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Well, we just pulled into Machame Camp, elevation 9,900'. It was a beautiful day here with plenty of sunshine. We climbed through the cloud forest today, although there were some muddy sections we did not get rained on at all. The temperatures were pleasant all day. Our camp is situated right where the forest gives way to the giant heather and it is a beautiful spot for sure. Once we move into our tents we'll have a little tea before dinner and a relatively early bed time. That's it for now. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall and Team

On The Map

After a good night of sleep and a belly full of fresh fruit, bread and an assortment of meats and cheeses we headed out to explore the city a bit. Our hotel is perfectly located in central Moscow with the Kremlin and Red Square just a short walk away, so that's where we headed first. We payed a brief visit to the Red Square then watched the changing of the guard at Russia's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before spending a little more than 2 hours inside the beautiful Kremlin. Once back outside we opted for a tour of the famous Moscow subway which sits hundreds of feet underground and is incredibly efficient and meticulously decorated. Apparently it was built so deep it could double as a bomb shelter during the Cold War years. It was amazing and a little overwhelming too. The team then took a break for lunch and so members took naps and others explored a bit on their own. We have wrapped up the evening with a great meal and a nice little walk. Everyone is still feeling the jet-lag, but doing great otherwise. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Sunday, May 26, 2013 Mike Walter & crew rolled into 11,200' Camp tonight at dinner time looking surprisingly good for just having summited and descending from 17,200' today. They're planning on getting an alpine start tonight in order to descend the lower Kahiltna Glacier while it's frozen. They'll be drinking beers and eating steak soon. Our hats are off to the entire team. Congratulations all! RMI Guide Brent Okita

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

Tuesday, July 20, 2021 2:48 pm PT

We are back in camp with tired legs and full minds after a windy but successful summit bid. We will wrap up our training this afternoon and hike back to trailhead in the morning. 

RMI Guide Alex Halliday & Team

Deja vu happens to people all the time. A familiar face, feeling or experience happening in the present that one is sure has happened in the past. Most of the time this strange phenomenon passes quickly and the day continues on its normal path. Today was a different type of deja vu.  

One year ago at this very time of year, I was on Chimborazo guiding a team of climbers motivated to ascend this beast of a volcano. We were camped at the same camp, had the same tent sights and experienced the same weather. Unfortunately this weather was the kicker. From well below the mountain, a mean looking cloud cap obscured the summit and it was clear that wind, whipped up from the volatile tropics had a grip on the upper mountain with no intention of loosening it. Today, everything from our parking spot to the cloud formations was the same.

We reached high camp at 17,400' at the 3:00 p.m. This section of the climb was actually much more pleasant than expected. Beautiful backdrops of our climbers were framed against the moody upper mountain and the deep red volcanic rock making for amazing color contrast and Kodak moments.  

Once at camp, things began to change and the wind began to pour down the mountain making our tent houses flap. Through dinner the wind didn’t let up. Then around 8:00 p.m., as we were tucked in, things went calm. Exactly like last year. With this sign, I knew what was coming.   

By 9:30 p.m. the atmospheric fan was turned to high. Dust found every tiny opening in the tents covering our sleeping bags and getting into our eyes and mouths. From here on we knew it was going to be an uncertain climb.

At 2:00 a.m. we left our camp with winds so strong we needed to collapse our tents and put rocks on them to keep them from getting destroyed. Last year that’s what happened. Unfortunately an hour into the climb, having been protected by a large rock band, we turned a corner and were greeted with the full force of Chimborazo. With all the local guides urging us to turn back, we were left with little choice. Having only climbed 600 feet, we turned the group around.  

Sometimes the house deals some bad hands. Unfortunately on this trip, two out of three were not winners. Although we didn’t summit Cayambe or Chimborazo, we were blessed with a perfect day on Cotopaxi. We all feel psyched to be heading home soon but a bit disappointed we couldn’t get higher. All in all we had a great journey learning a lot while making life long memories.   

Now we are enjoying a welcome afternoon of football before heading back to Quito and ultimately back home. Thank you all for following our Ecuadorian adventure.   

Hasta Luego!

RMI Guides Adam Knoff, Dustin Wittmier and Team

After a breezy start to last night the wind stop and a million stars made for an great view. Same clear skies this morning affording the glaciers and ice fields hanging at impossible angles overhead. We started a bit later giving some extra rest and a chance for some of the other teams to get ahead of us on the main challenge for the day- right out of camp the Barranco Wall. Most of it feels like steep hiking but a few places require the use of hands to help us ascend. After pulling through one set of ledgers to another, making for great photos, we were on top. A few more hours of hiking some and then some downhill had us here at our next camp, Karanga. This camp is a couple hundred feet higher than last camp. A beautiful spot that overlooks the valley it is named after. The team is in great shape and high spirits. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

The team had a very nice day here on Kilimanjaro, waking to beautiful clear skies and hiking in sunshine all day. We started with a 6:30 wake up and packing before moving into our dining tent for a nice breakfast with porridge, scrambled eggs, toast, bacon fresh fruit and even fresh dark roast Tanzanian coffee. We hit the trail around 9 am and slowly made our way up the rocky trail with incredible views of Kili above. After about five hours we reached our next camp that sits on the Shira Plateau, which is one of the three dormant volcanoes that make up Kili. A lot of wet soggy cloths and gear is now bone dry, getting us back into great shape for our next few days on the trail. All is well at 12,500'. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

As planned, today was our hiking and acclimatizing day at Namche. Since we are now well and truly "at altitude" it pays to go slowly. We'll actually spend three nights here at 11,200 feet before ratcheting up the sleeping altitude again. Light exercise on such days can enhance acclimatization, and so we went for a fine hike. First, we climbed straight up and out of Namche to reach Syangboche, at close to 12,000 ft, then we moved East to gain ridiculously good views of Ama Dablam, Lhotse and Everest. Combined with the already insane vistas to our South and West of Thamserku and Quangde, respectively, it was nearly overwhelming... too much to fully take in. So we walked to the Everest View Hotel, sat on an open terrace and sipped hot lemon juice while pondering the view. It looked quite windy and nasty up high on Lhotse and Everest (Nobody tries to summit in March for good reason) but where we sat it was sunny and calm. We then walked over for lunch in the village of Khumjung and finally up to Khunde before crossing the forested ridge line once again for Namche. It was a great stretch of the legs and lungs on uncrowded and garden-like trails. The afternoon back down in Namche then seemed just perfectly made for napping. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

Clouds followed us up the mountain today from Camp One to Camp Two. Luckily, the group walked strong and we got to 'Chopper Camp' with enough time to set up tents and drink some soup before the snow started. Now, we're all tucked in and waiting to see what the weather does. With a bit of snow in the forecast, we're glad to be nestled in Camp Two instead of on the more exposed slopes of Camp One. The sun, the snow, and the waiting, it's all part of mountaineering, and it keeps things interesting! We'll touch base again tomorrow and let you know how the climb progresses! RMI Guide Katrina Bloemsma & Team

On The Map