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On The Map

On The Map

The team all made it without snags yesterday, and we hit the ground running, packing into the shuttle and heading for Talkeetna. After dinner, we ambled down to the river - the mountains were socked in but the icebergs floating by provided the ambience. The amble then magically led our feet to the doors of the Fairview, for a quick pint and an acoustic rendition of despacito. Then to bed in the arctic daylight. We’ll pack tomorrow and things look good for flights on on Saturday!

RMI Guides Pete, Nick, Ben and Team

We bit off another chunk.  The day started at 6:30 AM at Machame Camp, which was cool and shady before the sun came over the mountain.  We had breakfast and threw our packs on just before 8 AM. The trail today was a little steeper and a little more relentlessly uphill compared to yesterday.  But we made fine progress up through a forest of giant heather.  Eventually we could look out to see that we were above a sea of clouds, and we could look over to Meru, a neighboring 15,000 ft volcano on the western horizon. 

We began to identify Senecios and Lobelias -two of the distinctive plants endemic to Kilimanjaro.  We worked hard today, but nowhere near as hard as the many porters who passed by with loads balanced on their heads, somehow staying at ease on the difficult rock steps.  Eventually we took a left turn, traversing between old layers of lava to turn the corner onto the Shira Plateau.  We reached Shira Camp at about 12,600 ft at 12:30 PM.  This marks our westernmost point for the climb, and the next days will have us moving east on our wandering route to the summit. 
 

The team enjoyed a restful afternoon and evening in our comfortable new camp. 
 

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

Thursday, May 16, 2024 1:33pm PDT

Just checking in, not too much to report. 

Winds at camp ramped up last and are strong and gusty this morning. We're hanging at 11k today and plan to move to 14k on the next good weather day.

RMI Guide Mike Walter & Team