Jambo! Our first Kilimanjaro trip of 2015 has begun.
Everyone came in on the same flight late last night and most of us slept in a bit this morning. We all managed to get together before lunch for a team meeting followed by a gear check. In the afternoon we all packed our stuff to get ready for the mountain. We had some thunder in the afternoon as well but it never rained at the hotel. The temperature is nice and warm and that bodes well for a nice hike tomorrow.
I'll check in from our first camp tomorrow.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Another very nice day on Mt. Kilimanjaro. We set out at 8 am after yet another delicious breakfast we are definitely not losing any weight on this trip. We left the moorland zone of vegetation and moved into the alpine zone meaning not much living up there. A couple of white necked ravens would visit us at our breaks thinking they may get a hand out but doing our best at the leave no trace policy they would have to rummage else where for a snack. Right at high noon we hit the high mark of just under 15,000' which was a new altitude record for most of the team. We then descend down to 13,000' where the Baranco camp is and home for the night. The whole team is feeling good and climbing with great style.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Yesterday we had a great ski tour on Lonquimay, climbing above the clouds. We didn’t quite make the summit due to avalanche conditions that had formed overnight with steady wind loading on the face we were hoping to ski. But we might try again later in the week. For now we’re headed out the door for Llaima!
Stay tuned, and photos to come...
RMI Guide Tyler Reid
Hello again everyone:
We left camp a little later today to allow the many porters to hit the trail before us as we had our main difficulty right out of camp. This obstacle is the great Barranco Wall, which rises about 1,000 feet and looks as intimidating as it sounds. Thankfully there is a nice narrow trail that weaves its way up and through the wall and all the way to the top. Most of it feels more like steep hiking, but there are a few places that require the use of our hands to help us climb up. The team did a good job of moving steady and allowing a few porters through with their loads precariously balanced on their heads.
After reaching the top, we took a nice break and enjoyed the amazing views of the ice-ladened south face and valleys below. The team continued our hike for a few more hours before reaching camp. All in all, it took only about four hours for us to reach our next camp called Karanga, named for the big and beautiful valley which it overlooks.
We spent the remainder of the day relaxing in our tents as a light drizzle arrived shortly after we did.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew
We had our first day up above ten thousand feet, and it couldn't have been much better. The weather was perfect, and the views were just as good. The wildflowers here are blooming, and with the breeze we had today, their smell filled the air. So we walked with postcard views and air that smelled like flowers, not bad.
We reached a nice spot around eleven thousand feet, took some photos, and made some new friends. We got our first good view of the route, and I would say folks have it just about memorized now. If the team fell short in any aspect today, it was in our ability to take a group photo. It's the thought that counts I suppose.
After a nice lunch back in town, we went through our gear, and packed everything in preparation for heading uphill. We are mountain bound tomorrow morning. Досвидания!
RMI Guide JM Gorum
Namaste:
And we have started our Shishapangma Expedition!!! The team is all well in Kathmandu... pretty much uneventful arrivals yesterday, that culminated with the expected jet lag on most of us. A nice welcome dinner put us to bed early. Today, we spent the day visiting the Monkey Temple and acquiring some last minute items we determined appropriate after our gear check. Kathmandu has greeted us with the last rains of the monsoon, which is to depart the Sub-Indian continent soon. We sure hope for the dry weather of the northern Himalayas when we are on our climb! However, that's a ways away yet, and we have to wait another day in Kathmandu before we fly to Lhasa, Tibet's capital, on the 6th.
In the meantime, we're going to continue to relax in hectic Kathmandu (is that an oxymoron?) before setting out for Chinese territory.
That's it for now; tune in for our blogs as we start our adventure into the Himalayas!!!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
June 22, 2015 - 6:34 pm PT
Greetings from day two up here at 11 Camp where our team is resting after a pretty mellow back-carry down to 9,600'. We retrieved the cache of food and fuel we left behind yesterday on our move up and have been enjoying partly cloudy skies and pretty civilized temperatures thus far. The team has been taking advantage of the good weather by staying on the move. Tomorrow we're hoping to put a cache in up around Windy Corner at around 13,900' that will hopefully set us up well for a move up to Camp 4 at just over 14,000' in the next few days. Everyone is moving well and excited to keep on pushing up the mountain bit by bit. Not much else to report other than that the mountain feels quite empty. Not that we're lonely or anything, just enjoying some relatively uncommon solitude up here. All's well thus far!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Wednesday, June 10th 10:15 pm PT
The winds subsided enough today to allow us safe passage back to our buried cache at 9,600 feet. It was a fun stroll and though we broke trail in a full whiteout to get there, we enjoyed extremely pleasant walking conditions on our quest for the rest of our snacks.
The afternoon held time for a nap and a review of climbing techniques before dinner. If the weather cooperates we are set to jet and bump a load higher on the route tomorrow. Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Quick note from RMI Guide Casey Grom on the Cayambe summit:
100% on top!
Once the team is back to camp, Casey will send photos and a dispatch.
Congratulations to the Team!
Chris
Looks beautiful. Have fun and take lots of pictures.
Looks like a nice set-up.
Mom
Posted by: Diane Sadler on 1/16/2015 at 1:07 pm
Happy everyone made it there safely. Looking forward to the daily blogs. Stay safe and enjoy the adventure. Take lots of pictures!
Posted by: Barb McAllister on 1/12/2015 at 5:42 pm
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