Most Popular Entries
Pretty smooth day all around. Considering that in other years it has taken weeks to get from Punta Arenas, to the Ice and then to Vinson, we are mighty lucky to have done it all in a day. And for that, it wasn’t even a stressful day. No angst about whether we were going to go or not… no waffling weather or closing window for flying. It was just a day of green lights from the get go.
We left the hotel at 6 AM and there wasn’t too much slack time out at the airport. There were eighty of us, dressed in quite the variety of colorful cold weather gear and fancy boots. We mingled and had mini reunions with old and less old acquaintances. And then we trooped on out the gate to board our plane. Things are different this year! We used to ride in cargo and troop transports… this year we walked into a shiny Icelandic Air Boeing 757. And it was nice and nobody was fighting over the mask mandates. I have to say though, that a little bit of the cowboy feel to flying to Antarctica is now gone. It was a lot like going from Seattle to Denver or Dallas. Time to watch movies or sleep. The pilot put the wheels down on Union Glacier’s ice runway at 12:45 PM just like he’d been doing it forever. We bundled up and came down the stairs. It was a remarkably fine day for November. Our faces and fingers weren’t in danger of freezing as we milled about on the ice, snapping pictures. Then we got on board a souped up van with great big wheels and were chauffeured over to Union Glacier Camp. It was comfortable there and we were immediately warned not to get too comfortable. The plan was for the three of us to be on the first airplane out to Vinson. There was time for a tour of camp and a hot and hearty meal in the dining tent and then we loaded into a ski equipped Twin Otter for the hop out to Vinson. After 45 minutes and another perfect landing - this time on the snow strip of the Branscomb Glacier at 7000 ft of elevation- we were walking around in our new and beautiful home at Vinson Base Camp. This was around 4:15 PM. The work began. Lots of camp building and digging and sorting gear and getting settled. We didn’t eat dinner until after 9 PM, which didn’t matter too much, the sun was quite strong making our dining tent comfortable. Not all eighty passengers on the 757 were Vinson climbers, but there are six different guided groups out here as of today to kick off the first climbing season since the pandemic began. Now it is 12:30 AM, still with good sun, but time for bed.
Best Regards
Posted by: Casey Grom, Alex Halliday, Jack Delaney, Augi Fleer, Jackson Breen, Josh Hankin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guides Casey Grom & Alex Halliday led their Four Day Climb Teams July 10 - 13, 2021 to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams reached the crater rim at 5:10 am. Skies were clear and winds were calm as the teams enjoyed some time on the summit. They began their descent from the crater rim at 6:30 am. Once back at Camp Muir they will repack and continue the remaining 4,500' to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Mt. McKinley Mount Rainier
Hi Tim! I am missing you so much, but in a good way! LOVING the dispatches and pictures! I hope you are keeping a good journal so you can tell us EVERYTHING! I can’t wait! Everything is good at home. I have had the crud, but am feeling MUCH better today! Piss and vinegar coming back. HA! Bridger misses your warm lap at night, and so do I! Have done 2 commission checks and didn’t screw up! Yay me! I should be helping you pay company bills. Once in a while! :) I adore you and look forward to the 16th! But, I want this good experience to last for you. You are living your dreams! I couldn’t be more proud of you!
Posted by: Deb McLaughlin on 4/4/2011 at 12:14 pm
I am fine since tooth pulled—Dad left his message kinda hanging. Yesterday, Sat., 4/2/11 AM the sun was shining, bright blue skies so I jumped in my hot tub clothes, went outside and promptly turned around and headed back in the house!! It was extremely cold and windy—What a wimp! How did I ever birth a child who actually LIVES for cold and windy!!!! Ha—Cudos to you, Timmer. Stay safe all of you. I depend on them to take care of my son—Yeah, I know, nuff Mom talk. Love ya, Mom
Posted by: Mom Mac on 4/3/2011 at 12:22 pm
Today was a fine and calm, sunny day from start to finish. Just perfect for resting. We took it easy and tried to catch up on napping and hydration. This camp is 9300 feet above sea level and so it was a good acclimatization day as well. The sun hit camp at about 10:40 AM and melted the frost collecting overhead in the tents… the perfect alarm clock. We ate a leisurely breakfast in our small dining tent and then retreated to the warmth of the tents for the day. Dinner was in strong sunshine at 8:30 PM. We intend to put in a good hard day tomorrow, carrying loads up the fixed ropes.
