hitches, carabiners, and other climbing gear. The 16th brought a better chance of climbable weather so we set off from the Lake Ann Trailhead armed with lightweight daypacks. We were able to approach the climb and reach our goal of climbing to the top of the Fisher Chimneys. We experienced wet-to-very wet trail and rock conditions, and only got rained on for a few sections of our climb. We then reversed our route and made it back to the trailhead just before the heavy rain started falling. It was a solid 12-hour day of climbing and hiking and we were happy to be back in time to beat the rain. And also in time for a late pizza dinner! The final push up the summit pyramid wasn’t in the cards with the hand we were dealt by the weather, but we were able to climb the bulk of the route and maximize the use of our time in the mountains.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Casey Grom here checking in with RMI's Kilimanjaro Climb!
All is well here in Tanzania and most of the team arrived late last night after some very long flights. It was a short and uneventful ride to our Lodge that is nestled in between Arusha and Moshi and not so far from the base of Kilimanjaro. The team had a quick dinner and headed for bed as the time change has us all feeling just a little off and pretty tired after all the traveling.
Today we had a leisurely morning with our official meeting at 9:30, where we did a round of introductions and then discussed the upcoming program for the days ahead.
We spent the remainder of the day getting our gear packed up, exploring the grounds of our Lodge, which is incredibly peaceful and has monkeys and Dik Dik running around. See for yourself: Arumeru River Lodge.
We wrapped up the evening with another delicious meal and plenty of friendly conversations. Everyone is doing well and excited to hit the trail tomorrow and get a little bit of exercise.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew!
Felling mad-jealously for you guys…it’s an amazing trip!
Posted by: Deborah Rutter on 9/16/2019 at 11:41 am
The Four Day Climb teams led by Andy Bond and Nick Scott heading up to Camp Muir for their climb tomorrow, September 16th, decided to retreat in the face of blizzard conditions. The team made it just past Pebble Creek and onto the Muir Snowfield despite heavy rains. However, at about 7,300' the heavy rains quickly turned into blowing sideways ice and snow which forced them to make the collective safety decision to turn around and head back to Paradise. The team made their descent and are back in town wearing dry layers and sipping warm drinks.
Posted by: Brent Okita, JT Schmitt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,060'
Today's Mt. Rainier summit climb, led by Brent Okita and JT Schmitt, was unable to go beyond Camp Muir due to blizzard conditions. High winds were reported through the night gusting 80 mph. The team is currently on their descent from Camp Muir and will be at Rainier Basecamp early this afternoon.
Posted by: Steve Gately, Nikki Champion, James Bealer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Shuksan Team has spent the last week in the North Cascades with one day spent on Mt. Erie learning basic rock climbing. And the remainder of the week on Mt. Shuksan to complete alpine mountaineering skills training. These techniques include anchor placements, various self and team crevasse rescue techniques, steep technical ice climbing, belays, rappelling, knots, route finding and fixed rope travel. The team then attempted the summit of Mt. Shuksan, but were forced to turn at the base of the summit pyramid due to poor rainy weather. The team is breaking camp and will be hiking to the trail head this afternoon.
Congratulations to the Team on a great week of climbing!
Incredible experience! We had a great team and fantastic leadership from the guides. I learned so much of the basic mountaineering skills needed for future climbs. Thank you RMI for an amazing trip!
Posted by: Beechard McConnell on 9/14/2019 at 12:01 pm
Posted by: Robby Young, Alex Halliday
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,200'
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Robby Young and Alex Halliday reached Ingraham Flats today but high winds forced the team to turn. They are currently at Camp Muir with winds blowing steadily at 40 mph. They will plan an early departure, and will be back at Rainier Basecamp in the early afternoon.
Congratulations team!
Disappointing to not quite get there but thanks to very experienced leadership making right calls! Great effort all!
Posted by: Judith Dykes on 9/14/2019 at 8:47 am
Posted by:
Categories: 50 Years of Climbing
My first RMI climb was also my first climb of a glaciated mountain. Born and raised in Charleston, SC. I grew up hiking, backpacking and rock climbing in Appalachia. I wanted more, to go higher, farther and to learn the skills to take myself. “No Shortcuts to the Top” was worn and dog eared on my bedside table. I had spent hours staring at pictures of Ed Viesturs, standing on the summits I hoped to one day stand as well. He spoke of a mythical mountain in the Pacific Northwest where he got his start, Mt. Rainier.
In the Spring of 2007, I was finishing my junior year at the University of South Carolina. I thought back to Mt. Rainier and checked “No Shortcuts to the Top” again about the guide service Ed worked for. I did some research and booked the standard 3-day climb for the end of June. I had done lots of backpacking and hiking but had never stood higher than 5,000 ft or so in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
I flew to Seattle, arriving late that night. I checked into a cheap hotel downtown. Behind the desk was a big picture of The Mountain. It looked much bigger now, maybe I had bitten off more than I could chew. I wasn't old enough to rent a car. I found a bus that left from Seattle, went to RMI headquarters in Ashford, around the mountain and back. I got on that morning with the rest of the day tourists and was a bit out of place with my big backpack. When the bus stopped in Ashford I just got off and didn't get back on when it left. I planned on jumping back on in few days after my climb was over. I do not think you can pull this off anymore.
Climbers everywhere, climbing gear sprawled out all over the lawn. You could tell from the sunburns and facial expressions who had finished their climb and who had just begun. I checked into the bunkhouse and got fitted for all my rental gear. What am I going to do with all this, I wondered?
