The highlight from our walk to Lukla today was the Rhododendron. On the way in, a few trees were blooming here and there but now, it is full on Spring. Almost every tree had buds or flowers in every shade of pink imaginable. It was a sight to see. At one point on the trail, I said “it’s so quiet and peaceful today” and one of our members said “not quiet, serene” and that was spot on. We passed many teams heading uphill but we also had hours to ourselves with birds chirping, the sound of the Dudh Kosi river flowing, and our little feet hitting the ground in a rhythm we are all so familiar with now.
It was a perfect day to reflect on the trip and to tuck away some of these sights and sounds and feelings of serenity somewhere deep in our minds to be able to recall when we need them as we head back home. We made it back to Lukla and tomorrow we fly to Kathmandu, but tonight we had a very special last dinner with our Sherpa guide team and our infinitely strong porter team. We thanked them for letting us be able to experience their country and their beautiful mountains. We would not have been able to do this trip without them.
We had a bit of a false start today. When e got up the winds that have been storming through camp were absent, the sky above clear, though thick, high clouds shrouded the upper mountain. As we finished breakfast, the side started to creep back, the clouds crept up and down to meet at us, and things started to look more marginal. We dragged our feet and started to see an improving trend, so we decided to go for it, knowing we could turn around and head for a snug camp if it didn't work out. We climbed Motorcycle Hill our of camp in some low visibility, but otherwise pleasant conditions, but as we crested to the ridgeline, the wind found us, cooler than a polar bears toenails. With less than optimal visibility, increasing winds, and a significant stretch of climbing in front of us, we decided to retreat back to camp.
In the end, it was nice to stretch the legs and we'll be ready when the mountain opens her arms and says come on up.
Looks so unbelievably beautiful!!! Keep sending pics - we can at least imagine we are there with you. :D
Posted by: Monica Deckard on 5/22/2021 at 10:28 pm
That image of the mountain opening her arms to your group is quite lovely. May she see fit to do that sooner than later. Nice to stretch your legs, Hope better weather arrives soon.
It was a cold night here at Low Camp last night. Frost formed on the edges of our sleeping bags from our breaths and we woke up to rings of frost crystals around us. Once the sun poked over the ridge line things began to warm up and before long we were moving about camp without too much chill. The plan was to carry a small load of food and fuel to high camp to prepare for our summit bids. Since our loads were manageable and we are nursing what rest we can at lower altitudes, we worked in tandem with a group from ANI and Penn and I made the carry to high camp while Jon traversed the glacier to a col on the far side of the valley.
We set off in the early afternoon with (relatively) warm temps and no wind. We skinned up the base of the fixed lines that ascend a broad face to a ridge line that leads to the upper portions of the Vinson Massif. Transitioning at the base of the fixed lines, we put our skis on our backs and strapped crampons on and began climbing. We spent the next several hours climbing the ~3,000' face, watching the glacier shrink away below us and the mountain tops above loom larger as they drew nearer. As we neared the top of the fixed lines a low but sharp wind kicked up and the temperatures instantly plummeted. We bundled up and climbed the final hour or so into high camp doing our best to conceal any bit of skin from the biting winds. The winds died as we reached high camp and we were able to warm up a bit as we stowed our gear in preparation for our move up there. It was a spectacular evening, the glaciers below us flowed out into the low hanging clouds below while to both sides of us the rugged ridge lines of the Massif reared up from below. Above us a half full moon hung above the summit of Mt. Shinn, Vinson's neighbor, and looked so close that is seemed like only a quick detour would get us to it and back again.
With our packs emptied we strapped on our skis and started back down. The skiing was slow and conservative right out of high camp as we picked our way through the wind affected snow, finding a line through the tall curls of snow carved out by the Antarctic gusts. The snow was firm and smooth along the top ridge line of the fixed lines and we chose to belay ourselves down that to keep ourselves safe. Once onto the face the sun had softened the surface and we were able to link up great turns for several thousand feet all the way down to the Branscomb Glacier below.
We returned to camp by late evening and quickly set about cooking dinner and sharing our observations and insights about the route above with Jon. With our gear in place, we're hoping for a decent forecast tomorrow morning to make our move to high camp and shoot for the summit in the following days. We're back in the tent at Low Camp enjoying the warm midnight sun (as ironic as that sounds) and burrowing into our sleeping bags in preparation for another chilly night down here.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory & team
PS: Roll tide!
Great work, guys. So amazing to get a phone call from Camp 1 last night! Tell us more about the temps (highs and lows) and keep it up. Love to all from Aspen
The Kautz Expedition Skills Seminar has wrapped things up. We had a fun time in what proved to be challenging weather and we're all happy to be warm and cozy now.
Our trip started in clouds and light precip on day one but due to the fact we had a strong team we were able to set up a great camp for our first night. On the second day we had the best weather of the trip and were able to establish a higher camp at 'the castle'. Here we spent that afternoon digging in and building walls to protect our tents from a forecasted storm.
The storm hit us overnight and we spent the next day in-the-mix as I like to say. Our walls did the trick though and we were in relative comfort as the storm raged all arounds us.
Once the storm broke we hightailed it downhill through over a foot of new snow!
