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Sunday, March 31, 2024 - 7:10 am PT

All evening and into the night the wind ripped through our high camp and with the wind, snow and snow and snow. I laid awake thinking about if we were even going to be able to leave our camp for a Lobuche summit attempt. Just after 1:00am, the winds seemed to settle but there was a fresh 4 inches of snow. It was beautiful but when you have a couple hours of walking on steep slabs of rock - fresh snow isn’t ideal. The Lobuche team left high camp at 2:30am and immediately what should have been some of the easiest climbing of the day proved remarkably difficult. We set fixed lines, and worked together to keep moving uphill. It took a lot of guts and a lot of perseverance to keep climbing. After nearly 5 hours, we made it to Crampon Point at 18,300 feet. It’s been a very dry winter here in the Himalayas and the glacier was in rugged condition. Up steep ice steps and even some rock/ice/mixed climbing thrown into a mountain and a route that’s usually much smoother. The weather held steady and we had the time to keep pushing and I’m happy to report we stood on top after over 9 hours of climbing. The views were remarkable all day - mountains beyond mountains and this one feels special because of the effort and heart of this team. Thankfully, that sun blasted those 4 inches of snow and we were able to make it down in about 3 hours and without any of the additional fixed lines we had to set in the early morning hours. We were welcomed in camp with warm soup and fried rice and we are all now tucked in bed for some well-earned rest. What an adventure! We’re all looking forward to heading to Pangboche tomorrow and dropping to below 16,000 feet for the first time in 6 days. Thick air, here we come!

RMI Guide Jess and the Lobuche climbing team 

Saturday, March 30, 2024 - 11:10 pm PT

Hi there! Conditions were tough on Lobuche today but I'm happy to report this team is tougher. We're standing on the summit now and will head down soon. Will share more about this epic day when we make back to high camp tonight!

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From RMI Guide Sam Marjerison & The Everest Base Camp Team

We woke up to clear skies this morning and new snow on the ground here in Pheriche. After enjoying a lovely breakfast filled with coffee and lots of Tibetan bread, we had a restful day in the sun which was greatly appreciated. 

Some of us spent the day reading and walking through the town of Pheriche, others caught up on sleep. 

Jess and the Lobuche team reached the summit at around 12pm and reported tough conditions. They are back at high camp and resting before they meet up with the rest of the team in Pheriche tomorrow. We will report back tomorrow when we are all one big group headed downhill. 

RMI Guides Sam, Jess and Crew 

Sleeping in a bed again is pretty good, we decided. Even so, we didn’t sleep late this morning. We got driving west by 8 AM, excited to be on Safari. We made a brief stop on the edge of Arusha for provisions and then pushed farther west in our two Land Cruisers. 

Our guides, Jacob and Emmanuel, explained that the arid zone we were traversing was Maasai country. We began seeing herds of cattle being marched to and from dusty waterholes by men and boys. We passed many “bomas” which were clusters of huts around a central animal corral. 

Finally, we came to lush vegetation again on the shores of Lake Manyara and entered the National Park of the same name. Our first animal sightings were of waterbucks in the dense forests. Then bushbucks. Before long we were adding elephants and Cape buffalo to our rapidly growing list. Naturally there were plenty of monkeys and baboons.  We enjoyed a picnic lunch on the shore of the vast lake and then got back on the dusty roads in search of more.  Eventually we saw zebras and impala and warthogs.  One shy giraffe appeared momentarily.  There were egrets and eagles and hornbills. 

As the afternoon stretched on, we headed for the park gate and drove up the steep escarpment to the Ngorogoro Highlands… out of the great rift valley.  In Karatu our drivers took a side road through fields full of crops out to the Plantation Lodge.  We enjoyed a very civilized evening sipping cocktails in a splendid bar in a splendid garden.  Dinner was delicious… but we admitted to missing Tosha’s miraculous mountain cooking.  You can take the climber out of the mountains, but…

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

On The Map