Friday, December 15, 2017
Back in South America! It was a fine morning out at Union Glacier. One could tell our outfitter (ALE) was anxious to get rid of the fifty odd stinky, hungry, hyper climbers in camp. The Ilyushin was off deck from Punta Arenas by mid morning and we were on it ready for take off at 3 PM. The morning at Union was wonderful, saying so long to old and new friends. Everyone commented on how long us “V1” climbers had been down (pretty far into V2) and sure, it is true... we got way behind schedule waiting for storms... but somehow today, it all seemed extremely worth the wait. Landing in rain in Punta Arenas was a novelty. Darkness was a novelty. Showers and plumbing were a novelty. Dinner together was just fun and delicious (starting at10 PM -normal for Latin America). We went to the top floor of a high hotel for a nightcap and found the other fifty climbers we’d traveled with. Lots of fist bumping, back slapping and hugging ensued. It began to crystallize... we’d lived through a great adventure together. We’ll remember it forever.
Tomorrow (later today actually) we’ll bump into each other in airports from Punta to Miami and beyond. It will be back to the same old grind... but not quite... we’ve shared enough of the good stuff in the wildest, weirdest corner of the world to make that same old grind a little finer forever.
Thanks very much for keeping track of our adventure.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Our class of 2nd graders is studying Antarctica and we are looking at where you have been and reading your stories. We are all very amazed at your adventures and some of us have climbed in the Catskills and Adirondacks knowing you may have climbed there when you were in 2nd grade. We are studying the animals, the geography and weather and hoping to learn more about Antarctica in your posts.
Posted by: Gretchen Werner on 1/25/2018 at 12:00 pm
Well done Sue and team! Stellar work :-) Safe travels home
Different day... but same old weather. Our team went to bed last night inspired by a film shown in the dining tent. Austrian extreme skiers in camp played their award winning film on a pioneering adventure to the mountains of Siberia. The night was calm, but cloudy again... as was the morning. Chances for flying never seemed to increase as the day proceeded, so we concerned ourselves instead with reviewing our rope rescue techniques and checking out our avalanche beacons. In the flat light after lunch we borrowed fat-tired bikes and rode the 10k loop in order to get heart-rates up and leg muscles pumped. In late afternoon we simply rested and read books, biding our time -along with the forty or fifty other folks that were on our Ilyushin flight from Punta. This isn’t exactly a new phenomenon when it comes to mountaineering in Antarctica, so we are just rolling with it, relaxing and enjoying the hospitality and comforts of Union Glacier Camp. Weather sounds a little worse out at the Vinson end of things.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Our Kilimanjaro team of ten climbers and one guide showed up ready to get ready this morning. We met at 9 AM to introduce ourselves, and to review strategies, itineraries, policies. In short order, we'd completed equipment checks, weigh-ins for loaded bags, and general preparations for hitting the trail. This left team members with plenty of time for relaxing away the afternoon and chipping away at the evil jet lag. Most ended up wandering the park-like grounds of our hotel and checking out the wildlife. There were dik diks aplenty -the smallest of the antelope family. There were velvet monkeys and small gangs of mongooses. Occasionally we'd venture up the hotel's Kilimanjaro observation tower, but the mountain never showed itself on this otherwise cloud free, blue sky day. Too much haze and smoke toward the horizons. We had a quiet and fine dinner and turned in excited for the coming day. We get to walk uphill in a beautiful national park tomorrow.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
June 20, 2017
The alarm went off at 3 AM but we didn't leave camp until close to noon. Winds built as we ate breakfast and the thought of walking straight up into a cold and snowy down glacier breeze was unappealing. We did what we often do in such circumstances... We dragged our feet and waited to see which way the weather might trend. We got out our already packed sleeping bags and waited in the early morning shadows. When the sun came out, we were still waiting. By 11 things were not so different, but it wasn't nearly as cold. And so we packed up and made our move. As is normal, the glacier was in far better condition as we worked up Ski Hill. We had just a handful of easy crevasses to cross before we reached the stable ice up at 9500 ft. We pulled into our unbuilt new home just before 4PM and got busy building. Clouds had built up below us, overtaking our last camp and by evening we were in light snow from the clouds just up glacier, but we still had great views of Mts Foraker and Hunter to our South. The team turned in at 8 PM. Higher and happier with each passing day.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Glad to see all is going well out there.. keep chugging along!!!
