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Kilimanjaro: Hahn’s Team Ends with a Roar

September 27, 2013

Posted by: Dave Hahn

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro

Kikoti Camp was perfect last night. The team was refreshed and happy as we set out on our final day. Our course took us back through Tarangire National Park where we saw three young lionesses, a hunting leopard, a couple hundred elephants of all sizes, a thousand zebras and a heck of a lot of outstanding birds. By midday we'd left the park and were on the road to Arusha. Back at the lush and relaxing grounds of the Dik Dik Hotel, we rested, repacked and got ready to go our separate ways. We enjoyed a last dinner and a few more laughs together before jumping into the bus for the airport. Until next climb... Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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Thank you to Mr. Hahn, the porters, and everyone at the various hotels for taking such good care of our climbers. You guys are awesome. I don’t think Eric will ever forget this trip.

Posted by: Mara on 9/27/2013 at 7:33 pm

Congratulations Jeff and Meredith! Well done and safe home from all of here in Toronto.
Alexa

Posted by: Alexa Colenbrander on 9/27/2013 at 12:49 pm

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Mt. Rainier: June 30th Update - Summit!

June 30, 2013

Posted by: Casey Grom, Eric Frank

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 14,410'

The Four Day Summit Climb led by Casey Grom and the Five Day Muir Climb led by Eric Frank reached the top of Mt. Rainier this morning! Casey radioed at 7:42 a.m. from Columbia Crest, the highest point on Mt. Rainier, and reported a very nice day. Both teams began their descent at 8:15 a.m. Congratulations to a job well done by our guides and climbers!

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Great job dad! I can’t wait to hear all about your adventure.

Posted by: Craig on 7/1/2013 at 2:58 am

Spectacular, Kevin and Terry! So happy for you:-).

Posted by: Jahn Hart on 6/30/2013 at 12:15 pm

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Mexico’s Volcanoes: Team Meets in Mexico City

February 11, 2012

Posted by: Jake Beren

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico

Elevation: 7,300'

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 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

Kilimanjaro: Tucker & Team Reach Karanga Camp

August 12, 2011

Posted by:

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro

Hello from Karanga Camp! Barranco Wall fails to stop RMI team from getting closer to the summit! We slowed our departure from camp in hopes of missing rush hour on the wall. No view of the top but nice temperature because of the clouds. Four hours later here we are at Karanga Camp at 13,000-feet plus. Snacks on the way to a hot lunch at camp. Lunch consisted of spaghetti and tomato sauce, which was a big hit. With the team eating and drinking as needed, it helps fuel us and keep our strength up as we move closer to summit day. A nice short climb today and tomorrow will get us ready for the summit climb tomorrow night. We are looking down at the sea of clouds below, which is not unusual for the lower regions. Another great reason to be up here! Darn the luck missing out on the upper mountain views, so we continue to enjoy the incredible geological features we pass as we go. During the descent into the Karanga Valley you pass this 60-foot overhanging cave that I know I could atleast get a few moves on. Another time, we have a mountain to climb! It's so nice that none of our gear is wet from the rain, and our packs and boots are working well. It sure helps make the climb a bit more manageable. Nice easy afternoon with stories a-flying, reading , and taking in the views. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

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Kilimanjaro: Okita & Team Arrive in Tanzania

July 31, 2023

Posted by: Brent Okita

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro

Coming off the plane in Arusha, the city in Tanzania where we base from to go to Kilimanjaro, the first thing that strikes the senses is the smell of trees and vegetation we simply don't have in the northern hemisphere. There, too is a subtle, but pervasive smell of the wood and charcoal many people use to cook with. It smells wonderfully of Africa to me.

Our group all arrived at least a day early to take advantage of their time here in this beautiful country, and so we were able to meet one another earlier than usual. This was a good thing because it allowed some lost luggage to be recovered and a GI problem to resolve itself, two problems I rarely see, but that are not unknown when travelling halfway across the globe.

Our team is a nice mix of veteran climbers with Mt. Rainier under their belt and folks who have rarely spent time in a tent. But everyone is engaging and interesting, and conversation is easy. A good sign of things to come.

While half the group opted to get their equipment check done yesterday so they could get in a day safari in the local Arusha National Park, the other half chose to do their check today and enjoy a leisurely afternoon before we begin our expedition up the flanks of Kilimanjaro. Both great options.

