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Good morning! 

The Four Day Climb of Mt. Rainier led by RMI Guides Henry Coppolillo and Bailey Servais reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 5:20 am PT this morning. Both teams went 100% to the summit--an incredible achievement! The guides reported beautiful weather and a great climbing route! The teams are currently descending and will be back in Ashford at Rainier Base Camp later this afternoon.

Congratuations to today's climbers!

Monday, May 22, 2023 - 10:50 pm PT

We set an early alarm, and peaked our heads out the tent to see what the weather was doing. Surprised to find clear skies above us, we blasted the stoves and got every up for a quick breakfast of oatmeal. After eating a quick breakfast, we loaded up our packs with the group gear, and personal food we wanted to cache and began the first stretch of the climb requiring crampons. Up until now, we have been on a long rope interval, and primarily in snowshoes. From here on out we will be climbing in crampons, and using an ice axe. Just as sun hit camp, we began our way up the steep Motorcycle Hill, around the corner up Motorcycle Hill, through the broken up Polo Field and around Windy Corner. The morning was cold, the wind was howling for the first few stretches but by the time we got to the corner, the wind had died down and we were warming up. We passed the common cache site at 13,500' and made our way up to 14,000 Camp, where we were greeted by other RMI teams. We buried our cache, and then headed back downhill to 11,000' Camp for the night. We made a big dinner of Annie's Mac and Cheese and bacon, and then promptly crawled into our sleeping bags after a long day. The team did great today, setting us up well. We are looking forward to another slow morning, and rest before fully moving to 14 Camp.

RMI Guide Nikki Champion

On The Map

On The Map

Buen Dia!

We woke up to our final breakfast on the mountain, one more time we put our hiking shoes back on and bid farewell to Jimmy and Daniela - the amazing Grajales team at our last camp.

The wind stayed at our backs as we descended the final 8 miles of the Vacas Valley. Today, the conversation was flowing - more air, full bellies! We saw lots of lizards and butterflies and even a couple mice scurrying across the trail. Signs of life reminding us we are no longer at high altitude.

With ample amounts of dust and dirt embedded in our clothes, we made it to Punta de Vacas. The place we started 2 weeks ago. We took one final group picture and headed to Penitentes to grab our duffel bags.

Before we knew it, we were on the van headed back to Mendoza! But not without a stop for empanadas along the way.

What an end to an amazing trip! We’re all safely back in the comforts of the Diplomatic Hotel - hot showers, pool time, rest and recuperation is on the agenda before we all fly back home.

Thank you for following along!

RMI Guide Jess Wedel

Hola!

Everyone has arrived in Cusco with all our duffels. We’ll take that as a win and a good way to start off this incredible adventure.

We met together as a team this evening, sharing about all the different ways we found ourselves in Peru - one group celebrating a big birthday, an anniversary and others because this has always been on their bucket list.

No matter what  — we all left families, friends and big, full lives to spend nearly two weeks stepping out of our comfort zones. Trekking through revered mountains and learning the rich history of the Incas from Cusco to the Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu.

It’s going to be a challenging and epic experience but first, first we need sleep!

RMI Guide Jess Wedel and the Machu Picchu Crew

Saturday, May 21, 2023 - 10:30 pm PT

Good evening readers,

Today we woke to a wet rain falling on our tents. The plan was for an early start but we postponed our departure by a few hours watching the clouds. After yummy breakfast burritos we began breaking down camp and hit the trail. The team made their way back up Ski Hill on our way to our new home at 11,000' Camp. After walking for a few hours of descent weather we hit a hot pocket that made everyone go into a heat panic. But we persevered and made it to some cooler temps. At our last break the snow flakes got bigger and a chill hit the team but this was short lived and we were back to being hot as we rolled into camp. It was a tough long day with heavy packs but it sure feels good to be here. We made camp, ate dinner and it's off to bed to let the bodies recover. Tomorrow we will back carry down to our cache to be reunited with all our gear and then rest for the majority of the day. Snow falls as we get snuggled in. Frequent taps on tent walls make the snow slide down. We will see how much snow falls through the night.

Good night all,

RMI Guides Hannah, Devin, Erika, and Team

Hello everyone,

Today, we are headed to Tarangire National Park; known for its abundant animals and plentiful elephants, and it did not disappoint.

Not sure how many elephants we saw, probably several hundred at the least. It wouldn’t seem like we could get tired of seeing elephants, but there were so many that eventually we had to keep driving so we could see other animals. There were lots of giraffes, impalas, monkeys, ostriches, and many others. The highlight today was seeing 11 lions shortly after entering the park.

We are spending our last night here in Africa at Lolkisale Camp, which has beautiful tented rooms with screen windows to allow the sounds of the African night in.

Everyone is doing great and hoping to see a few more big cats on our way out tomorrow! Then it will be back to our main lodge near Arusha for a quick shower before catching our evening flights home.

Come join us for an adventure sometime!

Casey and the safari crew