Entries By dave hahn

Hey! Dave Hahn & Team calling from the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro! We are at Uhuru 19,340’. We got up here at 6:49 in the morning, nine of our ten climbers. Everybody is doing really well, everybody is happy and healthy. It is an absolutely beautiful morning. It is way clear above us, and it’s way clear down below to about 4,000’ and then there’s a sea of clouds below us. It is a really great day up here. We’re going to do a dispatch when we are back to our camps to let you know we are all safe. Bye now!

Sunday, September 10th 10:57am PST
Greetings from Mweka Camp, down at 10,000 ft, down in the forest, down from the summit of Kilimanjaro. 

We got walking out of high camp at just after midnight on a perfect night for climbing.  It was clear, calm, moonlit and sparkling with stars.  As expected, things got progressively colder as we got farther up the hill and into the night/morning.  We kept adding clothing and tried our best to keep moving.  Eventually, a good chunk of the team had “everything” on and the sun was still hours away.  We might have stressed over the cold, but the altitude was kicking in with new stresses with every step higher.  The entire team surpassed previous personal altitude records today, so it was very much a voyage of discovery.  We hit Stella Point on the crater rim just before 6 AM and caught a magnificent sunrise when we were part way to Uhuru -the true summit.  We tagged the top at 6:45, spent a glorious 30 minutes up there… surprised to be in perfectly comfortable temps already.  The descent to Barafu took three hours, and we commenced our further descent to Mweka at 12:15, reaching this delightfully low camp at 3:45.  All are safe.

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

We began and ended the day far above a sea of clouds.  But of course, our end to the day was farther still above the clouds, since we are now at 15,200 ft.  High Camp.  Last night’s camp -Karanga- was kind to us.  It was calm and quiet through the night and into our 8 AM breakfast.  We were on the road to Barafu -the “Ice” camp, before nine and into our new digs by about noon.  There were no longer any pretty plants to linger over as we’ve entered the Alpine zone.  We concentrated on the steady walking and breathing techniques that we’ll employ tomorrow.  The afternoon was spent in strategizing our summit bid and streamlining our packs.  We rested and ate and ate some more before turning in early.  Most could not resist staying up for the sunset though as the big ball of fire sank into clouds between Mt. Meru in the distance and Kibo up close.  We are ready for an early start and a big day tomorrow.

Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

We were treated to a perfect night and morning at Barranco Camp.  The lights of Moshi twinkled far below, the hanging glaciers and ice fields of Kibo glowed in moonlight above us.  We slept in ‘til a leisurely breakfast at eight.  We walked out of camp just before 9:00 as cumulus clouds began to form up.  Within just a few minutes we were out of the gardens and streams of the valley and coming to grips with the great Barranco Wall.  With great help from our guides -James, Freddy, Patric, Venance and Philibert, we negotiated the ledges and cliffs.  We pulled ourselves up to new ledges and found nooks and crannies for the feet.  We squeezed through gaps in the lava and avoided loose and rolling rocks.  The wall eased into steep hiking in places, but there were always a few more scrambly bits mixed in.  We topped out near 14,000 ft in a little less than two hours.  By then the clouds were hiding Kibo and almost everything but our immediate surroundings.  We walked down into the next shallow valley and across a few more divides to get to the steeply cut Karanga Valley.  Some careful and dusty steps were required to get us down one side and up the other to our new camp on the far rim.  Karanga Camp sits at 13,160 ft which isn’t too much of a gain over our last camp, so we’ll hope for a night relatively free of altitude-associated discomforts.  The clouds stuck with us through the afternoon and evening, but of course that didn’t prevent us from lounging about and enjoying a couple more excellent meals from Tosha, our climbing chef extraordinaire.
The views will keep until tomorrow.

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

At some point in the early morning hours, the clouds cleared away, the full moon and stars came out, along with the great volcanic cone of Kibo, Kilimanjaro’s central peak.  First light was our first sighting of the mountain we’ve been climbing.  All were thrilled to see it, but it must be admitted that some were a little intimidated by the steep icy mountain flanks rising into the sky.  We ate our breakfast and got walking toward the peak at about 8 AM. The walking was pretty easy compared to the tricky trails we’d become accustomed to, but it was taking us steadily higher.  Within a few hours of marching through the high desert vegetation, we were breaking altitude records.  In fact, by our high point of the day, the Lava Tower, at 15,200 ft, we’d crushed records for Cory, Jen, Don, Syd, Carol, Naomi and Curt.  Only Sarah and Martha had been to greater altitude.  Cumulus clouds formed up with the heat of the day to rob us of some views, but generally, we were blessed with a fine, calm and dry day for hiking.  We worked our way down into the Barranco Valley-back down into the garden of giant Senecios and Lobelias.  We reached camp at 13,000 ft by three o’clock.  Our staff of porters, cooks, camp boys, waiters and guides seemed pleased with our performance.  A few men began clapping, and within minutes, fifty of our best mountain friends were clapping, dancing and singing.  Eventually, we all joined in -some of the team managing to get down and shake it while still wearing packs.  Not bad after a seven-hour hike and a trip to new heights.
We rested away the afternoon, listening to stories and Swahili at the foot of the Great Barranco Wall. 

