Most Popular Entries
June 2, 2015 - 5:43 pm PT
Light snow is pelting the outside of our tents this afternoon, but we are warm and dry inside. Soon we will need to venture out and build high walls around our camp to protect the tents from any potential wind damage. Despite the fact that it is a lot of hard work, wall building tends to be a favorite among groups. It is half artistry and half big-kid Legos.
The group was already productive today. After a leisurely breakfast of bagels with smoked salmon, we took a three hour stroll down to our cached food and brought it back up to
11,200' camp. Now we are firmly established here and getting stronger for our next move uphill.
RMI Guides Geoff Schellens and Eric Frank
On The Map
Wednesday, May 20th 2:38 pm PDT
Writing to you all from vibrating tents at 9800 ft. tonight. The team had a fine
walk up from 7800 ft. this morning in decent weather, but the looming sense of something surrounding us was ever present. We started to make our camp as the winds picked up, snow falling and visibility waning. It was hard work for 3 or 4 hours before we had good walls and I've never seen the team work so well together - all are hard workers. We are hunkered down now and eagerly await what tomorrow brings.
Hope you all are warm!
RMI Guide Leon Davis and team
After leaving La Malinche we drove towards Amecameca to gather last minute supplies before starting our climb to Ixtaccihuatl 17,340.’
We drove up a windy rode to the national park gate, then continued up a bumpy dirt road to La Joya, ~ 13,047’. There, we were greeted with warm soup and tacos (great fuel before a big climb!)
The team tidied up their packs -and spent the afternoon climbing to high camp ~ 14,500ft.
We ate ramen, fresh quesadillas and made a plan to have an alpine start of 1:30 am. The little hours we layed horizontally was just enough to rest our bodies and minds for the summit push. The morning shuffle included coffee, oatmeal, perfect weather and many constellations in the sky to keep us company. The climb was tough and long but all worth it once we gained the ridge in time for sunrise! From the summit we were able to see where we came from, La malinche, and our next goal, Pico De Orizaba!
The team now arrives in Puebla for some much-needed rest, site seeing and great food!
RMI Guides Lacie Smith, Joe Hoch, and Team
×
New Post Alerts:
Mexico's Volcanoes January 18, 2025
Jambo everyone back home.
Well we’ve finally arrived at our high camp, after a good night's rest and a short hike up to 15,000ft. It has been mostly sunny all day with great views of
Kilimanjaro and our route for tomorrow. Everyone is doing well and feeling good at this new altitude which is a good sign for things ahead.
The team just wrapped up lunch and discussed in great detail the plan for tomorrow’s climb. Everyone knows what what we’ll be wearing and what will be in the pack as well as the schedule.
Our game plan will be to wake at 11pm and have a quick breakfast at 11:30, then hopefully hit the trail right at midnight. Normally we try to leave a touch later, but there are quite a few climbers here tonight so we’re going to try and get a jump start on most of them.
I’m expecting the team to reach the summit in 7 to 8 hours (12:00 pm to 1:00 pm PST) if things go according to plan.
That’s all for now. And keep your fingers crossed for us!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew
On The Map
Hello from Cafe La Vaca, in the town of Cayambe. We have all arrived safely from the mountain and are getting ready to power down massive hamburgers to replenish our bodies after 11 straight hours of climbing this morning.
Oh, did I mention the team made a successful summit of
Cayambe? I am so distracted by hamburgers I almost forgot the important details.
We woke at 11:30 this morning to cloudy skies but warm temps. We started up the mountain at 12:30 and were standing on top in perfect weather by 7:15am. It was one of the most glorious summit days I’ve ever had on this mountain. Somebody cashed in some big karma bucks to get this forecast.
Once at the hut the wind picked up and the clouds rolled in. Perfect timing again!
Now we will feast, bathe and sleep. Our big mountains are just beginning so rest is imperative to staying healthy and strong.
Sending big hugs to all of our family and friends back home.
Will write again tomorrow.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
Wednesday, June 13, 2018 - 8:54 PM PT
The mountain weather was kind to us today. After a hearty breakfast at the Roadhouse in Talkeetna, we made our way to the airstrip where K2 Aviation told us we were good to fly. We hopped into our climbing clothes, did our last minute list checks, and got into the planes.
