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Hello all Most everyone slept well last night and we started the day with our wonderful support staff bring us hot tea and warm washing water to our tent this morning. We had nice breakfast of fresh fruit, fried eggs and of course plenty of fresh coffee. We hit the trail today on Mt. Kilimanjaro around 8am and climbed up a moderately narrow ridge that lead all the way up to the Shira Plateau where we traversed into camp. It was mostly cloudy today which didn't allow for many views but did make for some really nice hiking temperatures. The team made good progress today on the rocky trail pausing only for some porters to pass and of course taking a break every hour for water and snacks. We are currently resting in camp enjoying the warmth of the sun and taking in our first views of Kilimanjaro. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

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Greetings from Everest Base Camp. This is Seth. Well our first wave has made the move to Camp One. Dave Hahn and Leif Whittaker are all set up there and are planning on spending three days acclimatizing before returning to Basecamp. Casey Grom, Chad Peele, Scott Jones and Rob Suero enjoyed a rest day today, while Wendy Booker and myself did a up-and-back mission into the icefall early this morning. Everyone is hanging tough and the teams down here are looking forward to joining Dave and Leif at Camp One in the next few days. We'll be working out the final details of the timing this evening. Some of our Sherpa team is spending the night at Camp Two tonight. They are getting this set up and ready for the rest of the team to start using the camp. The Sherpas that have remained at Basecamp are resting up before going to the Lhotse Face to participate in the 'fixing party'. This is when Sherpas from many different teams install ropes from just above Camp Two to the South Col. Once those ropes are in place the teams can start moving gear up to Camps Three and Four in preparation for the summit bids. The excitement is starting to build here. The climbing has begun!

Wednesday, July 3, 2019 - 10:22 PM PT Yet another snowy, cloudy morning at 14,000' Camp. There was less wind today though, so it was easier to be outside. It wasn’t a day for moving up or down the mountain -everybody stayed put. We found diversions, like remodeling the walls of our bathroom and kitchen and generally just digging holes in the snow. There was a brief clearing around noon, but then things clouded up again and the wind appeared to ramp up on the South Peak. We did a mid-afternoon quesadilla session and then logged a little tent time. In the evening we attended a barbecue. The final National Park Service ranger patrol of the season is tasked with packing up the NPS camp at 14K and they decided they had too much meat. Not wanting it to go to waste, they invited all the remaining teams on the mountain to come over to socialize and get a cheeseburger, which we did. There were about fifty of us standing out in the snow, comparing home towns and countries and climbing goals. Up at 17,000 there may be another 25 climbers waiting for a weather break, but they are sadly out of cheeseburger range. Believe it or not, we STILL like the forecast. We’ll get moving again tomorrow or the next day. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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We didn’t get much sleep last night due to 40 mph winds ripping through camp. If 40 mph doesn’t sound that bad, try this: next time you’re riding in a car, stick your head out the window when you hit 40. Now imagine your whole body is hanging out the window. Now imagine it’s 15 degrees. Now imagine that instead of a car made of aluminum, glass, and steel, you’re inside of a tent made of nylon. It’s not great, but we endured the night no worse for the wear. After our blustery overnight, we started the morning slowly, keeping an eye on the ridge above camp. The wind seemed to be dying down, and eventually it reached a level that we thought was appropriate for moving uphill. We broke down our home at Camp One, and headed uphill around noon. It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day, but not without a consistent breeze. After about three and a half hours we pulled into our new neighborhood, set up camp, and began the time honored expedition tradition of straight chillin’. Mac and cheese for dinner, some sunset photos, and then off to bed for this crew. Tomorrow we’ll take another rest day, and then we will see what kind of weather the mountain gives us. RMI Guides JM Gorum, Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello

On The Map

June 25, 2014 - 10:42pm PT Here I sit in my tent Wondering where the day went A rest day at eleven camp for the team With people in and out of their dreams Mike Haugen and troupe passed through Delivering a pee bottle to Adam -- woohoo! For breakfast we had chocolate and pb pancakes (booya!) While we watched the snow flakes. For now the wind is pretty strong, and hopefully we won't have to shovel all night long. RMI Guides Adam Knoff, Lindsay Mann and Andy Hildebrand

