After a relaxing evening last night at the Hacienda Casa Sol, we are currently enjoying the world famous market in Otavalo. Otavalo is an indigenous kichwa town in the Andes highlands north of Quito. The Otavalos are known for their woolen woven goods, art, jewelry, and music. The market here is a sight to behold, with both native Otavalos and tourists shopping side by side.
We're enjoying the morning roaming the streets and exploring the market. After lunch we'll drive up to the climbing hut on the volcano Cayambe. The hut sits above 15,000' at the toe of the crevassed glaciers of Cayambe. It will be our home for the next two nights as we train and prepare for our ascent of Cayambe.
Cayambe is the third highest peak in Ecuador at nearly 19,000', and the highest point on earth through which the equator passes. The mountain is situated in the eastern ridge of the Andes and, as such, is influenced by weather rising up from the rainforest of Ecuador and the headwaters of the Amazon. Over millenia the snowfall on Cayambe has formed a massive network of glaciers that we hope to climb.
We'll have our work cut out for us over the next few days on Cayambe. But for now we're enjoying the colorful culture of Ecuador.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
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
HW: Great to see you in the photos Dave posted, looking healthy and happy. Glad to hear everyone is acclimatizing well. You are almost at Base Camp! Only for Everest do you feel, even you are already at 16,000, the real test has yet to begun. Please stay safe and healthy. We are all thinking of you every day. - FX
June 16, 2015 - 6:07 pm PT
Snow, wind, sun... Repeat. That's been the story of our day today with rapidly changing weather that seems to change every twenty or so minutes. Despite the moderate weather our team was able to descend to the cache at 9,600' in a total whiteout, retrieve it, and climb our way by Braille back to our camp at 11. For a lot of our guys it was their first experience in not so perfect weather so it served as good training for the inevitably bad weather we'll endure higher up. Even though it was a little crummy, we made short work of the back-carry and are settling back in with a planned rest day on the docket for tomorrow.
Also wanted to make a brief shout out to all the dads out there... Sorry I forgot to mention it yesterday but out here you lose track of what day it is at all. Happy belated Father's Day!
More news as our saga unfolds,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
I’m thinking about you & praying for you on your amazing expedition…just a bit more intense than Kili!!! Sending you guys so much love and praying daily for your team’s strength and safety as you journey! Soooo proud of you! Lots of love from NYC!
Posted by: Christine & the Shortman on 6/18/2014 at 5:29 am
Stay strong, team! Jess and I did a beautiful hike this morning where we did yoga at the summit. Wish you could join! Stay safe and we love you! Xoxo, Katie and Jess
Posted by: Katie Freedman on 6/18/2014 at 12:30 am
May 23, 2014 - 10:19pm PT
We took today to acclimate and let our legs recover from a couple of good days and heavy packs. A late wake up once the sun hit the tents led into breakfast, then major architectural planning and construction of a new kitchen/dining area. Our new digs are 10 feet below the snow surface, giving us ample headroom. After an afternoon siesta, we rigged and practiced for the fixed lines, that we hope to ascend for the first time tomorrow.
The plan is to try to get our high cache of gear in tomorrow, and hopefully the weather will cooperate. We'll check back in tomorrow, but send us wishes for fair weather.
RMI Guides Pete, Robby, Josh and Team
Talk about shifting gears... we went from climbing to cruising, just like that. Today we got on the road shortly after 8 AM and briefly toured the outskirts of Arusha before heading out across the Rift Valley of Tanzania. Our goal for the day was a tour of the the Lake Manyara National Park. To get there we traveled in two modified land rovers, gazing out the windows at Masai tribesmen and their animal herds along the highway. We reached the park at about noon and had a relaxing lunch under the big trees, keeping an eye peeled on the surrounding forest for whichever beasts might also be contemplating lunch. As it turned out, there were just a few monkeys and birds checking us out. After lunch, we toured the park's dirt roads, checking out giraffes, baboons, zebras, wildebeest and warthogs. We spied a couple of elephants and plenty of exotic birds, but we didn't see big cats or hippos. There is always tomorrow... which for us is an expedition to the Ngorongoro Crater. Tonight though, is not to be rushed. An evening at the luxurious and tranquil Plantation Lodge. We'll get in our open topped safari vehicles again at the crack of dawn, hunting for big game.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Today we headed to Tarangire National Park know for its abundant animals and beautiful views of the savanna. We saw all the unusual suspects, elephants, giraffes, impalas, monkeys, ostriches, and many others. It was a hot one today, probably high 80’s, but thankfully dry.
We are spending our last night here in Africa at Nyikani camp, which has beautiful tented rooms with screened windows to allow the sounds of the African night in.
Everyone is doing great and hoping to see a few elusive cats as we make our way out tomorrow. Then it will be back to our main lodge near Arusha for a quick shower before catching our evening flights home.
Saturday June 30, 2018 12:54 AM PST
We are headed home... Slowly.
We woke up to pretty big winds and blowing snow at 17k camp this morning. Our desired early start turned into an afternoon departure when the weather finally gave in enough for us to descend.
We had a great climb down to 14k camp where we crossed paths with Dave Hahn and his crew. It was great to see them and we hope they get the same kind of summit day that we got to experience!
After picking up some cached gear and food from 14k, we made our way through some snowy weather to 11k camp. The Super Crew did a great job keeping it strong on this very long day! Even though the weather does not look to cooperate with us for a Basecamp dash tomorrow, we are in positioned to make it there when it is time to fly!
I think I can speak for the entire Super Crew 6 when I say we are sick of snow!
RMI Super Crew 6
Proud for your accomplishment…...What an adventure, something that some people only dream about !
You had a Great Team of Mountaineers to be able to stay the course.. Have a safe trip home..
Grams
Posted by: Barbara Jones on 6/30/2018 at 10:11 pm
I’m so awed by this accomplishment. I plan to share the blog with my English students in the fall when they read the novel, “Peak.” Godspeed for the journey down the mountain.
Posted by: Laura Seasongood on 6/30/2018 at 8:47 am
Hey, this is Dave Hahn phoning in from the RMI Everest Climb. We are in Deboche still. Last night I couldn't get through it was snowing fairly hard and I couldn't get a phone signal. This morning, it's looking a little bit better. A little sunshine coming through; there is still some high clouds. But right now we're at a green light to go up to Pheriche. Our intention is to go up through Pangboche, see Lama Geshe, and head up to Pheriche this evening. Yesterday was a nice quiet day for us. We just went up to Tengboche Monastery in the morning and then kinda hunkered down in our tea house here in Deboche to wait out the snowstorm. But nice afternoon taking it easy. Bye now.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
RMI Guides Garrett Stevens and Casey Grom led their teams of Four Day Summit Climbers to the summit of Mt. Rainier today. Garrett reported a thin cloud cap starting to form but a pretty nice day overall. Winds were very low on the lower portions of the mountain but had increased near the summit. The teams will spend a bit of time in the crater and then descend back to Camp Muir. After a short break the teams will continue down to Paradise and conclude their program with a short celebration at Rainier BaseCamp.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!
Hammer, praying you will do your climb as high as you can go and come back safe and sound to your family. Hope your’re having a great experience! Mum-Z
June 20, 2014 - 7:14 am PT
Three O Clock PM Talkeetna time. The kids in orange vests that load and unload the planes we were to fly in asked if it was okay to unload the 2,700 pounds of gear weighing down the aircrafts still grounded by ugly mountain weather near Mt. McKinley. Sure we all said. By this time the thought of messing around with gear just to pass the time seemed like a safe plan. The flying conditions were reported to be bad all day so the perceived notion that we would fly at all was dwindling. The forecast for the next few days looked worse so I knew unloading those planes was the best move we could have made. Not more than 20 minutes after our climbing outfits came off and we were literally heading into town for a beer, base camp called, said conditions looked good and if anyone was ready, load 'em up ASAP and get them in! So, off with the jeans and tennies, on with boots and a mild-hurried panic and onto the plane. Forty-five minutes later we were on the glacier! Yeeee haaaa.
Everyone is buzzing with good energy and the days to come. Wish us luck on our move to Camp One.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
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HW: Great to see you in the photos Dave posted, looking healthy and happy. Glad to hear everyone is acclimatizing well. You are almost at Base Camp! Only for Everest do you feel, even you are already at 16,000, the real test has yet to begun. Please stay safe and healthy. We are all thinking of you every day. - FX
Posted by: FX on 4/2/2015 at 9:15 pm
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