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Thursday, February 27, 2025
Hola friends and family!
We have a rest day in Puebla - yay! The day started without any alarms and that was something we were all excited about. Everyone leisurely made their way to breakfast sometime after 9:00 am.
We all sat there together reminiscing on the trip so far - our good luck with weather, the challenge of both climbs, how many dogs we’ve accidentally fallen in love with, etc.
We kept refilling our coffees and green juice; sipping and chatting for nearly two hours. It was a lovely and relaxed time.
But that’s where the relaxing ended for this crew as they opted for a more “active” rest day. Everyone took off to enjoy as much of the city as possible and lead by Vanessa (who had done all her Puebla research) they saw over nine different sights and interesting spots in town. From art galleries to Mezcal tasting to historical sites, they never stopped walking.
It was so fun at dinner to hear about what treasures people found and how we all spent our day.
We quickly marched back to the hotel for some last minute packing before we have an early start tomorrow to Pico de Orizaba.
RMI Guides Jess Wedel, Josh Geiser and Los Chivos
New Post Alerts:
Mexico's Volcanoes February 22, 2025
A painless 1 1/2 hr drive has brought us to the start of our climb, the Machame Gate. Registration with the Park Service is dealt with before we venture into the rain forest. The lush farms and vegetation here is a result of the clouds of moisture that hang at this elevation. We'll get above this climate zone at our first camp, the Machame Camp, at 10,000'.
We have met some of the mountain staff that will help us get to the top as pleasantly as possible. Many of them are friends from past trips, including Naimen, the head of our local guides staff. Our wait staff - yes, we have waiters - will keep the food chef Benson creates coming our way to keep our energy levels up. Alfred leads this team, and has been with me on every trip I've done.
We've devoured part of the sack lunches our outfitter had provided us and are now ready to rock.
Catch up with you at the next camp!
RMI Guide Brent Okita
On The Map
Mary , Almost there! Hope you are resting well. My heart is with you . Love you.
Posted by: Autumn Zentz on 7/25/2019 at 1:05 pm
On The Map
Hi Kara,
It looks like you have better weather then we have here in Cleveland.
Be safe and have fun.
I am sending you good thoughts.
Donna
Posted by: Donna on 4/7/2014 at 6:33 pm
So glad to see your smiling faces! The fact that you all are shopping is a great sign!!
All kidding aside,it sounds like this trip has had some very real challenges that you have conquered. Congratulations and a big warm hug to all of you. Can’t wait to hear about this trip. Thank YOU Mark, for supporting the team and keeping all the fans back in the US informed. Your pictures and your blog have been wonderful.
Jill Shepard
Posted by: Jill Shepard on 4/7/2014 at 6:07 pm
Posted by: Geoff Schellens, Zeb Blais
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
prayers, tons of love and luck on your adventure dtp!
Posted by: elizabeth on 2/17/2014 at 10:29 am
May the gods smile on your team.
Posted by: Geep on 2/17/2014 at 9:55 am
On The Map
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Tonight and tomorrow are supposed to be very windy, so we will see in the morning if we are going to do our scheduled carry to Camp 3, or whether we will sit tight. We'll let everyone know tomorrow! Today's stoke meter is resting between 6 and 7. We worked hard, but everyone is excited to be that much closer to our objective.
Until tomorrow,
The RMI Aconcagua expedition
Garrett, your new nickname is Captain Stoketacular. FYI.
Posted by: Amy on 1/19/2011 at 10:23 am
Lisa, I am sitting at my computer following your awesome adventure step by step! Girlfriend, you rock!
Posted by: Karen on 1/19/2011 at 9:39 am
Jambo everyone back home.
Well we’ve finally arrived at our high camp, after a good nights rest and a short hike up to 15,000ft. It has been mostly sunny all day with great views of Kilimanjaro and our route for tomorrow.
Everyone is doing well and feeling good at this new altitude which is a good sign for things ahead.
The team just wrapped up another fantastic lunch and discussed in great detail the plan for tomorrow’s climb. The team knows what we’ll be wearing, the packing list, as well as the schedule.
Our game plan will be to wake at 10:30 pm and have a quick breakfast at 11 pm, then hopefully hit the trail right around 11:30 pm. Normally we try to leave a touch later, but there are quite a few climbers here tonight so we’re going to try and get a jumpstart on most of them.
I’m expecting the team to reach the summit in 7 to 8 hours if things go according to plan.
There have been several rounds of trivia with the winner getting a chance to make a satellite phone call from the summit. So everyone back home please keep your phones handy and if you receive a call from a strange number please answer.
That’s all for now. And keep your fingers crossed for us!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew
New Post Alerts:
Kilimanjaro Climb & Safari September 2, 2025
Soak it all in! Congrats!
Posted by: Heidi Heidrich on 9/10/2025 at 10:51 am
Dena with the poses! Congrats on the summit! Miss you lots, Mom and Dad!
Posted by: Lindsey Frishmuth on 9/9/2025 at 10:05 pm
Hello my name is Richard, I am very interested in climbing the largest summit in Argentina
Aconcagua .
I have hiked Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa two yrs Ava , then Highest mt in Ecuador.
I would like to see how many days it would have to take metro climb to top .
Also price for me including food, lodge ,etc
Please contact me as soon as possible so I can make my plans.
Thank you very much for your time.
Richard klein
Posted by: Richard klein on 8/7/2019 at 1:45 pm
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