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Our Ecuador Volcanoes team is excited to have reached the summit of Cotopaxi this morning around 7:30 am.  The entire team climbed strong and efficiently.  We are packing up now ready to head towards Quito.  More to follow.

RMI Guide Adam Knoff

On The Map

After a hard carry to Camp 2 yesterday, everyone enjoyed the late start to the morning today.  It’s not often you get to sleep in on a mountaineering expedition so no one takes these rest days for granted. But besides the extra sleep, the other reason to get excited during a rest day is the breakfast. The guides whipped up a calorie replenishing feast consisting of eggs, bacon, hash browns, fresh veggies and cheese all wrapped up burrito style. With bellies full of warm food and coffee we all retired to a sunny corner of camp to digest our meal. The skies are clear and sunny today. The perfect weather to rest and acclimatize and regain our strength for our move up to Camp 2 tomorrow.

RMI Guide Nick Scott

On The Map

When we woke up this morning the snow had melted, but the chill it left in the air remained. It was by far the coldest morning of the trip so far, but nothing a hot cup of coffee and a warm breakfast couldn’t fix. With our bellies full and our cores warmed we turned our attention uphill to Camp 2. While the route to Camp at 18,000 feet is easier walking than the route to Camp 1, the gain in elevation was definitely noticed by everyone. No matter how fit you are, carrying weight uphill at 18,000 feet above sea level makes you feel like you are breathing through a straw during a workout. Despite the difficulties presented by the mountain today, the team performed well and we were all back in our tents at Camp 1 enjoying some lunch before we were halfway through the day. Tomorrow is another rest day and another opportunity to acclimatize, so the next time we walk into Camp 2 it doesn’t feel quite so difficult.

RMI Guide Nick Scott

Our 12 mile hike from Seron to Lago Dickson was an enjoyable day that consisted of rolling hills, tall grass and sporadic forests. We started paralleling the Paine River, “Paine” means blue in the native language. We were moving for about seven hours today, stopping often to take pictures and take in the views of glaciers and mountains that were covered with dark clouds from time to time.

Besides a few birds we didn’t see much wildlife. As we climbed a small hill between two knolls we got a good look at the Dickson Glacier that extends into Argentina and creates Lago Dickson, Rio Paine and Lago Paine. The camp is located on a large flat that has nice river access, large trees to act as a wind break and great mountain vistas.

We continue to eat well, have fun conversations with in our team and other hikers. Once at camp the charcuterie board and vino appeared and our team enjoyed some showers, time in the sun and kicking a soccer ball around. The dinners have been good, a salad, soup, meat and rice typically. Tomorrow we walk to Los Perros Camp. Life is pretty, pretty, pretty good out here.

RMI Guide Mike King

Those of you that have traveled to Tanzania and were greeted and assisted by the smiling faces, helpful hands and strong backs from the Barking Zebra Tours Team, it is now our turn to show our kindness and generosity.  

Due to the pandemic and lack of tourism in Tanzania, Barking Zebra Tours launched a Go Fund Me campaign in May with a goal to directly provide beans, rice, maze flour and cooking oil to their Tanzanian team and their families.  To distribute food to 150 people for six months they set their goal at $14,000, slightly more than $15 per person per month. Thanks to the generosity of many that goal was reached in mid-October. We know that some of you were already aware of this campaign and we very much appreciate your kindness toward our friends and team members in Tanzania.  

As the worldwide pandemic continues, Barking Zebra Tours has increased its goal with the hopes of providing these provisions for an additional six months.  With the launching of the new goal we have been contacted by some of our previous climbers with an offer to match funds.  A group of RMI Climbers from the August 2019 Kilimanjaro Climb & Safari led by RMI Guide Dave Hahn has offered to match funds donated by RMI Climbers up to $2,500. 

If you are interested in donating, please click this link:  Go Fund Me 

We appreciate any donation you can make.   

We can’t wait to get back in the mountains with you. 

Hello everyone.

We spent yesterday touring Tarangire National Park which is home to many elephants, and a huge diversity of other animals. It’s still a bit rainy here, so the normal numbers of animals was down a bit, but we’re headed out early today in hopes of seeing more.

We ended our day at a remote and off grid camp within the National Park and surrounded by wildlife. The camp has screened in rooms that allow the night sounds of Africa in and also last night's rain storm.

It's been a memorable experience for everyone and great friendships forged. But finally it's time to return home to our families.

Jambo from RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari crew!

This is Mike, checking in for the Torres del Paine trekkers here in Punta Arenas. Everyone arrived after a long two days of travel. We got an early start to head to Isla Magdelana located in the Strait of Magellan to see a colony of Magellan penguins. The Strait of Magellan is protected from the weather of Cape Horn and one of the most important passages between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The hour and half boat ride was calm with nice views of the fractured land that makes up Southern Patagonia. Arriving to the island we had some ground rules laid out to not impact the penguins who are raising their near grown young. The young penguins are shedding their feathers in preparation for a northern migration along the coast of Argentina, Uruguay and even Southern Brazil. 

After an hour of walking and taking in the mix of penguins, gulls and brown skua we loaded up to head towards a sea lion colony. From the idling boat we took in these animals that number around 2,000. The smell traveled across the water while the young ones played in the water and swam close to the boat out of curiosity. On our return to Punta Arenas we saw a few Peale’s dolphins swimming alongside the boats. The remainder of the day will be spent in transit to Puerto Natales where we will pack for the start of our Torres del Paine trek. Thanks for following along.

RMI Guide Mike King

We finished our last day of hiking with the big packs. Last night was a windy and wet night down near Lago Nordenskjold. The Dones flexed, the tents shook and the trees thrashed about. For an area so infamous for stormy weather our team has lucked out. We hung out at the Refugio until the rain stopped and sunshine appeared. The winds would stay with us all day as we walked 14 km to Refugio Torre Central. The trail was a running creek at times and aside from some rocky bluffs to walk up and descend we cruised in just as the rain started back again. There is a lot of new snow up high and aside from watching some harriers play in the gusting wind the coolest views were the white caps and walls of wind blown spray moving like clouds across the lakes. Tomorrow concludes our 9 day trek of the “O” and “W” circuits. We’ll head out early to see the actual towers that gives this park it’s name and then head for Puerto Natales. 

RMI Guide Mike King

We enjoyed a rainy rest day at Refugio Grey. The wind and water on Lago Grey didn’t cooperate for a kayak tour but the time off our feet was appreciated. With only 7 km to Paine Grande we got a later start and walked through the 2011 forest fire scar that provided great views due to reduced vegetation.  The trail took us up and down a section of rocky bluffs filled with foxglove and tall grass over 4.5 hours. The winds are usually strong in this section and today was no different. Arriving at Refugio Paine Grande we got glimpses of the main rock formations this area is famous for. High winds, snow and grey skies up high made from some good spectating from within the beautiful and modern hut. Three days remain and we still have a lot of trail to cover and mountains to see. Thanks for following along. 

RMI Guide Mike King