Hey this is Seth calling from the summit of Kilimanjaro. We have every single last member of the team up at Uhuru Peak. That's 100% of us 11 plus 5 great African guides. It's a nice day, clear skies all night long. The rain we had before, the last two days, just disappeared. There is a cloud deck down below us. We just had the nicest summit day. Everybody is doing great and we're gonna head back down. We have a long drop, it's about 9,000 feet down to our last camp. And then we are on safari. We will check in when we get to our last camp. Ciao.
RMI Guide Seth Watefall
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall calls from the summit of Kilimanjaro.
RMI Guide Leif Bergstrom and team reached the summit of Mt. Shuksan today via the Fisher Chimneys route. Leif reported that they were enjoying a really nice day. They will return to camp for a final night on the mountain and descend to the traillhead tomorrow.
The Four Day Climb June 30 - 3 July led by RMI Guides Will Ambler and George Hedreen reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. They enjoyed some time in the crater before starting their descent around 7 am. Will reported sunny skies and light winds. The teams will return to Camp Muir for a short break and repack, then continue the final 4.5 miles down to Paradise. They will conclude their adventure this afternoon with a celebration at Rainier BaseCamp.
The team got up at 11pm as I mentioned yesterday and were all ready by 11:30 for the ascent. We then had a quick midnight breakfast of porridge, tea and coffee before starting our climb under a mostly full moon.
The weather was very calm and the route wasn’t all that busy allowing us to take our time and enjoy the ascent. The climb took just over 7hrs to reach the top, and thankfully the sun rose shortly before reaching the top to help warm us and boost morale after climbing through the night.
On the summit of Kilimanjaro we hugged each other, enjoyed the views and took plenty of pictures and even made a few phone calls to loved ones back home.
It was a true test of endurance for most of the crew, and I'm really proud of everyone.
We descended back to high camp, where we had a quick lunch, repacked and then continued further down the mountain to our final camp in the thick warm air at 10’000ft, where we just finished another fine meal prepared by our gracious staff. Now it’s off to bed for some well deserved sleep.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and a happy Kilimanjaro summit crew
The RMI Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise Glacier, led by RMI Guide Pepper Dee, has had a spectacular week of training. With the many skills they learned, the team topped off their week with a bluebird summit day. Warm temperatures and a light breeze have followed them all week and continues as they descend from the Mt. Rainier summit.
Congratulations to the Seminar Team!
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.
Just spoke with a team member and learned of the incredible experience he had inspite of not making it to the summit. This grateful mom is thankful for the guides sound decision making! Congrats to all!
Posted by: Beth on 9/7/2015 at 2:43 pm
Way to go guys. Sorry the conditions weren’t better for you. Can’t wait to hear all the details of your great adventure.
Ray
Posted by: RAYMOND LABARBERA on 9/7/2015 at 12:58 pm
Thank you to everyone who followed the climb. I deeply appreciate all the support I felt from this community!
You can view photos of my trip to Nepal in my Dropbox gallery. Included are a few from working with the local people after the quake. As for what the immediate future holds for me, today I’m packing for my yearly pilgrimage to guide on Mt. Rainier for RMI. I am psyched to get back up to the Pacific Northwest, share the experience of mountaineering with others, and see my many good friends there. Again, thank you all for your support.
RMI Guide Alex Barber
Hi Greg, great start,buddy! I hope you have found a nice hairy guy to keep you company this time - we feel guilty that we are not there looking after you :) Stay safe and strong!
Bruce and Joyce
Our team is safely back in Quito, reacquainting ourselves to city life. We had a great trip here in Ecuador; we enjoyed the country and culture, the delicious cuisine, and the friendly Andean people. We also enjoyed a safe and successful climb of Cotopaxi.
Our trip is coming to a close now. We will get together this evening for a celebration dinner before we part ways and travel in different directions. It has been a pleasure to spend time in the mountains with this group of climbers.
Saludos…
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Casey Grom and the Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir team have had a great week of training on the mountain, but unfortunately were unable to make a summit attempt. We expect the group to be leaving Camp Muir around 10:00 a.m. today.
Well gang,
Here we are chilling in beautiful Mendoza! Obviously, after a long, dusty, and somewhat brutal walk out from Plaza Argentina through the Vacas Valley. On our final night in the backcountry we rolled in to Pampa de Lenas where our mule drivers had prepared a delicious asada to greet us. We dined on juicy steaks, chicken, salad, and of course plenty of wine around an open fire that had been used to prepare the food. These guys know how to live! Eat, drink, be merry, and then go to sleep under the stars high in the Andes. Needless to say, our crew was a bit of a sorry sight in the morning. By the time we rubbed the sleep out of our eyes and ate some quick breakfast it was 9 or so in the morning. Oops. We still had about 4 hours of walking until we hit the road. But we cruised on and ended up timing our arrival perfectly with the arrival of our baggage with the mules. After a couple hours of working with and cleaning up the group gear we hit the road to Mendoza. What were we looking forward to? The Super Bowl! After a shower and a quick nap we all went out to the pub and watched the Super Bowl over dinner and a few beers. Tonight's the night of our real celebration. We all plan to cap off our day of sitting poolside with a celebratory dinner at Francis Mallman 1884. This is truly one of the world's finest restaurants, and it shouldn't be too out of hand because of the wonderfull exchange rate!
Thanks to everyone who has been following along and supporting the members of our team from home. We miss you all and will see you soon!
Just spoke with a team member and learned of the incredible experience he had inspite of not making it to the summit. This grateful mom is thankful for the guides sound decision making! Congrats to all!
Posted by: Beth on 9/7/2015 at 2:43 pm
Way to go guys. Sorry the conditions weren’t better for you. Can’t wait to hear all the details of your great adventure.
Ray
Posted by: RAYMOND LABARBERA on 9/7/2015 at 12:58 pm
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