Update: 8 pm PT
Summit day on Orizaba- Today our team bagged the 3rd highest peak in North America! This was quite a feat and the whole crew was feeling the effects of a hard and rewarding day on the mountain. We celebrated with dinner at the Reyes family dining room, sharing stories with each other and climbers we had met on the mountain before retiring for some much needed sleep.
Earlier in the day, and I mean a lot earlier in the day, we woke to perfect starry skies, grabbed a quick breakfast and began the climb. After warming up on the first stretch of the climb, the trail deteriorates into a jungle of rock, snow and ice known as the labyrinth. Our team made short work of this challenge and advanced to the Jamapa glacier. The struggle ascending the Jamapa was rewarded with an amazing sunrise, views Ixta and la melinche and the impressive summit crater. Our team climbed strong back to the Piedra grande hut where we were transported back to town by 4x4.
All in all it's been a great trip. Everyone is worn out but happy to have succeeded as a team on some impressive peaks. It's hard to believe 9 days in Mexico have already come and gone!
RMI Guide Zeb Blais6:00 am PT
Hey all this is Geoff Schellens and team standing on the summit of Orizaba. It was a tough climb but everybody is quite happy to be here and enjoyed very good climbing conditions. It’s a beautiful day with light wind up here and a beautiful sunrise this morning. That’s all for now. We will check in when we get back down.
Adios,
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens calls from the summit of Orizaba.
Congratulations team! Looks amazing. Can’t wait to see more pictures DTP. Hugs.
Posted by: Elizabeth on 2/22/2014 at 4:35 pm
Congratulations to all of you on your summit! Michael, I couldn’t tell if that was you in the second photo and I am really hoping that you made it. See you Sunday! Love, Kristin
Posted by: Kristin Stollov on 2/22/2014 at 4:16 pm
Hello everyone back home this is Casey Grom checking in from our Kilimanjaro trip. Just wanted to report that we are all safely back at high camp and we had a 100% reach the summit today. Pretty amazing day. Weather was still perfect again for us going up. Little chilly, so we're having to do a little dancing to keep our fingers and toes warm but all in all the group did fantastic. As I said we returned to high camp, we're packing up and we're actually going to be descending a few more thousand feet to our last camp, Mweka Camp. If I get a chance I'll try to send in a written dispatch. And if not we'll certainly check in sometime tomorrow when we get off the mountain. That's all for now, everyone's doing great and look forward to trying to share few photos in a couple days with you guys.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
RMI Guide Casey Grom checks in after summit climb.
I have been following your progress, looks like you folks are having a great time wish I were there. Keep safe and have a wonderful journey.
Posted by: Priscilla Neal on 9/24/2012 at 3:43 am
COngrats to you and your team Casey. I have great memories of Kilimanjaro! All the Kili girls spent the weekend together and Lucy and Corell say hey. High fives from Richmond
Hello everyone following along back home and welcome to another series of dispatches from this year's summer Cotopaxi Express trip!
After a long night of scuttling back and forth from the airport Jaime and myself finally got the crew settled in last night at our hotel here in Quito. Since everyone is usually a bit bushed from long travel times from the states we typically start out our first day of the program on a city tour of some of Quito's colonial sites in addition to a visit to the exact geographical equator. We were fortunate enough to climb the bell tower in the Basilica (a neo-gothic cathedral), walk the streets of the old town (world's first UNESCO World Heritage Site), visit the Church de la Compañia de Jesús (baroque interior guilded w/ 7 tons of gold leaf and one of the oldest churches in South America), and play with funky coriolis phenomena on the exact geographical equator. Despite the lack of physical exertion, the gang was still pretty tired after cruising around town all day at an elevation around 9,000'. We ran some errands, took a little siesta, and then met up for our first team dinner later this evening. The gang is starting to open up a bit and get to know each other better, a good thing considering the challenges ahead! Tomorrow begins the first of our acclimatization hikes...
Hasta mañana,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
We are happily reunited with all of our things at 14,000' Camp. We had a leisurely brunch before grabbing empty packs to drop back down and retrieve our cache at 13,500'. Laden back down with food, fuel, and snacks, we popped back up to camp in an easy hour. After a short siesta to discover what we'd hidden in that hole and go on a snacking binge, we threw our backs into building walls to protect our camp from what sounds like a bit of incoming weather. We're planning to take a rest day tomorrow, which lines up well with the weather and see what happens after that!
After two days spent on the mountain the Five Day Climb reached to summit of Mt. Rainier early today. RMI Guide Jess Matthews called in as the team was on the descent. The team has had great weather while on the mountain, and everyone has climbed strong. They will return to Paradise this afternoon.
Congratulations team!
RMI Guides Walter Hailes and Chris Ebeling and the Four Day Climbs reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 7:30 AM. The teams climbed through the clouds before the sun broke through shortly before the summit. Walter reported 15 mph winds and cold temps.
The teams will spend some time on the summit celebrating before beginning their descent to Camp Muir. We look forward to seeing them back at BaseCamp in Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations Climbers!
The Kautz Seminar June 23 - 28 made their summit attempt today, they climbed the crux of the route and reached 14,000' between Point Success and the true summit before weather turned them around. RMI Guide Tyler Jones reported a thick cloud cap with snow and cold temperatures. The team will descend to camp and continue their training on the mountain for the next few days.
Today our crew took a "rest day," exploring Puebla's Sunday Markets and antiques shops. We didn't do too much up and downhill walking, but no doubt still covered a lot of this colorful colonial market. It was a great day to recuperate after Ixta and restage for Pico de Orizaba. Eating well is an important part of recovery and we also explored the great food and famous Mole sauce that hails from this town. Tomorrow we'll head out to Tlachichuca and get ready for the big one.
The stretch of fine weather held just long enough for us to pack up high camp and drop on down the fixed ropes. By mid-day as we neared low camp, we could see cloud caps forming on the mountain tops. We repacked for sled-hauling and set out for basecamp. Travel conditions were smooth and easy and our biggest concern became preventing sunburn. We made it into base at 5:30 PM and joined several other teams hoping to fly to Union Glacier. The ski-equipped twin otters have apparently been quite busy these last few days, but their intention was to make several trips to Vinson tonight. The first flight made it in about 45 minutes ago and it is now 11:40 PM We would be on the third flight if they choose to go on through the night. So perhaps around 4 AM we'll get a shot... But in the meantime, our tents are up and it is time for a nap.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
The team had a really nice day here on Kilimanjaro today, waking to clear skies and a beautiful view of Kili right above camp. We had a light cloud layer which helped keep us cool while on the trail, which was nice as the sun can be quite intense here near the equator.
We started the day waking at 6:30 to start packing up before moving into our dining tent for a nice breakfast with porridge, fried eggs, toast, avocado and even some fresh fruit, and most importantly plenty of hot Tanzanian coffee.
We hit the trail shortly after 8 am and slowly made our way up the rocky trail with occasional views of Kili above, while sharing the trail with all the porters.
The trail climbed up a blunted ridge and eventually out of the trees and allowed for some truly spectacular views of the valley below. The team hiked for a little more than four hours before reaching out next camp that sits on the Shira plateau, which is the remnant of an ancient lava flow.
Everyone is doing very well and we are currently relaxing in camp.
Great fun following Casey’s posts and the team’s adventures. Greetings to Dena and Rusty from Grammy and Gramps. Yet another mountain on the bucket list to scratch off
Congratulations team! Looks amazing. Can’t wait to see more pictures DTP. Hugs.
Posted by: Elizabeth on 2/22/2014 at 4:35 pm
Congratulations to all of you on your summit! Michael, I couldn’t tell if that was you in the second photo and I am really hoping that you made it. See you Sunday! Love, Kristin
Posted by: Kristin Stollov on 2/22/2014 at 4:16 pm
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