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What a day! Right from the start everything fell in place perfectly. Our last breakfast at the Roadhouse was savored before we made our way to our air service, K2 Aviation, who were great about getting us off the Tarmac ahead of schedule. This set us up to walk out of
Basecamp at a reasonable hour, which allowed us to reach camp at 7,800' by 5:30.
But the real highlight of the day was just how well everyone climbed and dealt with what is usually a pretty tough day. I'm impressed. I must say, though, that the weather cooperated today too. Warm temperatures, blue skies and calm winds might have had us perspiring just a tad, but I didn't hear much complaining about it. Although some evening clouds formed while we were having dinner, I think we might have a good day tomorrow as we make our way up Ski Hill to 9,500' camp.
Talk with you then.
RMI Guide Brent Okita
On The Map
After a cloudy & rainy evening at Lago Dickson we began our hike to Perros with some blue sky and nice views of the glaciers that fill the valleys. Our hike took us deeper into the forest that fills the valley due to more rainfall coming over the pass we will ascend tomorrow morning. The team enjoyed views of the Perros glacier and lake before getting to camp. We'll have an early start tomorrow for our longest day over John Gardner Pass.
RMI Guide Mike King
Hola from Puebla, Mexico. I am writing this from the comforts of Hotel Colonial which sits near the center of one of Mexico's most beautiful city. It will still be a few hours or so before we go sight seeing because the team is a bit tired after our long but successful summit of North America's seventh highest mountain.
At camp while in our tents waiting for the alarm to rattle us out of our fitful sleeps, the wind was doing that work already. It was one of the most amazing shut offs I have ever seen. At 11:30 the wind was blowing 20 mph and by midnight the skies were clear and the night was as calm as our bedrooms. Taking full advantage of this great gift we rallied out of camp at 3:30 and pushed strongly upward to where the steep rock section of the route meets the long, winding ridge towards the summit. The beautiful lights of Mexico City shown down to our left and the same amazing view of Puebla shown down to our right. As the sun came up, we could see
Orizaba poking through the haze to the south. All around it was a glorious morning. When the entire team arrived at the summit, we were all relieved to have the uphill finished.
Two and a half hours later we were at camp packing up and getting ready for the long walk back to the van where beers and snacks were waiting. We were lucky to have two porters there to help carry down tents and stoves, lightening our loads. Three hours later we were celebrating with margaritas and world-class Mexican dishes. A great day all around.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
Hello everyone back home. All is well here in the Khumbu!
After so much time together bonding the team has decided to stick together and finish this trek the same way we started, together.
Island Peak will have to wait till next time!
We left
Pheriche and hiked downhill passing what seemed like a endless line of trekkers, climbers, porters, and yaks loaded with gear for
Everest. It was a beautiful but long day, and we have arrived in Namche after eight hours on our feet. Clear weather allowed us more amazing views and the chance for one more view of
Everest before descending down to camp. The warm thicker air feels great and the team has just finished a nice dinner at our tea house "Camp De Base".
Tonight we are having the world championship of cribbage!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Day of R&R, with a short hike to 14,600' - higher than Mount Whitney, but nothing by Nepalese standards. Most are feeling much better, with the hope that a new day will bring much-needed strength to those still recovering from the Khumbu stomach bug. Of particular interest, see attached photo:
Nepalese use of biofuels. Cribbage is the bomb, hope to master it soon! Hi to Yuki, Karis, and Rianna, don't wish you were here :) yet, missing all of you. The yak cheese was really good!
RMI Climber Keith L.
On The Map
Hello from Moscow!
It is official, our Elbrus expedition has officially started. Well...not quite. However, everyone has arrived gear and all minus one late comer who will meet us tomorrow for dinner.
We spent the evening discussing our itinerary but more importantly we just kicked back and got to know one another. Some of the team have climbed together while others are meeting for the first time.
Tomorrow we will spend the day touring the city of Moscow and arguing about which fantastic restaurant we will have dinner. Tonight's choice was Italian and it did not disappoint.
