Entries By brent okita

The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Hannah McGowan reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team was going to spend some time on the summit enjoying the views before starting their descent.

Congratulations to today’s teams!

RMI Guides Brent Okita & Pepper Dee led their Four Day Summit Climb teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning.  The enjoyed blue skies and a great climb.  They will return to Camp Muir and then continue down to Paradise.

Congratulations to today’s Summit Climb teams.

Awakening at Mweka Camp early, the feet and legs had miraculously recovered from our sixteen hour summit day. Ok, maybe not completely recovered, but everyone was moving quite well after such a huge effort. Of course, a little vitamin I (Ibuprofen) never hurt.
Breakfast awaited us, to be followed by song and dance from our mountain staff in celebration of a wonderful week on the mountain. In return we expressed our appreciation of the tremendous care they gave us with tokens of gratitude.
Our three hour hike to the Mweka gate ended in a final meal together. This time the food reflected the local cuisine, and was delicious!
Goodbyes were made and a two hour bus ride brought us back to the comforts of the hotel and the showers everyone had been looking forward to for days. I guess the three hundred baby wipes some folks took weren’t quite enough.
We celebrated in style. Not just our success on the mountain, but also the birthday that motivated this whole affair, getting a group of individuals way out of their comfort zone and learning what it means to climb a mountain.
The hotel staff graciously set up tables outside and built a roaring fire so that we might enjoy a final night together feasting and indulging in fabulous wines brought in special for the occasion.
Toasts were made and reflections on our trip shared, all the while the Blue monkeys and little Dik Dik antelopes watched on, visible in the glow of the flickering flames, no doubt wondering what all the fuss was about.
But we know what the fuss was all about. It was about an adventure shared by family and friends, and challenges that were quite hard at times, and the lessons and memories made over the course of an incredible week on Mount Kilimanjaro.

Habari ya asubhui and asante sana,

RMI Guide Brent Okita

Amazingly, most of the team actually got some sleep last night before I made my rounds to wake folks up just past 11:00pm. The night sky was amazingly clear and calm, and though the temps at camp were below freezing it felt a lot warmer than I had expected.
Our 7 1/2 hour ascent covered a variety of terrain from scree to rock, and got colder as we gained altitude. In fact, all the Camelback hydration systems people insisted on bringing froze and became useless until low on our descent.
What a big mountain. Our team couldn’t believe that our summit bid could go on for so long. But, at about 7:30 we finally reached the summit, Uhuru Peak at 19,340’. What was most impressive was that everyone summitted! The team just put their heads down, pressure breathed and got it done. But a big thanks needs to go out to our local guides: James, Freddy, Peter, Patrick, Naiman and Venance. They worked tirelessly to help the team achieve this dream.
Following our summit, we were greeted with a nice lunch upon arriving back at camp, then there was the five-hour hike to our next camp at about 10,000’ Mweka Camp. Sore feet and knees were casualties of the descent, but it sure feels good to be down here now. Especially after another great meal prepared by Tosha, our chef.
The eyelids are growing heavy, so I’ll bid you all good night.

RMI Guide Brent Okita

On The Map

Snow and sleet greeted us on our arrival to our high camp on the mountain, Barafu Camp, but that didn’t dampen our excitement for getting here. Because we had such a short day today, our camp staff wasn’t quite ready for us as they usually are. But through their tireless efforts we were able to get under shelter in no time.
The sleeping tents were ready shortly thereafter, and we had just enough time to move our packs in when lunch was announced.
So, here we are at 15,200’, on the eve of our climb. The team is excited, but a little nervous too. Pretty understandable emotions to be going through, and ones that most climbers go through before a big climb.
We’ve had our summit talk, a briefing on what to bring and wear, and what to expect. We’re all now preparing our kit for the summit in the time we have before dinner, We’ll try to hit the sack by 6:00pm so we can get some rest before our departure just after midnight, As I write this the skies have cleared again and the ground has dried. Things are looking good for our big day. With any luck we’ll be sending a quick satellite phone brief from the summit.
Wish us luck!

RMI Guide Brent Okita

On The Map

Our assault of the Barranco Wall was relentless and the team finally conquered its mighty face with no loss of limb or life. The same can’t be said for the poor, hapless porter who lost his load a third of the way up, which meant beating a hasty retreat down to the valley floor to retrieve it. Luckily, said porter was below us and not above, which might have been a whole other story.
The climbing up that part of our climb today was fun and exciting, but we were all humbled as we watched the porters scaling the same terrain with forty pound loads balanced on their heads or shoulders, and arriving to camp two plus hours before us.
The rest of the route undulated into and out of valleys, always under the shadow of the steep flanks of the upper mountain. We ended up only a little higher than our previous camp, so everyone’s feeling strong and we’re all becoming well acclimatized.
After arriving to camp and ‘washing up’ another incredible lunch was served: schnitzel with warm German potato salad, followed by apple pancakes and banana fritters. Wow!!!
While in our dining tent the clouds finally unleashed a little rain. We’ve been so fortunate with the weather so far, that this little precipitation has not dampened anyone’s spirits. And now, after thirty minutes of wetness, it has abated.
We’re all comfortably sheltered in either our personal tents or the mess tent playing cards, so not really affected by the vagaries of the weather. Quite nice.
Until tomorrow, we’ll try to suffer on. Wish us luck.

