RMI Expeditions Blog
Posted by: Casey Grom, Billy Nugent
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 12,000'
It was a beautiful day here on Elbrus.
We had a normal start to our day with breakfast in the hotel and then loaded up all our climbing gear and drove to the base of the ski lift where we rode not one, not two, but three gondolas to reach our new home for the next few days and happens to sit at just over 12,000ft. It's rather comfortable up here, as our outfitter has taken a few shipping containers and converted them into simple bunk rooms that sit atop some makeshift skis so they can be moved. Creative to say the least!
Once we got settled into our new home we headed uphill on another acclimatizing hike and reached about 13,500ft before returning to camp where our wonderful cook Dasha had a nice hot lunch waiting for us.
We spent the remaining of the afternoon relaxing, walking around and just enjoying the views of the Caucasus Mountain Range.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Posted by: Katrina Bloemsma, Steve Gately
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guides Katrina Bloemsma and Steve Gately led their teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The weather report from the top was calm, sunny, and warming up quickly. At 7:15 a.m. they began their descent from the crater rim.
Congratulations to the teams!
A good night for sleep with a couple folk still adjusting to time zone change. There were amazing stars last night. Woke up to perfectly clear sky's views of the big top ahead. Sizable chunk of altitude gain in half the distance of yesterday but still gained us 2,500 feet in elevation. As you can imagine fairly steep right out of the gate but every one handled it well. The environment changes dramatically from a lush forest to a more alpine feel. A big finish to the day, traversing out to the west, complete opposite from where we will travel tomorrow across ancient lava flows that have created a broad flatland between Kibo-Kilimanjaros main peak and Shira, its western satellite. Our home for the night.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
This morning you could feel the energy in the air. Everyone is very excited to be moving up hill again. Immediately after breakfast Dan, Paul, and Olga began packing and were done by 9:30, despite the plan to leave BC after lunch. So we all enjoyed a little more relaxation time until lunch was served around noon. Unfortunately the tasty pasta ended up sitting heavy in our bellies so we waited a bit more before shouldering our packs. As we picked our way through the boulder field we settled into a comfortable pace and in just over two hours we found ourselves at Moraine Camp, 16,200'. Everyone is doing great and glad to be making upward progress again. We are all tucked in for the evening, getting some good rest before we move up to high camp tomorrow.
Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
What a way to finish our great adventure in Russia! Today our team had a great day with our local St. Petersburg guide exploring this incredible city! It was incredible day in the city that ended with an amazing canal tour. I have to admit, it is hard to leave Russia. I am so happy that we have enjoyed the many great wonders of this great country! Thanks for following along!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Posted by: Casey Grom, Billy Nugent
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 11,000'
Hello again everyone!
It was a beautiful day here in Russia. We had a nice relaxing start to the day with a traditional Russian breakfast of porridge, eggs and bread. Afterwards we made our way to the local ski lifts to help give us a jump start on our hike. I didn't hear a single complaint about riding up 1,500' on a chair lift before we started our two-hour hike to the top of Peak Cheget. Yes, it is also the name of the town in which we are staying. The hike went well with mostly clear skies and we even caught a few glimpses of Elbrus between the clouds.
After our hike we made it back to town relatively quickly thanks to the ski lifts, where we had a hot lunch waiting for us. After lunch, we dropped off our gear and made a quick stop to pick up a few extra items and even managed to try on a few local hats.
We wrapped up the evening with another nice, home cooked meal here provided by our ever so gracious local outfitter.
Things are good here.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Posted by: Nick Hunt, Lydia Johnson, Hannah McGowan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guide Nick Hunt and the Five Day Summit Climb reached the highest point in Washington State, the summit of Mt. Rainier, this morning. Nick's report from the summit said today was a beautiful day with light winds. The team left the summit to begin their descent just after 7:00 a.m. PDT. The will return to Ashford this afternoon.
Way to climb!
Posted by: Peter Whittaker, Seth Waterfall, Chase Nelson, Jess Matthews
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Peter Whittaker reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Peter reported light winds and clear skies. The team began their descent shortly after 7:00 a.m. PDT. We look forward to greeting the team in Ashford later this afternoon.
Congratulations climbers!
Way to go Troy! We are all very proud of you - another great accomplishment!
Posted by: Dean Fulton on 7/26/2016 at 12:49 pm
Woohoo! Congratulations to the group! Looks like the weather cooperated
Posted by: Becky on 7/26/2016 at 9:55 am
Our departure from the Dik Dik Hotel was right on time. A couple hours of travelling and we arrived at the Machame Gate of Kilimanjaro National Park. We spent a bit of time getting organized and sorting out climbing permits before setting out into the cloud forest at 6,000' plus. Over the course of five hours, 4,000' in elevation gain, and 20,346 steps we arrived at our first camp on the mountain: Machame Camp. Throughout the day we had beautiful views of the mountain and perfect climbing conditions. The whole team is doing well and everyone is glad to have started the climb.
The dinner bell is about to ring so I better run...
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
Well today was a very relaxing day in base camp here on Alpamayo. We slept in until 8, drank lots of coffee with bacon and eggs, and then did some laundry and lounged in the sun. Around mid day we made the arduous 20 minute stroke to the nearby lake for some more chilling. A couple of the team were brave enough to go for a dip in the beautiful alpine lake, there is a glacier pouring into the water at the far side. After they warmed up on the sunny rocks we wandered back to camp for lunch and then a siesta in the afternoon. We have now just finished another amazing dinner and we are heading to bed soon for some rest before our move to Moraine Camp tomorrow. Though the rest day was well deserved everyone is very excited to be heading up hill again.
Thanks for following along on our incredible expedition in the beautiful cordillera Blanca here in Peru.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
Previous Page
Next Page
-640x480.jpg)
-640x480.jpg)
52 Peaks! I’m with you in spirit! Stay safe & enjoy!
Posted by: Todd on 7/26/2016 at 10:53 pm
View All Comments