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Hey, this is Mark Tucker on the summit of Kilimanjaro the 31st of July 7:10 a.m. I'm here with a bunch of my buddies. They would all like to say hi. Bryce Adams from Houston, Texas. Vincent Graffagnino from Durham, North Carolina. James Brennan from Houston, Texas. Ethan and Kimberly, I love you very much. I can't wait to see you. John Fletcher from Greenville, North Carolina. Hey, I have got to tell you that this has to be the most beautiful mountain in the world. Paul Stanford from Louisville, Kentucky. Sherry I love you. I can't wait to see you when I get home. Joey Graffagnino from Durham, North Carolina, this is the best sunrise of the year. [Mark Tucker] Hey it’s me again. Let’s pass it around. Carmen Graffagnino Durham, North Carolina. Love you Sharon. Edward Graffagnino from Durham North Carolina. You rock. Monica Garhart, Boise, Idaho – Wahoo!! Everyone did a great job getting up here. We got a wonderful day, couldn't be any better. These guys were great, they performed well. We are going to sign off and start heading down. We still have a bit of time on the mountain today. Thanks to you all for checking in. We will write you up something when we get down to Mweka Camp. RMI Guide Mark Tucker and the Kilimanjaro Summit Team!

RMI Guide Mark Tucker reported from Everest Base Camp that RMI Guide Melissa Arnot and her climbing partner Dave Morton have safely returned to Base Camp. Unfortunately, they were unable to summit Mt. Everest on this expedition but we are all glad that they are back safe and sound. The season on Mt. Everest is complete and the tent city at 17,575' which came alive in mid March with expedition members, trekkers, Sherpa and Base Camp staff is now bare of tents and people. Congratulations again to RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Linden Mallory on their successful summit climb. Thank you to Mark Tucker and all the staff at High Altitude Dreams for another safe and successful season on Mt. Everest.

The Four Day Climb May 6 - 9 led by RMI Guides Eric Frank and Grayson Swingle ascended to Camp Muir yesterday. The team left from Camp Muir this morning and ascended to Ingraham Flats.  More new snow and avalanche danger made this their high point but they did enjoy some blue skies and sunshine.   The team left Camp Muir on their descent to Paradise.  We will look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.

A unique walk took us off the beaten path to Thamo Monastery where we listened to the nuns chant, ring bells, and blow long horns. They brought us a taste of their traditional Tibetan tea which is super salty and hard to drink more than a sip of, but we were honored guests. Our group is so strong and doing great with the altitude and hiking. Everyone is full of energy and incredibly positive about the journeys ahead. Our local team of Sherpa are so kind and great culture and climbing guides. They have all climbed Everest, and two of them 7 times each. They love trekking as well as climbing and sharing their home valley with us. We feel lucky to get to know them and learn about their lives here the in the Khumbu. Thank you Nima, Lakpa, Lakpa, and Kami! Tomorrow will bring a long day on the trail up to another Monastery and higher elevation. The team is doing so well that we know it will go smoothly. RMI Guide Christina Dale

While we were expecting a chilly night of sleep, it was surprisingly warm in Pheriche. The colder temperatures rumored in the valley this spring didn't affect us as much as we anticipated, much to everyone's pleasure. Without needing to reach the next village before the weather set in, we took our time at breakfast, going through several thermoses of tea before we headed out for a hike. Leaving Pheriche, we climbed directly up the tall hillside behind town and across a rolling plateau to a ridge running from the higher hills above. Pausing there we had clear views southwards back down the Khumbu Valley towards Tengboche and eventually Namche. To our west the valley continued up further before turning sharply north and into the final cirque of mountains where Everest Base Camp is. To the east ran the Imja Khola Valley, framed at the top by a ring of mountains surrounding Island Peak - the climbing objective for a few of us next week after we visit Base Camp. We climbed a bit higher up the ridge, eventually stopping in a spot protected from the gentle but still biting breeze. Staying up there for awhile, we looked at the panorama of great Himalayan peaks and giving our bodies the feel for the higher elevations to come. We descended back to our tea-house by midday and spent a few hours relaxing the the sun room - a greenhouse like room built on the second story that heats up quite quickly during the day - before heading next door to the Himalayan Rescue Association Clinic. Volunteer doctors staff the small medical facility here, offering medical care for the local population as well as trekkers affected by the altitude. They gave us a very informative briefing on altitude and demonstrated the use of a Gamow Bag - a portable hyperbaric chamber used to simulate lower elevations. The team remains in great spirits, managing the newer altitudes well and keeping the trip lighthearted and convivial. Tomorrow we climb further up the valley to the tiny village of Lobuche, sitting alongside the toe of the Khumbu Glacier. It is exciting to be approaching our destination and we are looking forward to the days ahead. RMI Guide Linden Mallory

On The Map

Another day drifting in the Vinson Basecamp milk bottle, surrounded by whiteness. Except it was fun. The RMI team competed in a snow sculpture contest with the New Zealand team and the German Team today. TA built a Canadian living room replica, complete with couch, fireplace, TV and maple leaf. Then she joined Mindy and I in constructing a team of sled dogs pulling a sled and a towering and imposing Amundson, arriving at the Pole. We'll concede that he was so massive that his dog team appeared to be composed of puppies, rabbits and squirrels. The German guide, Reigner, built an impressive titanic replica. Vlado made snow angels inside his tent. After dinner the ALE staff judged the artwork and found each and every climber to be deserving of a cold beverage. Twenty of us, from 11 countries, sat in the basecamp headquarters tent for that beverage and a fine custard desert and received the good news that the ALE Twin Otters had just departed South Pole bound for Union Glacier. If our weather shapes up by morning, things could start happening fast. Or not. We shall see. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

May 27, 2022 10:40pm PST

Hello everyone! 