Early the next morning, we met the guides and team members. Mark Smiley and Tyler Jones were the guides that day. We left base camp for mountaineering school and headed up to Paradise. The mountain was socked in. I had not seen it at all since arriving in the PNW. It was there somewhere, hiding in the thick clouds. The snow came all the way to the parking lot, it was deep. We grabbed our gear and hiked about 30 minutes to some slopes leading up the mountain. We learned how to move as a rope team and how to self arrest a fall. It started snowing pretty hard and after a few hours we headed back for Ashford. Word on the radio was that no one was making the summit that day.
The next day we met again early and were split into summit team A and B. I was part of team A and we had a new guide; her name was Melissa Arnot. We packed and left for Paradise again. The mountain was still hiding. Clouds and light snow greeted us as we started the hike up. The pack was heavy but I kind of liked it. We would hike for an hour and rest for 10 minutes and repeat.
At around 8,000 feet my life changed forever. In almost an instant we climbed out of the clouds and I saw her for the first time. I was in shock at how grand she was, excitement and a bit of fear took over me. I was hooked instantly. The sun was shining bright above us and snowing below, where am I?
A few more hours of hiking and we pulled into Camp Muir at 10,000 feet. We spent the rest of the day resting and getting ready for the climb that would take place later in the middle of the night.
Around midnight we were woken up and told to get ready. I walked outside and not one cloud in the star filled sky. We headed up the mountain, Melissa on my rope leading the way. I felt like I was on another planet and I also knew my life would never be the same. We got up and over the infamous Disappointment Cleaver and it got really cold. At the top of the Cleaver, Melissa told me something I will never forget, “mountain climbers must have a high pain tolerance and short memory.”
We crossed over huge crevasses, snow bridges and ladders and finally had our last break. At around 7:00 AM we crossed the rocks at the rim of the crater and on to the summit. I was overcome with new emotions. High on a drug I have yet to come down on 12 years later. Our group hugged and took pictures but it was only half over. We made it back down to Camp Muir, then to Paradise, and finally back to RMI BaseCamp. I was exhausted but elated.
June 2019 was almost exactly 12 years to the day of my first summit. On July 6th, I flew to Seattle for my 5th climb of Mt. Rainier, having summited all but once due to a week of terrible weather. I always stay the night before at RMI BaseCamp in Ashford, it is nice to remember where it all began. A lot has changed since that first climb.
Climbing mountains became an integral part of my life. The summer after my Mt. Rainier climb I took a 2-week mountaineering course in Alaska. The year after that, a 42 day all-inclusive guide school on the northern ice cap in Patagonia, Chile. Before I left to come home, the company hired me on. I worked for them for a few years back and forth in Alaska. In 2015 my guide friend in India brought me over to help him lead a trip in the Indian Himalaya. Two weeks after I returned, I took my brother to stand on the summit of Rainier. The next summer, me and some long-time climbing friends summited Denali. Last summer, I took a group to Mt. Blanc in the Alps. In 2014, 2017, and 2019 I took more friends to Rainier.
Showing others this incredible world high above the clouds is my new summit. For those I feel not ready enough to be a part of my independent team, I send them to the wonderful guides at RMI, always remembering my very first trip and the incredible woman who led me to my first summit. Little did I know back in 2007, that Melissa Arnot would become one of the premier climbers on the planet and the first US woman to summit Everest without O2. In these 12 years, climbing mountains has introduced me to incredible places around the world and many of my dearest friends are those I have shared a rope with. It all started with RMI guides, on my now favorite mountain on Earth.
I’ve always been amazed at your mountain climbing. Enjoying seeing the mountains through your eyes. Proud of you Justin and your brother!
Posted by: Robin Legare on 9/14/2019 at 5:16 am
Wayne and I have followed his climbing and know him, his brother and family personally. We are so proud and in awe of all he has done. He is a fine young man and indeed a mountain climber. Well done Justin!
Posted by: Wayne & Carol on 9/13/2019 at 7:16 pm
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Alan Davis met at Rainier BaseCamp on Sunday for their Technical Training day. The team loaded packs and headed to Camp Muir on Monday morning. They have spent the last few days training near Camp Muir on glacier travel and crevasse rescue techniques. This morning they put their training to the test, leaving Camp Muir with an alpine start. They were rewarded with clear skies and light winds as they reached the summit of Mt. Rainier just before 8 AM. Once they have taken all the hero shots and enjoyed the views, they will return to Camp Muir for their final night on the mountain. Tomorrow the team will descend to Paradise and return to Rainier BaseCamp for the conclusion of their program.
Congratulations to the Seminar teams!
Congrats team! Chris, we miss you and can’t wait to see all the photos! Love you
Posted by: Kristen B on 9/16/2019 at 11:10 pm
Congratulations Kristopher! We are so excited and proud of you. We can’t wait to see your pictures of this extreme adventure! Mom and Dad
Posted by: Sheri Johnson on 9/13/2019 at 3:28 pm
Hope you are starting down that mountain and “thou shall go for it,” Amy and Molly. It’s the am of Thursday, here in EST, and I have the summit on my calendar for tomorrow. Sending so much good vibes to all your crew and leader. You got this! Dig deep, and look up - I can not wait to hear what the views look like, at sunrise.
Ps. Thank you, Kevin for all your blog.
Posted by: Ginny Bryan on 9/19/2019 at 6:38 am
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