RMI Expeditions Blog
The
Four Day Summit Climb Team led by RMI Guides Pete VanDeventer and Andy Bond reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Pete reported winds of about 40 mph, but clear skies as they climbed above the marine layer. The team has started their descent and are en-route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's team!
We are at
WinayWayna 8,700' for the night. Today the Team enjoyed some spectacular views of the high glaciated Andes juxtaposed against the semi-tropical orchids and song birds.
Our campsite is located near an incredible Incan ruin that has a series of 10 fountains and more terracing. The Team has been in awe of the manpower and resources needed to build let alone maintain this network of trails and sites that stretch from Ecuador to Northern Argentina.
Tomorrow morning we will get an early start in hopes of catching the sunrise as we walk into Machu Picchu.
RMI Guide Mike King
We began and ended the day far above a sea of clouds. But of course, our end to the day was farther still above the clouds, since we are now at 15,200 ft. High Camp. Last night's camp -Karanga- was kind to us. It was calm and quiet through the night and into our 8 AM breakfast. We were on the road to Barafu -the "Ice" camp, before nine and into our new digs by about noon. There were no longer any pretty plants to linger over as we've entered the Alpine zone. We concentrated on the steady walking and breathing techniques that we'll employ tomorrow. The afternoon was spent in strategizing our summit bid and streamlining our packs. We rested and ate and ate some more before turning in early. Most could not resist staying up for the sunset though as the big ball of fire sank into clouds between Mt. Meru in the distance and Kibo up close. We are ready for an early start and a big day tomorrow.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
The Four Day Summit Climb September 6 - 9 teams led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Robby Young reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The guides reported winds along the crater rim but calm conditions for the lower elevations. The teams starter their descent from the crater rim around 7:30 am en route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams!
We have not had many blue skies this trip and today was no exception. The morning provided some great views of the glaciated mountains in the distance as we climbed up Warmi Huanusca Pass at 13,600'. The rain set in and would come and go as the Team go closer to the cloud forest after climbing the second pass of the day named Runkurakay 13,022'.
Today we will join a slew of people hiking the Inca Trail, the team has enjoyed the last 4 days in relative solitude. We took in a few Incan ruins and some members continued to document the floral and avian life that this part of the world offers. Some just took in the views provided when the rain would stop and clouds would lift while figuring out a sequence of ascending and descending the wet Incan steps.
Everyone is doing well, resting in their tents at Chaquicocha 9,900' and looking forward to the ruins at WinayWayna and
Machu Picchu in the coming days.
RMI Guide Mike King
We were treated to a perfect night and morning at Barranco Camp. The lights of Moshi twinkled far below, the hanging glaciers and ice fields of Kibo glowed in moonlight above us. We slept in 'til a leisurely breakfast at eight. We walked out of camp just before 9:00 as cumulus clouds began to form up. Within just a few minutes we were out of the gardens and streams of the valley and coming to grips with the great
Barranco Wall. With great help from our guides -James, Freddy, Patric, Venance and Philibert, we negotiated the ledges and cliffs. We pulled ourselves up to new ledges and found nooks and crannies for the feet. We squeezed through gaps in the lava and avoided loose and rolling rocks. The wall eased into steep hiking in places, but there were always a few more scrambly bits mixed in. We topped out near 14,000 ft in a little less than two hours. By then the clouds were hiding Kibo and almost everything but our immediate surroundings. We walked down into the next shallow valley and across a few more divides to get to the steeply cut Karanga Valley. Some careful and dusty steps were required to get us down one side and up the other to our new camp on the far rim. Karanga Camp sits at 13,160 ft which isn't too much of a gain over our last camp, so we'll hope for a night relatively free of altitude-associated discomforts. The clouds stuck with us through the afternoon and evening, but of course that didn't prevent us from lounging about and enjoying a couple more excellent meals from Tosha, our climbing chef extraordinaire.
The views will keep until tomorrow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
RMI Guides Tyler Jones and Jess Matthews led their
Four Day Summit Climb September 5-8 to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The winds are light but there is a cloud cap near the summit. The teams began their descent from the crater rim at 7:15 en route to Camp Muir. They will continue their descent to Paradise later today.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climbers!
Leaving camp this morning to the sounds of sheep being moved into the high pastures we walked along the Inca canal and eventually down a steep valley. The vegetation began to change and soon we started to see several types of wildflowers and a few different species of hummingbirds. After a few hours we arrived at our first Incan ruin,
Inkaracay.
At the village Wayllabamba (10,000'), the famed Inca Trail joins our trekking route for the remainder of the trip. We said our good byes to the horseman as our porter team joined since we are now in the National Park and horses would have difficulty with the trail ahead and destroy the trail itself. The Inca used llamas as pack animals, they do not have hooves, instead their feet are soft pads like a dogs feet thus gentle on the stone trail.
The team is adjusting to the 'Incan steps' and resting after a long day. We are camped on a scenic mountain bench called Luluchupampa (12,300') looking at the valley below, Salkantay in the distance, and the cloud forest all around us. Two more full days of walking brings us to Machu Picchu.
RMI Guide Mike King
The
Mt. Shuksan Seminar, led by
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens, reached the summit today. The wildfire smoke obstructed some of the views but the team had a great time on a spectacular route! Some photos from the team above.
At some point in the early morning hours, the clouds cleared away, the full moon and stars came out, along with the great volcanic cone of Kibo,
Kilimanjaro's central peak. First light was our first sighting of the mountain we've been climbing. All were thrilled to see it, but it must be admitted that some were a little intimidated by the steep icy mountain flanks rising into the sky. We ate our breakfast and got walking toward the peak at about 8 AM. The walking was pretty easy compared to the tricky trails we'd become accustomed to, but it was taking us steadily higher. Within a few hours of marching through the high desert vegetation, we were breaking altitude records. In fact, by our high point of the day, the Lava Tower, at 15,200 ft, we'd crushed records for Cory, Jen, Don, Syd, Carol, Naomi and Curt. Only Sarah and Martha had been to greater altitude. Cumulus clouds formed up with the heat of the day to rob us of some views, but generally, we were blessed with a fine, calm and dry day for hiking. We worked our way down into the Barranco Valley-back down into the garden of giant Senecios and Lobelias. We reached camp at 13,000 ft by three o'clock. Our staff of porters, cooks, camp boys, waiters and guides seemed pleased with our performance. A few men began clapping, and within minutes, fifty of our best mountain friends were clapping, dancing and singing. Eventually, we all joined in -some of the team managing to get down and shake it while still wearing packs. Not bad after a seven-hour hike and a trip to new heights.
We rested away the afternoon, listening to stories and Swahili at the foot of the Great Barranco Wall.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Awesome job! Can’t wait to see the pictures.
Posted by: Melissa & Scott on 9/10/2017 at 3:10 pm
We look forward to hearing all about your adventure. Glad you made it
Posted by: Ann Sharp on 9/10/2017 at 9:56 am
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