Entries By dave hahn

The Four Day Summit Climb August 2 - 5 led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Chris Ebeling reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today around 7:30 AM.  Dave reported a beautiful day on the mountain.  The team will spend some time in the crater and enjoying the views.  They will return to Camp Muir and continue their descent to Paradise this afternoon.  Their program will conclude with a celebration at Rainier BaseCamp later today.

Congratulations to today’s Summit Climb teams!

The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Dave Hahn reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning.  Dave reported beautiful weather and a challenging route. The team will enjoy the views from the summit before starting their descent.

Congratulations to today’s team!

The Four Day Summit Climb teams for August 24 - 27 led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn & Andy Bond were unable to reach the summit today.  Upon reaching the top of Disappointment Cleaver, high winds forced the teams to turn back to Camp Muir.  The team is planning to descend from Camp Muir around 9:30 AM and we look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.

Up before dawn, just one more time.  Balloon Camp was kind to us…  such a quiet night and such an easy morning -until just after breakfast when we had to split up with Emily and Phillip who were off to the Serengeti.  We loaded up again with Ibrahim and Edson to see what we could see.  We saw tracks in the road.  We saw the vastness of a marsh, stretching to the horizon, dotted here and there with big animals, we saw a very pretty morning.  And after an hour, we saw an amazing and beautiful leopard close up.  We scared him and he scared us.  Ibrahim looked up to find him on a branch as we passed nearly underneath.  We skidded to a halt and he hopped up on his feet.  We fumbled for cameras and he showed his teeth.  He growled in a low and ominous rumble and we each wondered if he was considering jumping through the open top of our Toyota.  Instead he climbed quickly and gracefully down the tree trunk, bared his teeth at us again and went hunting in the marsh.  We followed his progress by watching his tail above the tall grass for a bit and then drove on, stunned and excited by our quick and awesome encounter.  We were still talking to each other about our good luck twenty minutes later when we saw another beautiful leopard up another tree.  This one from a relaxing distance of 100 meters, which took away the pressure to photograph and record.  We just watched and appreciated for a time before moving on.  We had a few more hours in the park… hours of trees and rivers and eagles and vultures, elephants, zebra, gnu and impala, giraffes and Cape buffalo.  We even saw kudus, which is a rare thing (don’t try it at home).
By late morning we’d left the park and were cruising back toward Arusha.  We made a stop for more shopping and a little culture at the cultural heritage center and then pressed on to the hotel.  Saying goodbye and thanks to Ibrahim and Edson for a big five experience and a wonderful four days, we set to repacking and prepping to fly.  We had one last dinner together, while watching the Dik Diks and monkeys play in the garden and we practiced our Swahili while saying goodbye to the staff at Arumeru River Lodge.  Said then drove us out to the airport as the sun set on our great adventure.  Lots of flying awaits and there are lots of pictures to go through now.  We haven’t said much in the way of goodbyes, it will be easier to just say “see you all on the next mountain.”

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

The Plantation Lodge was just too comfortable… we couldn’t leave at the crack of dawn.  A leisurely 9 AM departure sufficed.  Before leaving the Karatu area, we stopped for some souvenir/gift shopping and a try at negotiating prices.  Then we dropped back down the escarpment into the Rift Valley and cruised through the bustling town of Mosquito River.  Out in the dry country beyond town, we pulled off the highway to tour a small Maasai village.  The residents danced for (and with) us, showed us how to make fire without modernity, and then took us two-by-two into their small houses -built of sticks, mud and dung- to describe the basics of being Maasai.  Tanzania has over 120 different tribes, but the Maasai stand out because they are attempting to hold on to their traditional methods.  Thus educated and enlightened, we lit out for Tarangire National Park.  This park has very different ecosystems compared to Manyara and Ngorongoro.  It is made up of arid and expansive forests and savannas cut by three wandering river courses.  Impala, gnu and zebra are seemingly everywhere.  We began seeing extended families of elephants, including some little fellas less than a year old.  We learned to distinguish between male and female giraffes by the shape of their horns.  We stopped to look at giant baobab trees and termite mounds and mongoose.  We were getting spoiled… the team began demanding to see grizzly bears and tigers too.  Actually, just when it seemed we’d go catless for the day, we came upon nine very alert and animated lions, close up.  They wandered down to the river giving every impression that they were starting a hunt.  In early evening we came to Balloon Camp deep within the park.  The friendly staff oriented us to our bush hotel, which included advising us not to walk around without a guardian after dark.  There are no fences between us and the critters of Tarangire.  We watched the sun go down on our last full day in Africa and then sat for some “bush TV” as they call the campfire.  A crew of cheerful and colorful Maasai came to sing, chant, jump and dance as it got fully dark and starry.  We then enjoyed a barbecue buffet under those same stars. 
In the morning, we’ll start to diverge, as Emily and Phil head off to the Serengeti and the rest of us explore a bit more of Tarangire.  Seems a shame to break up the team, but our trip is winding down. 

Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

We did another alpine start and another climb up the side of a volcano.  But this time we got up to a fine pre-dawn breakfast in a comfy dining room with a roaring fire and rode up the side of a collapsed volcano in Toyota Landcruisers.  That was all under heavy cloud and a little rain.  By the time we’d ridden around the crater rim and dropped down in, we were out of the clouds and into a world of wildlife and wonders.  Before very long we were looking at a pride of nine lions up close and personal (before the day was out, we’d seen around 26 different lions).  We saw herd after herd after herd of wildebeest, zebra and Cape buffalo.  Gazelles bounded and abounded.  There were just a few solitary elephants here and there.  In the morning we spied a rhinoceros off in the distance.  In the afternoon we went on a wild rhino rumor race… chasing across the crater along with half the other Toyotas in Tanzania to see a supposed rhino who apparently dropped down and went to sleep out of sight.  As consolation, we had high times with hippos in a number of places.  Many of the team said their favorite part of the day was encountering two lionesses simply walking past the cars on their way to who-knows-where.  We had an excellent and very relaxing picnic lunch while watching hippos, birds, buffalo and zebras.  At about 4 PM, Ibrahim and Edson steered the Landcruisers up a crazily switchbacking exit road and we left the conservation zone and got back to our garden of a hotel to take things a little easy before dinner. 

Tarangire is tomorrow. 

Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

We loved our Kilimanjaro climb… but each and every night of it was spent sleeping on a tilt in one or more directions.  Last night at the Arumeru River Lodge, we were on the level.  Consequently, there were a bunch of relaxed smiles at breakfast this morning to go with all the clean hair and shaved faces.  At 8 AM we met our Safari guide/drivers -Edson and Ibrahim and loaded up the Landcruisers for an adventure.  We started out by heading west through the outskirts of Arusha.  As we got away from Mt Meru’s flanks, the clouds got thinner until we were out in dry and open land under clear skies.  We passed many herds of Maasai cattle tended to by small boys in tartan blankets.  Even before reaching Lake Manyara National Park, we spied a few giraffes eating acacia trees near the highway.  Once in the lush and green park, we began seeing wildlife almost immediately.  Logan got the coveted “first pumba” prize for spotting a tusky warthog digging up lunch.  Unexpectedly a small gang of Cape Buffalo kicked up dust as they charged across the road.  A few minutes later, we saw our second of the “big five” with a memory of elephants eating their way through the thorn trees.  There were troops and flanges of baboons everywhere we looked.  After a great picnic lunch with superb starlings singing in the branches overhead, we encountered a tower of giraffes, a bloat of hippos, and a dazzle of zebras.  Along the way, there were silver-cheeked hornbills, a small implausibility of gnus and a herd or two of impalas.  We looked high and low for big cats but they eluded us today.  Perhaps tomorrow.  In late afternoon we drove out of the Rift Valley and into the highlands.  It was a great pleasure to pull into the meticulously manicured grounds of the Plantation Lodge near Karatu.  We enjoyed cocktails and appetizers as the light faded and the stars came out… then we moved inside for a fine dinner to celebrate Phillip and Emily’s fourth wedding anniversary. 
Ngorongoro Crater tomorrow. 

