Today we enjoyed the luxury of waking to the sun on the tents, avoiding the early morning cold. Once up and fed, we took a fantastic walk to THE EDGE OF THE WORLD. Perfect views of the lower Kahiltna Glacier 7,000 feet below our perch and we all took turns peeking over the edge and snapping a few photos. Don't worry friends and family, we were on belay the whole time.
For the afternoon we rested and welcomed the RMI 4 team after their stylish send on Denali yesterday. Nice job everyone!
Then it was back to work, setting up a fixed line practice and trying as many variations as possible to prepare for the cache tomorrow. Now it's dinner time, catch y'all tomorrow.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Congratulations team! Good luck on the descent as well.
Posted by: AK on 6/21/2012 at 12:43 pm
Hey paps!!!!!!!!
HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!! There is a pecan pie waiting for you at the summit, so scurry on up there and get your butt back home!!!
Miss you! Cant wait to fatten you up when your back with all our celebratory dinners!!
Love, Sarina
Posted by: Sarina Karwande on 6/17/2012 at 1:50 pm
Whew. Heavy loads today! Despite the burden the crew enjoyed a second great day in the Alaska Range under blue skies and warm temperatures. Today's walk was a long haul but the crew did great on our first physical portion of the expedition. We've settled into a new camp at the base of Ski Hill which is approximately 7,800'. Not much else to report other than tired legs and full bellies as we snug up for the night after a great meal.
Hasta mañana.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent and the gang
Great job guys…remember its the miles before the elevation. Keep up the good work and fingers crossed for good weather. Best wishes Brother Paul
Posted by: John Fletcher on 5/20/2012 at 5:52 am
Brandi & Elizabeth, I wanted to send you a nice bottle of wine to congratulate you on your “little hike” As much as I searched i could not find a hotel listing for 7800 up Mt Mckinley, let alone the number for room service :-)
Hello from Mweka Camp,
We did it! We had an absolutely perfect summit day today on Kilimanjaro. Leaving camp at 12:45 am, we made it to Stella Point (the crater rim) by 6:30 am, just in time to watch a very colorful sunrise. At 7:30 am, the entire team was standing on top of Uhuru Peak, the Roof of Africa. The group did an excellent job of climbing the 4,000' from Barafu Camp to the summit.
The weather continued to cooperate today and we had clear skies all day long. It is always nice to be rewarded with a grand view from the top. We all congratulated each other for this big accomplishment, and took our summit photos. We descended back to Barafu Camp in time for a late breakfast and to pack our gear up for the hike down to Mweka Camp.
It is nice to be down at 10,000' again. We are camped amongst the Giant Heather and the air is thick again.
Our last dinner on the mountain started with a champagne toast to the summit of Kilimanjaro, and was followed by a wonderful meal. We walk out the last six miles and end our trek at the Mweka Gate tomorrow. We will be back at the Dik Dik by early afternoon and everybody is looking forward to a hot shower and clean clothes.
The Kili Team
WOW, So happy to hear this morning -100%. I’m so happy for your summit victory!! you did it! My god my eyes are welling up, but that could be because I haven’t had a vacation in three years, LOL. Seriously, Jeff, did you think that old coot Rusty was gonna make it? lol, I did, he’s an amazing friend. He’s a friggin’ mountain goat.I will toast to you all tonight. Congratulations Jeff,Rusty,Sara and the rest of your team on an amazing journey and accomplishment. Jeff, a huge thank you for the posts, that kept us up to date and made your trip seem so close to us at home.I’ve really looked forward to them and will continue to follow you guys.
Gummi worm Man
Posted by: gummi worm man on 8/2/2011 at 1:13 pm
Congratulations, what a feat!!! Great respect for your accomplishments! We can’t wait to see the photos of you at the summit!
Dave and Linden are resting at Camp 2. Kaji and Dawa up to Camp 2 with last loads of equipment to help support the summit push. Dave, Linden, Kaji, Dawa, and Tsering up early tomorrow for the climb from Camp 2 to the South Col. Yubarj will support the effort from Camp 2 and one of the three climbing sherpa are slated to stay at the South Col in support of the Summit team.
