The gang is all here! It certainly has been an adventure already for half of our team. However, we are all ready to go. For the other part of the team we had a great day in Penitentes, which is a small ski area.
We had our first glance of Aconcagua as we took a 4-hour hike up to 10,000 feet. It's a beautiful view of the south face of Aconcagua. The team finished packing our duffels for the mules and we are ready to walk!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Hello again everyone.
Today the team took an "active rest day", instead of just sitting around and relaxing we hit the trail for another adventure. First up was a visit to a seldom visited all women's monastery in the village of Thamo. It's about an hour and half from Namche and is a little of the beaten path. This monastery is home to 28 women mostly who have escaped prosecution from Tibet. Their ages range from 16 to 88 and they exist solely off of donations. A few of them came out to greet us and gave us a brief tour of the new monastery they are currently building. We stayed for about an hour, had some tea and either bought a few items or made donations to help with their cause.
Next we made our way uphill to visit the first school established here by Sir Edmund Hillary in Khumjung. It sits between several small villages and has the most amazing views thus far. We could see Everest, Lhoste, Ama Dablam and countless others. We then headed back to our tea house in Namche where the team is resting and enjoying the hot showers.
Everyone is doing great and looking forward to tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
7:55 a.m. - JJ Justman and the Four Day Summit Climb reached the Mt. Rainier summit! The weather was better than he had expected when the team started their ascent this morning. They are spending a little time on top and will begin their descent shortly. Congratulations team!
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz led by Mike Haugen starts their four days on the mountain today. Good luck to them as they train and make a summit bid on the Kautz Route.
We awoke today to subzero temperatures at 17k camp and are now enjoying the thick air at 11k camp. After a quick breakfast, the team packed their belongings and headed downward. Despite some fatigue from our successful summit bid yesterday, the team safely negotiated the descent to 14k camp. There, the team was met by another RMI team. Jake Beren and team topped off our bottles with water and our stomachs with warm quesadillas. After this hour long break we headed down to 11k camp.
While the air was thick and warm, Denali was quick to remind us that we aren't out of the woods yet. While snow fell and wind blew around us we consolidated our left over meats and cheeses for a quesadilla smorgasbord. We enjoyed these tasty morsels until we were full, then ate some more. Then we had dessert.
We are now snuggled into our sleeping bags, staying warm and hoping to fly out tomorrow. While we are all set to walk to the runway, the weather is not ripe for a speedy flight to Talkeetna. We are still at the mercy of the big one, Denali.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
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!
Hi there,
This is Gabi and the RMI Aconcagua team checking in from Pampa de Leñas (9,200').
We had a great hike today. We started at Punta de Vacas (7,900') and walked for almost five hours. It was an 8.7 mile hike and the group did a great job keeping a nice and steady pace. During the hike we experienced moments of sunny and cloudy skies, and some showers. Right after we arrived in camp, it started to rain steady for one hour, something that's pretty unusual around here. This weather was predicted by the forecast and the good news is that it is predicting a sunny day for tomorrow. Perfect for our hike up to Casa de Piedra (Rock house).
June 4, 2014 - 9:30 am PT
Just spoke with RMI Guide Brent Okita and they are leaving high camp for their summit bid. His words on the weather this morning: “Massively glorious day on Mt. McKinley!”
Good luck to the team as they ascend to the highest point in North America!
Our Four Day Summit Climbs made it to the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. They reported clear skies, light winds and warm temperatures. The teams enjoyed some time on the summit and are now descending back to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's teams.
Via radio to Basecamp
All is well here on Mount Everest. We have one summit team that is at Camp Three today and another team remaining at Camp Two for an extra rest day. The weather continues to improve and our plan is for everyone to move up one camp tomorrow.
There were many more climbers on the summit today and several teams are in place to make their summit bid tomorrow.
Everyone is doing well and we are excited to be continuing our move uphill tomorrow.
Keep us in your thoughts, wish us well.
Hi Lew-
Look forward to hearing all about your trip. We are praying for you. Hope it is all you imagined it would be. Take care and God Bless!
John
Posted by: john walker on 1/16/2014 at 12:06 pm
Lew: Praying for a great climb for you brother! I’ll think and pray for you often. Can’t wait to see the pictures!
Mike H
Posted by: Mike Harvey on 1/16/2014 at 7:35 am
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