The climbing team is at Camp 4 readying for their summit bid on Mt. Everest tonight. For me, that means sleeping in the communication tent tonight. Dave and Seth will get some rest at the South Col. Hopefully a few hours of sleep but very important time for resting, hydrating and self care. Can you believe they are just hours away from the start of the Summit push? Kaji, Tshering and Geldgen our super Sherpa put Camp 4 together before Dave and Seth arrived. Nice work boys! Our Sherpa staff are doing fine as well.
I celebrated another birthday (twelfth time I guess) here on the Big E yesterday. Our wonderful Sherpa staff at Everest Base Camp had all the trimmings for me. I enjoyed a moonlight hike, no headlight needed, a very peaceful and surreal scene surrounding the jaunt. This is a truly amazing place to spend time. The horseshoe pit is still up and it's tough to get the better of me on the home pit advantage.
I'll be sending updates on the team's progress as they attempt to summit Mt. Everest tonight. Good luck!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
RMI Guides Avery Parrinello and Alex Halliday lead the Five Day Climb June 8 - 12 to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Alex reported a lovely day with a light breeze. The teams reached the summit crater between 6:30 and 6:45 am PT. The teams enjoyed some time in the crater before starting their descent just before 8 am. Once back to Camp Muir they will take a short break to refuel and repack before descending the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's Five Day Climb team members!
Current report from RMI's Everest team:
Windy and cool with the jet stream right over the region today. Wind usually means not much snow and that is the case today.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn and crew went on a hike toward Camp 2 and are now back at Camp 1 for another night in their great First Ascent tents. Sherpa team is planning to carry more gear up to Camp 2 tomorrow. We are just stock piling Camp 2 for now, leaving gear in duffel bags and not putting tents up since it will still be about a week before the team stays overnight. Without a staff at Camp 2 to keep track of tents, there is no sense in subjecting them to tough weather conditions. The whole team is in great shape and the game plan is right on schedule. It is just a matter of time and next thing you know it, it will be summit push time. Big mountains take a while but they are sure worth it.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Yo Mark -
Kim and John reporting in from the deck of the Tides Tavern in Gig Harbor! It’s been spectacular here the last couple of days - but we miss hanging out with you; well, maybe except for those two days in Gorek Shep.
Looks like you’ve settled in for the long haul - but hopefully you’re finding time for some golf!
Be safe, we’ll be following the team the next few weeks. Namaste.
J&K
Posted by: John Gilman on 4/23/2012 at 9:43 pm
Conrad and Dave H. you guys rock. if i had never seen the video of you guys climbing the Pacific Ocean wall in Yosemite, i never would have began to climb. Climbing has changed my life and i owe it all to you guys (along with Jimmy) Keep charging on, and be safe.
My little team began to combine in Kathmandu yesterday afternoon. Jeff Martin met my flight into hot and dusty K-Du at around one o'clock. As my boss at RMI, Jeff has already been over here for nearly a week, chasing down logistical details and getting all the arrangements arranged. My climbers, Bill and Sara McGahan, beat me into town by about an hour, having flown East out of Atlanta, while I circled West from Taos. Long, long flights no matter how you slice it.... a passel of time zones and bad airplane food. I had time for a quick shower back at the hotel before Jeff and I taxied our way over to the Ministry of Tourism. I scribbled my name a half-dozen times and shook a bunch of official hands... swallowed the obligatory cup of sweet tea and voile!! we walked out with an all-important Everest climbing permit. We retreated to the hotel to join Bill and Sara for dinner. Despite the fun reunion, we got yawning and fading fast... hopelessly jet-lagged we stumbled off to our rooms. Linden Mallory is already up in the Khumbu, we'll get together with him about a week into our trek, and Mark Tucker will join us at about the same time to complete the team. For now it is just four of us, which made today pretty easy when it came to a final gear check and packing session. We enjoyed an interview and conversation with Bili Bierling who is helping the legendary Elizabeth Hawley with the monumental task of keeping track of climber statistics in the Nepal Himalaya. Then we each made a few forays out into the streets to track down odds and ends -our version of sightseeing at this busy point in the expedition. We need to be ready to fly good and early tomorrow morning, up from 4,000 feet in Kathmandu to 9,200 feet in Lukla before the air gets cloudy and turbulent. My clock is set for 4:15 and my bags are packed once again... with luck we'll be walking in mountains by mid-morning.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
I am constantly amazed at the determination of the human spirit, regardless of age. The Olympics is a great example. Our 17 year old luge racers travel 80 mph, our 14 year old uneven parallel bar competitors risk life and limb, 16 year old downhill skiers speed at 90mph! on two skinny boards! on ice! Some die from it. However, over half of the US population is unable to find their ass with both hands (despite their extensive “life experiences”). So, if some 18 year old wants to train and discipline themselves to conquor Everest, I salute them. No offense intended Michelle
Posted by: Bart Miller on 3/30/2011 at 10:53 am
I have to question the motivation/reasoning behind allowing kids under 18 to climb Everest. No matter how mature they might be, there just isn’t the life experience to draw upon in my humble opinion. While I think Dave Hahn is a very accomplished climber, it makes me lose some respect for him in his choices to accept clients such as this. Money talks I suppose.
