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RMI Guide Mark Tucker checking in from the final camp: down here at the Mweka Camp, 10,000 ft on Kilimanjaro. It’s all tall, giant heather; it’s beautiful. It looks like a fabulous night for a summit climb but that’s exactly what we will not be doing. It’s a done deal.
We will enjoy our last night on this beautiful mountain. Tomorrow we head to the trail head.
On The Map
All right you deserve to know. We have to be honest to all of you that have been following our trip. We have not been roughing it.
Tables and chairs on the mountain, hot water for washing at each camp. Fifty five local staff with us throughout the Kilimanjaro climb. We could carry any or nothing throughout the day. Fresh foods at each meal. You would have loved it.
Now here we are at the
Plantation Lodge with white table cloths and fine china, eating incredible curry chicken and organic garden fresh salad, do not even want to rub in what we had for desert. All this after an awesome day of game viewing in Lake Manyara National Park.
I feel so much better now that you are in the loop. Wish I could say that it's tough surviving here in wild Africa but that would just not be true.
It is a real vacation now after a pretty physical week on the big hill. There are a few sore and tired muscles but over all the team is in great shape. We said a sad good-bye to one member of the group as he started his trip back to the USA, he had to get back for work. We will miss his wonderful sense of humor and great companionship.
Tomorrow we are off to one of the great natural wonders of the world - Ngorongoro Crater. Where there are so many animals in a small space, I better get the camera battery charged up tonight.
All is well,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
The Four Day Summit Climb July 27 - 30 led by Jake Beren and Gabriel Barral reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams were beginning their descent from the crater rim at 7:30 a.m. PT. They reported light to moderate winds, warm temperatures and clear skies. It's a beautiful day on Mt. Rainier.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!
After three long days of climbing we are back at 14 Camp with the summit of Mt. McKinley under our belts. We couldn't believe our luck when we woke up at 17 Camp to absolutely beautiful weather so we set out on our summit bid mid morning, having waited a bit for the sun to warm everything up.
Nevertheless, it was still cold as we climbed the long traverse out of camp to Denali Pass at 18,500'. At the Pass a light but cold wind was blowing, so we kept our break short before continuing upwards. As soon as we climbed a few hundred vertical feet above the pass we escaped the wind that was funneling through there and it became great climbing. We made our way upwards, passing a few rock outcroppings before cresting into a broadd plateau called the Football Field (19,500') that sits below the final push to the summit. The weather remained perfect and the team strong so we set out, climbing the slopes to the summit ridge and then traversing the wildly corniced ridgeline to the summit. A moderate wind was blowing out of the southeast, which we had been protected from up till that point, but as we climbed along the ridge it blew plumes of powder snow around us - making for cold going. Finally we skirted the last cornice and climbed the final feet to the summit. It was beautiful from the top, with views in all directions.
After celebrating and soaking in thhe moment for a bit, we turned around and descended back to hig camp. The winds picked up as we descended but otherwise everyone climbed well, making it back to camp in the late evening.
This morning the wind continued to blow down through Denali Pass and into camp - not a great day to go for the top. We packed up camp and descended back down the West Buttress and down the fixed lines. It was smooth going but our legs felt the summit day yesterday, so we were all pleased to reach 14 Camp and take our packs off.
Now are sights are set on getting back to Base Camp so we can fly back to Talkeetna and then head home. We are spending the night here at 14 Camp before descending back to our first camp at 7800' at the head of the lower Kahiltna Glacier tomorrow. We plan to set up camp there for the evening and then wake up in the middle of the night to cross the lower glacier when things are nice and frozen and the snow bridges across the crevasses are strongest, hopefully arriving at Base Camp Sunday morning and flying out later that day. We'll need the weather to continue to cooperate but we're all feeling optimistic. We'll check in tomorrow from 7,800'.
Linden
Wednesday, June 16, 2021 - 8:29 pm PT
We made it to High Camp, 17,200' on Denali. It’s a little blustery but other than that all is good here. Keeping our fingers crossed for good weather tomorrow!
RMI Guide JT Schmitt and the RMI team
Thursday, May 13, 2021 - 9:57 pm PT
We had warm and sunny weather today and we took advantage of it to single carry all of our loads to the Base of Ski Hill. It took us 5 hours to get here, traveling on the Kahiltna Glacier with heavy packs and pulling heavy sleds.
