Entries By mark tucker
Today the team did a fantastic job climbing the intimidating looking Barranco Wall. It is the technical hurdle of this expedition and everyone did great. Everybody enjoyed the challenge; of course, the porters made it look easy as they climbed the wall with their loads carefully balanced on their heads.
Once above the wall we took a well-deserved break to enjoy the valleys below and the peak above. Yet another day of great hiking conditions. We are now at about 13,000ft at the Karanga Camp. High camp tomorrow and the team is looking good.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
It was clear and cool last night with temperatures right around freezing. Our team kept warm with hot water bottles and warm sleeping bags. We left Shira Camp and slowly climbed uphill before we started our traverse over to Barranco Valley across the volcanic plateau and just below the remaining glaciers that cling to Kilimanjaro's slopes. As we approached camp we were all amazed to see the giant groundsels and famous senecio trees that look like something out of a Dr Suess book. Once again we pulled into camp and our stellar crew had camp all set up and were ready with hot drinks and snacks after a solid six hour day. The team is in good shape and ready for the Barranco wall which sits just above camp and will be our first objective as we continue up hill tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
It has been cloudy all day but that made for a very comfortable hike up to the Shira Plateau, 12,200', and our second camp on Kilimanjaro. The hike out of camp was steep for a couple of hours with a beautiful traverse to top out the day. En route to camp we encountered a short section of rock scramble which had everyone paying attention and will get us ready for our climb up the Barranco Wall in a couple days. Here at over 12,000', we were greeted with a camp fully set up and a hot lunch. We are hopeful the skies will clear and we will be able to enjoy the sunset and get a peak at the upper mountain from tonight's camp. The team is in good shape snacking, exploring and resting and hoping for clear skies tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
All is well here at 10,000ft Machame Camp, Camp 1, on Kilimanjaro.
We left the Arumeru Lodge this morning and enjoyed the views of the local community and lots of farms growing bananas, coffee and corn. The flanks of Kilimanjaro provide very fertile grounds for all of these great crops. After a couple hour drive we arrived at the Kilimanjaro Nation Park gate. We registered our team and paid our entrance fee to the Park Staff and with permit in hand, we loaded our packs and began our climb. We had a steady ascent of 4,000ft and in just less than five hours arrived at our first camp in fine form. Perfect conditions in the cloud forest made for an enjoyable climb. We all settled in to our tents and discussed camp life and our prperations for tomorrow's ascent. Dinner is now complete and we are certain to enjoy many more great meals thanks to our wonderful chef and staff. Everyone is returning to their tents as we are still adjusting to our new time zone and catching up on a bit of jet lag.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Jambo -
The team is all here. We arrived throughout the day and are now gathered at the beautiful Arumeru River Lodge.
After our drive from the airport we had a quick dinner then everyone retired to their rooms to recover from the flights and get sleep.
Today, after a very nice breakfast, we had a great team meeting with personal introductions and discussion of the plan for the next few days followed by a check that everyone has the essential gear for our climb of Kilimanjaro.
We spent the remainder of the day packing and relaxing here at this beautiful lodge.
Some monkeys, lizards, small gazelle roam the property, it's like being in Africa.
We are being well taken care of here at by this gracious and kind staff. We even had a birth party to top it off - HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEVIN!
All is well in this part of the world,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Posted by: Mark Tucker, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Wow! It has been a whirlwind. This is the first chance I have had to catch my breath. We have explored St. Petersburg and it's beautiful museums and churches. We took an evening canal tour and ended the evening with a bit of Karaoke (not on the itinerary). Most of us, me included, should keep our day jobs. A few of our team mates will remain to some additional site seeing but the majority of us have left St. Petersburg and are making our way home. Our bags are filled with local treasures for friends and family members and heads our spinning from our recent experiences and plans for upcoming adventures. It has been a wonderful trip and it's been my pleasure to spend time abroad with this great team.
Until next time,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Posted by: Mark Tucker, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
July 8, 2017
Here we are back in Cheget! We had a very interesting climb. We started looking at the weather around midnight and made our plan to leave at 3 am with the help of a snowcat ride. It was clear above us with a mild breeze at camp and the forecast was calling for moderate winds. We woke the team at 1:45 am and got ready for our summit attempt. The wind increased as we ascended but it didn't turn us back. We were prepared for a big climb and that is what we experienced. We took a few photos on the summit of Mt. Elbrus and then started our descent. We return to the huts where we spent the last few nights, had lunch, packed our gear and then continued down to the thick are of the Baksan Valley. Tommorow we will enjoy a day of rest and touring in Cheget before we head off to St. Petersburg.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
Posted by: Mark Tucker, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 18,510'
Wow, that's all I can say! No chance to call from the summit. We are all back down at our base camp and everybody's doing well. Toughest climb in my whole history of 20 plus years of climbing here. An Incredible team effort! Unbelievable! We were the first and only team to climb the mountain today, so we are pretty darn proud! I couldn't be more proud of this group of hard working mountaineers than I am right now. We'll talk to you later. All is good!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker Calling from Mt. Elbrus 7-8-17
Glad to hear all is good! Love & Peace from St Louis
Posted by: M Mitan on 7/8/2017 at 7:18 pm
Posted by: Mark Tucker, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 12,000'
Today was our first rest day up on Mt. Elbrus. We managed to sleep in a little bit, usually a rarity in the mountains. After a substantial breakfast, we got a little training in reviewing some essential skills and introducing some techniques specific to the route. In addition to training, a few members of the team got some gambling in during our down time. Playing poker for toothpicks is serious business up here. We just finished dinner, everyone's gear is organized, and we are ready for an early morning tomorrow!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
Go Tuck and Team! Love from a very warm SOCAL
Posted by: Cioci on 7/7/2017 at 8:47 pm
Posted by: Mark Tucker, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Today was a perfect day in big mountains! After yet another tasty breakfast in our dinning hut we set off for a solid 4-hour training climb. It was cold enough last night that we all put on crampons to help with traction. This was great training for the team, they did their homework and are physically prepared. We turned around just below 15,000’. This was a new altitude record for some of the team. Then we were back to camp for lunch a bit of a rest. Right now, we are waiting for dinner, and watching the colorful sunset on the dramatic huge mountains in all directions. This evening we meet to go over climbing equipment and tactics.
Team is in fine shape and glad to be here!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker & Team
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Enjoy this special time together!! Looks so exciting. Be Safe and send pics!! xxoo
Posted by: Aunt ME & Uncle Gene on 7/28/2017 at 5:44 pm
Way to go Annie, Philip, and team! It is warm here in Minnesota.
Posted by: Kay Weaver on 7/28/2017 at 10:43 am
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