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The climb is underway. We were up early today, carrying bags and packs to the magic bus/truck for the ride to Kilimanjaro. We enjoyed a last comfortable breakfast at the Dik Dik Hotel and said our goodbyes to the staff there as we climbed on board the great expedition vehicle. We were on the road just after 7 AM and at our destination, the
Machame Gate to Kilimanjaro National Park by around 9 AM. Our expedition staff sorted loads and hired porters as we snacked, drank water and shooed monkeys from our staging area. Our climb began around 10:15 as we set out through the forest at nearly 6000 ft above sea level. Gaining 4000 feet over the course of about five and a half hours, we were encouraged to be on dry ground and good trail. There was significant cloud cover, but no rain until we'd very nearly reached Machame Camp at 9890 ft. Even then we only had a few minutes of sprinkles as we moved into our tents. An afternoon snack and a delicious dinner in our dining tent took us to darkness and the end of a fine first day. We were all happy to be finally walking in a pretty place after so many less than fun days of packing, traveling and preparing.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide
Dave Hahn & Team
Greetings everyone,
Today the team left behind the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu and have made our way to the beautiful and peaceful Khumbu valley.
We had an early start to the day (5:30) so we could hopefully catch better weather for flight into the mountains. Thankfully it paid off as we were one of just a few flights that made it to Lukla before the clouds closed the flying routes. We flew via helicopters on the appropriately named “Everest Air”.
The first day on the trail was pretty quiet and not busy at all, which was a pleasant surprise for all of us. There are no roads here, only a simple trail that leads all the way to Everest Base Camp, and it was mostly downhill today.
Everyone is doing great and enjoying the fresh mountain air, incredible views, and the simplicity of hiking in the mountains.
We have just finished dinner and are headed to bed after an enjoyable meal here at our tea house located in the funny sounding village called Phakding.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Base Camp Crew
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New Post Alerts:
Everest Base Camp Trek, March 9, 2025
RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier and Mike Bennett and the Ecuador Volcanoes team reached the summit of Cayambe earlier this morning.
Way to climb!
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Ecuador Volcanoes January 21, 2025
This is Mike, we
topped out on Ixtaccihuatl around 7:50 am with a stiff wind for the entire climb. The air temperature was warm and we had a beautiful full moon. The combination of moon light and wind made for a crystal clear climb and amazing sunrise. We are in our descent now and will check in once we are back down at the bus.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
Friday, June 8, 2018 - 9:27 AM PT
It's been a long day so this will be short, but we woke up to calm conditions above and decided to pull the trigger on our move to
High Camp at 17,000'. As we got out of camp, it started to snow and had us a bit nervous about conditions on the Buttress, but as we crested the fixed lines, winds were calm. We walked through snow for the whole day, but it stayed warm and calm, and we rolled into 17,000ft, set up camp, and are ready to go for the summit tomorrow should the opportunity present!
RMI Guides Pete, Jess, Taylor, and team
On The Map
Wednesday, June 6, 2018 - 4:52 PM PT
After a busy week of pushing up to
14,000' Camp, we took a much deserved first full rest day. The team had a rough nights sleep at our new altitude and learned how to manage the morning “snowstorm” in the tent that develops from the condensation our breath gives off and freezes on the inside of the tent walls. To sum it up, it’s not a pleasant way to wake up! Despite that, we got to sleep in and wait for the sun to hit our tents before we had a big breakfast with bagels, cream cheese and salmon!! The morning sun helped dry out our sleeping bags before some afternoon snow showers moved through. Tomorrow we might have a more active rest day filled with some training and a walk to the Edge of the World. All and all, the team is enjoying some rest and should sleep much better tonight as our bodies continue to acclimate to our new elevation.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
On The Map
Good things come to those who wait. We got out of good old Union Glacier Camp at about a quarter to five this afternoon. The weather was beautiful at Union and clearing at Vinson for much of the day. Our Twin Otter flight through the Ellsworth Mountains was an absolute delight. For forty five minutes we cruised through jagged crags and over gigantic glaciers. Ice and/or mountains stretched to every horizon. The mountains got progressively higher as we approached Vinson and at 5:30 we touched down ever so gently at
basecamp on the Branscomb Glacier. We were busy enough then, unloading gear and building a camp, but we stopped every few minutes to stare in wide-eyed wonder at our surroundings. The western escarpment of Vinson rises a dramatic 2000 meters just a few miles away, And down below our 7000 ft home, the Branscomb pours into the larger-still Nimitz Glacier. With our sleeping tents up and secure, we dug a deluxe living room in the snow and topped it with a cook tent. We sparked up our stoves and then sat down for a late but great meal... not quite as great as the fine food served up at Union all of this last week, but it is possible we enjoyed it more for finally being in the right place after such a long journey. It is now 1AM, the sun is shining brilliantly -although it will dip behind the mountain in another hour and introduce us to real cold in a hurry. We’ll figure tomorrow’s plan, carrying or moving, when we s7ee how the night treats everybody.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
June 6, 2016 - 10:20 pm PT
Welcome back folks! Our team woke this morning to clearing skies down the Kahiltna Glacier with views of Mount Frances, Mount Hunter and Mount Foraker. This is really the first opportunity our team had to get a sense of where we were and what's around us. What a brilliant way to start our day after a stormy evening yesterday! After a quick breakfast we broke down camp, packed our sleds and headed north towards
11k Camp. This day is hard work. Faced with about 1,800ft of vertical and 100lbs of gear per person, it's easily the hardest day we've had so far this trip. But, it's also our last day with heavy sleds until we start our descent. Our team quite excited by that prospect basically drug us to 11k! Okay, well, not quite drug us but they out performed our expectations by a long shot! We're now settled into camp after a few hours of hard work shoveling and digging tent platforms. The clouds have eased there way back in but were hoping for clearer skies tomorrow for the first well-earned rest day of the trip. Thanks for following along! Stay tuned for more!
RMI Guide Steve Gately
May 21, 2016 - 7:25 pm PT
We spent another day here at 14k. Today the weather at camp was quite pleasant, with periods of sun and just some light wind. Up above on the
West Buttress, where we are hoping to climb, the strong winds persisted today. We'll see what tomorrow brings, as the weather forecast is still calling for high winds the next few days. We'll keep you posted.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
It rained hard all night last night, and we are currently in a very humid cloud with intermittent showers. We decided not to climb today because of the weather. Instead, we did some training and hanging out in our cook tent. We're currently taking siestas in our tents in order to warm back up from the penetrating dampness and cold. Hopefully, if it clears up this afternoon, we'll be able to take a climb up higher on the
Sulphide Glacier.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
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Kate and Erwin: the pictures are already amazing. Texts came through from Bill. All the family send love and are checking the blog daily. All the best to the entire group! Elizabeth
Posted by: Elizabeth on 9/5/2015 at 7:17 am
What an amazing journey both physically as well as spiritually! Safe travels to you all!
Posted by: Kelly Smith on 9/4/2015 at 9:31 am
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