RMI Expeditions Blog
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Eric Frank
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 18,500'
Hello - This is Elias and Eric. We are on the summit of Paria North at 5,500 meters roughly 18,500' and it's a beautiful day up here. We can see a lot of the cool summits of the Cordillera Blanca. We just wanted to let you know that we are are starting our descent. We will let you know what happens in the next few days on the blog. That is all for now everybody's good and we are enjoying ourselves.
Take care,
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos call from the summit of Paria North.
Posted by: Billy Nugent
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Greetings from Moscow!
Today was our first full day as a team and we spent it touring some of the famous spots in Moscow. The day kicked off with a viewing of Lenin in his tomb. It's not everyday you get to see a revolutionary embalmed and behind glass... We also visited many churches and buildings in and around Red Square including the Kremlin and the iconic St. Basil's Cathedral (of Tetris fame). After a while the heat and crowds were getting to us so we made a run for lunch and enjoyed a nice meal at a French bistro. Some of us walked back to the hotel while others Ãœbered but we all got a few hours off before reconvening for a team dinner. Tomorrow it's off to Mineralnye Vody early in the morning and by evening we should make it to the Caucasus.
Прощай (goodbye), for now,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Posted by: Mike Walter, Pepper Dee, Robby Young
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb Teams for August 3 - 6, 2016 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. RMI Guide Pepper Dee reported from the crater that they enjoyed clear skies with a slight breeze and great climbing conditions. The teams began their descent from the crater rim shortly before 8 am. Climbers will continue down to Paradise later this afternoon and return to Rainier BaseCamp in Ashford to celebrate their success.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams!
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Eric Frank
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 16,404'
Hello from Paria high camp at 5000 meter.This is a satellite peak of Artesonraju we've decided to climb to acclimatize. So far it's a Mars like landscape. All is good, stay tuned for our summit dispatch.
RMI Guides Elias de Andres Martos & Eric Frank
Today we are checking in from our camp, Llulluchapampa at 12,303 ft. We had a warm day walking out the Kusichaka river valley through more small villages and got to spend some time in at an Incan site. The series of terraces and walls are believed to have been a trading post for agricultural goods arriving from the jungle and high mountains to be dispersed throughout the Incan empire.
After another delicious lunch we joined the traditional Inca trail at Wayllabamba where our mule drivers departed and our porters arrived to shoulder our camp. The 16 porters are from the same village in the Andes and work as a crew. During the high season they work four to five 4 day trips, carrying 55 lbs each day. The Team is grateful and amazed with how they bound up the trail above 10,000 ft with relative ease.
So far we have not seen another group of hikers the entire trek, that will changed tomorrow evening as we approach the final 2 camps before Machu Picchu. We will get an early start so we can enjoy a quite day. Everyone is feeling great and taking in the amazing vistas of the Andes.
Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
Posted by: Billy Nugent
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Greetings!
Our whole team has officially arrived in Russia without a hitch... even all of our bags made it! Most of the the crew was pretty travel weary so we grabbed a quick dinner here in Moscow and headed back to the hotel to crash early. Jet lag is always a bit of a hurdle at the beginning of these trips but we'll hit our stride soon enough. Excited for a city your tomorrow of Red Square and the Kremlin!
Talk tomorrow,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
Elevation: 8,300'
The mountain was calling and we answered. We spent the last two days making our way towards Elbrus. Our apologies for the lack of a dispatch yesterday, but the small city of Kislovodsk that is our jumping off point is not a hotbed of wifi access. Some smooth flights got us that far yesterday, and we spent the afternoon shopping for food and putting the final touches on our expedition preparations. We were overjoyed when the bags for three of our team members finally arrived in Moscow, and they were able to grab them and rejoin us late last night. The woes of travel.
This morning we boarded a new off-road sprinter van type machine that our driver Alexei referred to as his "Russian hammer," and started the winding drive through the steppes of the Caucasus. After an hour and a bit we left the pavement and set out along the four wheel road - which at times had our hearts creeping towards our mouths with the precipitous slopes that drop from the side of the road - that takes us to base camp at 8,300'. We arrived, said goodbye to Alexei, whose jolly laugh had kept the mood light, and set up our compound. An afternoon hike into the surrounding hills let us stretch our legs and find an incredible waterfall that cuts straight through a large rock ridge, reemerging on the other side. An afternoon siesta led to dinner, and just as we were ready to serve it up, the rain started with a few flashes of lightning. We retreated to our tents with our meals, and are now getting ready to hit the hay as we listen to rain drops beat a percussion on our tents, happy to be dry.
All the best from here,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum, and team
On The Map
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Woke up to a coffee on my porch while watching the bush begin its day. Many a crunch, crack, and snap during the night, below, above, and around our stilted tent platforms. Cloudy and cool as we drove through the park on or way back to the Dik Dik. New contender for shot of the trip, Morgan and her leopard is in the running. Guess a cheetah would have been a shoe-in for a race but we are leaving that shot for next time. Some lions, elephants and a thousand other creatures, we share this amazing world with, bid us farewell during or drive out of the park. The rest of the climbing/safari team is either in the air or going through customs as I write this. My flight is tomorrow. Here taking care of details to set up RMI's next team for yet another safe and successful expedition here in amazing Africa. Thank you back home for allowing these adventurers a hall pass for a visit to this exotic land. It's been a real pleasure spending time with them all. Sharing some insight to our travels in script has been a pleasure, hope they were well received. Get out there when you can. Take care, Safe travels, Safari on!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Katrina Bloemsma
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb team, led by Seth Waterfall and Katrina Bloemsma, reached the top of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Seth reported clear skies and moderate winds from the west.
After a successful summit yesterday, Ben Liken and the Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons will return to Rainier Basecamp this afternoon.
So proud of our son and his team.
Posted by: Jon Jones on 8/5/2016 at 8:34 am
With a squirrelly forecast our team of intrepid explorers launched into the mist surrounding Mt Baker just three days ago. Hiking through the forest and meadows before stepping onto the glacier gave us a pleasant warm up for the climb to come. Establishing camp on the Coleman Glacier just before the rain began was a welcome bonus.
The rain persisted through the evening and we were happy to be snug in our tents. Waking up early wasn't that encouraging and we hit the snooze button for a few hours, waiting for the weather deities to smile upon us. Smile they did at a perfectly reasonable 7:30 am. Off we went to improving skies and an excellent route.
We found excellent conditions and a perfect day in the mountains. As far as climbing Mt. Baker that day, we felt most lucky indeed. Good job team!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Previous Page
Next Page
-640x480.jpg)
-640x480.jpg)
-640x480.jpg)
Cheers to Roland from his fans in Atlanta!
Posted by: Meg Schlachter on 8/9/2016 at 6:43 pm
Wonderful! Sounds like everything is on schedule! Played trivia last week - one of the questions was “what sport uses an ice pick?” Yea! we knew! Love, momma
Posted by: Jane Lubow on 8/8/2016 at 8:08 am
View All Comments