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Hello Everyone - Our team spent the contingency weather day hanging out in Cheget. We spent the day walking around town, enjoying the new coffee shop in town, and picking up a few souvenirs. Right now we're all relaxing before heading out to a celebratory dinner with the team. Hopefully we'll survive the vodka associated with tonights traditional Russian celebration, hosted by our gracious local tour operator. Everyone is in good spirits and looking forward to heading to beautiful St. Petersburg early tomorrow. RMI Guide Casey Grom and team.

After a delicious Roadhouse breakfast and stories from the world famous Fairview Inn pre-party, the team has been busy sorting gear for the trip. The weather is beautiful right now and we're prepping to fly onto the mighty Kahiltna tomorrow morning. Until then we're enjoying solid earth under our feet, the smells of lush green plants in our noses and hearty meals in our bellies. Cheers from the RMI Knoff, Uchal and Blais team. RMI Guide Adam Knoff

On The Map

The weather is settling into a predictable routine here in the Khumbu Valley, the morning breaks clear and calm and by late afternoon the clouds sweep up from lower in the valley and settle in around us. This morning was no different as were found a beautiful and clear day awaiting us when we awoke. We packed up our bags and headed up the trail, leaving the forest of Deboche behind us. The first stretch of walking was cold as we traversed the shaded side of the valley, but after crossing a short bridge above the raging river below, we found the morning sun and quickly warmed back up. The trail climbs from Deboche, gradually ascending along the hillside past row after row of mani stones - the rocks carved with Buddhist prayers - and through occasional archways, decorated with paintings of ancient stories. We entered the village of Pangboche where we stopped to visit Lama Geshe, a renowned Buddhist Lama of the region. Formerly living at the Tengboche Monastery, he now lives in a small unassuming building in the small village and is frequented by climbers, trekkers, and travelers alike seeking his blessing before their journey. We sat down in the small living room of his home with him and he offered us a blessing for the rest of our journey, chanting the prayers, tossing rice in the air, and draping a kata scarf (prayer scarf) around our necks along with a small piece of red rope into which he has sent his prayers. It was a very lighthearted ceremony, Lama Geshe breaking his rhythm every so often to laugh in a deep voice, or chuckling as he tried to pronounce our names. I always feel calmed by time spent at Lama Geshe's and we emerged from his home ready to continue onwards. We continued up the valley, gradually gaining elevation as we ascended above the river. After several hours we began the steep but notable climb over a small saddle well over 14,000'. The winds picked up by this point and were whipping past us as we crested the gap and descended the other side into Pheriche. Just as we reached our tea-house here the clouds crept over the pass as well and soon settled in around us. Our tea-house is one of the nicest to be found in the Khumbu and the owner Ang Nuru worked hard on improvements over the winter. Needless to say, the group was thrilled to find hot showers, warm rooms, and a beautifully decorated and comfortable dining room. We will spend the day here in Pheriche tomorrow, helping our bodies acclimatize to the new elevation before we move higher. The group continues to do well and sends their best to everyone back home. RMI Guide Linden Mallory

On The Map

Jambo from Safari Day One.  We left the Rivertrees Inn just past 7:30 this morning with our safari guides (and drivers) Simon and Nixon.  It took nearly an hour to break free of the big city of Arusha and to get traveling through the arid countryside to the west.  Before long we were seeing herds of cattle tended by Maasai in their distinctive tartan blankets.  We peppered our guides with questions about Tanzanian history, society and life in general.  By the time we reached Lake Manyara at 11 AM we were considerably smarter.  We entered the forest and the National Park all at once and began looking for wildlife.  Monkeys and Baboons were first up.  We began to see some great birds as well.  There weren’t great numbers of animals but eventually we were finding elephants, giraffes and Cape buffalo.  Simon and Nixon were clearly on a mission following our picnic lunch.  They were chasing clues that took us farther and farther into the park, basically a strip of forest between the gigantic lake and a steep escarpment of the Great Rift Valley.  Finally, we hit a small jackpot.   There were a family of elephants on one side of the dirt road we sat on -and three lions lounging amid trees on the other side.  About a hundred feet separated these two factions of the “big five” (and we were directly between them).  The lions (a big male and two females) were napping, but it was the kind of napping where they put their heads up to watch every move the elephants made.   Eventually we bid them goodbye as it was getting a little late and we had some distance to go to reach the town of Karatu and The Plantation Lodge hidden away back in the farmland.  We pulled in just before 7PM and quickly made ourselves at home.  Tomorrow we’ll get an early start on our journey into Ngorongoro Crater. 

