Hello everyone. It's Team Elbrus checking in from our camp at the Barrels. The process of getting up here at 12,000 feet involves riding two trams and one chairlift. After we arrived I introduced our team to Albina, our Executive Chef. I do not say cook because that would be an insult. Her meals are out of this world!
After our lunch we packed a light pack and went for a walk uphill. After a brief refresher on the rest step we made it up to enjoy the view at 13,000 feet. Now sitting back at camp we are wearing our bath slippers, listening to music and eating summer sausage and crackers.
Everyone here says hello and we will let you know how our acclimatizing day goes tomorrow. Cheers from The Team!
RMI Guide J.J. Justman
It’s great to see the photos and videos!!! No comment re any potential clumsiness on Charlotte’s part—- but her aplomb, given the water drop, while on camera is remarkable!!! Way to go, Team Bemiss!!!
Posted by: Dana Marie Buchanan on 7/26/2012 at 8:13 am
Hey John! Watching your progress, and wishing I was there. Best of luck, Brother!
Today we climbed to the summit Kala Patar. It's a small peak across on the valley from Everest on the lower slopes of Pumori. The views of Everest and the surrounding peaks are stunning from this vista. The team is doing well and we will check in again tomorrow. Hi to everyone back home!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
MOM! (Lucy)
Congrats on summiting yet again! Phil and I were talking last night about how cool our mom’s are and how proud we are of you!
love you and miss you so much!
- Elise -
Posted by: Elise on 4/1/2012 at 7:29 am
REI - keep up your good health, and climb high. Stay strong, focused, and keep climbing!
RMI Guides Jake Beren and Tyler Reid led the Four Day Summit Climb to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. It was a nice day on top and the teams began their descent at 7:50 a.m.
Congratulations teams!
Last week RMI's Basecamp Manager Linden Mallory and RMI's Operations Manager Jeff Martin arrived at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport in preparation for the First Ascent Expedition. This is their report:
After 35 hours of flying we were amazed to see that all 16 of our First Ascent Maximus 150 Duffel Bags survived the airports of Seattle, Tokyo, and Bangkok, arriving in Kathmandu along with us. After a few false starts and more than a few spills - towering carts of duffel bags crashing to the floor - we moved our gear through the customs officials and x-ray machines and navigated our way to our vehicle before plunging into the chaos of Kathmandu's traffic.
Next, we combined the 1,000 lbs of gear that we brought with us from the States with 2,000 lbs of supplies pre-shipped to Kathmandu. Preparing all of this meant unpacking, sorting, counting, resorting, recounting, and repacking the impressive amount of food, gear, and supplies. Ensuring that everything was accounted for, we separated the gear into 30 kilogram piles (66lbs) that the porters and yaks manage to carry. Three days later, with heads spinning from labels, weights, several trips to the local markets, and gear shuffled countless times, we triumphantly sealed our last duffel.
During the next week, the 27 overstuffed duffels and 18 60-liter plastic barrels we packed will make their way to Everest Basecamp. They first fly to the tiny mountain airstrip in Lukla before journeying the roughly 50 kilometers up the Khumbu Valley, shouldered by porters or yaks, to their destination along the rock and ice strewn landscape of the Khumbu Glacier.
The accumulation of duffels and barrels compromises a staggering amount of gear and supplies, including:
38 First Ascent Katabatic Tents
3 First Ascent Alpine Assault Tents
2 First Ascent Pantheon Dome Tents
30 -20°F sleeping bags
60 bottles of oxygen
7 portable Medical Kits
2 Gamow Bags
medical oxygen
2 laptops
satellite modem
a satellite phone
portable DVD player
array solar panels
97 pounds of cheese
103 pounds of sausage, jerky, and other meats
Over 2,000 Pro Bars, candy bars, and granola bars
24 pounds of Gummy Bears
22 pounds of Hot Chocolate
40 pounds of Starbucks Ground Coffee
45 pounds of salsa
With the supplies moving their way towards Basecamp we turned to finalizing permits for the climb. Upon picking up the Expedition Leader Peter Whittaker at the airport, we went straight to the Ministry of Tourism to secure our Everest Climbing Permit. Sitting around the well-polished wood of their conference table, sharing the seats of the many mountaineering legends who have passed through before, we discussed our planned camps, our gear supplies and our itinerary with a representative of the Ministry and our Liason Officer. Then, after Peter signed a flurry of paperwork, we walked triumphantly out of the Ministry with our Permit in hand.
Now that the team is assembled in Kathmandu the final details of are settling into place and the climb is taking shape. The next task is to follow our supplies up the Khumbu to Basecamp, take stock, and focus our energies on the mountain.
The team has finally arrived in Kathmandu after some incredibly long flights and we are slowly adjusting to the 12 hour time change. Not an easy task by any means.
We started our first day with a round of introductions, getting acquainted and discussing the necessities to our upcoming adventure to Everest Base Camp. Then headed out to visit a few famous temples here in Kathmandu. First up was the massive Boudhanath Stupa, which is one of the largest in the world. Then Swayambhunath, also known as the Monkey Temple that over looks most of Kathmandu. They are two of the sevn World Heritage sites here in Nepal.
We wrapped up the evening by getting all of our gear packed and an amazing meal at a restaurant call “Le Sherpa”, sort of a modern fusion on new and old Nepali food.
Everyone is doing well and very much looking forward to heading into the mountains tomorrow!
At 7:57 a.m. RMI Guides JJ Justman and Jake Beren were standing on Columbia Crest, the highest point on Mt. Rainier, enjoying the views. There was a gentle 5 mph breeze on the “prettiest day in May that [JJ and Jake] have ever seen.”
The teams began their descent about 8:30 and we look forward to seeing them at Rainier Basecamp this afternoon.
Congratulations Summit Climbers!