Bill, Sara and myself made the early morning trek to the Heli pad with a ship headed our way till it ran into clouds. It started in Lukla, then returned to Lukla without Sara and Bill, but still on standby. At these altitudes, and good sized mountains near by, best to fly a bit conservative, you know what I mean. So Bill and Sara along with Lam Babu started hiking to Pheriche after lunch. They kept an eye on the weather and a hand on the phone in case they could fly from either Gorak Shep or Lobuche. Neither option happened and last I heard they were getting near Pheriche. They were enjoying the hike today and have no problem trekking all the way to Lukla in three days. Maybe tomorrow, weather permitting they will fly out of Pheriche enjoying one of the most spectacular flights you can imagine. Base Camp keeps getting less and less tents around but that's what happens around this time of the season.
We are all getting very excited about the next couple of days. Forecast is good. Team healthy and strong. Camps in place. A bit of luck, will make good
chance at the summit.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Two nights ago, when I sent my last dispatch, we were all a bit deflated, having been told we'd most likely be sitting here at Union in bad weather for 4 more days. To our surprise, though, yesterday morning brought brilliant blue skies and the possibility of an Ilyushin flight in the evening.
As the day went on, it was clear the Ilyushin would be coming to take one load of passengers out to Punta Arenas. Included in that first flight would be Ed, Cindy, David, and Ben. The rest of us - Peter, Seth, Caroline, Kent, and I - would be on the next flight.
With ample sun and stunning peaks waiting outside camp, there was little option but to go climbing...for those of us not packing. Mount Rossman, a towering massif of snowy ridges and rocky buttresses, had lured many already with it's siren song. Unclimbed until last year, nearly every couloir and ridge on the multi-summit peak had seen a first ascent in the past 10 days. Caroline went off with Vic Saunders and some others for one of the few remaining unclimbed lines on the right side of the peak. Soon after, Seth blasted uphill, skis on his back, to make turns off the summit. Kent and I, after finishing up some production work, decided on another unclimbed line, a nice looking couloir climbing some 1500 feet up the peak.
For me, the joy of doing a first ascent, of setting the first tracks on a given route or peak, is not to be able to brag about it, but rather just the sheer adventure
of it, for you have no idea what lies ahead. Sure, Kent and I looked at the route from camp, saw that it looked continuous and snowy the whole way, and seemed to be steep enough to be fun, but not too steep. But, you never know. Would the snow be good? How about the rock quality where it seemed to pinch closed 1/2 way up? Ice screws? Pickets? Would there be the bullet-proof, blue ice we'd seen elsewhere, or just easy-going neve? While those questions could be intimidating, swirling in the back of the mind, they are, to me, the part that gets me going. It's the lack of knowledge, the feeling of some vestige of "true" adventure, which makes such an outing enticing.
In the end, Kent and I found a beautiful, aesthetic line following generally good snow up a 40-55 degree couloir for 1500 feet. The rope and gear we brought stayed in my pack, neither of us feeling the need for it with such good conditions. It was just fun climbing, some shooting by both of us, and an immensely enjoyable few hours on a new route on Mount Rossman. We called it "Ilyushin Fields" after the plane which, as we descended, dropped through a curtain of ice fog onto a blue ice runway, loaded 62 passengers, and swept them off to Punta.
Soon, we hope, we, too, will be in the air from Antarctica over the Drake Passage. But, if not, while some 20 first ascents have been ticked off around here in the past 2 weeks, there are still a lot of firsts left to do around Union Glacier. We won't be bored.
-Jake Norton
The RMI Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir led by Casey Grom and Elias de Andres Martos reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning with 100% of their team! The team reported great climbing conditions and clear skies. The are currently back at Camp Muir where they will spend another night on the mountain and complete their skills training before making their way back to Ashford Basecamp on Friday afternoon.
Congratulations to Today's Team!
Very proud and excited for all of the members of the Team, but specially for my cousin Niño Frontera. Love you very much ❤ the kids are in wow!!!
Bucket list ✔.
