RMI Expeditions Blog

Hello everyone 

Right out of camp we were faced with the only significant technical obstacle for this climb. This hurdle is the great Barranco Wall, which rises about 1,000 feet and looks as intimidating as it sounds. Thankfully, there is a narrow trail that weaves its way up the wall and all the way to the top. Most of it feels like steep hiking, but there are a few places that require the use of our hands to help us climb up.

The team made incredible time and we were rewarded with tea and cookies on top. We took an extra long break to take in the amazing views of the ice laden south face of Kilimanjaro above and green valleys below. 

The team continued our hike for a few more hours up and down before reaching our end point. 

All in all, it took only about four hours for us to get to our next camp called Karanga, named for the big and beautiful valley which it overlooks. 

We enjoyed a restful afternoon - taking naps and playing cards to the sound of rain on our tents, made more sweet by the fact that we were inside and staying dry.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Today began with a team meeting at breakfast. Last night there was a possibility that mud slides in the Vacas Valley would prevent us from coming down the mountain the way we came. Fearless leader Dom confirmed we would not be able to backtrack the way we came and instead would go down the other side of the mountain to the Mulas base camp, a route known as the "360." Since we would not be able to go back to our original base camp, we'll have one of the helicopters pick up our duffels and bring them to us at the Mulas base camp. 

Our carry day to Camp 3 today brought many us to new high points, with Camp 3 at nearly 19,600ft. Since we would have to carry all our gear up and over the mountain, as opposed to caching it at Camp 2, we all had pretty heavy packs. As we climbed today, the air got thinner and thinner, for most of us requiring a breath every step. Even though we have been at 18,000ft for almost two days, it still required significant fortitude to keep climbing. 

High elevation does a number on your body. As you climb higher, the decreasing oxygen makes it difficult to even do the very basic tasks, you loose your appetite and have to force yourself to eat, and for most climbers there is a point where they need start taking Diamox to help prevent high altitude pulmonary and cerebral edema. 

After a few days at a particular elevation, we get acclimatized and start feeling good. But we can only bring so many supplies and we have only so many days to get to the summit and back. So our schedule keeps us moving to a new higher point just as we were getting used to our current camp. This is mountaineering and one of the many things that makes it so difficult and the act of doing it so rewarding. Getting to a rest stop on a hike or the next-higher camp on a carry or move day brings a sense of relief that is hard to find in any other activity. 
As we approach our last uphill move day, and followed soon after by our summit bid, it's important to remember what a great feat we have accomplished so far, and how lucky we are to be up here with the best climbing team you could ask for. 

Climber Andy Green

The whole team arrived safely in Ecuador and with bags, which is always a good first step. I think we all experienced some bit of turbulence as we escaped the North American winter, but fortunately no door panels removed themselves unexpectedly during anyone's flights.

Yesterday's city tour happened without any hitches. Due to the recent political events, the streets are a bit quiet, but it seems like life is more or less returning to normal. It was great to have our city tour guide to help answer our questions and help us sort through what may have actually happened and what is a bit sensationalized in the American news media. Along with that, we made our first steps in acclimation both to the altitude and a different culture. Some physics experiments at the Museo do Intiñan (the indigenous equator museum) were capped off with us balancing eggs on a nail before heading to old town Quito and seeing some attractions.

Today, we awoke to another beautiful morning. Typically it is rainy in the afternoons here, but for our first two days we have been treated to nice days, start to finish. Blue skies made for a lovely hike up Rucu Pichincha and everyone did really well. We even had a few folks reach new altitude records, congratulations! Hopefully, there are more to come on this trip. The remainder of our evening involves cold plunging, hot tubbing, group dinner and one final night in the hotel before departing for the countryside.

Dustin

Jambo Everyone

All is well here on Kilimanjaro!
Today we woke to beautifully clear skies with even better views of Kilimanjaro and clouds obscuring the valleys below. Our morning ritual has been waking around 6:30 and getting everything in our tents packed up before heading into our very spacious dinning tent for quite the feast.

