Hey, this is the Ecuador trip checking in.
Today we had a much deserved and much needed rest day here at the Chilcabamba Lodge. We woke up this morning to glorious views of Cotopaxi and a magnificent breakfast. We ate wonderful food and drank lots of coffee. We spent the majority of the day resting, relaxing and drying out and organizing our gear for tomorrow’s departure to Cotopaxi. This afternoon we enjoyed more coffee and continued reviews of Cotopaxi and finished the day off with a wonderful dinner this evening.
Everyone is doing well here in Ecuador and we are all looking forward to tomorrow’s adventures. We'll check in later.
RMI Guide Jason Thompson
RMI Guide Mike Walter and Team opted to climb Mt. Baker via the Coleman-Deming route after they had discovered rain deteriorated conditions on the North Ridge. The team climbed strong and were 100% to the top, making the best of their days on the mountain.
Hi there, it’s Peter, checking in from Vinson Basecamp, today is January 15th. And it’s about 1:20 PM. We woke up this morning, we had a great ski day yesterday, and we're hopeful [to fly] to one of our objectives an unclimbed, unskied peak. But the weather moved in and we are in a very cold, icy fog now with zero visibility. And so everybody's kinda shut down and it looks like it's gonna be tent time all day and just chilling and taking it easy and resting up a bit. We’ve been on a pretty, oh, not hectic schedule but we've been doing everything or a lot of things everyday so it’s kinda nice to have a rest. Forecast is not great for tomorrow, but we'll see what happens. And we're hopeful that we can get a twin otter plane out of here. We've got a couple great objectives about 10 minutes south on the way back to Union Glacier that we'll look at from the air and think that they would be prime possibilities for doing some skiing. And we hope we can land right by them. That's the plan and R&R today, iPods in the tent, and reading and just kinda taking it easy. And hopefully that changes tomorrow and we can we can get going with the rest of our trip. That's it for now, and we'll talk soon.
Peter Whittaker gives team's update on the RMI team's rest day
Today was an easy day of getting packed and ready for the mountain. We began with an after breakfast meeting outside under the big trees while monkeys jumped from branch to branch above us. We discussed the plan for our climb and talked about how the gear needed to be ordered and arranged for starting out. Then we conducted equipment checks back in the rooms to help folks decide what to leave in and what to take out. There was then plenty of time in the afternoon for packing, napping away the jet lag, walking the peaceful grounds of the hotel, and eating. We got together for a team dinner at 7 PM to cap things off. Everything is set to go now, we’ll head for Mount Kilimanjaro in the morning.
Yay! Sounds like another great day. That is some giant heather! And I can almost imagine the beauty of the night sky you are seeing. May your next day be smooth and wonderful. Cheering you on, Kim ~ and all you amazing folks!
Posted by: Kathryn Jaliman on 8/17/2022 at 7:07 pm
Wow! You are all off to a great start! I’m so excited to be reading of this epic adventure. Just know I’m cheering you all on from that US. Best wishes in your first day of climbing. Kim and Bella you’ve got this!!! Hugs!!
Right out of camp we were faced with the only significant technical obstacle for this climb. This hurdle is the great Barranco Wall, which rises about 1000ft and looks as intimidating as it sounds. Thankfully, there is a nice narrow trail that weaves its way up and through the wall and all the way to the top. Most of it feels more like steep hiking, but there are a few places that require the use of our hands to help us climb up.
The team did an excellent job of moving steady and allowing a few porters through with their loads precariously balanced on their heads. Which was astonishing to see!
After reaching the top we took a nice break and enjoyed the amazing views of the ice ladened south face and valleys below. The team continued our hike for a few more hours up and down through a few valleys before reaching today endpoint.
All in all, it took only about 4 hours for us to reach our next camp called Karanga, named for the big and beautiful valley which it overlooks.
RMI's Four Day Summit Climb Team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. RMI Guide Casey Grom reported a beautiful day with light winds and cold temperatures.
The team will return to Camp Muir for a quick break and then continue to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb team!
Hi,
We are in St. Petersburg! This morning we headed out of the hotel and drove to Mineralnye Vody for our flight. Even though it is just about a three hour flight, it took most of the day to reach our final destination.
St. Petersburg is very different from what we have seen the last two weeks. It is best described as the cultural center of Russia, while Moscow is the center of government and administration. The architecture is stunning and the monuments truly impressive. The harder "edge" found in Kislovodsk is definitely softer and the curiosity surrounding foreign visitors is almost non-existent. It is also much easier to find a dinner menu with a little English.
We headed out for an early dinner at a nearby restaurant and to get a little preview of the city before we get the grand tour tomorrow.
All the best,
RMI Guides Jeff Martin, Pete Van Deventer, and the North Side Team
Hey, RMI this is Dave Hahn with the Everest climb. We got to base camp today. The trek is over, the climb begins. We left Lobuche at about 8:30 this morning and reached Everest Base Camp at 17,500 feet by noon. Our base camp team, along with Jeff Martin, has done an incredible job building camp. It was great to catch up with Jeff Martin from RMI. He has been up here working away getting our camp organized before our arrival. A little bit of a reunion today. All is well at Everest Base Camp.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
RMI Guide Dave Hahn calls in after arriving at Everest Base Camp.
Hello from Tlachichuca,
Upon our arrival to the Piedra Grande Hut, we heard from fellow guides that they had been turned due to bad weather the night before on Orizaba. It appears as though Central Mexico has been getting hit hard these days by the weather demons, and not just on Ixta. When we woke last night a different story was being written. It was downright balmy! It did cool off as we climbed, but we enjoyed near perfect weather as we climbed through a little bit of new snow to the glacier where most fresh precipitation had been blown far away.
The team did a great job on a huge day and we all stood on top together, with great views of Mexico's volcanoes even Ixta came out for the first time all week.
Thanks to a great team, Mexico crew and fellow guides JJ and Fernando for an awesome trip!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Hola from Ecuador. We started our day with another bountiful and colorful breakfast this morning. The main dishes varied from yesterday's breakfast. Eggs, sausages, and mini breakfast burritos were the main attractions. Rounding out our breakfast of yogurt, papaya, mini pastries and once again fine Ecuadorian coffee. After breakfast we loaded the taxis and shuttled over to the teleferico ( or the gondola ). Which was a short 10 minute drive from our hotel through the bustling streets of Quito.
The hearty breakfast was put to good use today as we had our first day of beginning our acclimatization with some physical activity. We rode the teleferico to about 13,500 ft. We then began our 3.5 hour hike up Rucu Pichincha. The weather and temperature for our hike could not have been more pleasant. We had some clouds in the area which helped to keep the temperature moderate. We all agreed that it felt splendid to stretch our legs and most importantly work our lungs, breathing hard as we hiked to nearly 15,500 ft. Conversation throughout the hike was animated, as we hiked through varied terrain of lush vegetation and some fun rocky terrain. The view of Quito throughout the day gave us an appreciation of how big this city of 2.2 million people is.
We returned to our hotel in the afternoon for a few hours of free time to relax, explore local culture and prepare for our departure from Quito tomorrow morning. Dinner tonight was filled with laughs and great conversation. We are all back at the hotel this evening preparing for a good nights rest feeling satisfied with the day, looking forward to tomorrows adventures.
RMI Guide Jason Thompson
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Yay! Sounds like another great day. That is some giant heather! And I can almost imagine the beauty of the night sky you are seeing. May your next day be smooth and wonderful. Cheering you on, Kim ~ and all you amazing folks!
Posted by: Kathryn Jaliman on 8/17/2022 at 7:07 pm
Wow! You are all off to a great start! I’m so excited to be reading of this epic adventure. Just know I’m cheering you all on from that US. Best wishes in your first day of climbing. Kim and Bella you’ve got this!!! Hugs!!
Posted by: Pam on 8/16/2022 at 6:24 am
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