Jambo (Hello) from Africa,
The team arrived late last night after some very long flights (18hrs). We wasted no time getting back to the hotel and called it a night after a quick dinner. This morning we had our team meeting and discussed the upcoming climb and gear needed. We then took a break and enjoyed a little sunshine by the pool. Its basically summer here and most of us are on vacation after all. After lunch we took a short ride into Arusha and did a little sightseeing. Arusha is busy city of 300'000+ with a very rural and simple feeling. The team has just finished a wonderful 5 course meal provided by the Dik Dik Hotel and are headed off to bed.
We'll be getting up early and headed for the trailhead tomorrow so that all for tonight.
RMI Guide Casey Grom & Team
WISHING YOU PLEASANT AND SAFE HOLIDAY IN TANZANIA - AFRICA
Posted by: ELIAZA MMBAGA (ELLY) on 2/3/2013 at 1:26 am
Casey and Team-
Very interested in following you guys up and down the mountain as preparation for my own journey there in a couple of weeks.
Casey - I’ll contact my team memebers and make sure they know about this blog so they can follow along.
The body is following the mind at this point.
Given the option, our bodies would be back at Phag Ding, by the river breathing that thick 9,000' air. Lounging under a nice tree ,eating fresh fruit. We are now at that altitude that makes you realize we do not belong here. For years now the draw of this barren space of rock, snow, ice and thin air has attracted many a soul. A heart with a bit of wander lust, a will to put up with moments of uncertainty and discomfort have always been a prerequisite for travelers abroad. This is definitely the case trekking in the Himalaya: but the rewards are worth the effort! A special place this is indeed and sharing it with such a diverse group of fellow hikers is a blast. I count four different languages spoken here in our tea house in the last five minutes. So nice to see the world getting along, take the geo-politics out of the loop and we aren't that different. The trail is ultimately a rope that binds us together. We really are a small world. And are team is so thankful and happy to be so lucky to be here. --RMI Guide Mark Tucker
From Kim: The word Sherpa actually means "east people." These people have worked as porters in the Himalayas since the 1900's. Today I would like to introduce you to a member of our team who has not been previously mentioned. We have a Sherpa guide traveling with us and two Sherpa porters carrying our things. Our Sherpa guide is named Pemba. Pemba usually hangs back behind the last person in the group to assure that we are always safe and supported. On this trek, Pemba has acted as a guide, concierge, geography expert, translator, waiter,and sometimes even our bus boy in the teahouses. A man of few words, when he speaks he usually has something important to say. Pemba's parents died when he was five years old. He had to quit school to work when he was 15. He was initially a porter and eventually worked his way up to being a guide. Pemba is now 33 years old. He has a wife and a 12-year-old daughter. He lives near Lukla and is away from his family often during the spring and fall as he guides people into the mountains. During the monsoon season, Pemba is a farmer. He and his family grow all kinds of vegetables including cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, corn, and potatoes. They sell them in Lukla and Namche Bazaar. We are grateful to Pemba for all that he is doing to help us on this journey.
John here: It looks like today is another team effort on the blog. It's not a bad approach either as we all seem to take different things away from our day.
Today I had my first craving for some of the creature comforts of home. The first being pizza from Fondi. The food here is pretty good but does lack diversity. It's super high in carbs, which is what we need here to keep our energy high and bodies warm - but boy, a nice Margherita pizza would be yummy. The craving was the ability to sleep sprawled out. Our sleeping bags are warm and comfortable; but they are called mummy bags for a reason...
We heard that April 11th was the day of the Everest Ultra-Marathon. I think it's a 65km course between Base Camp and Lukla. The notion of running on these trails for any distance seems a bit mad - but 65km. The drop in elevation from 17,250' to 9,330' may be the first prize. Sadly, we leave Lukla that day, so we probably won't be able to experience any of it.
Finally, we spent the majority of today hiking along the Khumbu Glacier. The size of the the lateral moraine was impressive to say the least. It's amazing what nature can achieve given a few hundred years. As we rolled into Gorak Shep we got our first glimpse of the tail-end of the ice fall. Even only seeing a small part of it at a distance it looked imposing.
Today the remaining climbers successfully reached the summit of Cayambe. It was a cold, tough, and windy day. To add to that, the glaciers here in Ecuador have receded a significant amount the last few years. Because of this, the route that we climbed today felt like we were attempting a "Triple Lindy" see here. Despite the conditions that we had the team did great and persevered.
Everyone has safely returned to Quito and are getting ready for one last dinner and our long flights home.
Thanks for following.
Sorry for the late post, here’s what happened yesterday! The short story, we moved to 17 camp and it was exhausting. Oh wait, huh? You want the long story. Alright fine….
