Entries By Dave Hahn
Posted by: Dave Hahn, JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
As planned, we completed packing today. Our bags were heavy and ready for an 11 AM weigh-in down in the hotel lobby. It was a relief to then load them onto the ALE cargo truck and to be done with them. The team members had one last day of individuality in which to indulge in Punta Arenas. Some went along the shore for miles, stretching their legs and exploring the fringes of town. Others shopped or exercised. And some napped and caught up on correspondence. At five in the evening, we migrated the four or five blocks over to ALE's headquarters for a briefing on the logistics of our planned trip. Within a few moments of arriving, we were informed that weather was so good around Union Glacier, that there would not be any "stand-by" and no tension of waiting for a phone call... The flight was on, plain and simple, be ready for pickup first thing in the morning. We enjoyed a few celebratory cocktails, an informative slideshow and then a great dinner out. We were torn between the urge to celebrate and raise toast after toast... And the need to get back to the rooms for a full night's rest.
Moderation won out, we have high, high hopes for a big day tomorrow. A trip to Antarctica's interior and a great deal closer to the Vinson Massif.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Posted by: Dave Hahn, JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
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The RMI Expeditions Mount Vinson climbing season is kicking off in style. The team flew in to Punta Arenas, Chile yesterday from various and distant North American locales. Miraculously, the all-important duffel bags accompanying those team members actually made it into town with them.
After a good sleep, the team assembled this morning for introductions and instructions on how to prepare for flying to The Ice. The day was then spent with gear checks, packing and a little exploring of this classic Patagonian town nestled alongside Magellan's Strait. It was a typically crazy day, weather-wise, here at the tip of South America. We cycled through bright sun, dark clouds, intense wind and rain out of clear skies. It is a great place for bumping into fellow climbers, guides, explorers, adventurers and scientists bound for Antarctica. In the evening, the team relaxed over a fine dinner out on the town. Tomorrow we'll put the finishing touches on our packing and receive a briefing from our logistical partner -ALE- on our prospects for getting the adventure going in the next day or two.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Best of luck to all and please be safe.
Posted by: Dudley Macfarlane on 11/27/2014 at 8:06 am
Hope you are still having fun. I’m reading the blog and eating the bag of nuts n bolts I made for you but didn’t get sent in time. Happy trails
Posted by: Barb on 11/25/2014 at 4:38 pm
RMI Guide Dave Hahn and the Mount Rainier summit climb team reached the summit in clear, calm and chilly conditions. The team spent some time on top marveling in the views and then began their descent at 9:25 a.m. After a successful summit yesterday, the Five-Day Muir Summit Climb team, led by Jake Beren, is on their way down from Camp Muir. We look forward to congratulating the teams in Ashford this afternoon!
Brian and Craig, I knew you both had the endurance training,both mental & physical to make it if weather cooperated. So cool! You’ll never forget this experience!
Posted by: Babs Velategui on 9/1/2014 at 6:36 pm
AWESOME!!!!
Congratulations Jake ,Kyle, and TEAM on a successful summit!!! What a great accomplishment! Can’t wait to hear all about it!!!
Posted by: Mom and Dad Cremer on 8/31/2014 at 12:05 pm
RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Garrett Stevens led their Four Day Summit Climb teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams reached the crater rim around 7 am and were able to spend some time on the summit taking photos and enjoying the views. Both teams began their descent from the crater rim and will return to Camp Muir for a short rest before continuing down the mountain.
We look forward to seeing everyone back at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb team.
So thrilled for John and team- What an amazing experience!! Can’t wait to see pics and hear all about your adventures. Be safe- see you soon- Love you!!
Posted by: Amy on 8/24/2014 at 10:15 am
This is the news I’ve been waiting for-I can’t wait to see the photos! The view must’ve been magnificent!!
congratulations Jason-and team!!
Posted by: Anna Marie Brick on 8/24/2014 at 9:28 am
Summit! RMI Guide Dave Hahn reached the Mount Rainier summit at 7:45 this morning. With beautiful blue skies and 10-15 mph winds, the team enjoyed the summit views for over an hour before beginning their descent at 9:00 a.m.
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
After a peaceful night at the Kikoti Lodge just East of the Tarangire National Park boundary, we had breakfast and ducked back into the park. As experienced safari aficionados, we no longer stopped the vehicles for common zebras and wildebeest. But we were happy to pull over to watch a monitor lizard cross the road. And seeing a lion guarding his fresh kill got our attention. The king of the savannah also got the attention of about twenty elephants on their way to the water. They trumpeted and snorted when they sensed his presence and -giving him some space, took a detour to reach the water. We saw a few thousand other animals and birds, baobab trees and acacias on our way back out to the main park exit. Then it was Tanzanian highway driving with a few stops for tourism and sightseeing on the way back to Arusha and the Dik Dik Hotel. All that remains now is a dinner together and a few shuttles to the airport over the next 24 hours as we split up and begin to circle the globe toward home.
It has been a chock full couple of weeks in Africa. Thank you for keeping track of our team!
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Oups, this cool elephant picture was taken by Seth Waterfall, but that’s OK, your great sense of capturing moment in this wilderness is well sufficient to let our imagination understanding the beauty of this surrounding nature. With all my respect and admiration. Chrystel, the little dreamer !
Posted by: Chrystel on 8/9/2014 at 8:59 am
Thank you, Dave Hahn, for the richly detailed journals that you write for each trip. I love following the daily adventures of you and your team.
Safe travels to all! ~Andrea
Posted by: Andrea Sparks on 8/9/2014 at 4:25 am
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Another day, another incredible Tanzanian National Park. Today we visited Tarangire... A system of rivers, swamps and savannas that host a mind-blowing number of elephants, zebras, wildebeest, gazelles, giraffes and just about every other East African animal you can think of. We were particularly interested in the big cats today. As luck would have it, we spied a cheetah, a lioness up a tree, and finally a big and beautiful leopard in an Acacia tree at sunset. The elephants of Tarangire were everywhere and their signs of passage were everywhere else. We could see where they'd been scraping bark from the giant baobab trees in search of moisture, and flat out destroying smaller trees in other places. In terms of bird-life, we saw everything from an African Fish Eagle (eerily similar to an American Bald Eagle) to the ubiquitous superb starlings with their incandescent colors. It was just getting dark when Joseph and Clement brought our Landcruisers in to Kikoti, a hotel of screened in cabins with a luxurious and open-planned center dining room and bar just to one side of the national park. This will be our last evening together and our last out in the wild, but we look forward to a final day's journey back through the park and "home" to Arusha.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Kilimanjaro
A few days back we were on the summit of one of the world's biggest volcanoes... Today we spent our time happily plumbing the depths of a collapsed volcano. Ngorongoro Crater is a caldera teeming with the classic wildlife of Eastern Africa. We went to the crater rim this morning in thick cloud, unable to see more that a hundred feet, but we had hopes that situation would change. While still on the rim, we visited a Massai Village and were introduced to the customs and traditions of the dominant tribe in this area. We then piled back into our Land Cruisers and began the 600 meter descent into the crater as the weather rapidly improved. Within 20 minutes, we were seeing lions, jackals, Cape buffalo, zebras, hippos and ostriches... To say nothing of gazelles, wildebeest, and hyenas. The constant water supply within the crater keeps the herds from migrating, the presence of the herds makes the predators happy, the addition of roads lets us see it all. We even saw a couple of the resident (and rare) black rhinos, but they were at a distance and sleeping hard.
Lunch was on the shores of a lush hippo hangout and then we circled the caldera (about 15 miles across) one final time. With each sighting of a new species, the driver/guides would cut the engines and let us snap pictures as they described what we were seeing. Finally, we spiraled up and out of the crater as the sun was getting low in the sky. By this point we had the big view that had been denied in the misty morning. Clement and Joseph had us back to the Kirurumu lodge by six thirty PM where we washed off the road dirt and put on clean shirts for some fine dining.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
What a difference a day makes. Yesterday we were climbing down a giant volcano, tired, grimy and hoping our strength would hold out. Today we were squeaky clean, comfortable, road-tripping, touristing and game-viewing.
And it was great. We drove out of the Dik Dik and Arusha around 9 this morning and made our way -in two souped-up Toyota Landcruisers- to Lake Manyara National Park. We enjoyed a tranquil and easy picnic lunch within the park with Zach acting as Chef while zebras and elephants wandered by. Then we went cruising with both vehicle roofs peeled open to allow standing and scanning for wildlife. Lake Manyara itself was stunning today, with seemingly a million pink flamingos, storks and pelicans working the water's surface and shores. We spied baboons, elephants, giraffes, mongeese (what the plural of mongooses really should be), zebra and wildebeests, along with a few shy hippos and eagles.
Before the sun set, we left the park and drove up on the rim of the great Rift Valley, looking out over the lake and a good chunk of East Africa. Our destination for the night was the Kirurumu Lodge and an extremely comfortable network of tent-cabins and fine dining. Tomorrow, we look forward to a full day of safari-life.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team
The day started with our local staff serenading the team with the "Jambo" song after breakfast. It was nice to see the strong and good men who've helped us so much this week all in one place, singing, dancing and able to receive our thanks for their great efforts. We then made an effort to get out of their way by leaving Mweka Camp and descending 4000 vertical feet to the Mweka gate to end our climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The low clouds didn't hold back for long before dropping light but steady rains on us and the already slippery track. The trail took us through a lush and seemingly impenetrable forest... I'm sure there was much to see, but mostly we concentrated on making careful steps and avoiding falls for a few hours. We were relieved to reach easier terrain for the home stretch. Since it was still raining at the Mweka Gate to the National Park, we didn't hang around long before loading onto our expedition bus/truck and hitting the road for Moshi. Halfway back to Arusha, in better weather, we stopped for a great picnic lunch. Then it was on to our comfortable home at the Dik Dik hotel where we all got a lot cleaner and a little more pleasant as we caught up on sleep and internet. We're heading for a celebration dinner now, which will double as a farewell to Brian and Brad who are abandoning us and heading home tomorrow as we set out for our much-anticipated game-viewing safari.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
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Great to read that weather is awesome and you are off on what I hope will be a fantastic time. Good luck! Big hug for the group -
Peter’s sister.
Posted by: Diana Olney on 11/26/2014 at 5:27 pm
Good luck and can’t wait to read all about it!
Posted by: Kristin H. on 11/26/2014 at 2:20 pm
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