After a day of organizing gear in Talkeetna, we successfully flew onto the Kahiltna Glacier ready to start our much-anticipated Denali Expedition!  

The last few days have been full of expedition preparation. We spent the day napping and prepping to move to the night schedule for these first few days but after hearing the weather, and talking to a few other guides on the mountains, we decided to avoid what would have been a cold windy walk in the dark and started climbing around 8 am this morning. Surface conditions made for fast moving, and the wind kept us cool. We rolled into the base of ski hill just a little after 1 pm Before taking off the boots, we unloaded group gear, and made camp.

The remainder of the evening will comprise of eating some well-deserved burrito meals, deciding what gear to cache, and getting some rest before we carry some of our gear up to 9600'.

RMI Guides Nikki Champion, Taylor Bickford, Emma Lyddan and Team

 

May 26, 2022 6:48pm PST

May 24th Denali climb checking in with our first dispatch!

After spending all day organizing, pack and repacking in Talkeetna yesterday, we woke up to perfect weather and were able to jump on the first flight around 9AM this morning. We unloaded the planes, set up camp for the first time and took a quick nap before doing a midday brunch and reviewing skills. With the warm temperatures, we will be on the night schedule for the first couple days - so we've all crawled back into our bags. and plan to wake up in the night and make our first move to the base of ski hill. Glad to be on the mountain!

Check in tomorrow.

RMI Guides Nikki Champion, Taylor Bickford, Emma Lyddan and Team

It's another beautiful day and the Four Day Climb teams are enjoying clear skies and light winds as well as a full moon last night. The teams reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 5:30 AM. With the nice weather they enjoyed some time in the summit crater before starting their descent. The team will continue down to Paradise later this day and conclude their program with a celebration at Rainier BaseCamp. Congratulations to all the climbers!

We took advantage of a beautiful morning for a day of tough competition around the horseshoe pit. After some close games, lots of fun and prizes for all, we awarded our winners. Congratulations to Dave & Pranav - our 2013 RMI Expeditions Horseshoe Tournament Winners! We also played an inter camp Sherpa Tourney which was won by Jeta. Thanks to all the participants for a fun day of friendly competition. There were a few more teams that reached the summit of Mt. Everest today. The weather is still a bit unpredictable but a few strong and smart teams have reached the top. There are many teams leaving from Base Camp today and heading to higher camps. This will put them in position for their summit bids later this week. We are sitting tight at Base Camp for a bit longer as the weather forecasts are showing some heavy snow arriving soon. We are continuing to watch the weather patterns and predictions and will move up hill when the timing looks good for us. As the afternoon clouds rolled in the snow began to fall at Base Camp. We will keep you posted. Cheers, RMI Guide & Everest Base Camp Manager Mark Tucker

On The Map

We reached the small village of Azau last night as daylight shrank from the mountains, their presence only hinted at by the dark forms obscuring the stars around us. Thankful to put an end to the traveling for a bit we dumped our bags in our rooms, grabbed a quick bite to eat in the restaurant, and collapsed into our beds. Upon waking this morning we immediately caught glimpses of the mountains, the craggy summits of the Caucasus visible through the skylights of our rooms. With the morning sun quickly burning away the cool mountain morning we set off on a day hike, walking down the valley to the village of Cheget. The rural areas of Russia are a contrast in times, old homes of concrete slabs and rusting corrugated roofs sit along the road, gardens sprouting in the front while livestock grazes on the hillsides behind, while a store next door advertises rentals for the latest ski gear from Western companies. This was even more pointed yesterday as we drove past old Soviet factories used to build tractors and parts for their space program, long since abandoned and now occupied by grazing cows that walk the roads, causing the Mercedes and vans of climbers coming from the airport to weave between the wandering bovine. Yet overlooking the continually changing landscape stand the stunning summits of the Caucasus. Upon reaching Cheget, we hopped on an old single seat chairlift, each chair painted in bright colors to hide the age, and quickly emerged from treeline. To the south lay the jagged heart of the Caucasus, the knife edge ridgelines cutting through the sky and delineating the Russian/Georgian border, to the north loomed the glacier capped twin summits of Mt. Elbrus, the mountain we traveled so far to climb. At 10,000' the air was thin and we walked slowly along narrow trails weaving through slopes, exposing our bodies to the new altitudes, which will benefit us tonight when we return to 7,000' to sleep. With that exposure to higher elevations our bodies will work harder to prepare for the increased effort needed at high altitudes. Returning to Cheget for lunch we dined on "Shashlik" - chicken kabobs roasted on the open fire burning on the patio, before returning to our lodgings in Azau to sort our gear for tomorrow and get some rest. Tomorrow we leave the valley and ascend to the toe of the glacier on the south side of Elbrus. We plan on spending some time in the afternoon to climb a portion of the glacier before returning to our hut for the evening. The team is doing well and pleased to be here in the mountains. We are looking forward to pulling out our climbing gear and heading onto Elbrus.