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Tuesday, June 25, 2024 - 9:33 pm PT

A little bit of a tough one for us. We geared up and started climbing the "autobahn" toward Denali Pass. The team was handling the terrain well but a cold wind got going and our sense was that it was strengthening. We turned at 17,800ft and the wind died before we'd reached camp. It likely would have worked for climbing after all. We turned the day into a rest/acclimatization day and we'll give the summit another try tomorrow. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn 

Howdy everyone back home,

All is well in Tanzania. We’ve had great weather and the team is humming along really well. 

We hit the trail just after 8 am and hiked for an hour before taking our usual 15 minute break, then back on the trail for another hour and so on. All total today we hiked for just over 6 hours before reaching Barranco camp. Our gracious Kilimanjaro porters have been working very hard and we arrive once again to a camp set up and ready for us. 

Along the way we passed around the famous Lava Tower reaching just over 15,000' setting new altitude records for many. We also passed by many of the giant groundsels and towering Senecio trees that made us feel as if we were in some crazy Dr. Suess story. 

The team is in good spirits and doing great. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew

What a difference a day makes!  No more camping and no more climbing.  Today we woke to rainy skies in Usa River, but we woke in comfy hotel beds and got into nice, dry Toyota Land Cruisers.  Our Safari guides: Jakob and Ng’orongo took us west through Arusha and out of the rain into the Maasai country beyond.  We made it to Lake Manyara National Park by midday.  Things started out slowly… a few baboons.  A bird or two.  The odd bushbuck.  At our picnic lunch, the mountain guide on the team suggested there was nothing much remaining to be seen and that we should call it a day and head for the hotel swimming pool.  Nobody listened.  Our safari guides then found a lion asleep under a tree.  Which turned into seven lions when we looked a little closer.  Which turned into seven hungry, hyper, and hunting lions when a cheerful, clueless zebra came strolling along.  Our guides kept us alongside a protracted hunt as the zebra got smart and began to move away along the lakeshore.  The lions - actually five lionesses and two lions - finally pulled the trigger and sprang after the zebra.  We couldn’t quite see that but somehow, they switched prey in the middle of the attack, coming away with a couple of warthogs in their jaws.  The mountain guide on our team admitted that the swimming pool idea had been a poor one and that in ten years of visiting Manyara he hadn’t seen one lion let alone seven making multiple kills.  To drive home the point, we then saw Cape Buffalo, giraffes, and elephants at close quarters and in quick succession.  And THEN we went to the pool.  We were at the Plantation Lodge for sunset and an excellent dinner.  Safari Day One, in the books and exceeding all expectations. 

Best Regards,

Dave

Thursday, June 3, 2021 - 11:37 am PT

We woke up early this morning to try to get the first flight slot out this morning, and optimistically we got our boots on and loaded up the planes. Unfortunately, as things often happen in Alaska, we got turned around just as we were entering the Alaska Range due to low visibility. We are now back in Talkeetna anxiously awaiting our next opportunity to fly. Stay tuned.

RMI Guide JT Schmitt

Today we visited the famous Ngorongoro Crater. The crater is roughly 100 square miles and is known for its abundance of animals that call the crater home.

We hit the road early with hopes of catching a few of the big cats before the heat of the day.

We managed to see several lions, including two young males up close. We also saw seven Black Rhino, which have become very rare due to poaching.

We wrapped up the day with a visit to a Maasai village not far from the craters rim. The Maasai people are a semi-nomadic tribe that exist almost entirely off of their cattle. The team spent time asking questions and enjoyed being shown around their small and simple village.

We have just finished another wonderful meal here at the Plantation Lodge

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

After such a massive and intensely challenging day as our summit bid, today was cruiser... and downhill cruising at that. We woke at 6 AM in the forest, commenting to one another that 10,000 feet was sure an easier altitude for sleeping than 15,000. We enjoyed one last excellent breakfast on the mountain and came out into the morning sunshine for the "gratitude ceremony". Our entire fifty-man staff assembled and began singing. They danced and clapped through the Jambo song, and the Bomba song, then assistant cook Benson took them -laughing- through the Churra song. The laughing became uncontrollable when Peter showed his Minnesota dance moves. Then we did a few small speeches and handed gratuities to each of the staff along with handshakes and “Asante Sanas”. We thanked them very much for helping and befriending us. Minutes later, at 8 AM, we were on the trail and heading down into the rain forest. It took just a few hours to walk carefully down the four thousand vertical feet of slippery trail past some giant trees and a few Colobus monkeys. We shared the track with porters from a number of other expeditions, running at top speed with big loads balanced on their heads. Everybody was ready for the finish. The gang assembled for a final group picture at the Mweka Gate trail sign around 11 AM. Then we dutifully lined up to sign the park service ledger and loaded onto our bus for a short ride to a picnic area. Tosha and our camp waiters, John, Alfredy and Damien, served us an excellent lunch out in the strong sunshine. We said our goodbyes and got on the bus for the big (2.5 hour) ride through the Tanzanian countryside back to Usa River and our lodge. Folks were understandably ready for showers and internet and an easy afternoon of getting ready for Safari. We celebrated over a victory dinner, outside with the monkeys and Dik Diks. The Arumeru staff honored the team with a surprise cake and a song. Finally, we did our toasts and our goodbyes to Joe, who’ll be winging his way home tomorrow while we continue the adventure. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

