Hi this is Seth checking in for Ed, Kevin and Mark. We’ve all returned from Denali safe and sound. We ended our trip without going to the summit which was a disappointment but was the best call for everyone. We had a great time but the unseasonably cold and windy conditions were not condusive to an enjoyable climb for us. For me climbing is all about the experience and the people you share it with and this trip was one of the most enjoyable that I have had. While we did not top out we did return safely. That is the best reward of all.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Ran into this team a few times between base camp and Kahiltna Pass while I was there last week. Got sick and had to descend in a bit of bad weather, so I totally know what it was like up there. Good work all. You had a pretty tight camp.
Posted by: Charles Miske on 5/17/2011 at 1:16 pm
Way to go to all who made it as far as you did. Kevin-we look forward to hearing about the experience & glad you are safe.
Greetings from Russia,
Today the team left the comforts of town and headed up hill to our new home on Elbrus for the next few days. We started our day with a ride in an enclosed ski lift, switched to a gondola, and then finished it off with a single chair lift. This unique transportation system delivered us to 12,000' where we will spend the next few days getting ready for our climb. Our new home is in a series of giant barrels. They are quite nice, especially on days like today where there is a slight blizzard outside.
After our arrival we headed out into the inclement weather for another acclimatization hike. After a few hours of battling the wind and snow we headed back home, had dinner (dill free thankfully) and are currently cozy in our heated barrels.
The team is doing great and we will check in again tomorrow.
Everything and everyone is in place at the tip of South America... ready for a flight to Antarctica. The past few days have been fun, but also a little stressful and hectic. There were the usual assortment of missed flights and lost luggage, but in the end, our team of five climbers made it down the length of the world intact. I arrived two days ago with the bulk of the team equipment and spent a day shopping for extra provisions and getting over jet lag. Today was the official start to things, as we began at 10 AM with our official introductory meeting with ALE (our logistics company for this trip) This orientation was a two-hour long gathering of all those who will be sharing the Ilyushin 76 transport plane with us to Antarctica. Roughly, there are about 25 climbers bound for Vinson who will be the big Russian jet's final customers bound for the Ice this season.
It has been fun to run into old friends and guiding partners down here, as usual. Mike Sharp, one of the principals of ALE, gave our briefing today and had me reflecting back to my first visit to the continent in 1995 when he and I spent a stormy week in a tent together at Jone's Sound on the Antarctic Peninsula. He showed slides of the operation at Patriot Hills and described the program out at Vinson Basecamp. He tried to impress on those assembled just how far from any government bases they would be and how independent and self sufficient the company and its customers must be. Afterward, I walked with my five climbers (we'll meet our second guide, Namgya, down on the ice, where he is already working with other teams) out into the bustling but friendly center of Punta Arenas. This city of 150,000 is a gateway for tourists coming to see Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego as well as Antarctica, but it is also an industrial town of great importance to Chile. We walked the few blocks back toward Magellan's Strait, and into our hotel at the water's edge. The next task was to get rid of the bulk of our gear and supplies. We brought it all downstairs to be weighed and collected on a truck. ALE will do the heavy work of loading the mammoth IL 76 out at the airport today in the hope that we'll get to fly tomorrow morning.
I got together with the team in the evening to go over maps and pictures of the Ellsworth Mountains in order to get everybody up to speed on which glaciers we'd be landing on and climbing up. We discussed strategies and expected hurdles... but I hope that we also got rid of some of the worry and nervousness that stems from choosing a goal in such a far-off and unique environment.
The work done, it was time for a dinner out on the town and a little relaxation. Punta Arenas has great dining spots... but we don't want to visit many more of them. Our hope is that we get a call early tomorrow telling us that the weather window is open and that we should get our boots on and get set for flying to Antarctica.
After getting a peak at Cayambe on our hike yesterday, we were eager to make our way to the mountains. We packed our bags and set off from Quito to Laguna Cuicocha, a beautiful crater lake surrounded by jungles and peaks near to our next hotel in Otavalo. Clouds sat high up in the sky for most of the day, sunlight peaking through for the first half of our circumnavigation of the lake. Just as we hit the parking lot after our 7.5 mile hike, the light sprinkle turned into rain and we hopped in the bus to Itinyaya Residencias, our stay for the night. We chatted by the fire in the main lodge after settling into our rooms and capped off the night with a team dinner of more local meals.
Thursday, June 5, 2014 5:23 PM PDT
It's always a little hard to leave the food you love in a cold dark hole on the glacier...wondering when you can get back there, whether it's going to snow so much that you can't find it again, or if the industrious ravens will dig into it. Fortunately for us, none of the above were issues today, and we completed our cache retrieval without incident.
We started the day with snow showers and overcast skies, and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of bacon, egg and cheese quesadillas with coffee and cocoa (clearly, we're not starving). The food was just the fuel we needed for our two hour mission - we fired downhill, dug up the group gear and food we cached two days ago, and packed up our sleds for the trek back to camp.
