We've now recovered from the last round up high. Most coughs are gone and the sunburns have faded. We are each getting stronger now and ready to get on with the climb to the summit. But of course, the weather isn't quite stable enough yet for that last climb. Jet stream winds continue to scour the upper mountain. Basecamp has been uncharacteristically breezy and cool for the past few days, although not unpleasant. There is hope for a break in the winds in a week or so, which... as it turns out... coincides with the dates we've always assumed would work best for our team anyway. A few teams are reportedly up at Camp III now and set on finding a lull in these next few days. We wish them luck and salute their boldness... but we don't envy them. The mountain is tougher in tough conditions. Our team is passing the time with hikes, card games, chess, horseshoes and fine dining.
Last night we were honored to have Apa Sherpa join us for dinner. Apa will be trying for his record 20th summit of Mount Everest as we go for ours and is a great hero and friend.
RMI's Denali climbing season is officially underway. Our May 10th Denali Expedition team met yesterday at the Anchorage airport and travelled north to the town of Talkeetna. We will spend today packing our gear and preparing for our expedition, as well as attending an expedition orientation meeting with the National Park Service. The plan is to have all of the T’s crossed and the I’s dotted by this evening so that we’re ready to fly into Kahiltna Base Camp tomorrow, weather permitting. We’ll keep you posted…
Another day of perfect weather on Kilimanjaro. We’re starting to feel lucky. A few of the team ventured out in the dark last night to capture long exposure shots of the night sky and the moonlit mountain. At dawn we were far above the clouds and in perfectly calm and clear conditions. We set out from 13,300' Karanga Camp around 9:00 AM on a moderate but steady grade. Before long we reached the end of any vegetation and came into the Alpine zone. Without tree cover, we could see all of our neighboring expeditions and all of their associated porters moving as if in some mass migration. Hundreds of people with loads on their backs and or heads, all moving steadily toward Barafu Camp (Swahili for “ice”) at 15,000'. We arrived in short order at 11:30 AM, with everybody feeling strong. Our purposely easy afternoon was spent lounging about, eating, drinking and prepping for tonight’s summit bid. Normally folks lose their appetite at altitude, but Chef Tosha prepared a fine spaghetti dinner and none of our team let it go to waste. After dinner, it was a tough thing to quit watching the beautiful sunset and fading light, but the gang retired to the tents early. We’ll be up in just a handful of hours for our alpine start and a climb to the Roof of Africa.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Hello-
Everyone has safely arrived here in Ecuador and are doing well after the long flights. We started our day with a team meeting where we did a round of introductions and discuss our upcoming program. Shortly after our meeting we headed out to explore this beautiful old city with our tour guide Edison. He took us to visit the basilica and the old part of town dating back to the 1600's. We made a stop atop a hill that overlooks the city called La Panacea, and took in the view of this long and narrow city of over 2 million.
We then made our way north to visit the equator which gives Ecuador it's name. There's a small museum there with a few interactive displays that amused us. But most importantly we stood on the equator itself!
After our brief visit we made our way back to our hotel in downtown Quito where we took a break before heading to dinner. The team opted for a place called the Magic Bean that's known for its tasty food and fresh juices.
Everyone is doing well and looking forward to getting a little exercise tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
June 23, 2014 - 7:31 pm PT
We decided that today would be a great day to do some more acclimatization at 14,000' on Mt. McKinley. Instead of carrying our gear higher we decided to rest today and then retrieve our gear on our move to 17,000' tomorrow. The team is feeling strong and we are feeling very positive about a good summit bid once we get into position at seventeen. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather for us for a few days!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen and Team "The Ocho"
Hi there, we are all back at the Dik Dik Hotel and everyone is getting ready for their flights. In fact the first trip to the airport is about to leave.
We had a nice morning at Kikoti Camp and then made a quick lap back through Tarangire. On the way we saw a huge herd of elephants as well as a pack of jackals, giraffes, impala and a really impressive eagle. We also did some more shopping on the way back to town.
Everyone is talking about what a great trip it was and I have to agree it was a blast. We're all a little bummed that the trip is over but with this group, I know it won't be long before they're all on another adventure.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Capitalizing on a break in the weather the high winds subsided just long enough to allow us to move up to 17,000 feet for our high camp on Denali. After moving in last night we hunkered down with some full bellies and awoke to a little bit higher winds than we were hoping for, but we're in good shape sitting tight up here at 17 just sort of waiting and watching the weather, so that's all from 17K camp. And I will be checking in soon. Alright. Bye.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Jake Beren checks in after the team's move to 17,000' Camp
Jake, I was just thinking about your BIG day tomorrow and checked in to see if you were still up on the mountain… looks like you are holding strong up there. Sending you some sunshine and awesome weather tomorrow. Hopefully a summit and down for steak and cake soon :) Happy Birthday! hugs, C
Posted by: KC on 6/25/2011 at 9:10 pm
Jake! Happy Birthday!! Once again you’re on a mountain top at the time of your birthday—so no presents for you, my Beemish Boy. I hope your clients are aware that they lucked out, when they drew you as a guide. How does the the iPad respond to the cold? Stay warm!
Love,aged P’s
Jambo!
Kaboom went the thunder, down came the rain. Thank goodness we were in our very comfortable rooms at the Dik Dik hotel.
After breakfast our vehicles were loaded and ready, we climbed aboard and began the drive to Kilimanjaro's Machame gate (5,900') where our climb began.
We had perfect conditions for the climb today. With the beginning of the climb located in the rainforest it can be a tough start with high heat and humidity. Not for this group of lucky folk, light clouds, mild temps is what we had to deal with. Happy is this guide with the performance of his team today, everyone is looking strong and feeling great.
We are now at the Machame camp, the first of many.
Lots to do, dispatch with ya all tomorrow.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Everyone has arrived and our trip officially began this morning. We met for breakfast and enjoyed beautiful spread of native fruits and juices, Ecuadorian breakfast dishes, breads, and of course coffee. We started our trio this morning with a tour of the 'old town' Quito - visiting the Basilica and the Presidential Palace, seeing different styles of colonial Ecuadorian architecture, and learning much of the history of Ecuador - from the pre-Incan culture of the Quitu Caras all the way through to the present-day Ecuador.
Next we headed slightly north of Quito to visit La Mitad del Mundo, or the middle of the world. This is the term used to signify the site of the Equator, Ecuador's namesake. At the Equator, we toured an ethnographic museum and experienced some physical phenomena associated with being exactly on the Equator.
We'll have a relaxing dinner at The Magic Bean, a popular restaurant/cafe in the Mariscal district of Quito. I will check in tomorrow after the team's first training hike up Rucu Pichincha.
Not so much to report today. We were up early and off to the airport to begin our Gokyo trek. But it was raining as we passed through the streets of Kathmandu. It turned out that it was rainy and cloudy at our destination -Lukla- as well. Our gear was loaded on the helicopter and everyone and everything was ready… except for the weather. There were periods of clearing at either Kathmandu or Lukla, but never at both. And ultimately, by 2 PM (we’d been at the airport since 6 AM) the weather was still bad at both ends and getting worse. We called it quits for the day. So we finished back at the comfortable -and increasingly familiar- Yak and Yeti hotel. We’ll give it another try tomorrow.
I am excited to be able to follow the progress of your expedition! Go Hank and all! Safe, exciting adventure to everyone.
Posted by: Beth on 5/14/2021 at 6:01 pm
Prayers and fingers crossed for good weather and success…Go Hank and the entire team!
Posted by: Nancy Thoenes on 5/14/2021 at 6:50 am
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