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Peter Whittaker checking in from 26900 ft. 12AM
Peter Whittaker from 27600 ft. 2AM
Jake Norton from the South Summit. 6AM
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Lauren Macklin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Elevation: 7,000'
This morning we head towards Pico de Orizaba, one of our main climbing objectives of the trip, relaxed and rested after two nights and a full day in Puebla.
Rest day activities were varied, as usual. Some intrepid folks made their way to Cholula, where you can view and hike up ancient Aztec pyramids. Others explored art exhibits in Puebla and while others just fully relaxed. RMI Guide Lauren Macklin and I found our way to a brand-new bouldering gym before enjoying afternoon lattes at my favorite coffee roaster in town.
The evening was capped with a nice dinner at El Mural de los Poblanos where we sampled some local mezcals, ate delicious traditional foods and shared our rest day stories with the group.
Puebla feels to me like the world's biggest little city and is the place to stay when in this region. There is a ton of history, great outdoor activities and it’s more laidback than Mexico City. We could easily spend the duration of this trip having a spa day in Puebla and drinking fancy wines at rooftop bars. But alas, we have a mountain to climb. On to Pico de Orizaba!
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier and team
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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
We came down from the highlands of Karatu. Down from the rich farmland surrounding the Plantation Lodge and out South and West into drier and hotter terrain. But on the way we stopped at a great tourist shop and found a few things to remind us of our journey. We then set out for Tarangire. We entered the park at about midday and immediately started seeing animals. We also saw about a thousand giant baobab trees. Tarangire is an interesting contrast to our last two “parks” because both of those are confined in geographical terms by mountains or water. There is no sense of confinement at Tarangire. It is a huge expanse, and one eventually looks out at zebras and elephants and giraffes as far as the eye can see. We were lucky enough to see two big lions passed out over tree branches. We saw hundreds of elephants, mostly in family groups with little duffel bag sized babies stumbling along next to their moms. We saw Eland and water bucks and impala and wildebeest. We saw dry riverbeds and acacia trees and palms and grasslands. As the afternoon went on, we got farther and farther away from other visitors and deeper into the wilderness. In the early evening we pulled into a tent camp with no fences… zebra and giraffes were wandering a few hundred feet from the lodging- but with extremely friendly and helpful staff who made us feel at home. We sat around an outdoor fire pit and watched the sun go down and the trees sway and the clouds flow… they call it “bush television”. Then we ate an incredible dinner and shared mountain stories for one last evening.
We’ll still be looking for animals tomorrow… but at the end of the day the team will be boarding jetliners. Tonight though, that can all wait. We’ll sleep to the sounds of wilderness tonight with perhaps a lion’s roar or an elephant’s trumpet to “disturb” us.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team
Posted by: Brent Okita, Lindsay Mann, Mike Haugen
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,200'
On The Map
Chair lift? Now that’s the way to “climb” a mountain! Like to see the dismount from said lift with pack. Does my heart good to see Lucy’s hair still perfect after 4 days in Russia and Sasha in her colorful gear. Fully expect Laura to be in green. Mark has just tapped the potential for humor for this group. He has no idea. Love to you all
Posted by: Kathryn LeBey on 7/6/2013 at 4:58 am
ambushed by five attractive ladies, not a bad joke
Posted by: John on 7/5/2013 at 1:34 pm
Congratulations Paul, Mark, Dan and Mark. I am so proud of you. I’ll buy the first round when you get down. I love you.
Posted by: Susan Wallenhorst on 7/2/2013 at 11:23 am
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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Seth Burns, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 7,300'
Wednesday, July 5, 2023 - 12:55 am PT
The team woke up to snow and wind distorting the shapes of the tents we call home for the last 21 days. We hit snooze and hoped for the best. While I wouldn’t say the best ever came the allure of Roestis, showers, and beds pulled us out of our sleeping bags and into the fray. From 11,000 ft to the base of Ski Hill was a near total whiteout. We persevered through the wind, moisture, and visibility to reach basecamp at about 6pm, but conditions didn’t allow planes to come and land. We’re hopeful that tomorrow we’ll be back in civilization.
RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli
Yay! Mission almost accomplished! Such an amazing group you are
Posted by: Kim on 7/5/2023 at 8:53 am
Posted by: JT Schmitt, Alan Davis, Kiira Antenucci
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 17,000'
Thursday, June 17, 2021 1:33 pm PT
This morning we woke up to a foot of new snow and the winds have been blowing 30 mph all day, which is slightly unpleasant but what we expected. There is a lot of strategy in expedition climbing, and this plan is part of that. We got up to 17,000' camp yesterday knowing it would not be possible today, and now we are in position to take advantage of tomorrow’s supposed high pressure.
Send good thoughts our way for good weather tomorrow!
RMI Guides JT, Alan, Kirra and the RMI team.
Vano, when you shotgun a beer at the summit, have you thought about the pressure change and how that beer may just buss everywhere? Please get back to me
-Heater
Posted by: Heater on 6/18/2021 at 5:10 am
Sending good thoughts!
Posted by: Ann on 6/17/2021 at 6:49 pm
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On The Map
Good luck to everyone! Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Tell Robin we said HI from Destin, FL
Posted by: Mary Romair on 5/31/2013 at 9:03 am
Hi Craig and Billy Nugent Team!
Great job everyone and thanks for the Blog updates! Sounds like Craig is holding his own as the “elder” team member! Of course those that know him would expect no less! He’s 52 going on 25! :)
Best wishes and regards to all of you,
Greg & Diane (in Raleigh, NC)
Posted by: Greg Lewbart on 5/28/2013 at 4:00 pm
All the Best on Orizaba Dustin and Team!!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 2/17/2023 at 10:00 am
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