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Posted by: Dave Hahn, Dominic Cifelli, Seth Burns, Tatum Whatford
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
Easy day today! We were up at 5 AM on another fine weather day at 11,000 ft. Shortly after 7 AM we started walking downhill to retrieve our cached food and fuel at 9700 ft. The low clouds had cleared out overnight and so as we came close to Kahiltna Pass at 10,000 ft we could see well out into the tundra and an endless series of lakes and ponds down in the lowland. It took just over a half hour to reach our cache. Thankfully the ravens hadn’t disturbed it (they’ve been known to end an expedition or two) and we dug it up and loaded up. We got back up the hills in about 2 hrs. During the day it was worth doing a little review and practice with avalanche beacons, some discussion of crampon and climbing techniques and a refresher on handling the ice axe.
Tomorrow, the game changes a little as we take on steeper and more serious terrain. Out of the snowshoes and into the crampons. With all of that training we managed to fit in some excellent naps as well. After dinner and storytelling, we got our packs and sleds ready for a carry tomorrow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Zeb Blais, Geoff Schellens
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
Woohoo! Yey dad!
Posted by: Jennifer on 6/12/2013 at 6:19 pm
Awesome!!!!! I am so happy that you were able to make it to the top. Thank you to the entire team ... I am sure that it took lots of team work to accomplish your goal! I love you John!!!!
Posted by: Patty Stenderup on 6/11/2013 at 6:22 pm
Posted by: Adam Knoff, Mike Uchal, Zeb Blais
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 7,300'
On The Map
Thnx to all for your comments & thoughts—it meant alot to us all up there.
Even though we didn’t summit, we all had an epic time—great guides, climbing buds & I know The West Rib & The Fairview Inn will not soon forget us that “last night” in Talkeetna.
For the record, I played & sang a couple of songs at “open mic tues”—DG & Uch witnessed the “trainwreck” the extra nite we stayed.
Again, what a time…and Joe H—the cache ate your snowshoes—it wasn’t Mike’s fault!
Tim
Posted by: tim mclaughlin on 7/12/2012 at 7:20 pm
Tim, glad to hear you are all well. Look forward to your return to Wenatchee. Bart
Posted by: Bart Miller on 7/12/2012 at 10:08 am
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Dustin Wittmier, Devin Guffey
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
What a day,
Clear skies greeted us this morning creating a very brisk morning. Once again camp was quiet with the cold. As the sun broke over the mountain and warmed camp it became alive. Teams started moving around going various directions whether it was heading toward 17,000' Camp or going down to the 13,500' cache. For us it was going down to our 13,500' cache. We made fast work grabing our gear and getting back to camp. After a lunch break we went for a walk to the Edge of the World. You can see all the way down to our first camp at 7,800'. Its a long fall over the edge but makes for great hero shots. Everyone got belayed onto the rock (much like the rock from lion king) and got great photos, ice axe in hand, big smiles and thousands of feet of relief below them. As for tomorrow we are in a holding pattern with weather and logistics. No matter what we end up doing tomorrow it will be a good day and is all apart of our journey to the top.
All the best,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
Julia—You are our HERO . only you can reach for the stars. Happy 20th on the 20- My 80th Bday is also today. Ricardo y Norita - Tio Richard.
Posted by: Ricardo J Ferro on 6/21/2021 at 7:06 am
Happy 20th birthday to my amazing & brave niece, Julia! You are beautiful inside and out! Love you so much!
Poupou
Posted by: Poupou on 6/20/2021 at 2:23 pm
RMI Guide JJ Justman checks in from Ixta's lower camp.
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
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
Posted by: Peter Whittaker, Mike Haugen
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
Posted by: Peter Whittaker, Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hi Guys! It’s Samantha’s class! We just wanted to congratulate you all on your amazing climb! Have fun on your safari!
-Mrs.Dunne’s Class
Posted by: PAT DUNNE on 10/17/2013 at 5:09 am
Checking in on the blogs daily and cheering you all on!
Posted by: Diana Weiss on 6/25/2022 at 8:05 pm
WHAT AN ADVENTURE!!! Kudos to all…
Posted by: Ellis I. Richman on 6/25/2022 at 3:26 pm
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