Thanks to my guide JJ and all the world class guides at RMI, you made the climb an amazing experience! You guys are the best!! Will be back for more .. :)
Posted by: Bo on 5/22/2013 at 11:27 am
Congratulations to Taylor, Callie, Jake, Mark, David, Bo and Andy for a strong climb to the summit!
Shhhh everyone is sleeping... We're all back in Tlachichuca and everyone has retired after our final team dinner. Today we climbed to the summit of Pico de Orizaba in fantastic weather, the best I've ever had on this mountain. Last night when I went to bed it looked like a storm front was moving towards us but when my alarm went off at 12:30am there wasn't a cloud in the sky and no wind to speak of either.
We made it from the hut at 13,990' to the 18,701' summit and back in twelve and a half hours which was a long enough day to ensure that after showers and dinner all the climbers headed for bed.
We all agreed that the last 8 days have gone by extremely quickly and that we've had some great climbs. Tomorrow we'll head back to Mexico City for our flights home.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Sometimes things work well, efficiently, smooth as silk. And, sometimes, well, one hits a few speed bumps. We're in the speed bump zone.
Yesterday, we had high hopes that the weather would clear tomorrow, allowing the Ilyushin - with its new fuel pump - to cross the Drake Passage and drop onto the blue-ice runway to shuttle us all back to Punta. But, weather is indeed a fickle element, and generally prefers to surprise rather than be predictable. To the surprise of some 100 people here now at Union - clients and staff alike - the forecast today is for 4 more days of bad weather, unflyable.
So, we're stuck. It snowed all day today, with a low, grey ceiling of cloud, and will most likely do it again tomorrow. Some people have been waiting for a flight out for 2 weeks. ALE is doing everything they can, but the weather is out of even their control. So, we sit. We wait. We play cards, we laugh, we go out for a climb, a ski, something to pass the time and keep our minds off loved ones and family far, far away. It could be worse, much worse, so there are no complaints.
We all appreciate you're tuning in these last few weeks and following along with our little adventure. I thought I'd leave you now with one of my favorite quotes from a hero of mine, and a figure of Eddie Bauer history and lore: Dr. Charlie Houston. Leader of the 1953 American expedition to K2, Houston and team had an epic op the peak. The barely survived, and one member, Art Gilkey, sadly perished on the peak.
Later, Houston reflected on the climb in his book, "K2: The Savage Mountain", and wrote thus of climbing:
"Why climb mountains? The answer cannot be simple. It is compounded of such elements as the great beauty of clear, cold air, of colors beyond the ordinary, of the lure of unknown regions beyond the rim of experience. The pleasure of physical fitness, the pride of conquering a steep and difficult rock, the thrill of danger controlled by skill…How can I phrase what seems to me the most important reason of all? It is the chance to be briefly free of the small concerns of our common lives, to strip off non-essentials, to come down to the core of life itself. On great mountains, all purpose is concentrated on the single job at hand. Yet the summit is but a token of success. And the attempt is worthy in itself. It is for these reasons that we climb. And in climbing, we find something greater than accomplishment."
Again, thank you all for following along. Happy adventures, and a deep Namaste from the far south.
Peter Whittaker wraps up the RMI Vinson Expedition
Cindy, Wish i was stuck there with you…doing some skiing!!!!!!!!! I guess you are a bit bummed, but I am sure you are making the most of it. What a great opportunity for you to enjoy an incredible location. Randy
The winds trailed off during the night -at our level, at least- but we got steady snow for most of the day. We sat in place at 14,200 ft. With the continued poor forecast, we are now just looking for a reasonable break in the storms to start moving downward. While it is a tough thing to give up our summit dreams for 2021, it is at least something of an easy call… the mountain simply has not given us an opening. We are still in an amazingly beautiful place, which we remember each time the clouds thin. And we have still got plenty of mountain climbing -albeit of the downward variety- to do before we’re done.
Good things come to those who wait. At 20 minutes to midnight yesterday, with the Southern Cross shining down on Punta Arenas, we left the continent. We were shoehorned into the cavernous cargo compartment of the Ilyushin 76 airplane, along with about fifty other passengers, a pickup truck and a mountain of gear and supplies. The flight took about four and a half hours and was almost completely lacking in any noticeable turbulence. We passed time by reading, listening to music and simply snoozing.
With about thirty minutes to go, everybody began layering up, tying boots, and pulling on hats and face masks. With perhaps 15 minutes to go, the flight crew turned on a new feature, a big screen TV with the outside view from the nose of the plane. It was absolutely spectacular, like a clip from "Frozen Planet" or "Planet Earth". Surreal beauty, until we felt the wheels under our seats touching the ice surface in the picture. Then it became real as the engines roared to slow the plane.
After the perfect landing, we marched out into the middle of Antarctica. After some photo-ops and handshakes, we shuffled over to a warming hut and then into a modified van for a ride across the glacier on giant tires.
It wasn't to be as far as getting straight out to Vinson Basecamp. Weather there wasn't suitable for a Twin-Otter flight, so after an early morning welcome meal, we built our tents and crashed for a few hours. The weather slowly deteriorated during the day, with cloud building up and light snow falling. That didn't stop us from spending a few hours out in late afternoon to review rope techniques. We rounded out the first day with an excellent dinner and an evening spent chatting with various adventurers on exotic missions on ice.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
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It’s great to see the photos and videos!!! No comment re any potential clumsiness on Charlotte’s part—- but her aplomb, given the water drop, while on camera is remarkable!!! Way to go, Team Bemiss!!!
Posted by: Dana Marie Buchanan on 7/26/2012 at 8:13 am
Hey John! Watching your progress, and wishing I was there. Best of luck, Brother!
Posted by: Paul Stanford on 7/25/2012 at 8:41 am
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