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Our entire team was in agreement that a night at 10,000 ft was just what the doctor ordered.  Sure, there were some tired legs and sore backs at Mweka Camp this morning, but so many other problems had magically disappeared with the dropping of a vertical mile in sleeping elevation.  We ate breakfast as the sun started to find its way through the heather and hanging moss.  Afterward, our entire staff assembled to serenade and entertain us (and themselves) with singing and dancing.  Before long, we were all laughing and clapping at their costumed portrayal of a western tourist, out for a climb.  The customary tipping ceremony followed in which we passed out gratuities while shaking hands and personally thanking each of 51 strong and talented men.  By 8:30 we were on the trail and losing altitude once again.  Quickly, we transitioned back into a thick and lush rain forest.  While we’d started out with blue sky and sunshine, inevitably we entered the cloud sea that had been so far below for much of the week.  We never got anything worse than the odd sprinkle and a little mist down in the clouds and that kept the dirt trail from getting totally sloppy and slippery.  One certainly had to pay close attention though, so as not to slip, trip or tumble in the process of descending 4,000 vertical feet.  Porters from our own team, as well as from surrounding teams, came thundering down the track -mud or no mud- with fifty pound loads balanced on their heads.  By late morning we’d all reached the national park gate at Mweka.  Naturally we got pics of the gang at the final signpost of the journey, then we signed out of the park and walked through a bit of road construction to where the Barking Zebra staff had laid out a fine picnic lunch at a local art gallery and tourist shop.  Thus fortified, we took on the two hour bus trip down through Moshi and over to the edge of Arusha.  Everyone was ready for showers and comfy furniture back at the Arumeru River Lodge.  The afternoon passed quickly as we reconnected to the world, dried and cleaned gear and readied other -less serious and substantial gear- for our safari starting tomorrow morning.  We had a relaxed victory dinner together to celebrate the completion of the climb and to bid farewell to Darcy who’ll be boarding jets and getting home for work while we go poke around a few more National Parks to see what we can see. 

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Update August 14th at 10:56 am PST:
The nights are long in this part of the world… approaching 12 hours.  My Kilimanjaro climbing team knows this all too well after today’s climb to the tippy top.  We set out from high camp at 12:40 AM and it was nearly six hours before the sun made an appearance.  Our first few hours of climbing weren’t so bad… it was pitch dark -with no moon- but it was also nice and calm.  When we reached 17,000 ft though, a 20 mph wind found us and stayed with us, dropping temps and making us all crave sunshine.  When we got it -at around 18,500 ft- the sunrise itself was gorgeous, and the winds dropped away, but only until we hit Stella Point on the crater rim at 7:15.  Our victory lap along the rim to Uhuru was made in winds up to 35 or 40 mph.  That certainly made it tough to do much sightseeing.  We each just concentrated on walking and breathing.  We hit Uhuru, the true summit, at 8:20 and stayed exactly eight minutes.  That was long enough for a few high fives, hugs and hero shots… and then we boogied.  We got out of the worst of the wind when we left the crater rim and temperatures got reasonable.  We skied the scree to get lower fast.  The goal was obviously to get off the mountain safely, but it was also to get back down to the altitudes that don’t hurt one’s head and rile one’s stomach.  Our great Barking Zebra staff helped us immensely in getting home to Barafu in good time.  We were there at 11:30 AM just in time for brunch in the dining tent.  Then -although we were all in the mood for naps- we packed up and got walking down for another 3.5 hours. We shed another 5,000 vertical feet to reach Mweka Camp down in the trees at the 10,000 ft level.  It turns out that the days are pretty long in these parts too… in any case, we’re all looking forward to a long night’s sleep tonight.

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

[audio transcription]
Hey, this is Dave Hahn with the Kilimanjaro Climb. We made the summit today. We’re back at high camp now at Barafu at 15,000 feet. At 8:20 this morning we were at Uhuru,19341 feet above sea level, highest point in Africa. It was a windy cold morning. It was a hard climb, but we did it and we’re safely back at high camp and we’re going to head down to Mweka Camp, 10,000 feet to finish the day. All for now. Bye.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

All the preparation is finished.  We’re healthy and comfy (relatively) at high camp.  It wasn’t even such a tough job to get here.  We woke to perfect weather at Karanga Camp.  The sun hit while we were sipping coffee and gazing down on the now-familiar sea of clouds far below.  Kibo was cloud-free and out in all its glory above us.  Without a puff of wind, it was easy to put the final touches on our packs after breakfast and to get ready for walking at 9 AM.  Our fifty man support staff didn’t want us to walk away all grim and work focused though… they quickly assembled and began clapping and singing -and inevitably dancing and laughing, until we joined in and got our morning stretch session done the fun way.  We then set out behind Philibet’s capable leadership.  It was easy ground compared to the walls we’ve climbed in recent days.  Just a steady and slow altitude gain through progressively less desert vegetation.  We had the whole move done in three hours and pulled into 15,000 ft Barafu (Swahili for “ice”) Camp at noon.  The team alternated between resting and eating, drinking and packing for the afternoon.  The normal lassitude and our fair share of intermittent headaches afflicted us as we whiled away the afternoon, but all in all we’re feeling strong and excited… ready for an “alpine start” and a big day of going to new heights and seeing new sights.  Tosha is going to serve up a 5:30 dinner and after it, we’ll try not to stare overly long at the sunset and amazing colors… we’ll zip ourselves into the tents for some crucial rest before the alarms go off at 11:30 PM and the climb to the top of Africa begins. 
Stay Tuned.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map