All tucked into the team villa here at the Plantation Lodge, just outside of Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area, which is tomorrow's destination. We departed from the Dik Dik Hotel right on schedule and attacked the Lake Manyara National Park with eyes wide open. Great critter sightings all day! Being only two days since summit day, I was impressed with the team's level of energy. Tomorrow we are looking forward to seeing as many of the 29,999+ mammals that live in what is known as the "eighth wonder of the world."
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Hi,
Since we did not use one of our weather days while on the mountain, we had the whole day today in Kislovodsk. After our long push to get off the mountain yesterday, and the birthday celebration dinner that followed, most of us were happy to have a rest day of sorts.
We had to deal with drying and sorting gear one last time so it is ready for our flight tomorrow, and then it was time to get re-connected with the rest of the world since we had been out of touch for the last nine days.
The weather here was beautiful today in town, sunny skies and about 90 degrees. We decided to head down to the pedestrian mall in the center of town to do some shopping, find an ice cream store and stroll through the city park. Being the height of the summer season, there were many people just out enjoying the day. With a few souvenir purchases under our belt, we walked around admiring the different buildings, statues, fountains, and shops.
With our attention turning to dinner, we found a great restaurant right in the middle of the square. We luckily had a waiter who could help us decipher the menu and helped us order an incredible meal. He thought we were crazy with how much food we ordered, but we ate it all. There were three different meat dishes served in a huge bowl with charcoals underneath to keep it warm, fresh salads, and perfectly grilled vegetables. It was the hands-down winner for our best meal in Russia.
Tomorrow we head to the airport to fly north to St. Petersburg, the last leg of this journey. We'll check in once we get there.
All the best,
RMI Guides Jeff Martin, Pete Van Deventer, and the Elbrus Northside Team
The Four Day Summit Climb Teams led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Elias de Andres Martos reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Casey radioed that the team had a long hard day getting to the summit with several inches of new snow on the mountain requiring them to break trail. The teams reached the crater rim around 8:30 am and was going to spend a short amount of time on top before starting their descent. They will return to Camp Muir for a short break before continuing down to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams!
We are here at the Dik Dik hotel and enjoying it. The team made quick work of the 4,000 foot descent this morning, arriving at the gate well before noon. We had a brief customary departure sign out with the park service, a lunch stop along the way. When we arrived at the hotel, a welcome song greeted us upon our arrival. Then a hot shower to wash away some gathered mountain product, but it couldn't rid us of a whole bunch of memories made while on the climb. Some of the team has been reunited with loved ones, how about a grandma and grandpa joining us here in Africa. How cool is that? While the rest of the team is jealous, we have to carry on and look forward to a reunion when we get back home.
Tomorrow starts the safari part of our program here. We are getting ready to bid farewell to one of the team who leaves for the airport tonight so as to not miss the start of the fall quarter. Is the summer really coming to a close? Better get out while you can!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker & Team
Jennifer and I were just telling our kids that we knew someone who reached the summit of Mt Everest. We looked you up and are glad to see you are still climbing. It has been many years since the Hostar days.
Take Care,
Chris & Jennifer McInerney (Hertzberg)
Posted by: Chris McInerney on 10/23/2014 at 8:37 pm
You look great! Congratulations!
Mark, we’re sorry we missed your call again. We love you.
Mother & Daddy
First and foremost, we are safely off of Mt. Elbrus, and back in Kislovodsk!
The last 36 hours have gone by in a rush to be sure. We woke yesterday to very light winds and clear skies all around us for the first time in several days. All indications were that it was a perfect summit day, so we rallied the troops, crammed down breakfast, and readied our summit kits for a big day. By 8:45, it was time to rope up and start walking. The first section of the climbing route follows the natural contours of the bowl between summits (Mt Elbrus has two summits, the west about 40 ft higher than the east) to the saddle that splits them. We found nice, firm cramponing conditions on the wind buffed snow, and the team moved very well. After three hours we had gained the saddle and our climbing route merged with that of the South side. As we climbed a steep pitch out of the saddle we passed many teams already descending. Seven hundred feet brought us to the summit ridge, a broad, flat stretch that leads to the very tippy top. Here the wind increased, reddening our cheeks and causing us to pull up our buffs and tuck deeper into our hoods. After five hours of steady climbing, our rope teams made the final steps to the top of Europe. Jeff had 5 summits of Mt. Elbrus under his belt, and despite the wind, this one was the warmest and nicest by far. After ample time for photographs and enjoying the moment, we bid adieu to the summit and headed for camp. The wind quickly died, but the cumulus clouds that were beginning to rise in all directions caught our attention. It was a short trip to retrace our tracks to camp, and once there, a poll of the group showed unanimous support for packing everything and continuing to Camp 1. Despite tired legs, thirsty throats and hungry bellies, none wanted to endure any incoming weather at Lenz Rocks. So with a bit more suffering. We descended another 3,000 feet to the relative comfort of Camp 1, ate dinner and called it a big day well done.
