RMI Expeditions Blog
Our first steps out of the Barranco Camp at 8:30 this morning brought us to the Great Barranco Wall. It can be an intimidating feature when seen from a distance as it appears to be just that... a wall. But there is a trail of ledges and handholds and well-worn steps over the lava outcroppings that can work just fine for scaling the wall. Our entire team was climbing well and strong and as it turned out, our main concern was traffic. It was rush hour on the wall. Hundreds of porters and climbers from other teams were all trying to squeeze through the ledges at the same time. Things eased by the halfway point as the crowd spread and we were able to concentrate on the big steps. We were up the wall in about an hour and onto much easier hiking. We'd enjoyed some pretty decent views upward toward
Kilimanjaro's main peak earlier in the day, but we were still seeing nothing below but a sea of clouds. Gradually we came to be under a giant umbrella of cloud centered on the summit. It was a relatively short time before we dropped into the Karanga Valley and climbed out its steep opposite side to walk into Karanga Camp. We are all getting into a pretty smooth routine now of breaking camp, climbing and then moving into new camps. We sheltered in our tents for some light afternoon rain showers, and were happy to come together in the roomy dining dome for afternoon tea and dinner. Partial clearing after dinner allowed great views of the lights of Moshi, glowing far below.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
The
Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir September 15 - 19 led by
RMI Guides Brent Okita and JJ Justman reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. Brent reported a beautiful day with no winds and blue skies all around. The team will conclude their week on the mountain tomorrow.
We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp tomorrow afternoon.
Early risers at Shira Camp witnessed a giant moon setting out near Mount Meru to our west this morning. We still had views of the upper flanks of
Kilimanjaro when we went to breakfast, but by the time we hit the trail, the great cliffs and glaciers were cloaked in cloud. We marched upward on a low angled and broad ridge. Gradually the plants got smaller and smaller until there were hardly any of note by our high point at the Lava Tower. We endured a short sleet storm near the 14,900' pass, but that did not keep us from pushing on and breaking altitude records for a number of our team members. Then we began a steady descent into the Barranco Valley. Clouds let loose a ten minute rain shower on us and kept us guessing about the steep contours above. We could just see hints of ice and crazily angled rock up above. Below we could see a magical valley of Dr. Seuss style plants unfolding. Giant Senecios and Lobelias abounded. We were in our new home and safely in the tents at 13,000' before the next rain showers commenced. The late afternoon and evening blended together as a damp fog settled over our Barranco tent village.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
After a calm night at
Machame Camp at 9,800', we packed up this morning under blue skies and strong sun and pushed higher. The team was on the move by 8:00 AM and was immediately on steeper and rougher trails than we'd encountered yesterday. It was quite busy as the porters from a number of teams -including our own- were anxious to get out ahead and make it to Shira Camp as early as possible in order to claim prime sites for their teams. We made good progress, eventually following a rocky ridge line for some distance. It was continually interesting to watch the changes in foliage as we ascended. Looking out, we were above a sea of cloud obscuring the rest of Africa. Our sun and views of Kilimanjaro didn't last. By the time we'd reached about 12,000', clouds formed on the upper mountain and stretched to cover us. By then, we were traversing on blocky lava terraces out towards the Shira plateau. We made it into our new camp at 12:30 and after getting settled, enjoyed a fine hot lunch. Afternoon was mostly rest, relax and acclimatize time as we are now at a lofty 12,300' It is colder here and so we didn't stay up very late, hitting the sack at about seven, just after a hearty supper.
Best Regards,
RMI Guides Dave Hahn
On The Map
It was raining at the Dik Dik Hotel this morning when we woke. Light, but steady rain kept falling as we ate a 7 AM breakfast and got ready to board the bus/truck. But 15 minutes down the road, our driver shut off his windshield wipers. Low clouds still disguised the mountain we believed was hiding somewhere out to our northeast, but things were looking up. The variety of crops in the "cultivation" zone at the foot of
Kilimanjaro was quite impressive. We saw coffee, corn, avocado, mangos, and bananas all growing in a lush mix close to the Machame Gate. It took some time to get the group properly registered and permitted with the National Park but then at around 11 AM we began our ascent through a forest of tall trees. Our starting point was at about 5,900 ft, and our destination for the day was close to 9,800 ft, so there was little doubt we were in for a workout. At first we were in fog and humid clouds, but after several hours, the sun got strong and the sky got blue. We traveled on an excellent trail through the "forest" zone and into the "heather" zone and we began getting great views of
Kilimanjaro and her glaciers. At around 4:30 PM we strode into a cluster of tents and admired the work of our porters and kitchen crew as we took packs off in our new home. We ate dinner in our grand dining tent and turned in early under what appears to be a magnificent full moon.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
A well crafted training plan is one that comprises multiple phases of training. Commonly called Periodized Training, this is the method of dividing your training program into phases in order to focus on different aspects of your training while effectively incorporating the needed rest and recovery. Periodized training is effective because it is a strategic approach to training. If you try to focus on every aspects of your training all at once, you're likely to get injured or burn out. Much like building a house, the foundation must be laid before the walls can be put up and the interior finished. In the same manner, periodized training is focusing on different aspects of your training in a complementary manner, where each phase makes you stronger and more prepared for the next.