The snow continued to fall as we pulled into camp, within 15 minutes we had all the gear stowed and were tucked into our tents, as warm and dry as we can hope to be. Now it's time for a little lunch indulgence with the treats we brought, continued hydration, and resting from the output over the last few days. Tomorrow's plan is a little up in the air - we'll see if the weather cooperates for a carry or if we take a rest day here. Keep it locked in for more updates from the team!
RMI Guides Garrett Stevens, Tyler Jones, and Bryan Hendrick
Hi Paul. We hope that you are continuing to enjoy your climb. We are also hoping that you have good weather, and are looking forward to seeing the pictures of you and your team on the summit.
Love Ronda, Alex, Meeka and Max
Posted by: Ronda Kinneberg on 6/7/2014 at 7:31 pm
Dave, I hope you’re enjoying yourself. The food you all are eating sounds like quite a menu! Please stay safe and keep having fun. All of us on the east coast are thinking of you and looking forward to hearing about you reaching the top!
Mark Tucker checking in. All is going as planned. Gotta love it. Had a very nice sleep in a bed with a big, cozy down blanket last night. Tough to miss the tent time high up the hill, but, suffer we must. Another great breakfast for the team. Our safari Landcruisers were readied last night so all we needed was a quick gear adjustment. We left most of our stuff back at the Dik Dik where we will stop by en route to our international flights in a few nights. On the way here to the fabulous Lake Manyara National Park, we stopped at a shop for a few snacks and had a fabulous time. We are located at the base of the Eastern Great Rift Escarpment where we saw all sorts of animals: giraffes, baboon, [lost connection] and birds. We are now at the Plantation Lodge for two nights. Tomorrow we travel to the eighth wonder of the world, the Ngorongoro Crater.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
RMI Guide Mark Tucker calls in from Day 1 of their Safari.
Hello again everyone,
Things are still going well here at Base Camp. After breakfast most of the climbers went on a hike to keep the blood flowing. We have had enough rest to get us ready for our summit push, now all we have to do is wait for the right weather pattern to show up. Still looks like it will be a few more days though. It's ironic that one of the hardest parts to climbing big mountains is figuring out how to stay relaxed while you wait. If the forecast holds the group should be headed uphill in a week or less.
In the meantime we'll try to keep ourselves busy with the usual, card games, movies, horseshoes, and laying around in our tents.
Keep your fingers crossed for us.
Everyone has made it to Alaska with our bags in tow. After brief introductions we loaded up the shuttle and took off for Talkeetna. The day was beautiful with clear skies and warm temps. After an hour we did a quick pit stop at the grocery store in Wasilla for last minute supplies, mostly beer and cookie dough. Another hour of driving and we arrived in the quaint town of Talkeetna. Unloading the dozens of duffels and supplies really put into perspective the sheer scale of preparing for an expedition of this size. We then relaxed for the evening, had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed the midnight sun.
We had a nice relaxed departure from Karanga camp this morning. After just a few short hours on the trail we found our selves at our high camp on Mt. Kilimanjaro, Barafu Camp. We are moving well today and the same steady tight team pulled into camp. We already emptied our packs and adjusted the load to ready for our summit attempt tonight.
We have our food packed for the summit and enjoyed a hot lunch at camp. We are relaxing this afternoon and taking a rest before an early dinner. After dinner we will try to get a few hours of sleep before our midnight wake up call and game on! The weather continues to stay nice, just a few low clouds now and again but no complaints here. The local support staff has yet to miss a beat and we really appreciate the help. Go team Go. Will try and call you from the top.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Hi Mark!
We missed your call—sorry. And it didn’t work when we tried to call you back. This experience sounds wonderful. We’re happy for you and we love you.
Mother & Daddy
Posted by: Maury & Eviemail Address * on 8/11/2014 at 4:20 pm
We are looking forward to seeing your celebration pics from the summit! Stay safe and enjoy!
As planned, we took a break from mountain climbing today. We rested primarily to catch up on hydration and acclimatization before our assault on high camp and the summit. But since today's weather was a little on the sloppy side, with clouds at all levels, some falling snow and hints of wind aloft, it wasn't a bad day to be taking it easy at low camp. We ate, drank, rested, read, watched TV and listened to music. The teams that went to Vinson's summit yesterday came through on their descent to base today. All seemed well and happy, and of course relieved that they'd gotten to the top before this particular pulse of inclement weather came through. We will just hope it is gentle and short lived. We'd like to move up tomorrow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
It sounds like you have a great team and hoping weather will be on your side to make it to the summit. Here we are all singing “they’ll all be home for Christmas"so God speed. Love, Deb
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Ran into this team a few times between base camp and Kahiltna Pass while I was there last week. Got sick and had to descend in a bit of bad weather, so I totally know what it was like up there. Good work all. You had a pretty tight camp.
Posted by: Charles Miske on 5/17/2011 at 1:16 pm
Way to go to all who made it as far as you did. Kevin-we look forward to hearing about the experience & glad you are safe.
Posted by: Jim Hards on 5/16/2011 at 3:44 pm
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