Finally! A day to rest, relax, and check out the worlds highest art gallery! Yes you read that correctly. Today, we all had a nice sleep-in before stumbling into our dining tent for a lazy breakfast. The basecamp air was cold and crisp this morning. A welcome change from the hot, dry weather down in the Horcones Valley that we trekked through the day before. After breakfast, the team was given packing lists to prepare for our gear carry to Camp 1 tomorrow. The first carry of the trip is arguably the hardest day outside of summit day due to the weight of the packs. But for now, everyone is putting the thought of back breaking loads out of their minds and focusing on acclimating to our new elevation here at basecamp. Many have already toured the art gallery and purchased a few souvenirs for those of you reading this at home in the States. We will spend the rest of the day watching the frequent mountain showers pass through camp and waiting for the next opportunity to stuff our faces with the amazing food provided by our logistics company Grajales Expeditions. Everyone is doing well and excited to move higher up the mountain! Fingers crossed we have good weather for our trip to Camp One.
At 7:50 a.m. RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer radioed from the highest point in Washington, Columbia Crest on Mt. Rainier! It’s a clear day, light winds and a good route. After the the team walked back across the crater, they began their descent at 8:30 a.m.
23,000 feet to the busy hustle bustle, and near 100 degree heat of Mendoza in three days. After two weeks of grinding our way higher and higher on Aconcagua, the end of the trip is always a blur. Summit day on this trip has to be the most memorable part, not just for the elation of standing on the roof of South America, but because of how perfect the whole day was. Dead calm conditions, clear skies, and warm temps had us on the summit wearing just a couple layers, and no gloves! After the cold temps, snow, and winds that we had on our way up, it was an amazing shift that made the whole day so enjoyable.
Since that day, we grabbed all of our gear and endured the five hour descent to base camp, to be greeted by a wonderful steak dinner. The next morning we donned small packs and light shoes, and followed the fourteen miles of mule trails to Pompe de Leñas, our first camp on the way in. It's always a long day, and our feet were tired when we arrived, but we were revived by a delicious asado, fresh tomato salad, and Malbec wine cooked for us by the muleteers. Everyone ate until they were stuffed, watched the stars come out, and shared stories. Wednesday morning we were up early, motivated to get to the road and all the comforts that follow. A four hour hike and a quick shuttle delivered us to Penitentes, and then a few hours in the bus had us back in Mendoza last night for another great Mendoza feast.
It has been a blast for the guides to climb with this group. Everyone gelled into a cohesive climbing team well, and took the team work aspect seriously. We have a couple of days now to relax in town, soak up some sun by the pool, and let beat up feet heal, before we start the long plane flights back! Thanks for all the comments and support on the blog.
Over and out,
RMI Guides Pete, Leon, Mike, and the whole climbing team
Congratulations to the team on your successful adventure! It’s great to imagine you all lazing by the pool in the sun with your feet propped up, reminiscing about all of those footsteps that took you to the top. Well done & Safe trips home!
Love,
Mom & Dad
Posted by: Paula & Bill VanDeventer on 2/7/2013 at 4:56 pm
We had a busy day here in Kathmandu preparing for Everest Base Camp Trek and Island Peak adventures. We spent the better part of the morning discussing the plan, logistics, and gear needed for the trip, making the final preparations and sort of our gear before loading it all into our duffel bags in anticipation of tomorrow morning's departure. After weeks spent collecting all of the gear we need and thousands of miles of travel to get it here, it is exciting to have everything packed and ready to go.
After lunch we plunged into Kathmandu to visit several of the city's renowned UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Stopping first at the Pashputinath Temple, we walked between the small shrines and many temples dotting the banks of the Baghmati River observing the activities of Nepal's most holy Hindu cremation site. Deep in the heart of this city of 4 million, the temple grounds were bustling with families and ceremonies.
Moving across town a little ways, we then spent some time exploring the Boudhanath Stupa, the largest Buddhist Stupa (temple) in Nepal and the starting point for any pilgrimage the Nepalese Buddhist undertake.
Spanning an area the size of a football field, the sprawling stupa's white washed walls are constantly circled by streams of visitors and worshipers.
We then climbed the long set of stairways to Sawayambunath Stupa.
Nicknamed the Monkey Temple by Kathmandu's hippie visitors in the '60s, the temple grounds sit atop a hill overlooking the city and true to its name, is home to a large number of monkeys that swing from the strings of prayer flags and scramble across the golden roofs of the shrines, all the while waiting patiently for the misattention of a visitor to grab their snacks or drinks.
After the tour we headed into Thamel, the throbbing center of Kathmandu to get dinner. Navigating the narrow streets packed full of shops selling knock-off outdoor gear, taxis, visitors, and street vendors hawking local jewelry, we ate at one of my favorite restaurants in Kathmandu before turning in for the evening. We have an early ride to the airport tomorrow morning for our flight into the mountains to the village of Lukla.