After being pinned down for our climbing bid we were all a bit disappointed but we all agreed that it was a truly remarkable experience. It was all smiles as we said 'cheers' at our wrap up celebration back in Ashford.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Our Four Day Summit Climbs led by Brent Okita and JJ Justman were standing on Columbia Crest at 7:05am PST this morning. According to Guide Brent Okita “It’s a beautiful and clear morning up here with a chilly breeze from the north." The teams will be spending some time on the summit before they make their descent back to Camp Muir.
Our Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise led by Adam Knoff also checked in this morning their training is going very well. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today for his 100th time!
Congratulations to our Four Day Summit Climb teams and a special congratulations to Seth Waterfall!
We made it to Piedra Grande!
After getting blasted by snow on Ixta and hearing grim reports of bad roads, we're pleasantly supprised to have a bit of good luck today. The sun came out this morning as we left Puebla and we were treated to an excellent view of El Pico de Orizaba as we aproached the village of Tlachichuca. After packing and a late breakfast we headed out in four wheel drive trucks, hoping to get at least half way to the hut at Piedra Grande. Fortunately we were able to get within a few miles and a truck with our gear made it to within 1.5 miles of the hut. We had sunny but cool weather as we hiked the road, which made for pleasant walking conditions. We have just finished dinner and we're all looking forward to roping up and trying for the summit tonight. I'll check in tomorrow. If all goes well, we'll be on the summit.
UPDATE: September 6, 2023 10:59am PT Mike Walter and Team summit Mt. Shuksan via the Sulphide glacier in beatuiful weather. Nice work team!
We had a great day if training on the Sulphide glacier today. We covered snow and ice anchors, anchor systems, crevasse rescue, and did some ice climbing out of a crevasse. The weather forecast looks promising and we hope to try for the summit tomorrow morning. I'll check in tomorrow, hopefully from the top of Shuksan!
RMI Guides Mike Walter, Sam Hoffman and the Team on the Sulphide
I'm not too big of a man to admit...our adventure is officially over...and I'm actually sad. Our team took off early this morning after a grand finale here in St Petersburg. We had a tour of all the historical sites and finished with a great canal tour.
I want to thank every team member who I now consider friends. And ask my 3rd grade school teacher Ms. Buchanan, I have a tough time making friends!
Yes, we climbed Elbrus. Yes, we all made the summit. And yes, we all had a safe climbing experience...always number one on the list.
But for some reason this team was pretty much the same as all my RMI teams from the past. They were AWESOME!! I can't wait to climb with all of them again. Plans are already being made for Vinson and Aconcagua.
In the meantime, here is a short video of how we ended our time on this incredible adventure...
RMI Guide JJ Justman
It is the end of a long, long day that technically began yesterday. I know this sounds a bit odd but my alarm was set for 10:45 pm last night, the 12th. This is one of the least appealing parts of climbing big mountains, knowing you have a huge day to come on average with three hours of sleep. But lucky for the guides and each other, our team was totally motivated. So began the ascent of the equators only snow covered place, Nevado Cayambe at18,997 feet.
From the hut, our route began with an hour and half of rocks and scree ascending 1,000 feet to the start of the glacier. Once on the glacier, newly accumulated snow, which had softened and then frozen, provided perfect climbing conditions up the long sustained glacier. By the time we reached the summit head wall, the temperatures were in the low teens, the wind was blowing and we all climbed to the top in our down parkas. And people thought we were going to Ecuador to get out of winter.
The summit was beautiful offering grand views of our next two mountains, Antisana and Cotopaxi, as well as Quito and Chimborazo. This is what makes the early wake up call, freezing temperatures and exhausted bodies worth it. We took seven hours to get to the top and rallied down in three. Unfortunately, both phones carried by Nick and me died in the cold before the top so a group photo will be coming later.
After getting down and packing up, we hiked 30 minutes down to meet Victor and the magic bus to be carried off to our next accommodations, Papallacta. Here we enjoyed a fantastic meal but most importantly, natural thermal hot tubs. Which reminds me, it's time for a soak.
We are off to Antisana later today. Wish us luck.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
Hi there, this is Seth wrapping up a month in Africa. Most of my recent team has flown out of the Kilimanjaro area, with some folks headed home and others to Zanzibar. A few hardy souls headed back into the wilderness early this morning to join some bushmen on a hunt.
As for myself, I spent the day handing the reins here over to my buddy and fellow RMI Guide, Casey Grom. He's just beginning back-to-back Kilimanjaro Climb and Safari adventures like I just did.
Everything is running great with our local team from the Dik Dik Hotel. I'm a little sad to leave them but other adventures await. I'm headed straight to Moscow to meet a new team. We'll be tackling the north side of Mt. Elbrus and that should be a grand adventure!
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
I bumped into Solveig on the way up to Muir on Saturday. She was her usual smiley self in a lime green puffy and pink vest. Couldn’t miss her!!! She told me you were off to Elbrus. Lucky you! One of these days I’ll get myself on a travel adventure with RMI and hope you are the guide! Hope to catch up when you sit still long enough. Cheers, Jo
Posted by: Josephine on 8/20/2013 at 4:17 pm
Seth, thank you for your daily updates. I know Mark Miller had a great time and what an experience for you all. Thanks to RMI for their help in us that could not to. Cornelia Miller
Posted by: Cornelia Miller on 8/19/2013 at 11:29 am
Welcome back down! Thank you to the guides for the wonderful posts. Loved reading the wonderful descriptions about your days.
Posted by: Jill on 4/4/2024 at 4:42 pm
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