The Four Day Summit Climb September 16 - 19 led by RMI Guides J.J. Justman and Pete Van Deventer were unable to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier today. The teams aborted their summit attempt at approximately 11,300' due to heavy winds and poor climbing conditions. The teams returned safely to Camp Muir at 7:30 a.m. PT. They began their descent to Paradise at 9:00 a.m. PT. Conditions on the Muir Snowfield are making it necessary for the team to wear crampons below Camp Muir. Congratulations on a safe climb!

Casey called this morning from the hut after a successful summit of Cotopaxi! The team is packing their gear and will be back in Quito today. Congratulations to the team after successful summits of Cayambe and Cotopaxi!

While the rest of the gang set out in the dark for "production work" up and over the ridge to Khumjung, I followed at a more civilized hour with Erica and Ed Dohring. Father and daughter were both feeling fine after two nights and a rest day living the Namche high life. On this calm and sunny morning, we hiked up to Syangboche, the sometimes-used dirt airstrip five hundred feet directly above Namche. The mountains were big and bright and unobscured by any cloud whatsoever. As we came to the forested ridgecrest separating us from the Khumjung Valley, we were granted a big view of Everest and Lhotse with wind tearing ragged cloud banners from their summits. We connected up with the early-morning film squad to find the gang over in the Khumjung Bakery. They finished up breakfast and then together we went out for a few more photos, posing amongst the peaks on a fine spring day. Once this was finished, Ed, Erica and I continued with our acclimatization hike, agreeing to meet one and all back down in Namche in the afternoon. But first we found our way to the deck of the Everest View hotel to enjoy... what else? The Everest view with a couple of plates of French fries at 12,000 plus feet. A humongous brown and gold eagle flew close over our fries on his/her way through the tree tops of the ridge. There were a few other tourists about, but for the most part we'd gotten away from the "crowds" of trekkers and porters on the main trail up-valley. Our walk was quite leisurely and enjoyable, but it was not without purpose. Rest on a rest day is a great and valuable thing, but light exercise at a slightly higher altitude than one is currently sleeping at is also a great way to prepare for actually moving higher. We'll do that tomorrow, assuming that everybody has a manageable last night in Namche. But first, folks are back to resting... enjoying last showers and internet access and shopping in the metropolis of Namche Bazaar.

It’s a beautiful thing, to challenge yourself to something you truly don’t know you can accomplish. You figure out truths about yourself that otherwise would be lost behind the comforts of home and the assuredness of monotony. It’s a beautiful thing to know that despite the outcome of an expedition, you’ll return with a lifelong memory. 

A lifelong memory we sure had. Today was a hard fought battle full of wind, clouds, and sideways snow. On typical summit days we revel in the brief reprieve from the cold at two rest stops, Independencia and the cave. Today, we were met with swirling clouds and snow; nothing but glimpses of the sun as the clouds whipped over Aconcagua. Though we weren’t treated to the views that Aconcagua had to offer we weren’t short of a sense of accomplishment. I am so proud to say that 100% of the team stood on top of the Americas today. We were more than likely the highest people touching the earth at the time. Congrats team. 

I do owe the team an explanation though. Ever since I was a kid, i hated the attribution of the saying “ that’s Just my luck” to mean bad luck. Ever since, whenever something good would happen, I’d say the line. The team heard plenty of it during the trip. Saying “ just my luck” to getting an extra lunch, or when the weather forecast was in our favor. Except you just read the above, the forecast wasn’t exactly in our favor, so what gives. Of course some things don’t go in my favor all the time, weather included, but the team showed up in the best shape of their lives, need I remind you we went 100%. The team showed up ready to mentally handle the hardship and discomfort of the wind, snow, and cold. The team gelled and laughed the entire time. So who gives a shit about the weather. If that’s not “ just my luck” I don’t know what is. 

 Congrats again, Team! For a hard fought summit and an excellent trip. 

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli