Leaving Lobuche this morning we continued up the Khumbu Valley towards Everest Base Camp, following a shallow depression between the moraine left by the glacier pushing downwards and the mountains on the other side. The trail climbed gently, gaining a few hundred feet over the first hour and we all felt good as we walked in the morning sun. Eventually we reached the rock covered Changri Nup Glacier, flowing into the Khumbu Glacier from the west, and we picked our way across it's rocky surface, climbing up and down through the large gulleys on the surface. After reaching the other side we descended into Gorak Shep, the last village before Base Camp. Sitting in a shallow bowl wedged between the Khumbu and Changri Nup Glaciers and the slopes of Pumori, a large 7000m peak above, Gorak Shep feels a bit like a long lost desolate outpost in the mountains. The tea-houses are notably less luxurious up here and the cold a bit more biting, but when the winds start blowing and the temperatures drop at these altitudes the spartan teahouses begin to feel much more welcoming.
We stopped at our tea-house in Gorak Shep and had a quick bowl of soup before setting out to climb Kala Patar, a rocky highpoint on one of the ridges above Gorak Shep that offers spectacular views of the mountains. It was warm and calm as we began the climb and the roofs of the teahouses soon shrank away behind us as we climbed higher, replaced by the rolling landscape of rock and ice of the Khumbu Glacier and its' surrounding peaks. Near 17,500' the afternoon winds picked up and the periodic gusts whipped past us, quickly dropping the temperatures and causing us to pull on warmer hats, gloves, and jackets. But the winds were not enough to deter us as we scrambled up through the large boulders of the final 200' to the prayer flagged summit of Kala Patar. In front of us we could see from the summit of Everest all the way down to Base Camp sitting along the Khumbu Glacier at its' base. Around us the peaks of the Himalayas stretched out in every direction. The skies remained clear, except for the small cloud trailing off of Everest's summit and the low hanging valley clouds creeping slowly upwards from Namche far below us. Despite the winds it was a beautiful view and we spent a good while up there taking it all in. Finally, as the cold began to creep through our layers, we turned around and made our way down the small and rocky trail back to Gorak Shep.
With the sun starting to set over the mountains, we are back in our tea-house for the evening. The months of training and the days spent acclimatizing on the trail are paying off for the team as we reach these higher elevations. Everyone is handling the challenges of living at these altitudes well and we are looking forward to completing the final portion of our trek into Everest Base Camp tomorrow where we will spend the next two days. The team sends their best to everyone at home.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Hi Mommy! I can’t believe you are on top of the World. Can you see Richmond from there? How about the North Pole? I am so proud of you. Way to go!!! I love you and can’t wait to see you next week.
Posted by: Sally on 3/25/2012 at 7:36 pm
Congratulations Team Richmond! You made it! Each and every one of you absolutely rock! We are all so proud of you back home. Soak it all up, and be careful on the way down.
Low Clouds and Grounded Planes
We all awoke this morning to a strange thing: warmth. All of us were sweating in our sleeping bags, and a quick unzip of the tent door explained the phenomenon. During the night, low clouds had marched across the continent, swamping the Sentinel Range in a mire of moisture, and bringing the temperature up noticeably.
After some coffee to get us moving, Peter set off to check in on flight possibilities with the ALE staff nearby. A quick radio call confirmed what we all suspected: No flights today. We'd be spending at least one more day at Vinson Basecamp.
There are certainly worse things to have happen; Vinson Basecamp is not a bad place to be stuck in a fog-bank. But, we all are a bit bummed as it would be nice to be moving to a new location and prepping for a new climb. Climbing, however, is often an exercise in patience, dealing with forces which are not only uncontrollable, but also tend to punish the impatient.
So, today, we sit, Kent and I shoot, and wrap up production loose-ends. We also took some time to pore over our map of the Sentinel Range, looking for potential peaks to check out via Twin Otter when the weather clears. Again, there are worse things; soon, the weather will again clear, and we'll be off to the next step of the journey.
Patience, as the saying goes, is a virtue.
-Jake Norton
Hey to all of you from Marysville, Ohio and the Union County Family YMCA “Training Home to Erin Snowden” We love the updates. Please take good care of Erin and each other. You’re all an inspiration, In fact I wish I could be with you. God Speed the rest of your adventure!!!