The plan for tomorrow is to bump a load of supplies up Ski Hill to around 9800' and create a cache. Then we will return to our current camp for the night. The weather is looking good and everyone is doing well.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
June 2, 2015 - 6:56 pm PT
The last few days of a trip always fly by. The summit, descent, and celebration in town all came together over the course of three days. Our
summit day was spectacular, with blue, sunny skies, little wind, and balmy (0 degrees F) temps. We got up with the sun the next morning, which felt considerably colder, and packed our bags to descend. We originally planned to go as far as 11,200' Camp, picking up our cache at 14,000' along the way, but when we walked into 11k at 4.30 in the afternoon, and with plenty of energy to spare, we decided to keep the momentum rolling, rig sleds, and head to 7,600’ camp. The few hours of fighting with our sleds downhill proved well worth it. We got to camp at 8:30, where RMI Guides Geoff Schellens and Eric Frank with their Upper West Rib team were super nice and had stoves boiling for us already. We set a hasty camp since we were only going to be there for a few hours, and went to bed. We had our only real alpine start of the trip, waking at 2.30 am. The walk out the lower Kahiltna was one of the highlights of the trip. High thin clouds reflected the light of a not yet risen sun, and the alpenglow on the surrounding peaks burned a brilliant red. A wind at our backs pushed us towards Base Camp. The scene kept our eyes drifting to the sky, and it was impossible not to enjoy the walk despite the heavy packs and sleds. By 7:30 we were at the airstrip, ready for the first flights of the day to Talkeetna. In no time the incredible pilots from K2 descended in two Otters, we loaded the planes, and we were in town, taking in the scents of grass, flowers, and trees for the first time in weeks. We showered off the smell of 18 days on the mountain, and set about filling our bellies with something that we hadn’t carried on our backs. We spent the afternoon drying gear and packing bags for our inevitable separation, and then had a final celebration dinner at the West Rib, a restaurant that is synonymous with Mt. McKinley climbers. Now, we are beginning to part ways. Some of our climbers have left for Anchorage and flights home, while others are staying in Alaska for a bit longer, albeit as tourists. Jet boat adventures, bicycle tours, and road trips to the North side of the park all lie in the future. The guides will amuse ourselves tomorrow with some time on a boat, dropping lines for Halibut, before we also head South to the Mt. Rainier climbing season. The group did a spectacular job on the mountain, climbing smoothly and safely, and we were rewarded with a truly fine summit and 100% of our group on the summit. The guides thank the whole team for their efforts, laughs, and incredible chemistry; it was a really memorable trip for us as well! Thanks to everyone for following along. Now its off to a boat, where someone else baits the hook for us and the fish can’t help but bite!
RMI Guides Pete, Robby, Josh, and Team.
Sunday, June 23rd, 2013
Hello all,
We're checking in from 11k! We woke at a more reasonable hour this morning to a centimeter or so of new snow, and crystal blue skies. There was nothing to do but eat a big breakfast, crash our camp, and bounce to
11,000 feet. Just over two hours later we rolled into camp, psyched to finally be setting up shop for a few days. We dug a big kitchen, got the tents all bomb proof, and enjoyed an afternoon lounging in (or hiding from) the sun. With a full rest day tomorrow, it was a relaxed evening, and we spectated as the rangers skied a few laps above camp. The group's competitive personalities are coming out, and tomorrow we have scheduled a competitive napping event. We'll let you know who the winners are!
Until then,
Happily resting at 11k.
RMI Guides Pete, Geoff, Robby, et al.
On The Map
Greetings from Pampa de Leñas! Our team enjoyed one last night in a bed and awoke this morning to beautiful sunny skies. Seemingly, a great day to begin our long journey. The team thus far has been exceptionally well organized and we were able to enjoy a relatively stress free morning putting the finishing touches on our packing and stashing a bunch of city clothes in the Grajales packing facility. We caught a quick ride over to the trailhead at
Punta de Vacas and after checking in with the guardaparques began our journey. Relatively calm winds and scorching temperatures in the nineties caught us all a little off guard and forced us to stop frequently and soak our clothes in the river to cool off! Even after a complete soaking, our shirts were dried off completely in ten minutes! Well, despite the heat we persevered and even made good time into our first camp.
More info to come as our expedition develops,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
Rest day at Aconcagua
Camp One means only one thing. Pizza making day! You may be wondering, "How do you make pizzas at 16,500 feet"? Sorry, it's an
RMI Guide secret.
Today our team awoke to a fresh blanket of snow covering the entire
mountain. It is a beautiful day to stay put and recover here in camp. Everyone is doing very well and we are feeling healthy and strong.
The remainder of the day will see some of us playing cards, reading books and watching movies. Yes, it's rough living up here.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
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Great achievement for all specially for those that live at sea level
Posted by: Alberto Sr. on 7/22/2013 at 5:41 am
Hey I agree with Ana! You guys rock!!! Especially the Mexican guy! Hahaha
Posted by: Jasmin on 7/22/2013 at 2:23 am
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