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Hello again everyone back home
It was another great day here in the
Khumbu Valley, with the team waking up to bright beautiful clear skies, and mountains in every direction. We had a nice relaxing breakfast and decided to make the most of our scheduled rest day by hiking a little way to visit a Monastery in Thame that is home to wonderful group of female Tibetan refugees. They apparently escaped over the boarder which is only a few miles away and have made this home like the Sherpa community did some 500+ years ago. When we arrived the nuns where in the monastery reading their Tibetan prayers and happily invited us in to listen. It was very special and we all felt lucky to have been able to share the moment with them. After the prayer session we purchased a few prayer flags and prayer beads to help support them and then made our way back to Namche for lunch.
Then evening was spent exploring Namche and doing a little bargaining for a few gifts. We also found a barber shop of all things and a few of us decided to get a fresh shave and hair wash if you can believe that!
If that wasn’t enough, we ran into one of RMI’s great guides Sean Collon here in Namche. He’s currently in medical school and has been in Nepal for a few months doing some volunteer work with the local community.
Finally we wrapped up the evening with another great meal here at our tea house.
All is well and everyone is doing great.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
On The Map
We are all back safely in town after a successful summit of
Pico de Orizaba! The entire team stood on top after a long day climbing up the Jamapa Glacier. We had thunder and lightning last night that turned into snow all the way down to the hut. The skies cleared around 12:45 am and we were out the door at 1 on a warm night. The Team is sorting gear for flights home in the morning and looking forward to a good dinner and restful nights sleep. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
RMI Guides Mike Walter & Sean Collon lead their team to the summit of
Mt. Shuksan this morning. Skies are smoky in the North Cascades but the climbers were above it all.
They will return to camp for a final night in the mountains before completing their program tomorrow.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
This morning we gathered for breakfast, drank our fill of coffee, and then hopped on our van for a 45 minute bumpy ride out of
Huaraz. Once at our trail head we dawned our light packs and began hiking. Soon the rolling grass hills gave way to steeper rock steps and eventually Laguna Churup. Laguna Churup is a stunning alpine lake at 14,200' with fantastic views of the central Cordillera Blanca. Under perfectly blue skies and a light wind we had lunch and soon everyone stretched out on the rocks for a little nap. After a little siesta we started our descent back to the TH and then on to the hotel. The whole team did a great job today, I had to rein them in a few times as the excitement cranked up the pace.
We are resting and doing some shopping this afternoon before dinner. Spirits are high and we are all excited to get on the trail tomorrow.
Thanks for following along,
RMI Guide
Geoff Schellens & Team
We are in Azau again for the night. Today we took an acclimatization hike up to about 11,500 ft. To gain that much elevation we hopped on a couple of chairlifts and hiked for just under two hours. The weather was perfect all day and we had amazing views of
Mt Elbrus and the rest of the Caucasus. Tomorrow we are moving up on the mountain itself and we'll begin our summit preparations.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
June 1, 2016 - 9:20 am PDT
Time for this year's pilgrimage to the
Great One! Our team is assembled and we are about to hit the orientation from the Park Service before diving into the hangar to rig our equipment for the upcoming adventure!
RMI Guide
Jake Beren & Team
May 18, 2016 - 5:07 p.m. PDT
Howdy from 14,200' Denali! We are lounging in the sun at camp, waiting for the winds up high to decrease so that we can move to our
high camp and get in position to take a crack at the summit. We're comfy here at camp but eager to club higher.
After breakfast this morning, we headed over to the Edge of the World, a viewpoint 15 minutes from camp that looks down some 7,000' into the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier and across to Mt. Foraker. Amazing.
If anyone could pull some strings with the weather deities, that'd be swell. Thanks!
That's it for now,
RMI Guides Mike Walter, Billy Haas, and Blake Votilla
On The Map
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier checked in this morning to let us know the team reached the summit of Cayambe with 100% success.
The team will make a stop for lunch before continuing to their next hacienda, Casa Ilayku. The team will enjoy a well deserved rest day tomorrow.
Nice work team!
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Today we woke to what might be the clearest morning of the Mexican countryside one might ever see. With the massive populations of Mexico City and Puebla the view is usually obscured with smoke, volcanic fog, smog. This morning we could make out high rise buildings and had a crystal clear view of Orizaba.
The Team took four hours to ascend to
High Camp, located at 15,500’. We had warm weather and heavy packs. Everyone is relaxing in their tents as afternoon clouds roll through.
We will have some dinner and prepare for our summit bid tomorrow morning. Should be a nice day if the recent weather holds.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
No flying today, as it turned out. Clouds and snow prevailed. But as far as storms go, this one hasn’t been particularly unpleasant. The wind didn’t blow hard enough to rattle our tents overnight and with all of the cloud cover, temperatures were moderate and reasonable -probably somewhere in the teens. After breakfast, we got out our harnesses and carabiners and reviewed a few basics before roping up and marching through camp a few times. In the afternoon we set out on a mission to walk a 10 kilometer groomed circuit out in mid-Glacier. Just a day or two before we got in, this circuit hosted 50+ runners competing in the Antarctic Marathon. Inspired by these athletes, my team went the extra mile today, or perhaps four, as their guide struggled to stay on course. Conditions deteriorated with snow falling steadily and for several hours we trudged on without benefit of horizon or contrast. All allowed that it was good to be out and to be stretching legs. We were back just before dinner and felt just a bit more entitled to extra helpings and deluxe desserts than we might have without the suffering and privations of the brutal 10K track. After dinner, the briefings went as expected... conditions still did not allow for flights to
Vinson... bad weather may continue for several days. Visual Flight Rules prevail in these parts... smart people don’t mix twin otters, mountains and murk if they can avoid it. But as it turns out, there is more training for us to do at Union Glacier in relative comfort and safety.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
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Glad to see the trek is experiencing favorable conditions! Great to see my fitness trainer Angel and her husband Dave are on track to check off an item on their bucket list! Onward and upward!
Posted by: Michael Miller on 3/21/2018 at 7:30 pm
Very exciting! Have the time of your life! Climb every mountain..starting with Everest.
Posted by: Desiree Christensen on 3/21/2018 at 7:54 am
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