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Friday, June 29, 2018 - 5:00 PM PT
Good evening!
Alpamayo crew reporting from Camp 1, a.k.a. moraine camp. We just had a nice dinner with the most beautiful alpenglow so far on this trip. Gaining elevation today to our camp was an easy task, and everyone did a great job managing the rocky and slabby terrain carved by the glacier that drops from the Alpamayo-Quitaraju Col. We ditched 20 minutes from our carry day... and it's only a 2h journey! That's a big chunk and these climbers are keeping these guides psyched. We're ready to move to high camp tomorrow, should everyone have a good night tonight... So wish us sweet dreams, and stay tuned!
RMI Guide
ElÃas de Andres Martos and team.
Day 2 on Safari had us visiting the world famous
Ngorongoro Crater. The crater is what remains of a once massive volcano that erupted and collapsed on itself, leaving behind a giant caldera that's almost exactly 100 square miles. In the 2 million years since then, hundreds of animals have taken up residence and have created one of the best Safari options in Africa.
We hit the road early with hopes of catching a few more animals before the heat sent them in search for shade. Shortly after descending down into the crater we came upon several lions with 6 really cute cubs. We continued driving around trying not to stop at all the zebra, wildebeest, and Cape buffalo that were nearly in the way.
There were many sightings today of hyenas, jackals, ostrich, and countless other birds.
One of the highlights was seeing 3 Black Rhinos which have become very rare.
We wrapped up the day with a visit to a Maasai village not far from the craters rim. The Maasai people are a nomadic tribe that exist almost entirely off of their cattle. The team spent time asking questions and enjoyed being shown around their small and simple village.
We have just finished another wonderful meal here at the Plantation Lodge and are looking forward to what tomorrow may bring as we head to Tarangire National Park.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari crew
The
Four Day Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides
JJ Justman and
Solveig Waterfall were unable to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier due to unstable snow conditions. The Teams turned at 11,654’ on Disappointment Cleaver and are now safely back at Camp Muir. They will start their descent and be back to Rainier Basecamp in the early afternoon.
The Four Day Summit Climb teams led by
RMI Guides Billy Nugent and Lindsay Mann reached the crater rim of
Mt. Rainier around 7:30 am. Billy reported clear, cold and breezy conditions overnight, now the winds have calmed, the sun is shining and they are enjoying the views. They will spend some time on the summit before starting their descent.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams.
Four rope teams on the Four Day Summit Climb June 29th - July 2nd tagged the top of Mount Rainier at 6:30 a.m. By 7:40 a.m., the teams were starting the traverse at the top of Disappointment Cleaver on their descent to Camp Muir.
The teams have beautiful, bluebird weather and moderate winds. Congratulations!
¡Hola!
Yesterday the entire team arrived for the first RMI trip to the Mexico Volcanoes for this season. We have all bags in tow and are now on our way to La Malinche for some acclimatization. Today is mostly cloudy, so we will see what the mountain gives us, but more importantly we are getting out to move the legs and exercise the lungs. Check back tomorrow for details on how our day went!
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Shuksan Team led by RMI Guide Mike Walter Reached the summit via the Sulphide Glacier Route. Mike reported a beautiful day of climbing. The team is back at camp celebrating their success.
Congratulations Team!
What a day?! The sun glistened off the blue icebergs and the breeze kept us cool on the trail. This group has really found their stride. Breakfast of eggs and freshly baked bread, walking with lots of photo breaks, lunch time, and more walking. What more could we want? We all support one another by reaching people's water bottles for them or offering around sunscreen. But the couple from Nashville truly steal the show when it comes to generosity. This couple is the first to share their favorite trail snacks (honey stinger gummies) and even offer to take more weight. They are the kindest badasses around and have many more trails to hike and mountains to climb in their future!
Other than this great group of people, some
trail highlights have been watching the condors soar, seeing the granite towers, and being surrounded by turquoise waters. The food is also worth mentioning; grilled salmon, stuffed chicken, pork on chili mashed potatoes...it's a treat. But I'm sure we'll all return home looking like svelte explorers. ;) Now I'm off for another amazing dinner with a view.
RMI Guide
Christina Dale and team
It was another beautiful day here in the
Khumbu Valley, and finally we had our first views of Everest. Just above Namche you can see Everest far off in the distance, still about 20-30 miles away. You can also see the 4th highest mountain, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam, which is one of the Himalayan's most iconic.
We hiked for about 6 hours today up and down, dropping all the way down to the river, which is a stunning turquoise, then climbed slowing up the hill before the famous Tengboche Monastery. You wouldn't believe how hot it can get hiking in the middle of the Himalayas at 12'000, but let me tell you, it was so hot we had to break in the shade to stay cool. All in all it was a really enjoyable day here in the Khumbu Valley.
We've settled in to a nice and warm tea house called Rivendale that's full of trekkers from all over the world. Cribbage and good conversations have rounded out the evening and now it's time for bed.
RMI Guide
Casey Grom & Crew
Finally back in the land of Internet... But we had to go to 16,000 ft for it. The team is safely in
Lobuche. We cruised up from Pheriche this morning in just about three and a half hours. Conditions were nice enough for walking, but it was a little on the cool side and not conducive to hanging out for long. The first glance at the sky today had us thinking we'd be walking in another snowstorm, but things cleared up well enough while we ate breakfast. We had fine views of Taboche, Cholatse, Pumori, Nuptse and Ama Dablam along with a half dozen other Himalayan giants. The last hour of today's hike involved snow-covered ground, but didn't present us with any special problems. All the team are acclimatizing well and we hope for an easy day of hiking and resting around Lobuche tomorrow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guides Dave Hahn, JJ Justman and Team
On The Map
Kim, What a beautiful mountain! Only a rare few, like you!!, get to experience that. Keep up the good climbing and be safe. xx Trish
Posted by: Trish on 6/30/2018 at 7:42 am
So excited to hear about your amazing adventure! have a great day tomorrow! mom and Larry
Posted by: Jane Lubow on 6/30/2018 at 4:39 am
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