June 14, 2014 - 4:00 pm PT It's another rest/weather day here at 14k camp, and we've decided to combat a few hours of down time with a fun dispatch game called add-on! We're going to pass the phone around and let folks contribute their own voice to the blog today...have fun guessing who wrote what! So there I was tied up to Denali....eating cheez its, looking for makin bacon. Wondering how long before I will be done piggin out. Just like our bacon pieces we were fryin. Hard days are made easier by good company, good food, great views and most of all encouraging blog comments...and Jerry.. Yes, the comments are great and looking forward to those promised margaritas at Amado's.. And the mountain diet will defo put magic into the armadillo hoppyum combo. The coffee could be better too bad there is no Berres brothers coffee. I would prefer Jim Beam but whatever, I guess better coffee would work for now. I think Charlie Brown ran past my tent. I guess I will go back to the posh and listen to Jimmy Buffett and wait for my cheese burger in paradise. And there you have it. Some of these may be references to very personal items - we decided it was probably better not to ask too many questions. Time keeps on slippin' by here in advanced base camp, but spirits are high and team No Troubles is ready when the mountain gives us a chance. Hasta pronto! RMI Guides Garrett Stevens, Tyler Jones, Bryan Hendrick and the crew

On The Map

June 14, 2014 - 10:37 am PT Despite a marginal forecast, we awoke to perfectly workable conditions. Packing up our cacheables, we busted moves up the hills Motorcycle and Squirrel to get to the Polo Fields. There it began to snow lightly but never got too bad and we were able to make it all the way to Mt. McKinley's 14K Camp in great style. At 14K, we ran into our friends on the other RMI teams and always great to see some friendly faces in such a wild zone. Tomorrow we plan to rest up and move as soon as the weather allows. RMI Guide Jake Beren

May 26, 2014 - 5:18 pm PT Hello everyone! Saying hello from Talkeetna, Alaska! We made it off this afternoon despite the evil forecast. This morning we left 9,700' and walked down glacier into deep clouds that retreated as we made our way to Kahiltna Base Camp. All day we heard and saw fleets of airplanes coming in and by mid afternoon we were on one of them. So the team is safe and sound taking showers and indulging in vices. It's been a fantastic trip with a great group. Thanks for tuning in! RMI Guide Leon Davis

We moved up-valley to Deboche today. Morning in Namche was pleasant but we had places to go and things to see. We hit the trail by 8:30 and walked easily along the traverse trail leaving town. At first we were mixed in with a few trekking groups and strings of pack animals, but after a little while we had the trail to ourselves. We'd have loved to have been able to hang on to our hard-won altitude, but it was necessary to give plenty of it back as we needed to drop all the way down to the river to get across and take on the Thyangboche Hill. We worked slow-and-steady up the hillside trail, gaining about fifteen hundred vertical feet in an hour and a half. Along the way, we got great views of Kangtega with its giant walls of rock topped by hanging glaciers, but these views were surpassed when we reached the hilltop and saw Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse and Ama Dablam spread out before us and doing battle with the wind and clouds. Thyangboche Monastery sat like a palace at the ridge crest behind elaborate and ornate gates. We took our packs off for a few minutes and tried to take it all in, but we were only twenty minutes walk from Deboche at this point and lunch had taken on great importance to the team, so we shouldered packs once more and set off down through the rhododendron forests to our lodge at 12,200 ft above sea level. The afternoon passed with food and naps and a break from the distractions of the internet, since WiFi was not readily available. We are not quite in the wilderness yet, but we can see it from here. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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Rugged and rough is a great way to describe the ascent to Aconcagua Camp One. The team carried gear to cache at 16,400 feet. The last stretch into camp is a light and fluffy scree section that can sometimes cause folks to spin your wheels. Our team managed fine and we hung out for a half an hour in the thin air. We cached a couple of duffel bags filled with food and gear that we will need higher on the mountain. We are now back in Basecamp once again enjoying the good life! RMI Guide JJ Justman

On The Map