Our team breakfast this morning will be followed up with a group dinner tonight, enjoying the amazing food here at the Rivertrees Country Inn. Normally we would lament leaving such fine food during our week of climbing, but not this time. The chef taking care of our food needs this week is amazing! Gourmet dinners and hearty breakfasts await us at every camp, prepared by an incredibly talented chef by the name of Benson. You'll hear more about this guy later, but for now we're doing well and eager to start our climb.

Word has it that upon making the summit, a couple of our climbers are going to reward themselves with some beautiful Tanzanite jewelry. I love the idea!

Wish us luck as we begin our big adventure! We've been waiting for this climb to all come together for a long time, and in a few hours, we will be taking our first steps up towards the summit of this wonderful mountain.

Jambo!

RMI Guide Brent Okita

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How exciting!
Wishing you all an enjoyable Day 1 of hiking!
Wishing everyone an incredible experience hiking up to the peak and coming back!
With cheers, good luck, and best wishes,
Suganthi Subramanian

Posted by: Suganthi Subramanian on 7/31/2023 at 10:50 pm

I am so excited for all who are about to embark on this wonderful journey. Wishing you all a great climb and hope this trip is all you hoped it would be and more.

Good luck to all.
Cheers,
Barb

Posted by: Barbara Heck on 7/31/2023 at 1:17 pm

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Denali Expedition: Hahn & Team Attempt to Carry Supplies, Weather Turns them back

June 28, 2023

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Dustin Wittmier, Sam Marjerison, Michael Murray

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 14,000'

Tuesday, June 28, 2023 - 9:28 pm PT

We set out on our quest to get a load of supplies onto the West Buttress but the weather deteriorated steadily as we climbed. At 15,400 ft we decided to turn. We set a few personal altitude records, but it was just short of the fixed rope section we had been hoping to climb today. We returned to camp in light snowfall. The afternoon became a quiet napping contest in the tents. We'll try again when we get a break in the storm.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Denali Expedition: Hahn & Team Take a Snow Day at 11,000ft Camp

June 21, 2023

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Dustin Wittmier, Michael Murray, Sam Marjerison

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 11,000'

Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - 9:45 pm PT

Snow day at 11,000'. Thankfully the wind calmed down as we went to bed last night. Through the night and much of today it was just light snow and a lot of cloud. As we ate dinner and told each other stories in the dining tent, the storm ramped up and now, as we climb in tents for the night, it is officially DUMPING snow.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Get your motor runnin’
Head out on the highway
Looking for adventure
In whatever comes our way

Get ready to start your engines boys. Motorcycle Hill straight ahead!

Posted by: Dan Allegretti on 6/22/2023 at 6:06 am

Happy birthday Mitch! Stay safe and warm

Love Mare

Posted by: Marianne Harvey on 6/21/2023 at 10:27 pm

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Mt. Everest: Hahn & Team Reach Pheriche

April 1, 2014

Posted by: Dave Hahn, JJ Justman, Billy Nugent

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest

Elevation: 14,000'

The RMI Everest climbing team reached Pheriche today. Our last evening and morning down in the trees of Deboche went well enough and everybody was feeling strong and in good spirits this morning. We set out in bright sunshine with a big blue sky at 8:30 AM. Yesterday, in traveling the same trail to reach Pangboche we ended up in a huge yak traffic jam where a steel truss bridge had recently collapsed into the river and a detour needed to be negotiated. Today, the yaks were elsewhere and the trail was blissfully quiet. We made pretty good time, cruising along above the North bank of the Imja Khosi while steadily gaining altitude. The trees were pretty much played out a little above Pangboche at perhaps 13,500 ft and the character of the terrain changed. We took several short breaks alongside the trail and arrived by noon at Pheriche at 14,000 ft. Our tea house for the night (and tomorrow night as well) is quite popular, "modern" and spacious... a bit of a contrast from the more low key and traditional place we stayed in at Deboche. There are at least 75 other people sharing the dining hall and lodge, some are climbers and guides that we know from other mountains, some are trekkers, many are climbing sherpas. We were all happy to be sitting around a warm stove, indoors, as the clouds rolled in and it got nasty and cold in the late afternoon. It is far too many people for the capacity of the WiFi system, but we are plenty happy to be connected again at any speed. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Hi Nicole LoBiondo and team
Thank Dave for the great Blogs, We wait each day for his exciting update. You are very special. Love you Mimi

Posted by: Marianne Rhodes on 4/2/2014 at 12:35 pm

Nicole, this is so exciting to read everyday. Everyone is thinking about you, your dad, brothers, cousins and Alexa has been following the blog too. GM

Posted by: Ginny Marasco on 4/2/2014 at 10:37 am

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Aconcagua: Summit!