We hit the trail once again around 8 am and hiked for an hour before taking our usual 15 minute break, then back on the trail for another hour. All total today we hiked for just over six hours before reaching camp which is set up and ready for us. 

Along the way we passed around the famous and beautiful Lava Tower reaching just over 15,000', setting new altitude records for some and we also chatted with a few other climbers who are on the same schedule with us. All in all it was a really nice day with clouds gathering in the afternoon to help keep the temperature comfortable for hiking. 

That’s all for now. 

RMI Guides Casey Grom, Jess Wedel and the Kili crew

Today was a “rest day,” which in Spanish apparently means “do your chores, pack your bag, unpack your bag, repack your bag, go for a hike up a steep hill and move rocks back and forth until you can hardly breathe.” And at 18,000 feet, just putting your shoes on can leave you breathless.

We did find some time for relaxation, however, with euchre, naps, confessions of past dating catastrophes, exchanging pro tips, and the best views we’ve had yet.

We also practiced making our camp look like we’re on a proper expedition rather than having a yard sale.

And we continued working on our hand tans.

Most importantly, we had time to ponder the important questions we’ve been debating over the last couple of days:

Why do mountain guides value a Coke more than the Hope diamond?  And why do they carry only one trekking pole while we all carry two? What do they know that we don’t? And why won’t they tell us.

How much stuff can you squeeze into your sleeping bag at night so it doesn’t freeze?

How can 10 Brazilians take up so much space?

What did the Russian climber do with the other Russian climber’s body that night?

Do blue bags come in other colors … or would that be confusing? And why don’t they have scatalogical humor printed on them so you’d have something to read at night?

How can I get rid of all my extra food so I don’t have to carry it up … and then down … the rest of the mountain?

And why do they call this camp TWO, even though the sign says camp THREE and it’s actually our FIFTH camp?

In any event, as much as we miss the daily comforts of home, there is something liberating about simplifying your life down to the contents of a single backpack - a bed that packs down into a cubic foot, one pair of shoes (as uncomfortable as these mountain boots are), a single bowl, a single spoon, one shirt, one pair of pants and in many cases a single pair of underwear. No decisions about what to eat for dinner. No traffic. No TV. No politics. Just endless, unparalleled views and good company. Liberating.

Wish us luck.

RMI Guide Dominc Cifelli and Team

Postscript: What do you call a mountain guide without a girlfriend?

Homeless.

Hi family and friends!

We woke up rested this morning finally starting to leave that jet lag behind.

After a delicious breakfast complete with fresh avocado, eggs, local yams and of course, pitchers of coffee, we hit the trail up a rocky ridge. The sun was shining but we watched the clouds build behind us all morning, crossing our fingers we’d make it to camp before the rains.

We walked above the trees, seeing our first views of the lush rainforest below and the snowy upper slopes of Kilimanjaro above. Everyone moved steady and fluid. We saw wild flowers and the first of many senecios trees. Making sure to take all the photos.

Just before arriving to camp, we stopped to put on our shell jackets and pants as the rain came. It was our lucky day because by the time we arrived at camp - the clouds had passed and the sun was peaking through. After a wonderful lunch at Shira Camp, we worked to dry out all our wet gear in preparation for a big day tomorrow.

This team is special and we know this experience is as well. We can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds!

RMI Guides Jess Wedel, Casey Grom and the crew

“It’s a funny thing about life, if you refuse to accept anything but the best you very often get it.”  W. Somerset Maugham

And that’s what we have with this group, the best. Each person brings something unique which together creates something greater,  something which makes the team keep giving their all as we make consistent progress on our push towards the summit. 