Basic Training Phases
Phase 1: Building Base Fitness
Your goal in this phase is to build your overall "base fitness." This entails improving your aerobic endurance, increasing strength and flexibility, and incorporating occasional interval work. This critical training phase focuses primarily on aerobic fitness. Aerobic training increases the amount of oxygen carried to the muscles, lowers the rate at which lactic acid is created and helps the body remove it more effectively, and increases the overall metabolic rate (1). Put simply, you are getting into good overall shape in order to prepare your body for the stresses of more intense and specific mountaineering training.
Phase 2: Introduce Mountaineering Specific Training
This phase focuses on maintaining endurance and aerobic fitness while improving speed and strength by introducing more interval training and mountaineering specific training. Begin incorporating interval sessions into your training to increase your aerobic capacity and and broaden your range of comfort at various effort levels. Make your workouts more mountaineering specific with hikes and climbs with moderate weight in your pack. This phase is beginning to hone your fitness to the demands of mountaineering.
Phase 3: Tailor Training Specifically for the Climb Ahead
In the final phase you are training specifically for the climb ahead. Try and train on terrain similar in steepness and difficulty to the mountain in terms of vertical change, weight in your pack, and length of days. Find training hikes with the vertical change that is similar to the amount of vertical change on your climb. Stack long workout days back to back to mimic the challenges of multi-day climbs. Train and with a pack weight mimicking what you will be carrying on the mountain and incorporate interval sessions to boost your anaerobic threshold. Remember to dramatically dial down your training in the final week or so before the climb. This process, called "tapering", gives you the needed time to rest and recover from your final training push. The last thing you want to do is show up at the base of a mountain exhausted and worn out.
Applying Phased Training
Pull out a calendar and mark down the date of your upcoming climb. You have every day between today and the start of your climb to build your fitness. Divide this time into three phases. Your current fitness level and the amount of time between now and your next climb will determine the length and focus of each phase. As you hone in on your different phases, also reflect back on your past climbs and training to determine what areas of focus (flexibility, balance, speed, etc.) to incorporate into the more mountaineering specific training phases. Find out more about specific training routines with RMI's Mountaineering Fitness and Training resources. We strongly encourage you to work with a trainer or fitness coach to help you map out this process and provided the specific routines and exercises for you.
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(1: "Train Smart This Winter: Base Training Basics", Active.com)
Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!
We got together after a relaxing breakfast in our tropical garden of a lodge and we talked about going up amongst the glaciers of
Kilimanjaro. It was a morning of going over the plan of attack and for discussing gear and best practices for staying healthy in this part of the world. The middle of the day was spent getting the gear and clothing sorted and by afternoon the team enjoyed a bit of free time to wander about or to nap. The wanderers didn't have to go far before they could see Kilimanjaro floating in the distance. The nappers surrendered for a short time to the jet lag we all feel.
The team enjoyed seeing groups of monkeys swinging through the trees of our compound as well as listening to strange birds call out as they cruised overhead.
We enjoyed a group dinner and some storytelling for the evening. It will be hard to leave this luxurious and laid back setting, but the thought of getting walking on the flanks of the largest freestanding mountain in the world is pretty enticing as well.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
The
Four Day Summit Climb teams September 13 - 16 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning just after 7 am.
RMI Guides Seth Waterfall and Solveig Waterfall reported clear skies above with a light wind from the SW. There is a cloud deck lower on the mountain 9,500'. The teams will enjoy some time on the summit before starting their descent to Camp Muir and continuing to Paradise later this afternoon.
Congratulations to today Summit Climb teams!
It is 11 PM at the Dik Dik Hotel near
Arusha, Tanzania, and the entire climbing team has made it through the worldwide obstacle course of airports and aircraft to begin a Kilimanjaro expedition. We'll get started in the morning with strategizing and packing gear and prepping, but for now it it just a great relief to have everybody in one place (the correct place) and to have all the baggage safely off the carousels.
Our drivers and hotel staff gave each tired traveler a friendly hello, a handshake, a glass of champagne and a flower or two. The kitchen stayed up late to get an excellent dinner out to each and every climber.
We'll hope that a night's good rest goes a long way to refreshing, rebooting and rejuvenating the gang. An adventure is waiting.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide
Dave Hahn
We spent all of yesterday in
Tarangire National Park. It's home to more elephants per square mile than any place on earth, and we weren't disappointed at all. If I had to guess I'd say we saw somewhere close to a thousand elephants between yesterday and on our short drive back through today.
We spent the night just outside of the park boundaries in another tented camp. And enjoyed an amazing meal provided by the kind staff at the Kikoti Camp.
It's been an incredible adventure and everyone has had a wonderful time here in Africa, but our trip has come to an end and its time to return to our homes.
Thanks for following.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
It’s a great accomplishment for all of you. You did it Liz & Kym! Woof & Marj
Posted by: Marjorie Schupbach on 9/21/2013 at 3:26 pm
Hi Sis! I hope you are having a great time up there, I just wanted to tell you that Mom and I are always thinking about you and woof woof Norman too! I hope the weather improves for you all soon and at least on Summit day. Love you!
Posted by: John S on 9/21/2013 at 9:19 am
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