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RMI Guide Mark Tucker and the July 21st Team call from the summit of Kilimanjaro.
On The Map
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On The Map
Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Steve Gately
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
On The Map
Steve and team,
Glad to hear that your still on the good side of the weather gods. Hope it holds!
Hike well and be safe.
Dad
Posted by: Bill Gately on 5/14/2014 at 10:10 am
After a shorter day the team headed from Paine Grande into the French Valley. Clouds and wind set the tone for what would be a partially sunny day where the clouds stayed high above. The glaciated Paine Grande massif dominates the valley to the left. Then as you get up higher, the largest of the alpine cirque comes into view with granite towers and walls everywhere you look. The remaining trail to Refugio Los Cuernos goes along a massive turquoise lake and is situated under the Cuernos (Horns) rock formation. Tomorrow we’ll be back in the Central area for the night and a hike to the Torres Wednesday morning concludes our trek.
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Torres del Paine Trek, February 3, 2024
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Mike Bennett
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 9,350'
The whole team arrived safely in Ecuador and with bags, which is always a good first step. I think we all experienced some bit of turbulence as we escaped the North American winter, but fortunately no door panels removed themselves unexpectedly during anyone's flights.
Yesterday's city tour happened without any hitches. Due to the recent political events, the streets are a bit quiet, but it seems like life is more or less returning to normal. It was great to have our city tour guide to help answer our questions and help us sort through what may have actually happened and what is a bit sensationalized in the American news media. Along with that, we made our first steps in acclimation both to the altitude and a different culture. Some physics experiments at the Museo do Intiñan (the indigenous equator museum) were capped off with us balancing eggs on a nail before heading to old town Quito and seeing some attractions.
Today, we awoke to another beautiful morning. Typically it is rainy in the afternoons here, but for our first two days we have been treated to nice days, start to finish. Blue skies made for a lovely hike up Rucu Pichincha and everyone did really well. We even had a few folks reach new altitude records, congratulations! Hopefully, there are more to come on this trip. The remainder of our evening involves cold plunging, hot tubbing, group dinner and one final night in the hotel before departing for the countryside.
Dustin
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Hey Dustin!
All the best to you and your Team!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 1/26/2024 at 4:26 am
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Thanks everyone for following along and once again, a shout out to Farmer Dave for all the encouragement!
Climbing Orizaba is never easy. We ended up having a great weather day and route conditions were also favorable. But it still felt like a hard push after the long week of being rained off of big mountains and spending hours drying gear. The team can take pride in their perseverance and their summit of Pico de Orizaba, the third highest peak in North America.
Last night we celebrated in Tlachichuca at the Servimont hostel, where there is always a nice meal and cold drinks. Most people were in bed by 8pm, it was quite the party. Now we are on one final bus ride, to the airport this time, and will return to normal life tomorrow. The muddy, dusty gear we are bringing home will remind us of the good times we had in Mexico.
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier
Hey Dustin! Way to go getting your Team to the Top!!! Brought back Awesome memories!!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 10/15/2023 at 10:33 am
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Today was the start of our safari adventure and we visited the beautiful Lake Manyara National Park. The lake is a brief stopping ground for many migratory animals and home to more than 350 different birds. Everyone enjoyed the day cruising around in our safari vehicles with cold beverages in hand while seeing a few animals up close.
We didn’t see a ton of animals today, but we did get up close to a few elephants, baboons and 6 beautiful lions! Also managed to see a couple of zebras and a giraffe off in the distance.
It was a nice introduction to the incredible diversity of wildlife that Africa has and the team is looking forward to seeing more tomorrow.
We wrapped up the evening with a wonderful meal at our new lodge www.plantation-lodge.com see for yourself!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari crew
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
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At breakfast this morning there were plenty of our team singing the praises of Mweka Camp and 10,000 ft living. The sleep was sooooo much better than at 15,000 ft. Food went down easier as well, and we put away plenty of it before hitting the trail at 8 AM. Within a few minutes of walking, we entered the rain forest. The day was dry and clear but as we descended, the trail was wetter and more muddy. We had to drop 4000 ft without slipping. This was made a bit more exciting by the hundreds of porters from various teams trying to get down the slippery track with big loads at high speed. We finished the journey at 10:30am and signed our names in the National Park registry at the Mweka Gate. We then enjoyed a final lunch with our staff, after which we were treated to a spirited song and dance session with all 46 of the men who helped us. We expressed our gratitude with tips for all and then shook hands to seal the deal…and to bid farewell.
We loaded onto the bus and made the two-hour ride back to the Rivertrees hotel. It was then a comfortable afternoon of showers and gear sorting. The adventure continues tomorrow with safari, but we took the time this evening to eat and drink together in celebration of our successful climb of Kilimanjaro.
Best Regards,
Elsie and Emmett loved your pictures of the celebration. looks like everyone is celebrating this achievement of the climb. Congratulations to the WHOLE team.
Posted by: judy reiner on 8/15/2023 at 5:11 am
Congrats Team!
Woohoo, Allison! What an awesome accomplishment! Love you! -P
Posted by: Paula on 8/15/2023 at 1:35 am
Posted by: JM Gorum, JT Schmitt, Dustin Wittmier
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 17,200'
On The Map
Sending you all our love from Idaho, Brit and team! Glad you are all in this together :)
Posted by: Kat on 6/7/2019 at 8:23 am
Good luck Kirk, I hope the weather holds out for you.
Posted by: Tony and Carrie on 6/6/2019 at 8:44 pm
Was a great day in the Cascades. Too bad you din’t have our weather. View of 3 volcanoes from the top of Bandera
Posted by: Ron on 6/21/2014 at 5:28 pm
Anchorage 30mph winds and poring rain. But better than wenatchee. Miss you, stay warm
Posted by: Gwyn on 6/21/2014 at 4:08 pm
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