SUMMIT!
Our first Five Day Summit Climb of the 2012 Season reached the top of Mt. Rainier this morning. RMI Guides Brent Okita and Casey Grom and their teams reported clear skies and moderate winds. They began their descent at 7:30 a.m. and are en route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's team.
What a commute. It seems like I left days ago to get to the office, (actually, that is true). It feels so good to get on the trail. The charm of the city is OK but being here in the Everest region of the Nepal Himalaya, is tough to beat.
The flight into Lukla is always a bit hairy for us in the back of the plane but it is business as usual for the pilots. Local support has been stellar as usual. Thank you Sagar and Kili Sherpa of High Altitude Dreams for all your hard work in getting our team to this point. We were on one of the first flights from Kathmandu to Lukla this morning, not too bumpy. We were greeted by our Lukla staff at the landing strip. All of our gear arrived in good shape and we started along the trail, our first three hour tour in the multi-day trek to Everest Base Camp. We arrived in Phakding in good style. Looking so forward to what usually is my first real sound night's sleep to the music of the Dudh Kosi river, which is situated just outside my room. Location of couple of good sized floods, one in 1977 from an avalanche off of Ama Dablam, (a nearby peak standing at 23,355 ft) and in 1985 when a glacier lake broke loose. Not to worry, I won't miss a wink over it. Love to live on the edge!
-- RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Living on the edge (of the river) is the great adventure for the day. Well, maybe the exhilarating flight on the tiny airplane between two mountains was a greater adventure. The trail is great. It is plenty busy but not overcrowded. The hike was mostly downhill, which was a great way to ease us into this trek. We are enjoying the warm weather before we move up to higher & colder ground. Mark has been encouraging us to eat food often to keep our energy up. And the tea houses serve large quantities of food. It has become a running joke in the group since John is not a big eater. John keeps claiming that he is being force fed. All kidding aside, the team as a whole is in good spirits and is getting along well.--Kim
This has been a long day, but a fantastic start to the trek. We headed for the airport at 5:00 am, trading the crowded noisy streets of yesterday for more space and speed. Mark arranged for boxed breakfasts to ensure we were nourished and ready for the trail when we arrived.
We moved through the airport smoothly and quickly - which is saying something given the throngs of people all heading off on their own adventures. Mark and the High Altitude Dreams crew were all over the details and in no time we we in the air heading for Lukla. The flight was short, the runway was shorter. It took a few minutes to collect our gear and sit down in a nearby teahouse for breakfast - again.
After a couple hours on the trail we stopped for drinks and food with a great view of Kusum Kangguru. A couple hours later we arrived at our home for the night - and had lunch - again. The rest of the day we just hung out and relaxed, saving energy for our first real uphill push. I'm sure dinner is soon. -- John
Sounds like a great start to your adventure John & Kim. Of course John makes it sound as though you are eating as much as hiking. Glad the team is in good spirits - stay that way! Love you two~
Voice mail received 3 am PT
Hey, this is Dave Hahn calling from Mt. Everest. We are about a mile higher then when I spoke to you last night. Seth Waterfall and myself along with Tshering, Kaji and Gyaljen got up super early this morning. We woke up at 1 AM and we're walking by about 2:15 AM. We skipped Camp 3 and went all the way up to the South Col, just a hair below 8,000 meters. It was a big day and obviously aiming for a summit tonight if conditions allow. We don't have a whole lot of ability to wait at this point and the forecasts don't really reward us for waiting much. This expedition is almost at its end. So this is our shot. We are all feeling really good up here at 8000 meters. Seth and I are sitting in the tent right now and it's nice and hot. There is sun coming through the tent walls. There is a little breeze and there are some clouds, but it's not necessarily bad weather. Things are looking good.
While we were climbing, we were keeping track of Lam Babu and Dan Johnson. They made great time, great progress to get down to base camp. They arrived there about mid morning – nice and safe and sound. So that is great news all around. We're going to try to keep you updated with the start of our climb. This climb again will be a middle of the night start, with the hope of being up high and close to the summit when the sun is first getting around on Mt. Everest. That is all for now. Bye now.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn checks in upon reaching the South Col of Mt. Everest.
We began our summit day on the "princess" mountain of Ixtaccihuatl with an early alpine start. We left the climbers' hut at 2 am with our headlamps on and darkness all around us. We soon realized this mountain wasn't going to be a " warm up" for the taller Orizaba to come. After a strenuous climb covering a huge linear distance, we reached the top six hours after starting out from high camp. I was really impressed with everyone's efforts. This climb was a great confidence builder for the group, especially those who broke personal altitude records. During the hike down everyone seemed to be congratulated by the forming of nice foot blisters but all pain was forgotten in Puebla after a few cervezas and a great meal.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
Hi David Odell - we hope you are having a great time on this Mexican adventure. We are thinking about you and praying for a safe time. Blessings and love, Pat, Chrissy, Melissa and Leo
Posted by: Chrissy Odell DiNovo on 3/9/2013 at 9:13 am
Congrats to all! Nicely done Bill and Kevin. I’m having a wee dram of the Laphroig 18 year old right now in your honor.