RMI Guide Brent Okita

On The Map

Our longest day yet saw us climbing to a high point of 15,200’, an altitude record for most of us. Thankfully, ours was a gradual ascent of the Shira Plateau until Lava Tower (15,200’), which made our progress a little easier than it could have been.
Dropping 2,000ft to Barranco Camp at 13,000ft is allowing us to feel pretty darned good here at camp and giving us a perfect acclimatization program.
Upon walking into camp our mountain staff greeted us with a couple of wonderful folk songs. Not only are they talented singers, but most notably, everyone is incredibly nice, generous and they all bend over backwards to make us feel welcome.
The challenge for our group, and all climbers here, is to just deal with the altitude and keep from getting a gut bug. So far so good. ‘Pole pole’ is the oft heard refrain in Swahili reminding the world, or at least the folks climbing Kili to ‘go slowly.’ And that we are, to great effect.
To say that this is an outgoing and social group would be an understatement, but perhaps that can be expected since we’re all family. It’s fun hearing the roars of laughter coming from the mess tent as folks play a round of cards before turning in for the night.
Tomorrow, the Barranco Wall, a steep one and a half hour climb that should be fun and exciting for us. Not technical, but the steepest climb we’ve done yet.
It’ll be a shame leaving the Barranco Valley, with its steep walls hanging spectacularly above camp, but on we climb towards the summit.
Next up, the Karanga valley.

Good night,
RMI Guide Brent Okita

On The Map

Our five hour trek to the Shira Plateau and our beautiful camp here began steeply out of Machame Camp and was quite relentless for a good three or so hours. Along the way we learned some walking and breathing techniques that will be key to our success on this expedition.
While I was busy coaching the team on these skills, one of our local guides, Peter, did a fantastic job with the pace and allowed us to move easily while still getting to camp at a reasonable hour. In this case, that would be at 1:30, just in time to sit down for the incredible lunch spread prepared by our chef Tosha. How does fried chicken, French fries and a refreshing salad, followed by watermelon sound, especially at 12,570’.
Climbing Kilimanjaro is nothing if not over the top luxury, and I’ll take every last bit of it. Our staff on the mountain, the guide, porters, cooks, waiters etc. allow the team to concentrate on the important matter of acclimatizing and just taking care of ourselves. We’ll need that help to be able to climb this 19,000’ behemoth in a week.
Following lunch we’ve all gone into major relax mode, letting the altitude seep into our bodies and the calories just consumed reenergize us in preparation for a big day getting to Barranco Camp. And of course, we need to be rested for ‘tea time’ in a few minutes.
Yeah, life is tough here in Tanzania, but the team is reaping the benefits of our support crew and everyone is doing really well.
All for now from the Shira Plateau.

RMI Guide Brent Okita

On The Map

The team all got to breakfast early this morning allowing us to get a head start on the day. This was nice as we were able to get to the Machame Gate and start our day before a lot of other teams. The National Park Service keeps Kilimanjaro national Park in great shape and it’s been inspiring to see them take a strong stand promoting Leave No Trace policies. Our immaculately maintained trail led us easily thru the rain forests of the lower flanks and to the beginning of the giant heather,which can grow to thirty feet high. All are doing fantastic, especially after fantastic three course dinner our cool Toshi prepared for us.Sleep is tugging at our sleeves pretty hard, so we retired to our tents where this old cowboy is also ready to crash.

Talk with you tomorrow.

RMI Guide Brent Okita & Team

A long day was had as we reviewed our climb to come and covered some important ideas that will make our big adventure as safe, successful and fun as possible.
Kilimanjaro is a great mountain to get ones feet wet on given its non technical nature, but the fact that it’s seven days long does present a bit of a steep learning curve for us in many ways.
We’re all ready now for the climb to begin tomorrow! The hard work of today was nicely softened by massages for all coordinated by brother Brad. Such a great idea!
We’re looking forward to a big day tomorrow and finally getting underway.
All for now from the comforts of the Arumera River Lodge. Next stop, the flanks of Kilimanjaro.

RMI Guide Brent Okita