The Four-Day climb led by Casey Grom and Abby Westling enjoyed the sunrise from Muir Peak this morning. After extreme temperatures in the forecast and a very warm night, RMI guide, Casey grom reported that the team was already starting to bake in th sun at around 7am this morning. The team is currently on their descent and return to Basecamp this afternoon.
It is always tough to leave the Plantation Lodge. It is just too comfortable and the people are way too kind and friendly. But we tore ourselves away because of Tarangire National Park. It is a worthy motivating force… the chance to see incredible numbers and varieties of wildlife on a seemingly unlimited expanse of beautiful land. We got rolling out of Karatu at 8:30 AM but couldn’t resist a fine shopping opportunity for some Tanzanian keepsakes a short distance out of town. We still made it out to Tarangire by late morning and immediately began seeing animals and then more animals and more animals still. At first it was just the flavors we’d already become familiar with (zebra, wildebeest, impala, waterbuck, eagles, vultures, giraffes) but then we started seeing new things. Family after family of elephants, each with a wee one just a few months old. We saw a python up a tree. We saw lions chewing on a zebra. We saw hartebeest and elan and bushbucks and Dik Dik. We looked up every likely tree for leopards… but they are still hiding from us. Then we finished the day at Lokisale Lodge, deep within the park. The staff gave us a friendly welcome and lit a fire for us to enjoy sunset by. They warned us gently of the wild animals roaming through the grounds of the lodge and then showed us to our deluxe tent cabins. We are about to eat our final dinner together, way out in East Africa.
The Five Day Climb August 20 - 24 reached the summit of Mt. RaInier on Tuesday, August 23rd led by RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli and Joe Hoch. The teams were able to spend time in the crater enjoying the beautiful morning. After taking all the photos, the teams started their descent to Camp Muir. Climbers enjoyed some rest and a final night on the mountain. They plan to start their descent to Paradise around 9 am. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp early this afternoon.
The wind came in at 2:50 this morning. It had been up above, already working high camp since 11 or midnight but we hoped it would forget to come down to visit. Thankfully it didn’t blow hard down here, although we could hear it howling elsewhere. And it eased off of camp by sun up at 10:40 AM, making it a bit easier to get out for breakfast. We were getting sunshine but there were big and serious storm clouds raking the peaks above. It was an easy decision to sit put… a storm day was declared. There was plenty to do, as far as toughening up our little camp. The kitchen/dining pit needed to get deeper in the ice for protection, snow block walls needed to be quarried for the tents. We alternated between snacking, napping and working hard. Forecasts call for the storm to continue tomorrow (Thursday) but there is reason to believe that things will be better on Friday. Cold fingers crossed.
Waking up at 3:30 a.m. is never easy, especially at 17,500 ft. Somehow though, as the alarm went off yesterday morning, it was easy to rise. The wind was blowing gently, making the tents speak - I think they were saying "get outta here." As I began crunching through the icefall, the normal adrenaline kicked my pace up a notch, but also the excitement for what is ahead. Even though I have been through the icefall many times, this time it feels different. I am hopeful that when I come back down, I will not have to go back up again - this is our summit push.