Best Regards,
I’ve really enjoyed and appreciated your updates. May you have safety and success
Posted by: Don Huntington on 11/30/2021 at 3:51 pm
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Mike King, Dominic Cifelli
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Elevation: 9,200'
Wednesday, December 29, 2021 - 7:19 pm PT
We seem to be into a stretch of very fine weather. Today was nothing but sunny, calm and beautiful. Our first morning on Vinson was pleasant, but quite full with getting everybody up to speed on glacier travel and packing and prepping for moving up. Even so, we took a midday break for a sit-down hot lunch of vegetable soup. We got walking at 1:40 PM. Four rope teams traveling in formation up the Branscomb Glacier. Recent snows made the footing a little more insecure for the first few hours out of camp, but conditions improved as we got a little higher. There was less new snow and easier to walk on packed trail by the time we hit the big turn in the glacier below Vinson’s west face. We came into 9,200 ft “Low Camp” just after seven in the evening. A fine time to arrive as the sun hits from a great angle and intensity at low camp during the evening hours. We built tents and moved in to giant walls of snow bricks constructed against big winds by previous inhabitants. Our evening was windless. We ate dinner and talked over possibilities for tomorrow. Perhaps we’ll move higher in the morning, perhaps we’ll spend the day training around low camp. It all depends on how folks feel in the morning. It is wonderful to be up in this wild setting, looking straight up at Vinson and at the jagged peaks just to the North.
Although it is after midnight now, the sun is still strong on the tents, making them almost warm and comfortable. The sun won’t go behind the mountain until about 3 AM, at which point things will feel a bit colder until it reappears around 10:15 AM.
Best Regards,
Posted by: Eric Frank, Caleb Ladue
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Bolivia
Kim & Co. sorry the weather and conditions didn’t exactly cooperate. Still sounds like an AMAZING trip and I love the impromptu croquet…don’t be too concerned, but Lucky has found a suitor by the name of Hugo the Persian.
Xoxoxo Lora
Posted by: Lora on 5/31/2017 at 6:48 pm
We reached Mweka Camp at 2:50 PM to finish our 16-hour climbing day.
The “day” began last night at 11 PM when we woke for our summit bid. After a little breakfast, at 12:05 AM we hit the trail behind Naiman - our lead guide.
Our team made rapid progress, passing several other teams on the dirt and rock switchbacks. It was a fairly cold night, and that was before the winds started up. By our second rest break, a few hours into the climb we were adding clothing layers and putting on bigger gloves. By our fourth break, most of the team had all available clothing on. We hit the crater rim at Stella Point by 5:40 AM and took just a brief pause there for food and water before pushing on toward Uhuru - Kilimanjaro’s summit. The light of day came slowly and beautifully on as we walked on the rim at 19,000 ft. Sunrise was most welcome at 6:30 but by then our attention was on the phenomenal shadow cast by Kilimanjaro in the skies to the west… exactly over the summit of 15,000 ft Mt Meru.
We hit Uhuru at 6:40 AM and shed a few tears, shook hands, hugged, and snapped photos. It was an amazingly beautiful time of day. But it was also bitterly cold and windy, so we got out of there at 6:55 and headed back to Stella without delay. Winds were really picking up at Stella then and putting a lot of dirt and dust in the air, so we cruised right on over the edge and started dropping altitude. The descent was a combination of careful steps and full-on boot skiing through steep gravel and pumice.
We were back to camp at a respectable hour 9:40 AM, rubbing our eyes and wiping dirt and dust off our faces. Our fabulous staff treated the team to a full brunch/lunch of 15,000 ft pizza and coffee, after which we left camp bound for Mweka - 5000 ft lower. The trail down is direct and rough, we certainly were cautious and ready to be done for much of it.
Now it is a relief to be camped in the forest for one more night. The air has moisture again… and oxygen in abundance.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & team
Congratulations! Enjoy the safari!
Posted by: Jeff Tracy on 8/8/2022 at 12:43 pm
Congrats to all! I am in awe…
Posted by: Mnica on 8/7/2022 at 2:39 pm
Posted by: Jeff Martin, Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
Congrats all! Very proud of you brother, Trev… has been exciting to follow. Lylab, Viv
Posted by: Viv on 8/14/2014 at 6:02 pm
Posted by: Geoff Schellens, Win Whittaker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
Way to go Pete Lynn! Want to hear all about it. Tracked all the way up.
Posted by: Bill Adkins on 8/1/2014 at 6:43 pm
Hi Arthur and Owen with team Emmons. Have been following you all the way to the summit (well at least since 6.00am!). That was so awesome to watch. Congrats to the whole team and a special thanks to whoever packed the GPS tracker! Can’t wait to hear all about it. Love M & D
Posted by: Shirley Eigenbrot on 7/31/2014 at 6:05 pm
Way to goooooo!!!!!
Posted by: MaryBeth & DZ on 7/13/2021 at 1:39 pm
View All Comments