Another day closer to the one we fly on... But not noticeably. The weather in Punta Arenas -which is not the problem for flying to Antarctica- was just slightly ridiculous today. Rain and snow showers alternated with sun and wind bursts, over and over again. We still got in some great walks, going south to the wreck of The Lord Lonsdale... a great hulking steel square rigger, beached and evocative of bygone eras. We sampled coffee shops and dining spots. We waited patiently. Conditions at Union Glacier are not yet good... But they will be soon enough and we will go climbing.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
The American Lung Association - Climb for Clean Air led by Jake Beren and our Four Day Summit Climb led by Andres Marin made it to the summit of Mt. Rainier today. The teams had cool temperatures with wind gusts from 35 – 40 mph. As the teams started their descent to Camp Muir winds started to calm and conditions were quite nice.
Congratulations to today's teams!
After a final long day of walking we at last reached the end of the road today, arriving back at Lukla by late afternoon. With clear skies greeting us this morning we left Namche and dropped down the steep and dusty Namche Hill to the banks of the Dudh Kosi. Retracing our first days of walking several weeks ago, we wound our way along the river, through villages and fields of wheat and barley. With many miles under our feet already, and the altitude finally on our side, we made good time, quickly covering the miles between Namche and Lukla. The final hour was spent climbing the long but gentle ascent back into Lukla, arriving tired but happy, we sat down to a treat of apple struddel at our favorite bakery here in celebration of completing the trek.
The clouds have settled in on Lukla but a good forecast is issued for tomorrow. With luck we will hope on our plane first thing in the morning and be back in Kathmandu shortly thereafter!
(Voicemail from Linden)
Hello, this is Linden calling. It is Sunday evening our time and we are calling from Everest Base Camp. We left Lobuche this morning with our nicest weather yet. We stopped in Gorak Shep for morning tea and continued through the glacier, ice and morraine to arrive at Base Camp by mid afternoon.
Our Sherpa team has been working really hard up here these last few weeks and have established our camp and been getting things ready for our Everest Expedition team.
We enjoyed lunch and a relaxing afternoon here at Everest Base Camp looking back through the valley where we have just traveled.
Our team is doing well and feeling very strong. We made great time today. We plan to do some training tomorrow at Base Camp in preparation for our Island Peak Climb. We will check in again tomorrow.
We hiked to 15,400' on Ixtacchuatl to put our camp in for the evening. The team did great and we got some clear skies and a nice view of Orizaba. Our plan is to wake up around midnight and head for the summit of Ixta. We'll check in tomorrow regardless of our high point or weather. Thanks for following along and fingers crossed for clear weather and calm winds.
Monday, June 17, 2019 - 1:06 AM PT
After a rainy arrival in Talkeetna last night, we had a nice day to get our massive amount of gear ready to be flown on the glacier tomorrow. Our meeting with the Denali National Park rangers was great as always and we were rewarded with 20 CMC's (clean mountain cans) to make sure that all of our human waste gets removed from the mountain. Denali is a pristine mountain and the park service does an incredible job of making sure it stays that way.
We are scheduled to fly into base camp tomorrow morning. The group is hopeful that the weather allows us to fly at some point tomorrow so our adventure can begin and all of our climbers' hard work and anxious packing can start to pay off. Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen & Team Siete
Best wishes for good weather and a safe flight. I think I am as excited for the team as you are!
Posted by: Kristi (AKA Tym's Mom) on 6/18/2019 at 5:52 pm
Mike and team,
Hope you landed safely. CMC sounds so 21st century. Lol! But hey, happy Denali is being kept clean. Everest peoples are trying so hard to clean mountain up, but it’s years worth of refuse, and the deceased. So basically, y’all have to carry your own doggie bags, I mean CMCs.
Mark Tucker checking in. We are presently located at the airport, Kilimanjaro International. Great views of the mountain on the way here. We spent a few hours on the road today. Got through Tarangire one last time, saw many animals as expected. Had a lovely snack at the fabulous Dik Dik Resort, hot showers, and everybody is good to go. We are winging our way back home. Looking forward to seeing everybody in the states. Thanks for following the trip.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
It is fascinating how much the weather can test us. One more day of a strong storm kept us in camp, but we find things to do to keep ourselves busy.
Here is how the day went for us:
Woke up with about a foot of new snow, had to do some maintenance in camp before any items got buried. Then time to eat breakfast. Lisa, Kahiltna Basecamp Manager, rallied everybody in basecamp to stomp the runway, then we did a class in avalanche decision making and transceiver and probing work. After dinner, Akira finished snow blocks to make an arch that marks the entrance of our bathroom. Impressive work!!! Now it is time for us to go sleep.
The strong front that is passing should start weakening tomorrow. High hopes for that.
We all are staying happy and learning from the mountain.
Living the dream!!!!
RMI Guide Andres Marin
We have all arrived safely in Talkeetna and have settled in to our rooms in the Talkeetna motel. The team spent the evening telling stories and getting to know each other a little better. Since most of the team are already friends and have climbed together on other mountains it was mostly the guides that needed to get caught up with the back stories and inside jokes.
We will spend Wednesday checking in with the National Park Service Rangers, doing final gear checks, packing and enjoying the sunshine here in town. The weather forecast is promising for flying to the glacier tomorrow first thing on Thursday. We will check in again tomorrow as our adventure on Mt. McKinley begins.
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Cheers from the whole team;
Andy, Ian, James, Tim, Steve, Mike, Pete and Walt
Best wishes for good weather and a safe flight. I think I am as excited for the team as you are!
Posted by: Kristi (AKA Tym's Mom) on 6/18/2019 at 5:52 pm
Mike and team,
Hope you landed safely. CMC sounds so 21st century. Lol! But hey, happy Denali is being kept clean. Everest peoples are trying so hard to clean mountain up, but it’s years worth of refuse, and the deceased. So basically, y’all have to carry your own doggie bags, I mean CMCs.
Posted by: Susan Moore on 6/17/2019 at 9:51 pm
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