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If it weren't for the spectacular wildlife within the great Ngorongoro caldera, we'd spend the day fascinated by the geography anyway. We were up on the crater rim in dense cloud this morning, with just a hint of the vastness of the interior to this collapsed volcano. But as we traversed the rim, we were granted better views of the expanses within. Driving down in, we began to see "spots" and "dots" that gradually took shape as wildebeest, zebra and Cape buffalo. We spent the day driving from one side of the crater to another, stopping for lions, jackals, hippos, rhinoceros, and birds great and small. We began to see so many species that we seemed to stop taking notice of things like zebra and gazelle, which until yesterday had seemed exotic. We watched a pair of ostrich, out on a date. We saw seven lionesses conked out and sleeping within feet of the road. We saw old and solitary bull elephants, wandering amongst bull elephant skeletons. We saw warthogs and hyenas and herd after herd of wildebeest and zebra. We saw male lions, fat and happy to be lounging about in the sun while every other animal wandered around them in wide circles. After a picnic lunch near a lagoon full of hippos, we checked out a few more corners of the crater and then headed up the wall for our exit. On the rim, we visited a Masai village and learned how the tribe manages to hold onto traditions while preparing their children for the modern world. And then it was back to the luxurious Plantation Lodge for the evening. Tomorrow, Tarangire National Park. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

As the phone call from earlier today said, we had an absolutely phenomenal day climbing Cotopaxi. The team as a whole was saddened by the withdrawal of Ginger from the climb itself but but we were all so impressed by her selfless decision to remain at the hut and not attempt the climb do to a nagging chest infection. When climbers put their team first over their ego and personal ambitions, it reveals much about their true character. Ginger we missed you today. After descending from our surreal summit, we quickly packed up at the hut and marched the 15 minutes downhill to the waiting van. Our amazing local guide, Jaime Avila went home to Quito to prepare for his return to Chimborazo and the rest of us are now resting peacefully at a 400 year old hacienda south of Quito. I simply can't remember a nicer day in Ecuador. Voicemail Message: Hello! This is Adam with Casey, Jaime and the crew on top of Cotopaxi! Ginger stayed behind at the hut this morning as she was not feeling well. Everyone else is on top on the most beautiful day we could have asked for. It is almost a fair trade - I would give a day like we had on Cayambe to have a day like this on Cotopaxi. It is a beautiful, beautiful place to be. Everyone is feeling great and all is well. We will check in later from La Cienega. RMI Guides Adam Knoff & Casey Grom

On The Map

What to do when the wind is blowing 70 mph at Camp 1 on Mt. Elbrus? That is the question. And the answer is tough filled with so many choices. Read my book? Nope, forgot it at base camp. Read Seth's Harper magazine? Done. Drink hot drinks? Check! The team was productive today at Camp 1. We secured our tents for the heavy winds and during a lull we went down and retrieved our cache at 11,500 feet. We now are sitting on a stockpile of food and fuel so Bring it On wind! Everyone is feeling great at 12,500 feet. And a little adversity does a body good. I just hope my iTunes movie hasn't expired on my iPhone! RMI Guide J.J. Justman

On The Map

We spent today resting at the 14,000' camp on Mt. McKinley, getting stronger for our impending move to high camp (17,000'). The weather today was pretty mild for this time of year, with light snow showers throughout the day. The weather forecast looks pretty good, with similar weather on tap for the rest of the week. Everyone is doing well, and we'll likely take one more rest day here at 14,000' before moving up to high camp. We'll keep you posted. Cheers, RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

What a wild storm....... a month ago. I have counted about thirty downed trees near the trail since Namche. Big trees ! Word on the trail was about a three day rain event then a big wind storm and there you have it, lots of lumber on the ground. If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it did it make a sound? How about if somebody writes a fantastic blog dispatch but it never gets posted, is it still a blog? Kim is so nice, at least she is not making me feel too bad for deleting (on accident) her amazing dispatch of yesterday. I thought I was in the dog house, but she seems OK. It could be different after we get the summit of Island Peak and my value goes way down, maybe I will hear about it then. Regardless, she has decided to give it another shot just for you all. Enjoy, RMI Guide Mark Tucker After arm wrestling the two guys yesterday, I finally won a chance to write the blog. I thought it was wonderfully written, but the men seemed unimpressed. The next thing I was told is that it was "lost" in cyberspace somewhere. Hmm. I seem to be outnumbered here. In any case, I'll try a new one today and see if it gets posted this time. . . What a wonderful day we had! We awoke to bluebird skies and a gorgeous view of Namche Bazaar and the surrounding peaks. We departed just after breakfast and hiked up, up, and more up to Khumjung at 12,475 ft where we visited the Hillary School. We have with us a couple of special "flat" children inspired by the "Flat Stanley" book. One flat child took a peek at the school with us. After a short stop at the bakery in Khumjung, we descended through an enchanting rhododendron forest down, down, and more down to our lunch stop in Phunkgi Thanga (nicknamed Funky Town by Mr.Tuck) at 10,800ft. With full bellies, we climbed up, up, and more up. During our climb, the clouds rolled in and a blanket of fog made our enchanting hike even more mystical. As we hiked, we could hear the gentle clanging of a yak bell calling out from the fog. An occasional person or yak would emerge from the fog, pass us, and then disappear again. Finally, we began seeing the occasional monk emerge from the fog and disappear, indicating to us that we had reached the Tengboche monastery (12,800ft). We will visit again tomorrow, hopefully when the skies are clear. Finally, we descended down, down, (well, just a little down) to Deboche at 12,325 ft. We are spending the evening warming in the teahouse while the fog begins to lift outside to reveal the surrounding hillsides. --Kim

On The Map

Hello from Mexico City, Tonight the team arrived, all with the same number of bags they left the states with and ready to go. We had a great intro dinner at a classic Centro Historico restaurant and retired to our rooms to get a good night's sleep before leaving the city tomorrow. Off to a good start down here and we'll check in from La Malinche tomorrow. RMI Guide Jake Beren

There are times when one has no option but to perform. As we sit here at Camp 3 with the summit of Aconcagua towering three thousand feet over us, it is clear that tomorrow will be one of those times. With a less-than-ideal weather window, we have our work cut out for us. We hope to have good news tomorrow.

RMI Climber Yev "Freyverissimo" Freyvert

June 24, 2023 10:19pm PT

Good morning from 14k camp!

After a hard-earned, good night’s rest, we woke up to frosty air, clear skies, and no wind. We began our descent past windy corner to retrieve our cache and were reminded once again of its namesake. The team, feeling strong, made quick work of our retrieval, and arrived back at camp in good style.

The day was far from over.

Anticipating a storm, we got to work fortifying our camp with the deepest posh this world has seen and some snow walls that would make the Great Wall proud. We let the rivalry of our two challenging snow block quarries bring out the best in us. Mother Nature is hard to beat but we might as well try. Now we wait and see what Denali and the weather will let us do. Passing the time by enjoying each other’s company and eating some tasty snacks.

But not too many, we might be here for a while…

RMI Guide Dan May

RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier & Ben Luedtke led their Five Day Climb teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning.  Dustin reported broken clouds and light to moderate winds as the teams were ascending the Ingraham Direct early this morning.  The teams enjoyed some time in the crater before beginning their descent.  The climbers will return to Camp Muir for a short rest and to pack their gear before descending the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise later today.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

Our team will take another weather day at Camp 2. Strong winds and lots of snow will keep us from moving up hill today. Tomorrow is our last chance to move to High Camp. We will hope to have a summit bid on the 14th. The team is hunkered down in their tents as 40 mph wind gusts roar through camp.

RMI Guide Mike King