This evening I am at Camp 1 (at 5,500m, or 18,000 ft). One of only two climbers on the mountain. The weather at Base camp has been consistently light to heavy rain. I think that has kept most teams off the mountain and holed up at Base camp. But occasional windows through the bad weather had me convinced that clear skies were not too far above. Tonight I am at Camp 1, and I am enjoying great weather and my first clear views of Manaslu!
Last time I checked in I was in Jagat. I've been pushing hard with little rest. My gut tells me the summit window will come early and I want to be ready for it. The current weather forecast shows light snow for the next couple of days, then a heavy fall 2-3 days from now -- then another clear weather window. But weather forecasts more than a day or so out in the Himalaya are very suspect, so I depend more on the reality on the ground each day.
The route from base camp to Camp 1 travels up a heavily crevassed glacier. A solo fall would mean serious trouble; there are simply too many of the seemingly bottomless black holes to take this traverse lightly. So the route to Camp 1 required careful thought and planning as a solo climber. Happily I can report no major mishaps or surprises -- thanks to that good plan, and extremely careful execution. Tomorrow I will explore the route to Camp 2 and prepare a good camp here at Camp 1. Recent snow has some areas of the mountain unstable, as several natural releases made plainly evident today. So I'll stick my neck out only so far on my exploration of the route to Camp 2 (at 6,300m, or 20,700 ft) over the next couple of days.
Best regards from snowy Nepal,
RMI Guide Alex Barber
4:50 pm PT Update: Billy called in after the team returned safely to camp. A bit breezy but beautiful views on the summit. Billy's photos below.
Call from the summit:
Hey it's Billy here. I'm checking in from the summit of Mount Shuksan!. We are on top with seven climbers and three guides, enjoying perfect weather. Not a cloud in the sky. Views all the way down to Mount Rainier, out to the Olympic Range and the Puget Sound. We can see Vancouver, up into the Coast Range and over into the thickets of the deep North Cascades. Just spectacular today. We'll give you guys a shout when we are back in camp, safe-and-sound. All for now.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
RMI Guide Billy Nugent calls from the Mt. Shuksan summit!
Safari is over and that means the trip is coming to a close. We are all in a bus headed back to Arusha. We're planning one more shopping mission before heading back to the Dik Dik Hotel to get ready for our flights. Everyone is scheduled to fly out tonight.
It's been a great adventure that was capped off by a wonderful evening last night and a really nice morning game drive. We got extremely close to some elephants and got a great look at a female leopard. Everyone's still having a blast but the idea of heading home to our friends and family is taking hold. Hopefully our travels homeward are all as smooth as the rest of this trip has been.
I would like to give a big thanks on behalf of both my climbing teams this summer to the staff of the Dik Dik Hotel and tour operations and the RMI support team. The program here is excellent and everyone has really enjoyed their time in Africa.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Looks like earlier I posted this message on wrong climb.
Nice achievement, congratulations.
I just wanted to know about current ebola situation and did U guys feel any special effects of that, in terms of special screenings etc. We are planning on doing this early next year. Any information is well appreciated and did the climbers take any special travel insurance and if yes, which one. Thanks in advance
The Expeditions Skills Seminar - Muir has spent the week training at Camp Muir and this morning were able to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier. Due to high winds throughout the night, they delayed their departure from Camp Muir. The conditions were firm and the conditions cold but with clear skies and decreasing winds the team was able to spend some time on the summit. All of the team members participating in this week's program reached the summit along with RMI Guides Casey Grom, Elias de Andres Martos, Andy Hildebrand, Andrew Kiefer and Mike King. The team will return to Camp Muir to spend their final night on the mountain. Tomorrow they may do a bit of training before starting their descent to Paradise.
Congratulations to the Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir team members!
Just another great day on safari. Today we rounded out our 'Big 5' sightings with an up close look at a leopard. This elusive cat is always a tough one to get but we were lucky today for sure. We are spending our last night in Tanzania out in the bush in Kikoti Camp and tomorrow we finish the trip with a.morning game drive and evening flights. We pack the action in until the last minute.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Day two on safari is going great! We are down in Ngorongoro Crater and the wildlife viewing is as good as ever. The team is taking to the safari life like a fish to water. Everyone is also psyched that we didn't have to pack our back and move locations for the first time in over a week. That's about all for now.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
...now that’s what’s called, getting away from it all. What a beautiful view. With any luck, I’ll be seeing this one day too, in person. Thanks for the view from your location. Be safe.
Safari has started! This morning we met for breakfast and then headed out through the edge of Maasai country to Lake Manyara National Park. We have just finished with lunch and are about to head through the forested region next to the lake. This is the home of the tree climbing lions so hopefully we'll be lucky enough to see some.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
The Mount Rainier Summit Climbs teams, led by RMI Guides JJ Justman and Zeb Blais, reached the crater rim at at 7:00 a.m. JJ reported strong winds with 40-50 mph gusts and cold temperatures. Both teams began their descent to Camp Muir at 8:00 a.m.
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir is currently ascending to Camp Muir to spend the week training and topping their week off with a summit bid.
Hello from the Dik Dik! We made it down and out of Kilimanjaro National Park today. It's nice to be back inside a place where they have cold drinks.
The group moved off the mountain in good spirits and our lunch at the park gate was excellent as always. Our legs were tired from the long climb when we awoke but the pull of getting back to comfortable living got us up and moving by 8:00. The crew has been wonderful all week and today was no different. They made a great breakfast that sent us downhill in style.
Now we are shifting gears; getting ready for safari. I just checked in with the drivers and everything is all set for the morning. That's it for now.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Hey, this is Seth checking in from Mweka, it's our last camp on Kilimanjaro. We came off the summit after my last call in and had a nice hike down to our high camp at Barafu. Then had a nice breakfast and rolled down here to our last camp. It was quite the hike, the last few miles are always tough on tired legs. Everybody is safe and sound down here. We are looking forward to a little dinner and then a long nights sleep, well deserved. Tomorrow we head back to our hotel and then we are off on safari. We will check in again from the Dik Dik Hotel. All is well here on Kilimanjaro.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall checks in from Mweka Camp after descending from the summit of Kilimanjaro.
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Alex,
Thanks for the update and good to hear of your progress.
Posted by: Tim Mason on 9/13/2014 at 9:20 am
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