It's a rough life getting started on
Mount Elbrus but we are somehow managing. Dessert cappuccinos are in their way...gotta go!
Please check back tomorrow for an in depth look at some of the magnificent sites we explore...
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Do two times constitute a trend? Probably not, but today did share a few similarities with yesterday. We woke to a little squirrelly weather with a few inches of snow on the tents and it was unclear whether heading up was a good idea or not. We watched the skies and eventually decided to move. As we climbed into the whiteout above camp and onto
Ski Hill proper, the snow stopped and we enjoyed pockets of visibility. It was downright hot as we pulled into camp with an excellent down glacier view. We were able to go down to baselayers as we built camp and as soon as we finished setting up shop it began to snow. Now we are enjoying a hot beverage before some Tortellini a la Thomas for dinner. Tomorrow we'll see what happens in the sky and hopefully move to 11 camp.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
On The Map
Everyone (and their baggage) arrived on time in Anchorage yesterday, and we headed north to the small town of Talkeetna. We had a relaxing evening, eating dinner as a group at the famous West Rib Pub, talking about the trip, and getting to know each other. This morning we met at the the Talkeetna Roadhouse for a group breakfast to formalize our plans for packing and preparing for our upcoming expedition. Talkeetna is a small and unique town; situated on the south side of Denali National Park, it is the staging point for hundreds of climbers who venture into the Alaska Range. Town is still sleepy this time of year, just coming out of its winter hibernation; the streets are quiet, few airplanes are in the air, and patches of snow are still in the yards. When we return in a few weeks, Talkeetna will be in full swing; tourists and climbers will be walking through the streets, the air will be filled with the buzz of single engine aircraft (and mosquitoes), and all of the trees and lawns will be green.
Most of the day today was spent at the hangar of our bush pilots, K2 Aviation, packing our gear and going over all of our equipment. While we all have spent months planning this trip, today was still a very busy day making sure we had the right gear for the trip, inspecting our tents and stoves, and double and triple checking everything.
We also met with a National Park Service climbing ranger for a formal orientation to Denali, which included a slide show of our climbing route.
We plan to fly into Kahiltna Base Camp tomorrow (weather permitting) to start our adventure. We will be in touch with detailed dispatches throughout the trip. Everyone says hello to our friends and loved ones back home. Here’s to a safe and successful trip!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
We spent the past two nights camped near the base of
Antisana, at an altitude of around 13,500', getting ready for our summit bid. Last night we woke well before midnight and were pleased to find a starry sky with calm winds. The climbing on Antisana was very enjoyable, weaving in and out of crevasses and climbing steep slopes, all on consistent snow for cramponing. Everyone did very well, but as our altitude increased throughout the climb, so did the wind speed. Very strong winds and moisture were streaming in over Antisana from the Rainforest to the east and far, far below. The winds were consistently blowing 30mph with much higher gusts, and it made it challenging to stand up, much less climb a volcano that is well over 18,000' in height. We climbed strong but the winds proved too much, and we turned around about 500 meters shy of the summit.
We all arrived back at camp safely and packed up our tents and now we're headed south. Our first stop, tonight, will be the historic Hosteria La Cienega. Hot showers, warm beds, and delicious food awaits our team as we will take a much needed rest day tomorrow.
That's all for now. We'll be in touch again tomorrow!
RMI Guide
Mike Walter
Hello everyone! The
Mexico Team is officially at the lower hut on Ixta. The morning started out in style with a terrific buffet breakfast at La Mission Hotel and Spa. I love sitting in that restaurant sipping coffee overlooking a waterfall.
After we had our fill we did a last minute grocery shop and then we made our way to the mountain. It is always flattering when the team says tonight was the best dinner yet. Carne asada, fresh sautéed veggies, black beans on top of cheese on fresh corn tortillas.
The team is doing great and we are prepared to head on up to
high camp tomorrow.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
Congrats team! Now I can’t wait til my turn comes.
Posted by: Robert on 3/23/2014 at 5:07 pm
Gods speed! Be safe.. :)
Posted by: Robert Putman on 3/7/2014 at 10:58 am
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