February 14, 2011

Posted by:

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 22,841'

Hi everybody, who’s been following along. This is Billy, just checking in, we just completed, our summit day and we were able successfully put six climbers on top of Aconcagua this afternoon. We’re all back at camp safe and sound. And we enjoyed a sunny summit and then the weather kinda came in on our descent. And we are sitting in tents right now and it's snowing lightly. But pretty much plans from here on out are to pack up and high tail it out- out to basecamp and then straight back to Mendoza. Everyone sends their love to their family members and loved ones, and especially Richard. Richard wanted me to make a point of saying that he loves his wife very much and that she’s his valentine and that he could not have summitted today without her. And we’ll check in again as things progress and we're headed back home. All right. Take care. Bye bye. RMI Guide Billy Nugent

Billy talks about their summit day.

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Nice job everyone. I was on Billy’s team last year standing atop Aconcagua, and have been following your progress. Congratulations! Now get outta there safely!

If he isn’t doing his Chicago Superfan routine on your hike out, you are totally missing out.

Posted by: Dan on 2/15/2011 at 12:03 pm

Great job guys! I’m happy for y’all! Lots of Malbec waiting for you in the city. Maybe even Basecamp, if you’re as lucky as Team Gabby was.

Posted by: Keith P on 2/15/2011 at 10:44 am

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Elbrus Climbers Summit!

August 10, 2010

Posted by:

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside

Elevation: 18,510'

Our luck with good weather persisted this morning and when we woke up for our summit bid perfectly clear night skies greeted us. After pulling on our boots and gobbling down breakfast we grabbed our packs and climbing gear and headed out. It was a gorgeous night with the stars speckling the sky. Being in the heart of the main climbing season on Elbrus dozens of other climbers were attempting their summit bid as well and their headlamps danced up and down the route, reflecting the stars above. We climbed strongly, picking our way up the broad snow slopes below the East Summit, and by dawn we were approaching 17,000'. Just before sunrise, in what seems almost cliche in retrospect, a barrage of shooting stars streaked over the mountain's shoulder, eventually obscured by the rising sun. It was crisp climbing in the darkness and we kept our breaks short to keep from getting cold. The sun finally found us leaving the saddle between the East and West Summits at close to 18,000'. We warmed up quickly in the morning sun as we climbed the steep slopes to gain the plateau of the Western Summit and we were quickly shedding our coats and thick gloves. Around 9 am we ascended the final snow ridge to Elbrus' summit and suddenly there was no more left to climb. Standing atop Europe's highest point, the views were nothing short of spectacular. To our south stood the chain of the Caucasus, the peaks looking a bit less imposing when viewed from above. Behind them we could peer into Georgia while looking north into Russia the rolling alpine pasture land of the Caucasus foothills stretched to the horizon. A light haze layer - most likely from the wildfires raging far to the east - hung just below us, giving the sky striking layers of different hues of blue. There was hardly a breath of wind on the summit, by far the best weather I have experienced up there. After celebrating on the summit we turned our sights back to where we had started and began the descent. We made remarkably quick work of the 6,000' descent and by midday we were back at the Barrels, with tired legs but feeling quite content. True to its pattern, the clouds built by midafternoon and as we rested in our bunks rain spattered the metal barrels, making the sleeping bags all the more alluring. We are tired but thrilled with the climb this morning, we couldn't have hoped for a better day. It was a fantastic climb and we feel very fortunate to have gotten so lucky on a mountain notorious for its fickle and uncertain weather. We are staying here at the Barrels tonight before descending to Azau tomorrow for hot showers and to celebrate our climb.

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Most Popular Entries

Kilimanjaro: Hahn’s Team Ends with a Roar

Mt. Rainier: June 30th Update - Summit!

Mexico’s Volcanoes: Team Meets in Mexico City

Kilimanjaro: Tucker & Team Reach Karanga Camp

On The Map

Kilimanjaro: Okita & Team Arrive in Tanzania

Denali Expedition: Hahn & Team Attempt to Carry Supplies, Weather Turns them back

Denali Expedition: Hahn & Team Take a Snow Day at 11,000ft Camp

Mt. Everest: Hahn & Team Reach Pheriche

On The Map

Aconcagua: Summit!

Elbrus Climbers Summit!

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