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Dogs barking, goats baaing, cows mooing , and roosters crowing was our alarm clock today. We were greeted with tea and made our way up to Sangitas house for breakfast. The village was alive with children running around and chores being done. It appeared today was roof repair day. The old grayish brown hay was thrown down off the roof and new golden hay was tossed up. We enjoyed breakfast with the family, then soaked in the sun before enjoying some lunch too. It was the best Dahl we have had thus far and was delicious on top of the chapati bread. After filling our bellies we hiked back to Laxmis house. Clouds rolled in and we finished our hike in a bit of rain. The forest colors and smells popped with the freshness the rain brought. Experiencing the food and culture of these small villages has been amazing. It is an area everyone should come and see. Tomorrow we make our way back to where we had the medical camp on our way in. A handful of hours of walking should get us there. Hopefully the clouds will have dispersed and the weather is back to being sunny. Adios, RMI Guide Hannah Smith

Hello from Arusha, We are safely off the mountain and back at the Dik Dik hotel. The team did great yesterday and everybody in the group made it to 19,340', Uhuru Peak. The day started at 11:45 pm and we were walking out of camp by 1:00 am. It was a solid six hours of climbing to reach Stella Point, and at 8:15 am we were standing on the Roof of Africa. Our timing was perfect and we pretty much had the summit to ourselves, a rarity on Kilimanjaro. The Park Service recently replaced the old summit sign with a new larger green and yellow sign. Consensus amongst most climbers is that they like the old sign better, but either way, it marks the spot of the highest free-standing mountain in the world. We took a bunch of summit photos, and then we started our descent back to high camp. This summit day was a little tougher than the usual. What started out as some light winds, soon turned into a solid 30 mph wind by the time we reached 17,000'. As the eastern horizon turned orange as the sun began to rise, the winds picked up to 40 mph. We slowly climbed onward, but it was soon becoming apparent that we might not even make the summit today. We added our shells, covered up our faces, and decided to keep going for another stretch. An hour passed and without any relief from the wind. Without stopping, we climbed for another hour and fortunately, the winds lessened as we approached the crater rim. By now it was looking a little more optimistic that we would reach the top despite the winds. We were cold and tired, but with the summit in view, we added our down parkas, and made it the last hour to Uhuru peak. We quickly descended back to HighCamp and were greeted by congratulations and a table loaded with fresh fruit and french toast. Re-fueled and re-packed, we headed down to Mweka Camp for the night. This morning we completed the trek down to the Mweka gate and then back to the Dik Dik Hotel. Now we get to put our climbing gear away and focus on the next part of our adventure - 4 days on safari. First up, Lake Manyara National Park. RMI Guide Jeff Martin & Team Simba Sita

Jambo from Barranco Camp, Everybody did extremely well today on our move to Barranco Camp. It was the longest and hardest day so far of the trek, but the team was more than up for the challenge. We started at 12,500' this morning, with clear skies and a magnificent view of the mountain. But this was short lived as the clouds soon took over and stuck with us for the rest of the day. We even had a little rain as we approached Lava Tower Camp, our high point for the day at 15,200'. The clouds parted briefly so we could see Lava Tower and a glimpse of the Western Breach Wall. But more important than the view, was the fact the team was strong and handled the altitude well. It was downhill from here and we made great time descending down almost 2,500', the entire amount of elevation we had spent the better part of our morning climbing up. But that is why today is so important for our acclimatization, and will pay big rewards on our summit day. Tomorrow we tackle the Barranco Wall, and will check in from Karanga Camp. A few comments from the Team - Cal and Grayson - We will not fail. Pam, Jaiden, and Carson - Miss you and love you. Susan, Jennifer, and Craig - Still standing RMI Guide Jeff Martin & Team Simba Sita

On The Map

This is Seth checking in from the summit of Kilimanjaro (19,340 feet). Everyone in our group has reached the top! The weather has been spectacular all day. We watched the sunrise from the crater rim and have been enjoying the warmth. It's all down hill from here! RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

On The Map

Dave, Sara and Linden descended from Camp 2 in nice weather only to have the last half hour to Base Camp turn into a snow zone. Base Camp has remained in and out of snow showers all day. The climbers are doing well, enjoying the thick air of 17,575' and getting into the rest and eating routine. Bill could not be happier with Sara now back at Base Camp. Our Sherpa team continues to prepare the upper camps for the summit bid. Lam Babu carried a load from Base Camp to Camp 2 today. Tsering, Dawa and Kaji were up early at Camp 2 with plans to carry to the South Col but due to snow and poor visibility they remained at Camp 2. They will take a look at it again tomorrow and hopefully we'll have a nice report from the climbing team tomorrow. Many other teams are leaving Base Camp today beginning their push for the summit. We wish them well! Today marks the twenty-first anniversary of my summit of Mount Everest. (Mark reached Everest's summit on May 10th, 1990 as a member of Jim Whittaker's Peace Climb along with climbers from Russia and China via the North East Ridge. Happy anniversary Tuck!) Till next time, RMI Guide Mark Tucker

After several days of training and climbing, the Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier yesterday via the Emmons Glacier. The team reported high winds overnight and delayed their departure from Camp Schurman.  Winds abated and they had a nice climb to the summit.  The team returned to Camp Schurman for their final night on the mountain. This morning they will break camp, descend to the trail head and return to Ashford.

Congratulations to the team!

PC: Drew O'Brien