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Hello again everyone,
Things are good here on Kilimanjaro and the team is doing great!
Today started like the last few, beautiful, and clear and then slowly clouded up as the day went on.
We left camp a little later today to allow the many porters to hit the trail before us as we had our only major obstacle right out of camp. This obstacle is the great Barranco Wall, which rises about 1000ft and looks as intimidating as it sounds. Thankfully there is a nice narrow trail that weaves its way up and through the wall and all the way to the top. Most of it feels more like steep hiking, but there are a few places that require our hands to help us climb up. The team did great and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. After reaching the top we took a nice break to enjoy the beautiful view. We spent the remainder of the day relaxing in our camp and solving many of the world’s problems!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili Crew
RMI Guide,
Robby Young, recently completed the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) Ski Guide Course, held in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains under the tutelage of IFMGA guide Erik Liedecker and Sierra ski guide, Peter Leh. Over the duration of the 12-day course, a wide array of skills was covered including uphill and downhill ski guiding techniques, technical rope skills, snowpack evaluation, winter camping, backcountry rescue, and risk management in alpine terrain. Despite Utah’s challenging snowpack and over two feet of fresh snow that fell during the course, Robby and his colleagues were able to put these skills and techniques to use in Utah’s easy-to-access alpine world. While skill development was the primary focus of the course, the famous Utah powder skiing made for a very enjoyable educational experience!
Billy Nugent led the way out of Namche, down the big hill and into the valley of a thousand farms and small villages. We made it in six hours to a comfy tea house next to the
airstrip in Lukla. The rain caught us for the last hour or so, but didn't actually bother anybody enough to make them put a raincoat on. We ate the afternoon away in our new low-altitude home. Mark Tucker made a surprise appearance for dinner, having finished up his duties at Basecamp today and figured out a way to heli-hike in minutes what had filled up three days for the rest of us. We are now poised for an early wake-up and some airport hustle that may or may not get us to Kathmandu by fixed-wing aircraft. All depends on the weather.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
RMI Guide Tatum Whatford radioed at 7 am that the first rope teams of the Four Day Climb August 22 - 25 were reaching the crater rim. The remaining teams were 10 minutes out. Tatum reported a beautiful morning on the mountain with no wind and a very good route. Once they spend a bit of time on the summit, Tatum along with RMI Guide Alex Halliday will lead their climbers back to Camp Muir where they will have a quick break to re-organize and pack for their remaining descent to Paradise. The teams will conclude their program this afternoon with a celebration at Rainier BaseCamp.
Way to go teams!
Hello again from team Aconcagua. Sorry it has been awhile but the last few days have been very busy on our end. Now that we are back in Mendoza sipping red wine and eating great beef we can fill you in on the
mountain adventures.
Last Thursday, the 19th, we moved from our Camp 2 at 18,000' to Camp Colera (meaning: anger) at 19,600'. It was a short move under beautifully clear skies, but we were tired nonetheless from the thin air. We set camp, ate dinner early, and prepared for the early start of our summit push.
The stoves were kicked on early at 3 am to start the long process of boiling water for breakfast at altitude (I believe we are picking up a theme: the length of time it takes to do anything at high altitude is very, very long). We had a beautiful, warm, calm morning for the culmination of our goal. The moon was a sliver, but showing at the bottom, like a saucer, rather than the side as we usually see it in the northern hemisphere. At 5 am, bags were packed with food, water, and extra clothes and storm gear for our day. Crampons were on our feet, and we began the ascent from camp under the light of headlamps, wearing our parkas.
There were many groups headed for the summit with us since the weather was supposed to get worse the following day and for several days after. Many groups, like us, had moved their schedule up in order to take advantage of the end of our weather window. The climb travels many switchbacks up a series of benches to our second break at the Independencia Hut, elevation: 21,000 ft. As we reached it, streams of headlamps from fellow climbers stretched below us. Taking a break here, we refueled our bodies with hot cocoa and alfajors, an Argentine treat. As the horizon began to show signs of light, we started the long traverse to the base of the Canaleta, which is a large snow couloir that takes you to the summit. Despite the thin air and tired legs, the team was feeling strong as we climbed the last couple of hours and last 1,000 ft to the summit. It was 1:40pm as the last of our boots stepped onto the top of the tallest mountain in the western hemisphere. We celebrated together with hugs and cheers and relished in the moment for what we had just accomplished. Although we could have stayed on top for hours, the clouds and snow were rolling in and forcing us to start the long descent back to our camp and our sleeping bags.
We arrived back at camp at 4:30pm, just as the wind was starting to pick up and our bodies were starting to fully tire. Everyone quickly jumped into their sleeping bags and enjoyed an evening of ramen noodles and an early bedtime. The next morning we woke with sore legs and headaches from dehydration, but everyone was ready for another long descent back to base camp. We broke down camp and at 11am we headed back to Camp 2 and eventually Camp 1 to pick up both personal and group gear that we had cached days before. This is the worst part of any expedition, since our packs get heavier with each previous camp we visit. As we left camp 1 to make the last push down to base camp, our packs were weighing upwards of 25 kilos. We walked into base camp at 4:45pm with huge smiles on our faces and were greeted with tang and fresh fruit from the Grajales crew. As we chatted and laughed about where we had just been the previous day, we realized that the hardest and most dangerous part of our trip was over and we had all made it down safely. We feasted on steak and papas fritas that night and toasted to our 14 days on the mountain. We slept well that night with full bellies and happy hearts, resting up for the 21 mile walk out of the valley and back to the entrance of the provincial park.