Rick Shortell, Executive Director
Union County Family YMCA
The Four-Day climb led by Casey Grom and Joe Hoch reached the summit this morning. RMI Guide, Joe Hoch, reported a cold and clear morning on the summit. They were headed off the crater rim around 6:50am this morning and will be back in Basecamp this afternoon.
We woke early with aspirations of moving to high camp this morning, but winds from the NW ramped up and persisted a little too long for my liking and we decided to stay put for another day.
The unknown nature of mountain weather and the prospect of setting up camp at 17,200' in frigid winds was enough to make me pump the brakes. We're in a good position and patience has always proved itself prudent on Denali. Meanwhile, we continue to acclimate and get stronger in the comfort of our camp in Genet Basin.
We plan to repeat the process tomorrow morning, rising early with the plan of moving up to high camp to be in position for a summit to push. We'll let you know how it plays out.
"You don't need a weatherman to tell you which way the wind blows..."
Hello everyone this is JJ Justman with the RMI Mexican Volcanoes adventure team. We are very happy to report that the entire team is up at high camp on Ixta. We are now at 15,300'. It's a long day carrying heavy packs to get up here, but it is definitely well worth it. I'm looking towards the summit right now. We just have a couple thousand feet to go. So we're getting our tents secured down and guyed out. And we're also working on a little bit of a hot drink as well as a dinner for this evening, which is gonna include some homemade sausage with a little bit of Ramen soup, and cheese quesadillas. Stay tuned tomorrow. I'll definitely give a call in. The weather right now is beautiful. We're keeping our fingers crossed that it's going to remain the same and wish us luck and we'll touch base hopefully with some great news tomorrow. Everyone's doing great and they all say hello. Bye.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
RMI Guide JJ Justman checks in from Ixta's High Camp.
Hello from the Dik Dik Hotel,
We had an early wake up call at Mweka camp this morning and were on the trail by 8:00 am. It was blue skies leaving camp then we descended into the cloud forest and had the first rain of the trip. Even though we had a long summit day yesterday, the team was very motivated and made great time walking down to the park gate. We said our goodbyes to all the support staff that helped us climb Kilimanjaro and then loaded up the bus to head back to the Dik Dik.
After being greeted by a glass of champagne, we headed immediately for a well deserved hot shower.
We just finished our celebration dinner and will re-pack our bags once again, but this time, it is for a new adventure - our safari that starts tomorrow. First stop is Lake Manyara, most well known for it's tree climbing lions. We will let you know if we are lucky enough to see one.
Cheers,
The Kili Team
The July 24 - 27 Four Day Climb teams reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 6:30 am today led by RMI Guides Hannah Smith and Dustin Wittmier. Hannah reported good route conditions and perfect weather. The team enjoyed some time on top, crossing the crater to Columbia Crest. They began their descent from the crater rim just before 8 am. The teams will return to Camp Muir for a quick stop before continuing down to Paradise later this afternoon.
Nice work team! Congratulations on reaching the summit!
100% of our team stood on the summit of Mount Shuksan this morning! The weather was perfect. We will descend back to camp today and head down the trail tomorrow. It's been a great day in the North Cascades!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Summit!!! On a fine day. A little bit of a long one though -fifteen hours round trip. We got tangled with a couple of other guided parties. Those other teams were breaking trail, so it is tough to fault them for being slow. We were on top at 8:30 PM and back to 17,000' Camp just after 2 AM. The weather was very nice, but it wasn't the warmest day on top. Most of us had on all the clothing we had.
Congratulations Mitch!!! Such an inspiration at, dare I say, 61!
Safe travels back down and thank you to ALL the team for keeping making it happen.
Posted by: Marcelle Flowers on 7/3/2023 at 12:57 pm
Well done team! Cheers to a tremendous accomplishment. Special props to Dustin and Sam for their guidance on Rainier last month. Safe travels my friends!
-Joe
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
Hi Mommy! I can’t believe you are on top of the World. Can you see Richmond from there? How about the North Pole? I am so proud of you. Way to go!!! I love you and can’t wait to see you next week.
Posted by: Sally on 3/25/2012 at 7:36 pm
Congratulations Team Richmond! You made it! Each and every one of you absolutely rock! We are all so proud of you back home. Soak it all up, and be careful on the way down.
Posted by: Hugh on 3/25/2012 at 7:33 pm
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