Today, the team bid goodbye to Camp One and moved to Camp Two on Aconcagua.  We had a “record-breaking“ moment right before we left Camp One. The team looked forward to moving to Camp Two as we had caught a brief glimpse of the camp yesterday, dropping off our cache, refueling our bodies, maybe sneaking in a little internet and finally heading back down the mountain while surfing the scree on our boots. Now, camp two is our home for the next few nights.

This trip, at least for me and I’m sure this also echoes the sentiments of a few others, has been all about learning, not only learning about each other, but learning about our own individual physical and mental obstacles we face and have overcome and yet to be overcome. The mountain is only there to test the fortitude we already have inside and to make us stronger. 

One of my favorite books is Robert Fulghum’s “Everything I Needed To Know I Learned In Kindergarten”, and so, in the spirit of learning, I now present to you “Everything I Didn’t Want To Know But Learned Anyway On Aconcagua”

1.    The words Chardonnay and shower can sound remarkably similar at high altitude.
2.    Adults still love story time.
3.    When you’re having a hard time with the climb and searching for reasons to continue, all you have to do is remember Guide Michael’s words “Whatever motivates you”
4.    No matter what you do, no matter what people may say, always keep your spoon……..and in some cases, your fork. 
5.    Be wary of unknown salt shakers.
6.    Make sure you pass food around the table until it gets back to the person who it was originally handed to.
7.    And finally, the most important thing to remember, the one thing that you must always keep in mind, especially when you need someone in your corner to help you with that final push to the summit…… Andy Always Wins.

Climber Benjamin Koch

We awoke early today and left behind the comforts of our beautiful lodge and have headed to the mountain towards the start of the climb. Starting shortly before 8am we drove along the rural country side for about an hour and half to reach the park entrance. Most of the area surrounding Kilimanjaro has been cultivated and primarily used for coffee production and for a variety of other agriculture needs, but there are still some areas that have been untouched and resemble more of a savannah that Tanzania is known for. The base of Kilimanjaro is more forested and resembles a jungle or cloud forest. Traditionally it supports a large part of the banana production for this area.

Once at the gate we had all of our gear weighed and divided into loads for our porters to carry before hitting the trail. Once everything was in order we started our climb slowly making our way up the winding trail. The team hiked for a little over five hours to reach our camp for the night. Everyone did great and enjoyed finally getting some much needed exercise.

Unfortunately there was some more rain, but thankfully not as much as last weeks climb had to deal with. 

After settling in the team was served a nice warm meal and then headed off to bed for a nice full night of rest.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the # 2 Kili crew.

Here we are, day eleven,

Out on the trail, it is only seven.

This morning brought us cans of spam,

Full of that, I’m sure I am.

Uphill we went to carry more,

Full of jokes and riddles galore.

If you think we're done, you're sorely mistaken,

But there's a mountain to climb and we won't be shaken.

1 bag, 2 bag, 3 bag, blue,

No matter the location, we'll have a view.

We start to feel lost without Dulce de Leche,

Alas, we’ll be fine, as this is our heyday.

Tomorrow, we move, up and up,

Did I remember to put enough coffee in my cup?

On to camp 2, we hear it has Wi-Fi,

No matter, we say, because we have bigger fish to fry.

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke

Casey Grom here checking in with RMI's Kilimanjaro Climb # 2 of 2024!

All is well here in Tanzania and most of the team arrived yesterday morning after some very long flights. It was a short and uneventful ride to our Lodge that is nestled in between Arusha and Moshi and not so far from the base of Kilimanjaro. The team spent the day relaxing and getting adjusted to the nearly 12hr time change.

We had a leisurely morning today and had our first official meeting at 8:30 where we did a round of introductions and then discussed the program for the coming days ahead. We spent the remainder of the day getting our gear packed up, exploring the grounds of our Lodge, which is incredibly peaceful and has monkeys running around keeping us entertained.

We wrapped up the evening with another delicious meal and plenty of friendly conversations. Everyone is doing well and excited to hit the trail tomorrow and get a little bit of exercise.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew # 2