This morning we packed all of our gear one last time, and descended the trail, with wildflowers and views aplenty to base camp. Just like clockwork (not always the case here in Russia) the WAS vans that carry us to and from base camp rolled in just a few moments after us. We hurriedly packed our duffles and jumped inside as the drivers became more agitated about the prospect of rain. We made the river crossing and up the steepest, slickest section of road before the rain, quickly turning to hail (a fitting send off from the mountain).
The drive went smoothly, as eyelids took turns closing, and we now find ourselves back in Kislovodsk, showered, and ready for a big meal. It was a bit bittersweet to drive away from the mountain, or biggest objective now complete, but our trip is not over: we have tomorrow to explore this Caucus region town before heading on to St. Petersburg to enjoy the rich history and all that it has to offer. We'll continue to update you on our adventures. Thanks for reading,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Jeff Martin, and team
The Four Day Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides Mike Walter and Zeb Blais were unable to summit Mt. Rainier this morning, poor weather forced the groups to turn around at the bottom of Disappointment Cleaver. The teams tried to wait out the weather and left Camp Muir later than normal but the ran and wet snow still forced them to abort their summit attempt of Mt. Rainier. The teams will begin their descent from Camp Muir around 8:30 am en route to Paradise.
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons led by RMI Guide Geoff Schellens was unable to make their summit attempt today due to poor weather conditions.
so thankful to our guides, who got me to Muir safely through a lightning and thunderstorm, to my sisters for their support, and to my fellow climbers, who were inspiring and a pleasure to climb with. Here’s to better weather next time!
Posted by: Linda on 8/15/2014 at 9:19 am
I was one of the climbers and am glad our guides elected to let us go out and “poke our nose in” the inclement weather and actually get a little upper-mountain climbing experience rather than remaining huddled at Muir. Better luck next time… There WILL be a next time :o)
The Mt. Elbrus North Side team reached the summit of Mt. Elbrus at 2 pm local time on August 12th. The team had good weather for their summit attempt. After taking photos and soaking in the views they descended to their high camp, broke down camp and descended to Camp 1. The team will spend their final night on the mountain tonight and make their way to the trail head tomorrow for a ride back to Kislovodsk.
Congratulations to the Mt. Elbrus North Side Team!
Hello from Mweka Camp on Kilimanjaro!
Horizontal in the tent is the place to be. We had a nice 15 hour stroll today and reached the summit of Kilimanjaro. We must be crazy huh? The reward in the end makes it all worth it and then some. We descended to Mweka Camp, 10,000', to our final camp and last night on the mountain. We shared another fine dinner and enjoyed each other's company until folks were starting to fall asleep in their chairs. Other than some sore muscles, the whole team is doing great. The climb went so well that I better warn all of you back home that this crew is ready for more.
In the morning we will take a short 3 hour to the Mweka gate where our ride will be waiting to transfer us back to the Dik Dik resort. It is just starting to rain on the tent right now, but we are tucked in warm and dry until morning.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker & Team
Hope you took some sweet selfies at the top, Connor!!!
Posted by: Laura (from work) on 8/14/2014 at 4:02 am
John, we hope you were able to enjoy all aspects of your journey and it sounds like the weather held out long enough to get a spectacular view. Enjoy the Safari and hopefully you aren’t getting too wet coming down from the mountain. Love, Katie, Liam and Aidan
Posted by: Katie Brown-Steinke on 8/13/2014 at 6:56 am
RMI Teams reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. RMI Guide Brent Okita led the Four Day Summit Climb and Eric Frank led the Five Day Summit Climb team. The teams began their descent from the crater rim at 7 am and reported light winds and a bit of a cloud cap. The teams will return to Camp Muir and then continue down to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them back at Rainier BaseCamp later today.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams!
You did it!!! I love you and we are all so proud of you! You are awesome!!!
Posted by: Bobbie Jo on 8/12/2014 at 8:06 pm
Daddy! YoU did it! I am so proud of going after a dream and actually living it! You are such a great example. I love you daddy and I cannot wait to hear all about it! Xoxo Mari Jo
Jambo! Jambo! Mark Tucker calling you from the Roof of Africa. With incredible timing we stood on top the moment the sun rose. We had the top pretty much to ourselves. And I've got everybody here with me and couldn't ditch them. We're all standing up here on the summit of Kilimanjaro and everybody is doing great. We are finishing up with the photos. It's a little bit chilly a little bit breezy but we are all nice and comfy based upon our precision like accuracy with our clothing. All is well and I'll check in back at low camp. You can rest easy, everybody is looking strong, everybody is tight and together, a great climbing team. So we're all doing well. I'll check in later.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
RMI Guide Mark Tucker checks in from the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro
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Have fun!
Posted by: Maury & Evie on 8/15/2014 at 5:02 am
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