We will check in tomorrow from the Khumbu!
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Jambo from Karanga Camp,
The great weather continues and we woke up to another cloudless day on Kilimanjaro. Barranco Camp can be a little cold in the morning so we decided to sleep in an extra 1/2 hour to make sure that the sun was hitting our camp by breakfast time. We all slept well and were excited to start climbing the Barranco Wall. You would guess from most people's description of the Barranco Wall that it is a vertical climb of almost 800 feet. Fortunately, this is not the case and it definitely proved to be a highlight of the trip for everyone. Bibiana dedicated this section to Gabriel.
This is the shortest day of hiking on our trip, and once we reached the top of the Barranco Wall, we continued traversing below the south face of Kilimanjaro. The Heim, Kersten, and Decken glaciers were glistening in the sun above us as we approached Karanga Camp. We had a big pasta lunch waiting for us as we walked into camp. After lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying our new camp.
Tomorrow we make our move to Barafu Camp, our highest camp on the mountain. We will then be in position to make our summit attempt the following day.
We will check in tomorrow from 15,200 feet.
- The Kili Team (July 25 - 8 August, 2011)
Congratulations on all that you have accomplished thus far. You should all be very proud of yourselves. You are truly on an adventure of a life time. If even just half of what Sarah has told me is true I have no doubt your summit attempt will be successful. I hear you have an outstanding team and the best dam guide in all of Africa!!! Good luck team. Go with a clear mind and a strong heart.
To Sarah aka (THE HONEY BADGER)
Sarah you are the most extraordinary, beautiful, strong, intelligent and determined person I have ever had the pleasure and honor of knowing. Words can not even begin to describe how proud I am of you. I love you with every fiber of my heart. I am the luckiest guy in the world. I’m really starting to doubt you’re so called time line. I might need to speed that up a bit. Take care of your dad…. I hope you haven’t had to pull out the short rope yet….Only kidding Mr. Griner. I know that as long as he has breath in his lungs Rusty Griner will be on the roof of Africa smiling down. Go get it Dick Bass… I am so fortunate and blessed to have you both in my life. I look forward to some amazing pictures and incredible stories…..
-Sean
Posted by: Sean on 8/1/2011 at 12:51 am
So the Barranco wall was a highlight and not an obstacle? You are all definitely in the right frame of mind. Glaciers, I cant wait for those photos Rusty. 15,000ft…...Oh Yeah. I,m sure the rush from the beauty of the mountain alone is energy to push forward. Stay strong, stay happy. Good luck everybody. Once in a lifetime Rusty and Sara.
Gummi Worm Man
The thick air of Elbrus Base Camp, the same air that felt so thin a mere 8 days ago, put us into a deep slumber. With a casual breakfast in the morning we gradually packed all of our gear in preparation for the van rides out of the mountains. By midmorning we were snuggly sitting in the back of our vehicle - a Russian interpretation of a '60s VW van with 4 wheel drive. Although lacking in certain onboard amenities (cup holders, anyone?), the vehicle performed its task of getting us out of the Caucasus admirably.
We returned to Kislovodsk around 4 in the afternoon and immediately jumped into the hot showers. Emerging clean and sporting a new change of clothes, we headed to dinner at a nearby cafe, mystifying the waitress with multiple orders of appetizers and entrees per person. But she rose to the challenge and brought a fantastic meal to the table, all the more enjoyable due to the 8 days on the mountain.
Tomorrow we will remain in Kislovodsk, exploring the city and relaxing a bit. We are hoping to visit some of its renowned mineral baths in the afternoon before repacking all of our gear for Thursday's flight to St. Petersburg.
These are busy days at basecamp. The trail into camp is still quite full with trekkers, porters and yak trains. Most, although not all, climbers have now reached base, and the Puja poles with their colorful webs of prayer flags now form an intersecting canopy over the entire area. Each morning, teams of Sherpas are heading up into the Icefall carrying loads and a few teams have their members sleeping up at Camps 1 and 2 already.
I'm not in a big hurry to get through the Icefall with Erica just yet. The route, although complete when I checked it out the other day, could still stand to be tracked in and improved somewhat. And I'd just as soon have my seventeen-year-old client as ready as possible when we go through to Camp 1 for the first time. So our plan has been to keep training and acclimating ... which, it turns out, is not a bad way to pass the time in this place. Yesterday, while half-a-dozen of the team made the early start and tagged C1, Erica and I got a full night's sleep, ate a fine breakfast, and then set out for a good day of walking. We made our way down to Gorak Shep, banged a right turn up into the hills, and began to climb Kalapathar. The weather was perfect throughout most of the day and our views were unlimited and improving as we climbed. We could look back to the peaks that had lined our path on the trek in, with Thamserku, Kangtega, and Ama Dablam in the distance. Tawoche, Cholatse, Nuptse and Pumori were big and beautiful a little closer in. To the east, Lingtren, Changtse and a big, dark, high pyramid by the name of Everest were stunning. From the top, Erica and I could see the South Col and part of the Lhotse Face. I was surprised when a Slovenian climber near Kalapathar's summit recognized me from the time in 1997 when we were alongside one another on Vinson in Antarctica. But such meetings are not uncommon here.