Fourteen days doesn't seem like that long a time, but Sunday we realized how deprived of color we had been, as we walked past brilliant green and yellow clumps of flowers descending the Relinchos valley towards home. Our packs were light and birds were singing nearby, making our steps light and quick. As the day wore on however, our steps slowed as the 15 miles we had to walk that day ticked past. An exciting river crossing of the Vacas river found many of the group in their skiveys, wading through thigh deep glacial waters. The late afternoon temps made the cool water dip welcome however. The last few miles were a long affair, but we arrived in camp to the smell of the arrearos cooking us a feast of an asada. One pound of slow cooked steak per person, tomato salad, fresh baked bread, and local malbec wine sent everyone to bed with full stomachs and a beautiful, uninterrupted view of the stars. Most chose to sleep outside of the tents, for views of the southern cross, and beyond!
Six miles of walking the next morning brought us to Punta de Vacas and the end of our walking! Everyone piled into the van for a tired drive to Mendoza. Showers, and shaves brought everyone back to life, and Monday night the group enjoyed a celebratory dinner at the "patio," a local parilla (Brazilian style steak house but Argentinian!). The group dreamed up a wonderful way to commemorate the climb: a locally published coffee table book of Aconcagua that each signed to everyone else, so that we'll remember the faces, friendships, experiences, and stories that we have grown over the last three weeks.
The guides would like to thank an incredible team of climbers for their dedication, strength, perseverance, and laughter.
Gabi's 25th was a special one. And further, the team would like to thank everyone for their notes, thoughts, and positive vibes while we were headed to the highest point in the western hemisphere!
Goodnight and good luck,
The RMI Aconcagua Crew
We have enjoyed our time at Aconcagua Base Camp these last few days. The cooks, porters and all the staff are constantly working to make our stay comfortable and doing it with the biggest smiles imaginable. We are ready to climb higher but will miss being so well taken care of.
We did get a dusting of snow today that made the mountain beautiful. Thankfully the weather forecast is to improve as we climb higher over the next few days.
RMI Guide Walter Hailes
After making great progress on their descent, RMI Guides
Dave Hahn &
Melissa Arnot and team are safely at Camp 2! It was a long day but sleep will be so nice with the thick air of 21,000'.
I will continue to send updates as the team makes their way back to
Everest Basecamp.
RMI Guide and Everest Basecamp Manager Mark Tucker
On The Map
The group was up early this morning, despite encountering the coldest temperatures of the trip thus far - our water bottles lightly icing up even in the teahouse. However, we quickly shook off the cold within a few minutes of starting off, warming up as we walked out of Lobuche. An hour's walk brought us to the edge of the Khangri Glacier, a tributary flowing into the main Khumbu Glacier just to our side. We climbed up the moraine of the Khangri and began the weaving traverse over its rock strewn surface, climbing up and down over the uneven terrain. Part way through we reached a high point and we're treated to fantastic views further up the valley, even catching glimpses of the tents at Everest BC.
By late morning we reached our teahouse at Gorak Shep, the last cluster of buildings before BC. We paused for a cup of tea and after refilling our bottles we set out to climb Kala Patar, a rocky outcropping that sits across the valley from Everest. The team climbed very strongly, the benefits of our acclimatization over the past ten days clearly visible, and within a couple of hours we reached Kala Patar's prayer flag strewn summit. At 18,500' Kala Patar has phenomenal views looking down over Everest BC and the Khumbu Icefall as well as to its summit, the Hillary Step, South Summit, South Col, and part of the Lhotse Face. In addition to Everest, we could see over the Lho La Pass to Changatse in Tibet as well as south down the valley, picking out the peaks of Tamserku, Katenga, and Ama Dablam which we walked past earlier.
Despite the clear skies and amazing views the winds were blowing strongly and we were forced to raise our voices to be heard over the fluttering prayer flags. The temperature was quite cold with the wind and before too long we set off back down the trail, returning to Gorak Shep where a late lunch of soup and tea helped rewarm us.
We've spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing in Gorak Shep. We had a great day and are thrilled to have had such great weather and views from Kala Patar. Tomorrow we cover the final stretch to Everest Base Camp where we will spend a couple of nights sleeping on the ice in RMI's Everest Expedition camp. We will check in tomorrow from BC.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Friday, July 5, 2019 - 11:02 PM PT
We woke up when the direct sun hit our tents and sprung into action. We had done coffee and ate some breakfast and headed downhill.
After a great climb along the ridge out of
17,000' Camp, we hit the fixed lines and made our way down to 14,000' Camp.
Since the temperatures have been so warm lately, we decided to set up camp here at 14k. We will head further downhill when the temps are cooler and the glaciers are more frozen. We will see how far we make it on our walk out tomorrow. We may make it as far as Basecamp and catch a plane tomorrow. If the snow gets too soft, we can camp one more night and head back to Talkeetna the next day. Let's hope for a good freeze!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen & Team Siete
On The Map
Good afternoon,
This is the
Carstensz team checking in. We had a hike today into our base camp we got in pretty early this morning, and have spent the day getting ready for a prep day tomorrow. So tomorrow we will probably climb 6 - 8 pitches of rock as a warm up for Carstensz which we hope to attempt the following day. Things are going great. We are well established at base camp. It is raining still but there are long breaks of good weather during the day. And we're certainly hoping to take advantage of that. That's it for right now. We'll check in again tomorrow after we've done our training. Good night to all.
RMI Guide Alex Van Steen
On The Map
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Nicole LoBiondo: I hope you have safe travels back home and I am so happy to hear that you and your team are safe! I’ll see you soon! Much love, Sammy
Posted by: Sam Borneman on 4/28/2014 at 8:25 pm
I hope you all have safe travels back home! I can’t wait to hear all about your adventure at Copper Canyon with a margarita! And of course the salad with the bacon, fish tacitos and the steak!!!! Love ya Nicole!
Posted by: Lisa Taddeo on 4/28/2014 at 7:13 pm
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