After a phenomenal 45 minute flight over the tundra and into the Alaska Range, we landed on the snow runway that is
Kahiltna Base Camp.
We spent the day taking in the sights, practicing crevasse rescue skills, and preparing for our long, heavy slog to our next camp at 7,800'.
Our plan is to wake up super early and be traveling across the Kahiltna Glacier while all of the snow bridges are very frozen. We also like to travel at night to avoid baking in the heat of the day as all of the white, snowy surfaces reflect sun back up at us. We either freeze or fry in the mountains and the 24 hours of daylight allow us to travel safely whenever we choose based on the temperature.
RMI Guide Mike Haugen & Super Crew 6
On The Map
Sunday, May 27th - 11:00 pm PST
What a day of rope work we had under the most amazing back drop of Mount Hunter. We went through different knots and how to build a variety of equalized snow anchors. Then we put it to practice and had everyone take turns going into a deep crevasse and the team would build a pulley system to bring them out. This was an Alaska style crevasse which means it appears bottomless and cold. We had so much fun exploring the glacier up close and personal. The team's rope skills are great but we hope to avoid using the rescue skills as we head out tomorrow to move camp up the
Kahiltna Glacier. After such a big day of playing on and in the glaciers, we all treated ourselves to two hot chocolates after a delicious dinner of tortellini with sun-dried tomatoes.
Goodnight from the glacier!
RMI Guide Christina Dale
Another day of perfect weather on
Kilimanjaro. A bit of a tired team to get going this morning but with the finish line in sight, rally we did. After a great breakfast, we had a nice group celebration for the local crew. We made a quick 4,000-foot descent to the exit gate and then another couple hours to lap of luxury here at the Dik Dik Hotel. Excellent celebration banquet brought us to the late hours and packing for the safari start tomorrow, which is our next adventure. All is well, full bellies, rosy-red cheeks, lots of fond memories, a bed, and a shower, what more could you want.
We are so lucky.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Today we are checking in from our camp, Llulluchapampa at 12,303 ft. We had a warm day walking out the Kusichaka river valley through more small villages and got to spend some time in at an Incan site. The series of terraces and walls are believed to have been a trading post for agricultural goods arriving from the jungle and high mountains to be dispersed throughout the Incan empire.
After another delicious lunch we joined the traditional Inca trail at Wayllabamba where our mule drivers departed and our porters arrived to shoulder our camp. The 16 porters are from the same village in the Andes and work as a crew. During the high season they work four to five 4 day trips, carrying 55 lbs each day. The Team is grateful and amazed with how they bound up the trail above 10,000 ft with relative ease.
So far we have not seen another group of hikers the entire trek, that will changed tomorrow evening as we approach the final 2 camps before Machu Picchu. We will get an early start so we can enjoy a quite day. Everyone is feeling great and taking in the amazing vistas of the Andes.
Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
June 17, 2016 - 11:36 pm PT
What a big few days it's been! Forgive the radio silence, but our team has been busy getting some real climbing done. Since our glorious finale to our ascent, we descended back to
17 Camp and had a well deserved rest. We awoke early this morning with a motivating forecast to move and packed up our alpine home and began our descent. As we scooped up caches at 16,600, 14,200 and 11,000 our decision to beat feet downhill seemed well made. Winds and snow took over the upper camps and we made it to 7,800 camp where the air is thick and the temps are pleasant (by our new standards). We carved out a quick camp and are planning on an early morning to try and catch a flight tomorrow. Wish us one more day of decent weather and we'll be back to tell all the details of one hell of an adventure!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
On The Map
Previous Page
Next Page
Stay warm Kim with all that new snow. Remember, with your height you will have an advantage getting more Oxygen!
Posted by: JDT on 6/4/2015 at 8:10 am
Hi Kim: Looks like you & the team are doing terrific! We look forward at some point to seeing photos of the snow walls you are building around the tents. Sounds like it could be a “work of art” suitable for gallery viewing.Go Kim Go!!! Be safe & stay well!! Love, Dad
Posted by: SHEL on 6/3/2015 at 4:52 am
View All Comments