We cruised on down to Gorak Shep for a drink and a rest at the outdoor tables, chatting with trekkers while watching a few soaring birds. We rallied for the hike back up to basecamp and compared notes there with Ed Viesturs, who'd gone for the same circuit a bit earlier in the day.
Today was generally a good rest day in basecamp, which means meetings for those of us who endeavor to figure out schedules and strategies and future meeting possibilities. Erica and I did bust out of camp for a fine walk in the lower glacier before lunch. I love getting out there to explore ... note that I normally refer to walking "in" the glacier near basecamp, whereas anywhere else in the world it would be normal to talk about climbing "on" a glacier. In this particular section of the Khumbu, which is devoid of snow cover, one walks up and down hidden gullies and waterways in the ice. I like to get out to easier walking on a medial moraine of rock and then to find a new way home through the ice with a different gully each time. This time I was able to show Erica a few old logs that had been used for crevasse bridges in the days before ladders. These, of course, had originally been placed up in the Icefall and had been carried down with the passage of decades. Even so, the logs still clearly bore the crampon scars of whichever famous climbers had scrambled across them.
After lunch, our camp was quiet with napping and a few board games. I joined Peter Whittaker, Jeff Martin and Linden Mallory for a short walk to Damian Benegas' camp, where an initial team-leader meeting had been called for. There was plenty of handshaking and backslapping among those gathered. All of the usual suspects of South Side Everest climbing, plus the former North Siders who've all given up on the Chinese restrictions on entrance to Tibet-The big players-IMG and HimEx, Adventure Consultants and Jagged Globe were there, along with Croatians, Russians, Kazakhs, Koreans, Irish, Spanish, Swiss and Canadians. Willie and Damian Benegas went over the group business with input from those assembled. We tried to figure out radio frequency overlaps and attempted to pool resources for rescues and rope fixing. The gang agreed to meet tomorrow to build a helipad to the west of camp. I helped myself to popcorn and pimento-stuffed green olives from the Benegas table while the big business was conducted and the hors d'oeuvres were sadly being overlooked. The olives were tasty and the meeting therefore a great and friendly success.
The Five Day Climb August 25 - 29 led by RMI Guides Steve Gately and Leif Bergstrom reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning around 6 am PT. The team did some additional training yesterday and previewed the route from Camp Muir up to Ingraham Flats. Today they put their training and fitness to the test and reached 14,410'. Climbers are currently on their descent to Camp Muir, once back at Camp they will pack gear and continue the final 4,500' to Paradise. There program will conclude this afternoon with a celebration in Ashford.
We weathered another stormy night in our tents at Paine Grande. Some people in camp, not our group had poles snap, some unfortunately lost their entire tents. Our eight mile hike to Francis Domes included an optional 5k to the British lookout. The clouds, cold temperature & snow obscured the views from below. A few kept going in hopes of a clear-ish view while some opted to head for shelter.
We continue to enjoy classic Patagonia weather that keeps you guessing on your layer changes. Everyone is doing well and looking forward to a night in beds at the wood stove heated Francis Domes Refugio, a nice break from wind & loud tents. Today's highlight was seeing the Cuernos rock features that make up the middle of the massif.
We set out at 6:30 AM today for a carry of food and fuel. Skies were clear and winds were calm as we walked through the early morning shadows up Ski Hill. Ski Hill wouldn’t actually have been such great skiing with about a half dozen crevasses opening up, but it wasn’t bad for walking. We enjoyed great views of Denali’s steep South Face and of the rocky southern aspect of Kahiltna Dome. Our loads were considerably lighter than those we carried yesterday and we made good time. The terrain got easier as we cruised along the plateau before Kahiltna Pass. We cached at 9700 ft at about 10 AM, burying the supplies deep enough to thwart the ravens. It took just over an hour to descend to camp, by which time the sun was getting quite strong. We did a few camp chores before diving in the tents to snooze the afternoon away. It was burrito night on the Kahiltna. We filled up and most of the team was getting ready to turn in -under skies that had clouded up- by 7:30.
The plan is to move on up to 11,000' Camp tomorrow if the weather cooperates.
Go team leaders Scott and James! Get my pal Steve to the top! Eat a bunch at the cave
Posted by: Dave Head on 1/15/2022 at 9:55 pm
Go, Andy, go! Katy and Anna
Posted by: Katy on 1/13/2022 at 6:11 pm
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