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Hello again.
After a rest day yesterday at
Ama Dablam Base Camp, where we practiced some of the rope techniques we'll implement on our ascent, today we're in a holding pattern for the weather.
Our camps are stocked thanks to the help of our Sherpa, and we're ready to go when the time is right. In the meantime, we continue to execute expedition life; patience at it's best.
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andres Martos
It was still cloudy at high camp this morning, despite predictions for clearing. But looking up at the summit of Mt Shinn or the higher ridges of
Vinson (the summit is not visible from high camp) it was obvious that no wind was in the mix. We decided to go for the top. We were out of camp by 9:15 AM. The cloud cover actually kept us from overheating in the first few hours. The team made steady progress- everybody was strong and using their best energy saving techniques. We all found the summit ridge to be a magical place. We had no big views, since by that point we were in the cloud tops, but that meant we concentrated our attention on the close in views of rock and snow formations. We hit the top at 4:30 PM and were quite surprised at how comfortable it was to sit up there, with zero wind and strong sun shining on the clouds around us.
We enjoyed a half hour on top and then began our careful descent, reaching high camp at 7:25 PM. This allowed us to eat dinner and get to bed at a respectable hour (which has been rare). Good sleep is what we need now to make tomorrow's descent to Basecamp manageable and safe.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Today was a well deserved rest day for the team. After a long day of climbing yesterday we spent today relaxing and seeing the sights in Puebla. Molé, the traditional sauce of Mexico, was sampled by everyone on the team and I know one person had it at every meal. It's definitely a favorite of mine. Also, since it is Valentine's day the Zocalo (town square) was full of people celebrating the holiday. It's a big one here in
Mexico. We capped off the day with a great dinner at the Mason SacristÃa de la CompanÃa. Tomorrow we switch back to climbing mode and head to
el Pico de Orizaba!
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
The thunder rolled and the rain came down in sheets all night again, but the morning broke clear once more. Enjoying our extra day here in Azau, we had a leisurely breakfast and a slow start to the morning. Taking advantage of the good weather we walked back down the valley to the village of Cheget, taking a meandering trail through the woods alongside the river. Swollen by the warm mornings and the afternoon rains of the past week, the river was a raging torrent, brown with the glacial sediment it carries. Underneath its surface the current could be heard moving large rocks, creating faint echoes of thunder which would cause us to glance up at the clear blue skies in surprise before remembering the noise came from the water and not from above. It was a welcome change to walk through the pine forests with all of the smells and sounds that a forest brings, very different from the glacial slopes we have been traveling on above.
Upon reaching Cheget we clambered aboard the brightly colored chairlift that leaves from the edge of town and rode up to the midway station of the ski area. There we found a nice table at a cafe with views looking across the valley at Elbrus, it's twin summits shrouded by clouds. With the sun shining on us we, just kicked back, playing a very tight game of Scrabble and relaxing after the climb. Bill emerged the victor by only the slimmest of margins. Back in Cheget we had a last meal of shashlik (kabobs) and then made our way back to Azau where we've spent the remainder of the afternoon unpacking our packs and repacking our bags for our trip to Moscow tomorrow.
We have an early departure from Azau in the morning in order to catch our midday flight from Mineralnye Vody. We should arrive in Moscow by late afternoon with enough time to stroll through Red Square before evening. We will check in tomorrow with our final dispatch.
RMI Guide Mike Walter led the ESS-Emmons team from Camp Schurman to Columbia Crest this morning. After several days of training and two nights on the mountain, the team topped out just before 9 am today. The team will return to Camp Schurman for their final night on the mountain. Tomorrow they will descend to the trailhead and return to Rainier BaseCamp.
Congratulations to the Emmons Seminar Team!
Thursday, May 18, 2023 10:36pm PDT
After a late night and long day yesterday, we woke up around the time the sun hit our tents. After a quick breakfast of frosted mini wheats, we put together the group loads to cache and begin our climb up ski hill. After 4.5 long hours we pulled into our cache site, dug a hole, and tossed our group food, and personal caches in. After attaching the sleds to our packs, we began the descent back to camp. A bit earlier this evening than last, we made some reindeer sausage jambalaya and prepped for our big move to 11 camp tomorrow.
The weather looks good, hopefully we'll touch base from 11k tomorrow!
RMI Guides Nikki Champion, Leif Bergstrom, and Lauren Macklin
July 1, 2013
We are still here. And by here, I mean
McKinley Basecamp airstrip in a snowstorm. I am usually an optimist in these types of situations, but the forecast is for days of the muck.
In order to improve international relations, we have adopted two Russian climbers that reached the summit the same day we did and are stuck with us. Andre and Igor pretend to like our jokes and our cooking so we will keep them awhile!
I told the group we were making them Vietnamese Pho for dinner. Really it was Ramen with some dehydrated vegetables. Although they knew what it was, they put some Sriracha hot sauce in it and humored me!
RMI Summit Team 6
P.S. Cindee says Happy Birthday Roger!
On The Map
We visited
Lake Manyara National Park today. It sits about 75 east of Arusha and boarders the Great Rift escarpment.
It is known for its tree climbing lions and it didn't disappoint either. We saw lions, elephants, giraffes, hippos, gazelles, zebras, wort hogs, wildebeest, baboons, and plenty of other animals too. It was a great day of relaxing and everyone enjoyed the beautiful day. We even ran into the infamous
Dave Hahn too.
Enjoying the good life!
RMI Guide Casey Grom
We woke on our rest say today to another beautiful morning on the
Stone Sentinel, feeling good at our Camp 2 altitude of 18,200'. Although clouds have slowly built and a light snow is falling, team morale is high and the collective attitude is positive and charged with anticipation of the move to come. Everyone continues to climb well, and we're all taking care to eat and drink enough for the hard days ahead.
Rest days give time to think, and something that always comes to mind is the total experience of mountain climbing. A big part of that experience is being present in the moment, finding the rhythm of walking and breathing, seeing the splendor of nature all around and being able to appreciate it without the distractions that are all too present in most of the world. The team is definitely embracing the moment, soaking up the beauty and enjoying the journey through this high and wild place. While occasional thoughts may jump forward and higher to the
summit of South America, we are perfectly content to enjoy a cup of coffee and the company of friends new and old on this well-earned rest day.
Keep us in your thoughts as we push higher and higher the next few days. The weather looks promising, the team is strong, and we look forward to the challenge ahead!
RMI Guides JJ Justman, Geoff Schellens, Garrett Stevens and the
Aconcagua team
On The Map
Another great day! Sometimes I am hesitant at writing these blogs. I am lying here in my sleeping bag under the stars watching a meteor shower. And I know some of you are sitting at your desks staring out the window dreaming of adventure. So please live vicariously through us!
The team had a great day. We woke up and had croissants, coffee and Argentinian scrambled eggs. You cannot trek for five hours on an empty stomach. The scenery on the second day gets more spectacular in the Vacas Valley.
However, our journey in the Vacas is over at 11,000 feet. Tomorrow we turn left and trek up the Relinchos Valley towards
Plaza Argentina, our Base Camp at 14,000 feet.
The entire team is doing great and we are filled up on grilled chicken, which we had this evening. Tomorrow we will describe the community of Plaza Argentina which will be home for many days as we continue to properly acclimatize.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
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Well you all look healthy and happy!
Holding pattern? You must have an airline pilot in the group
Posted by: lisa maiser on 11/13/2018 at 8:14 am
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