Greetings from Plaza Argentina, our basecamp and new home for the next few days. Today we awoke at dawn, had a quick breakfast and crossed the ice cold Vacas River before heading up the Relinchos River Valley to Basecamp. Some of us waded the chilly waters and the more sensible among us opted for a short mule ride. Good walking weather again made our beautiful approach quite pleasant; not too hot or too cold, but just right. Here at Basecamp we are enjoying a nice siesta before dinner and tomorrow we plan to rest and adjust to this new altitude of just under 14000 feet.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Jambo! This is the Kilimanjaro team checking in from 9,800' on Kilimanjaro. Today we completed our first day on the mountain and arrived at the Machame Camp in good style. It was a great day for walking with overcast skies which kept the temperature very comfortable. The trail was a bit muddy for a bit today but our camp is nice and dry. We're hanging out in our kitchen tent now having popcorn and tea. After that we'll have dinner and then it will be time to crawl into our tents for our first night on the mountain.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Hi all! RMI's Aconcagua expedition checking in.
We left Mendoza yesterday and drove through the foothills of the Andes to reach our final staging area at Los Penitentes. The bright green of the vineyards gave way to steep rocky faces as we wound up the valley of the Mendoza river. We were finally rewarded with fleeting views of Tupengato, the 6500 meter volcano on the Chilean border.
We spent yesterday packing for the mules, some loads to go straight to Aconcagua Basecamp, and some to follow us on our approach. We woke this morning excited to get our climb underway! We will load the shuttle for the trail head soon, and our climb will begin officially. We'll be in touch soon.
Today we climbed Iliniza Norte to it’s quite pointy summit at 18,818 ft. The entire group made the top in a mere two and a half hours from the hut. We began at 6:30 AM in partly cloudy conditions. It was a little cold and windy at first, on icy and slippery rock and dirt, but things improved. We got amazing views of Cotopaxi and Iliniza Sur, but the rugged rock scrambling required to get up Iliniza Norte kept us well focused on the task at hand. We hit the top at 9 AM and spent 30 minutes before beginning a careful descent. The team moved well, with excellent help from our local guide staff, and we were at the base of the mountain by midday.
We enjoyed a celebratory steak lunch at a restaurant on the way to Cotopaxi National Park and then made our way uphill and into the park to the Tambopoxi Lodge. Clouds cleared from the mountain at sunset and we had amazing views of our big objective of the next few days.
The 2015 Mt. Everest season has been a tough start with big snow storms here at base camp, but full steam ahead right now. The snow that kept us from moving up earlier has blossomed to some nice days. You would be amazed at the difference on the glacier since last week. Rivers running, pools forming and a route through the ice fall that has allowed a reasonable ascent to Camp 1, where the team is at this very moment. I just got off the radio with Dave and word is, all well. I was able to follow the team's climb up the ice fall with my tripod-mounted spotting scope. They were at times obscured from view by huge ice towers and the route taking them down into the depths of the glacier, out of sight, and then minutes later they would they pop back into view. Their training, adjusting to the altitude and experience at this sort of wild climbing paid off with what I can guarantee you was one of the most amazing and memorable days in these mountaineers climbing careers. So proud of this group as I watched them progress through the Khumbu Icefall working the mountain, assisting each other, and sticking together in pure style and grace. Way to go team!
RMI Guide and Everest Base Camp Manager Mark TuckerDave Hahn called in after reaching Camp 1 and his audio is posted below.
RMI Everest Expedition Leader, Dave Hahn, calling in from Camp 1.
Phantastic and best wishes to all of you!
You passed the first barrier and I hope you arrived safe in Camp 2! It´s really great to follow your climb!
Sunny weather and good health to everybody - Ute
Posted by: Ute Novak on 4/24/2015 at 7:21 am
Dave & Team - absolutely fascinating following your journey. I wake up at 2 AM to read the blogs now. They are becoming very interesting—passing the icefalls and making high camp. :) Be safe.
Hi guys, this is Mike checking in from the 11k camp on Denali. All is well. We decided to spend another day here at 11,200' instead of moving up to 14,200' today. We are spending the day resting, eating, and getting more acclimated to the altitude before venturing higher. We are hoping to move up to 14k tomorrow, weather pending. Until then, we're enjoying the sunny, hot weather and just lazing around. Hopefully our next dispatch will be from higher ground.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
We are hanging on news of your great adventure. Your aunt is loading the Blog at the Renoir so that you will have a vastly expanded fan club amongst the geriatric set. We hope to see you in some pictures sent back from your team with a large smile on your face. We are all thinking of you and wishing you all the best.
Love Dad, Mom, Brooklyn Spencer and Daisy.
Posted by: charles selby on 6/20/2012 at 8:30 pm
Stan-
Is that a cumulonimbus w/anvil I see? Whoa! Stakes will be handy! Keep your eyes on the Summit! Oh, longest day of the year is today—extra daylight! See you tomorrow, love me
Sounds like a great start to your adventure John & Kim. Of course John makes it sound as though you are eating as much as hiking. Glad the team is in good spirits - stay that way! Love you two~
Posted by: Kerry Ann on 3/23/2012 at 9:07 am
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