RMI Expeditions Blog
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!
Good evening from
Camp 1 on Shishapangma. Good day of climbing we had to here today, without a doubt, the most efficient given the stage of the climb in which we are. We're a little concerned about the weather though, as a non-forecasted storm evolved us as we approached the last few hundred meters to camp. With our Sherpa team ahead at Camp 2, we only hope for better weather to continue our upward progress, and wish for not too much new snow. Everyone did a terrific job today, and all rest and sleep comfortably in their tent. Stoves are being shut off as we speak with water melted for the morning. Stay tuned for tomorrow's outcome!!!
RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and team.
Greetings from the lovely Plantation Lodge about 75 miles east of the town of Arusha, loocated at the top of the eastern great
Rift Valley escarpment. Our morning once again fueled by unlimited quantities of local fruits and anything else your heart desired, gave the team the energy to game view with the pros. That is exactly who we have as our support team. Once again the Dik Dik Lodge has provided us with incredible staff. Our driver Joseph and his side kick Zachery are the best, their ability to see these animals among perfect camouflage is no easy task. So fun to hear the comments of amazement from our team. It's crazy that after about 300 of these game drives I can still enjoy them so much. The terrain in itself is overwhelming let alone the hundreds of animals, it is pretty darn cool. Tomorrow we move into the 1,000s of animals at the 8th wonder of the world, Ngorongoro Crater. Life is very good here in Africa and all is well.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Namaste from
Depot Camp (ABC) at 6,000m!!!
2,000 to go... we're on the move! Day 1 of summit push brought us on the late afternoon to a frigid moraine camp which prompted the funny scene of everyone gathering for dinner in down suits over the rocky platforms of our tents... like an army of teletubbies. Much more talented, though, we didn't let the cold get to us and ventured early to the comfort of our tents, knowing that our move to Camp 1 tomorrow will be a bit more demanding than our hike today, basically a strategic move to shorten the distance between Base Camp and Camp 1 (by the way, these guys are ditching 1.20h from what it was taking on our first trip!) Despite having a strong team of Sherpa support, we decided to endure a one night of alpine style camping.... with our bags at Camp 1, we chose to all sleep in our down suits to avoid carrying our base camp bag, and have lighter move.
At the moment, we're (at the guides' tent) listening to Liam Knoff's playlist, waiting for the early Tibetan night of the fall, to go into full sleepy time. Stay tuned for our progress uphill tomorrow.
RMI Guides Elías, Adam, Robby and the RMI Shishapangma team!!!
On to the roofs of the world!!!! This morning we set our sights to the summit of
Shishapangma. Spent the morning packing bags and double checking our equipment. #allthewayup. After 26 days of preparation, we're ready to launch our summit attempt. Excited to reach new heights and goals. Weather forecast says we're set for the 1st. Ramen will toughen us up! We feel strong with the force, and confident on the climb to come. We thank you all for the blog comments, which strengthen our spirits.
*This blog was written around the breakfast table, one sentence per member. May the force be with us!!!!
The
RMI Shishapangma team
The final
Mount Shuksan climb of the year ushered in the autumn season with some winter weather last week. The occasional storm brought us fresh snow and great training conditions. The whole team was able to learn a ton of mountaineering skills and summit the classic peak via the Southeast Ridge. Great team. Great trip.
RMI Guide Ben Liken
Our team just finished an amazing feast and celebration at the Dik Dik Lodge after a very special seven-day adventure. Easy hike out of the 10,000ft
Mweka Camp this morning under clear skies and nice, dry trail conditions. My team didn't need me for any coaching or inspiration, these hardened mountaineers were horses heading to the barn. Had to stop at the park gate about 6,000ft, pick up a whole bunch of summit certificates, then sign out to mark the the team as officially down and clear of the mountain. Game viewing of some of the finest parks in all of Africa starts tomorrow. Sleep is sounding pretty good right now.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
RMI Guides
JJ Justman,
Mike King with their
summit climb teams reached the nose of the Cleaver this morning. Due to route conditions, this was their high point for the climb. Both teams began their descent from Camp Muir at 8:30 a.m.
Greetings all!
We've certainly settled back in to life at our 18,500' Base Camp with a second consecutive rest day in the books; all in preparation for our upcoming summit push. Naps were taken. Dining tent discussion came and went throughout the day. The Tootsie Roll jar certainly took a hit. And the sun poked through off and on, giving us our first warming by the sun in a few days. With the sun, a few team members took advantage of some creature comforts with our Base Camp shower setup. (Yes you read that right!) Tomorrow we'll indulge in much of the same as we wait for our weather window to begin our climb to the summit. Until then, thanks for following along, and thank you for all your blog responses and words of encouragement!
RMI Guides Robby, Elias, Adam, and the
Shishapamgma Team
Great job. Look forward to see the photos!
Posted by: Jzk on 9/29/2016 at 11:03 pm
Sean & Leslie,
Congratulations, know your enjoying the spectacular views
Posted by: BJWelch on 9/29/2016 at 12:30 pm
View All Comments