As I wind through the ice blocks and snow-covered crevasses, I have to admit I am filled with a new kind of trepidation. Mt. Everest is the tallest mountain on this earth, and even in normal conditions it would hand me a challenge. This year has been different though, as it has been filled with some extra challenges. I wanted to attempt to climb without supplemental oxygen, and that certainly added an unknown element to the trip. I have had many questions for myself since I made that decision, the biggest of course being: "Is it possible?" Early on in the trip I injured my ankle and that has really slowed me down, not just physically but mentally as well. I really feel like I need to be 100% to try to climb without O2, and as the trip has gone on, it has become clear that this isn't the case. At any rate, climbing Mt. Everest will still give me a great challenge and there is still so much work to be done.
As I lie in my tent resting at Camp 2, I think about the climbers surrounding me. It is certainly humbling to be around some of the world's best (and strongest) mountaineers, as well as the cameramen who work twice as hard as any of the climbers. It is also pretty special to see Erica attempt to tackle a goal so large. At times I have to remind myself that she is really one of the only people here who isn't climbing for a profession, and I admire her strength and adaptability to work with this group.
Today is a rest day, and my mind is already playing with the thoughts about summit day - how will the weather be, will I feel strong, how can I be an asset to the team... But summit day could still be days away, so for now I will quiet my mind, rest my body, and let the gratitude I feel for where I am right now wash over me.
Our Elbrus Northside team has returned to the U.S. and had a bit of time to work through the jet lag of jumping nine hours back in time on the return trip home. Our time in St. Petersburg was spectacular. The city has the feel of Old Europe, and is often compared to Venice because of the numerous canals and rivers that crisscross the city. Founded by Peter the Great, and the capitol of the Russian Empire for nearly 200 years, St. Petersburg is still considered the cultural capitol of Russia. We arrived mid afternoon with enough time to take a stroll around the city, before a delicious dinner at the Jerome, a perennial favorite restaurant year after year. The following day we took the city by storm, following our tour guide Olga as we walked as many of architectural and public space sites as we could fit in. From St. Issacs Cathedral with it's colorful mosaics, massive pillars, and scars on the facade left over from the 900+ day siege of St. Petersburg during WWII, to the luxurious Summer Gardens of the Romanovs, St. Petersburg displays the wealth, opulence, culture, and liveliness of the Tsar era. We spent the afternoon wandering through the massive winter palace of the Romanovs, now home to the Hermitage Museum. We spent the evening on a delightful canal tour by boat, and our last dinner in Russia. St. Petersburg averages only 60 days of sunlight each year, but our impression was far different - blue skies, comfortable temps, nice breezes on the canal, it was everything that summer should be and a nice refresh after our time on the mountain.
International climbing trips at their best are about far more than just the mountain or the climbing. The cultural and historical sites we saw, the insight into their history that we gained, and the people we met along the way are just as important. We had a number of interactions with teams of Russian climbers in camp, eager to understand how and why we had come so far to climb their humble mountain. The stories we read in the news, on either side of the ocean, can paint the other's countries as adversaries and opponents, but everyone we met was overwhelmingly friendly. As one climber in a hut one evening put it, "The people you meet in the mountains - they are good people." That was true of the climbers we met, and most certainly true of our team as well. Watching everyone work through the tough days, have their great days, and come together in difficult moments - such as setting up tents at 15,000' in a blustery 35 mph wind - is one of the joys of guiding and climbing, and it was such a pleasure to work with this team. Thanks so much to them, to our local outfitter, to Sasha, our local guide, translator, and fixer of all, and thanks to everyone who followed along. We’ll be back at it next year!
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Mike Uchal
Yo Mark -
Kim and John reporting in from the deck of the Tides Tavern in Gig Harbor! It’s been spectacular here the last couple of days - but we miss hanging out with you; well, maybe except for those two days in Gorek Shep.
Looks like you’ve settled in for the long haul - but hopefully you’re finding time for some golf!
Be safe, we’ll be following the team the next few weeks. Namaste.
J&K
Posted by: John Gilman on 4/23/2012 at 9:43 pm
Conrad and Dave H. you guys rock. if i had never seen the video of you guys climbing the Pacific Ocean wall in Yosemite, i never would have began to climb. Climbing has changed my life and i owe it all to you guys (along with Jimmy) Keep charging on, and be safe.
Posted by: Samuel Short on 4/23/2012 at 12:29 pm
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