So we pre-packed as best we could the night before because we were looking to get a early start. Nothing is more annoying than be stuck behind folks on the fixed lines. Lucky for us our plan worked out. We were the first ones out of 14 camp… actually we were one of only two teams moving that day. The weather forecast has been rather wishy washy so I think spooked some teams from moving. Thankfully we had the inside connection to several forecasts and forecasters so we were optimistic that this was the right move. Anyhoo the team styled the fixed lines again, though this time was a little less joyous due to heavy packs crunching down on our hips. At the top of lines we began to climb some of the best terrain of the trip, the West Ridge! It was an exciting mix of snow, rocks, big exposure, beautiful views, running belays and a little more ascending. The weather was perfect and the team had a blast. When we arrived at 17 camp the real work began, building camp! At 17,000 feet you gotta work slow otherwise you’ll exhaust yourself. The team put in a Herculean effort erecting tents, snow block walls and a bathroom. Then it was freeze dried food for dinner and time to get some well deserved sleep. Depending on the “nowcast” if we wake up to good weather we’ll make our summit push tomorrow!
Wish us luck and send sunshine and low winds our way!
Despite a very blustery morning, we had a great time climbing on Ixta today. We moved through the night under a waning gibbous moon and caught the sunrise from 17,000' above sea level! The team climbed well, making wise decisions, on a windy day to the cumbre (summit) of Ixta! Now we are relaxing in a hotel in Puebla, enjoying significantly less wind, before heading out to celebrate over dinner. Tomorrow we will rest and relax, getting ready for the big one -Pico de Orizaba on Friday.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Bad flying weather continues in Antarctica, so we focused on a more accessible continent. The day clearly called for an 18 km round-trip hike up to Mirrador del Torres in Torres del Paine National Park. The "Mirrador" in question was the glacial lake held under the iconic granite towers. In our journey up from Puerto Natales, we saw condors and gauchos, glaciers and mountains, guanacos and turquoise windswept lakes.
We walked through lush forests and up through jumbles of massive white boulders to reach the lake and an unparalleled view of the massive rock cliffs. We gained and lost in excess of 2,500 feet in six hours of hiking... The perfect tune up for Vinson.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Greetings from beautiful Talkeetna, Alaska! The team arrived yesterday afternoon with big bags, bigger smiles, and high hopes for our Denali expedition. After a round of introductions, we hit the road and headed north from Anchorage. We stopped for last minute food and supplies in Wasilla, and pulled into town about 8 o'clock last night. We transferred all our luggage into the hangar, had dinner, and headed to bed in anticipation of an early start today.
Our morning started with a delicious breakfast at the roadhouse, and rolled right on into a massive gear sort/pack session at the hangar. The team gear piles started out big but have been trimmed down to nice tight kits for the mountain. This afternoon will be occupied by our briefing with the Park Service and a final round of packing, so we should be in great position to fly tomorrow morning (provided the weather cooperates, of course).
Blue skies and sunshine prevail today, so keep your fingers crossed that the high pressure will hold for tomorrow. More to come, stay tuned!
RMI Guides Tyler Jones & Garrett Stevens
Today was nice and easy… a chance to sip coffee and stare at the big volcano out the window. It changed every few minutes, with clouds and light increasing, decreasing and doing just what clouds and light always do.
We took it easy to enhance our acclimatization and to prepare for tonight’s climb. There was a small and easy training and gear session out in the grass. But that was balanced by naps and meals.
We’re ready! Awake in just a few hours for our Alpine start.
Sunday, June 30, 2019 - 5:16 PM PT
We're enjoying the thick air at Camp 4, at 14,200' in Genet Basin. We got a good night's sleep last night, slept in this morning and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of bagels, cream cheese, and bacon. An ample coffee. Today we are resting and waiting for colder temps by which to travel. There is a weather front affecting Denali right now, bringing winds up high and clouds and precipitation down low. We're sitting in between in the sun and happy at 14k. Our hope is that we can travel through the night down the Kahiltna Glacier to the Basecamp Airstrip and that cloud and precip will dissipate tomorrow so that we can fly back to Talkeetna. We'll let you know how it goes.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
WISHING YOU PLEASANT AND SAFE HOLIDAY IN TANZANIA - AFRICA
Posted by: ELIAZA MMBAGA (ELLY) on 2/3/2013 at 1:26 am
Casey and Team-
Very interested in following you guys up and down the mountain as preparation for my own journey there in a couple of weeks.
Casey - I’ll contact my team memebers and make sure they know about this blog so they can follow along.
-Larry Seaton
Posted by: Larry Seaton on 1/28/2013 at 5:22 pm
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