Posted by: Celeste Gomez-Biamon on 5/24/2014 at 6:21 pm
congrats to nino & the team.!Enjoy the moment!
Posted by: herminio frontera on 5/24/2014 at 7:05 am
This is JJ calling from the summit! Climbing Kilimanjaro we had a lot of wishes, but one of them was that our entire team would reach the summit of Kilimanjaro together. That is where we are right now. I can't say enough great things about this team. The entire gang did a amazing job today! We did a lot of hero shots by the sign at the summit. Going to spend a little more time on Uhuru Peak before we start our descent. The team all says hi to family and friends. We will touch base with you letting you know we are safe at camp. We had a fantastic day. Take care everyone.
Thank you for following a long on our summit day.
Ciao, ciao from Kili!
Update 1:40 a.m. PST
Hi everyone, this post is going to be brief. First, all Kili climbers are back in camp safe and sound. Everyone made the summit on a terrific day. We are now refueling and packing up camp. We will head down to 10,000 feet making tomorrow's exit of Kilimanjaro Park nice and casual.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Despite being a rest day, today has flown by for the group. We were able to sleep in a bit, but most were woken at 7:30 to the park helicopter hovering low over camp, picking up barrels in a sling to be flown off the mountain. We took a leisurely breakfast of burritos with fresh veggies, bacon, cheese, and eggs, and then headed to the medical building for our obligatory check-up. Everyone passed with flying colors. Then it was time for gear sorting for our carry to Camp 1 tomorrow. This often takes longer than expected as everyone hemmed and hawed over how much lunch food and other items to bring up. To this point, we have been spoiled with the mules carrying most of our kit. From here up though, anything we bring up, we will carry down.
Sorting finished, everyone took a siesta, eating lunch, taking naps, playing cards, and reciting Chuck Norris jokes. Despite a forecast of clear weather for the foreseeable future, the clouds built this afternoon, and as we sit, it is snowing gently at Basecamp.
We'll have more news tomorrow when we are back from our carry. Ciao.
RMI Guides Mike King, Pete Van Deventer, Leon Davis, and the team
Summit! Today’s Mt. Rainier teams led by Seth Waterfall and Geoff Schellens reached the top! The teams were in a heavy cloud cap with light winds. Report from Camp Muir is 10 - 15 mph winds, sporadic rain from the southwest but clearing. Both summit climb teams began their descent by 7:40 a.m.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent is starting the Expedition Skills Seminar – Emmons and is at Rainier Basecamp today for their technical training.
We caught our first real views of the mountain this morning when we emerged from the Barrels. The clouds were low in the valley below us, and above Mt. Elbrus rose clearly in the morning light. We could see the entire first portion of the route and high above, several teams were visible traversing into the saddle between the two summits of Mt. Elbrus.
We set out on our acclimatization hike shortly after breakfast. The cold night temperatures left the snow still frozen firmly, giving our crampons good purchase. We retraced our route from yesterday, quickly passing our high point and gaining elevation. By late morning the clouds returned and we climbed in a fog bank, occasional rock outcroppings appearing out of the mist ahead and gradually disappearing below us. By the time we reached around 14,400' - the same height as Mt. Rainier - a cold breeze picked up and we climbed the remaining portion in our jackets with the hoods pulled closely to protect us from the wind.
We reached Pastuhkova Rocks, at 15,100', and dropped our packs, resting in the thin air of today's high point before returning to the hut for a late lunch. The team climbed well today, negotiating the altitude and varying weather conditions well. It was a long day on our feet and we are looking forward to a mellow day tomorrow to brush up on some of the final training we still need to cover and get in a restful afternoon before our planned summit bid on Saturday.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Congratulations team! Good luck on the descent as well.
Posted by: AK on 6/21/2012 at 12:43 pm
Hey paps!!!!!!!!
HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!! There is a pecan pie waiting for you at the summit, so scurry on up there and get your butt back home!!!
Miss you! Cant wait to fatten you up when your back with all our celebratory dinners!!
Love, Sarina
Posted by: Sarina Karwande on 6/17/2012 at 1:50 pm
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