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

We spent a quiet night at Machame Camp with clouds above and below.  Those of us lying awake, still wrestling with jet lag, were never able to detect even the faintest of breezes rustling tent fabric.  6:30 was our wake up target and although we were right on the mark, Kilimanjaro itself decided to sleep in.  We were never able to see Kibo, the central peak, due to clouds.  We set out at 8 AM in pleasant walking conditions -never in danger of overheating- with the sun obscured.  The trail led steeply upward through a giant heather forest.  We climbed slowly and steadily, working from time to time on walking and breathing techniques for the days ahead.  Views were limited but still enchanting as we reached and followed a ridge top of old lava formations to well over 12,000 ft.  We finished with an hour of traversing ledges and trails to the north, turning the corner onto the easier Shira Plateau just after noon.  We were in our 12,600 ft new home -Shira Camp- by 12:45.  We lounged away the afternoon with meals, naps, storytelling and exploring.  Sunset into the cloudy peaks of Shira was briefly beautiful.  We finished with a sumptuous alpine dinner in our dining tent, chatted a bit more about legendary climbs and climbers, and then called it a day.  (A good day)

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

A fairly smooth first day for our climbers today.  We were on the road by 8 AM as planned and heading east.  We made good time rolling down the highway under thick clouds.  There weren’t any views of Kilimanjaro to be had, even as we approached the Machame gate to the National Park at 6000 ft.  As always, the gate was good and busy as a handful of other expeditions were getting underway on our same timetable.  We were among the first to set out walking, at around 10:45.  We never got rain, although the air was quite moist during the hours we spent in the thick forest.  We gained elevation steadily and by mid-afternoon we were leaving the big trees and getting into a forest of giant heather.  We came in to Machame Camp at 4:15 to find that our staff had been working quite hard on our behalf.  A fully built camp was ready and waiting for campers.  We settled in, met for afternoon tea and then dinner in our dining dome tent.  We talked of the plan for the coming day, recalled the funny parts of the day we were ending and headed to bed. 

Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

This was our Kilimanjaro kickoff day… but it was also our Kili catch-up day.  We began our climb by sitting down as a group just after breakfast and strategizing.  We went through our itinerary and discussed goals and contingencies.  Then we checked each climber’s gear and clothing for the trip, finally we packed and weighed each load.  We had lunch outside under the patio awning as dik diks (smallest of the antelope family) roamed the grounds and velvet monkeys played in the trees.  Afternoon was the “catch-up” portion of the day as we rested and attempted to reset our day/night perceptions to fit our new setting -about nine time zones off -give or take.  We’d take trips up the Lodge’s observation tower from time to time in order to look for Kili on the horizon.  Clouds kept it hidden today though.  Tomorrow we’ll set out for the mountain just after breakfast and will relay a team picture or two as we progress. 

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

We’ve gotten eleven climbers -and their gear- through an assortment of aircraft and airports to the outskirts of Arusha, Tanzania.  What with ample jet lag, it can’t be declared with certainty that all are now sleeping at the Arumeru River Lodge, but all are now in residence (at 4 AM).  In a few hours, we’ll wake up to begin a Kilimanjaro adventure.  It will begin with coffee and a velvet monkey or two out in the garden-like patio of the lodge.  We’ll eat breakfast (if the monkeys don’t) and meet finally as one big team to figure out the start of our week-long climb to the highest point in Africa. 

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

At 7:13 a.m. the Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Dave Hahn reached Columbia Crest, the highest point on Mt. Rainier. Dave reported perfect conditions today. The team will spend some time on the summit celebrating before beginning their descent. We look forward to seeing them in Ashford this afternoon.

Congratulations climbers!

The Four Day Summit Climb Team for August 20 - 23 were unable to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier today due to route conditions.  RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Leon Davis led their teams to the top of Disappointment Cleaver at 12,300’ which was their high point today.  The teams will descend to Camp Muir and continue to Paradise later this morning.