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Saint Petersburg!!! We traveled all day and have finally arrived in one of the most beautiful cities of Europe. Things went relatively smooth considering we had two van rides and one flight. We got checked into the hotel and then ran out for a quick dinner followed by a short but scenic stroll. Everyone is very excited to explore and see this city tomorrow. RMI Guide Casey Grom and team

Our last rest day at Plaza Argentina brought blue skies and gentle winds. The crew spent a fair bit of time chatting idly over hot drinks, covering topics like: The Seattle Seahawks And are Americans actually hated or loved around the globe? Tomorrow we move to Camp 1. The crew is less than excited for the steep scree we have to ascend, but looking strong and optimistic. We look forward to congratulating the successful descending climb. RMI Guide Walter Hailes

On The Map

RMI Guide Jake Beren and the Four Day Summit Climb team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The team enjoyed warm, calm weather while on the summit. They are currently descending back to Camp Muir where they will pack up and refuel before continuing their descent to Paradise. We look forward to seeing the team in Ashford this afternoon. Congratulations to today's team.

Hey gang this is Billy calling from Basecamp. We rolled in yesterday evening. Everyone is really tired and a little banged up. Just letting you know that we are all good. We are walking out to Papa de Lenas today. And hopefully we will check in with a dispatch later this evening or tomorrow when we hit the road. See you soon.

Our last full day of our safari did not disappoint. After a morning of souvenir hunting we arrived at Tarangire National Park ready for more action, and got it within minutes of going through the gate. 

Warthogs, elephants and a bunch of other critters came our way in the first hour. A lot of close up encounters with giraffes and elephants stole the show, with the finale happening in the final minutes as we drove adjacent a huge and incredibly green swamp area and had a herd of elephants cross in front of us and proceed to cover themselves in mud and even dunk themselves in the water like kids at a pond. An amazing site! 

Our 'camp' in the middle of the Park is pretty cool too. Like all these camps in the bush, our living quarters are screened in canvas tents enclosing some high end furnishings. Kind of swank and kind of fun. 

One last morning of safari awaits us as sadly our trip comes to a close. 

Until tomorrow. 

Jambo!

RMI Guide Brent Okita

PC: Shout out to Jeff Tracy, on his 3rd Kilimanjaro climb, for the beautiful photos!

UPDATE: Recevied 10:30 am PT

Just a quick dispatch this morning. Everything is flowing smoothly and we're busy making progress. We pulled heavy loads to the base of ski hill yesterday in beautiful weather. It snowed a couple inches overnight and it's snowing lightly this morning, but the sun is poking through and we're gearing up to carry a load of gear up ski hill today. Gotta run, lots of work to do! I'll check back in upon our return to let you know how our day shakes out. Mike.

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RMI Guide Mike Walter and team flew to Kahiltna Basecamp on Tuesday afternoon. They built camp and were taking in the views of their new surroundings.  They spent the night at Base camp at 7,300'.  Yesterday they started the work of climbing Denali, moving from Base Camp to the Base of Ski Hill, 7,800'.  To get to Ski Hill the team descends 400' down Heart Break hill (aptly named) and travels over five miles to establish their next camp. 

Today we got busy getting ourselves ready for the big climb. Following another great breakfast our thoughts turned towards the mountain. As members introduced themselves it became even more apparent what an interesting and diverse team we have. We all have special reasons why we climb, and why we chose Kilimanjaro. It was with rapt attention that we listened to the stories behind the individuals on the trip. Inspiration was had by all as we heard these tales of life changes that led to us being here. It was apparent that everyone had come prepared for this challenge and taken it seriously. Even more important was the great attitude folks were bringing into the climb. An in depth review of mountain life and our upcoming time at altitude preceded a thorough review of gear we'll be bringing with us. All that hard work was rewarded with another great lunch (curry for me), and some R&R. Some stretched the legs around hotel grounds while most of us got in some quality pool time just as the sun asserted itself enough to bake our bodies for a few hours. We're psyched and set and ready to meet the mountain staff tomorrow morning and get underway. Next time, we'll be dispatching from Machame Camp at almost 10,000'. Good night from the Arumeru River Lodge, RMI Guide Brent Okita

Checking in after a nice breakfast at Hotel Colonial in downtown Puebla. Last night we arrived in Puebla tuckered out from a long day of climbing. We celebrated the exciting climb with a nice meal at La Compania and a full night of sleep- Woot woot! Today is a 'choose your own adventure' day for the team, with many people exploring the Great Pyramid of Cholula and historic Puebla. Tomorrow we'll be back on the road headed for Pico de Orizaba. Cheers from a well rested team~ RMI Guides Zeb Blais, Robby Young & company

Hey this is Seth checking in from High Camp on Ixta, that’s just over 15,000’ for us. We came up today from our last camp. We spent about four and a half hours on the trail, everyone is doing excellent. Tents are all set up and we are firing up the stoves getting ready to have dinner. Then we will talk about our strategy for the climb and have an early bedtime. We will be getting up in the middle of the night and will head out for the summit. We will call you when we reach that point. Hope all is well back home. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall and Team.

Hola from Peru!

Today the team awoke to beautifully clear skies right beneath the massive and towering Salkantay mountain, which is 20’000’+ feet. It’s covered in snow and glaciers so much it felt like we were in the Himalayas. We then hit the trail and headed uphill to our high point of the trip at just over 16’000’ feet, which definitely was a new height for a few team members. Everyone did great and enjoyed the nice long descent to our new camp at 12’600’. It was a beautiful hike in one of the most spectacular valleys I’ve ever seen.

Our outfitter has been incredibly gracious with having camp set up each day before we arrive, along with feeding us 3 amazing meals a day.

RMI Guides Casey, Jess, and the Inca Trail crew!