Mr. Walker, Vegas Knights picked up Oscar Lindberg, tough loss but they are in really good shape still. I’ll keep you updated on the moves.
Good luck the rest of the way and soak it all in.
Chris
Posted by: Chris Calnan on 6/21/2017 at 7:10 pm
116 ha! Try 120 degrees and counting! Yeah Ken! I so wish I were there with your group enjoying much cooler climes! It must be beautiful beyond words! Hope you are taking loads of photos!
Climb on! Hugs~
This morning RMI Guide Brent Okita led his team to the Mt. Rainier summit. With a forecasted freezing level over 15,000' and sunny skies, the team began their ascent from Camp Muir in the early morning hours. After spending some time on the top, the team began their descent at 6:40 a.m.
Congratulations to Brent and his team!
June 4, 2016 - 4:31 pm PT
Our last evening at 11,200' was all too brief. Walking this morning after what we hoped was our last in an open air Posh, we descended into clouds that lasted the morning. It felt great letting the feet stride out.
By 11:00am we were at Basecamp, in a complete whiteout! So much for flying out this morning. Thankfully, our job of carrying these huge packs and moving is finally over.
With no immediate optimism for a break in the weather to fly out, we did what just felt right, and set up the Posh Tent. Snacks were shared, but hugely, Geoff had cached a case of Alaskan Amber to celebrate our safe return. What a treat!
After word from Basecamp Lisa of clearing conditions down glacier, we've rallied our gear in place, all except for our Posh. We're back here now, everyone sacked out and recovering from a short night and a few jam packed days.
Conversation floats in for those of us not snoring away or fatigue, as does the sounds of the famed guide Vern Tejas' ukulele.
Things are looking better around here. There's still hope we might have a big steak and fresh veggies for dinner tonight. I'm betting we'll be out for a late dinner and you'll be hearing from your loved ones soon. Until then, I might join my teammates in some much needed rest.
A tout a l'heure,
RMI Guides Brent, Christina and the team
May 21, 2016 - 10:52 am PT
Well today our team got to practice a Denali soft skill that may be one of the most crucial; How to occupy your mind when the weather keeps you stagnant. We woke up inside a Ping pong ball and this strange snow that turned to rain as soon as it touched us. The team spent most of the day inside the kitchen telling stories, laughing and tying 50 meters worth of knots on our climbing rope. At times it was a tough lesson but the team stood strong. After dinner the skies started to break and eager for some activity, we broke camp and made a move back to base camp. It was eerily calm to have the glacier all to ourselves in a whiteout. It's just past midnight now and we have just crawled into our tents. Tomorrow we are really hoping for some sun!
RMI Guide Leon Davis
Hey! It's Billy here checking in from the Sulphide Glacier on Mt. Shuksan where the most recent storm cycle actually left us with a nice coating of new snow. Things are exceptionally beautiful here right now but the fog's kind of moving in and out. And our team has built camp and settled on in and we just enjoyed some dinner. And we're gonna rack out and hit the hay pretty soon here to get us ready for a big day training tomorrow.
Weird stuff definitely today on the lower glacier. We actually saw multiple frogs on the glacier so the team hasn't decided whether or not that's a good omen or bad omen but we're hoping that it's a good one. And we're hoping to get an awesome week of learning and climbing. So, that's all for now. We'll check in again tomorrow, and let you know how the day went.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent and Team
RMI Guide Billy Nugent checks in from the Sulphide Glacier on Mt. Shuksan.
Hello from Kilimanjaro!
Today the team woke to mostly clear skies, but the clouds in the distance told us we shouldn't linger long. So after a nice breakfast with fresh fruits and scrambled eggs we hit the trail headed uphill. We climbed up the rocky ridge that leads to the Shira Plateau making good time, stopping only to take breaks and let the endless line of porters pass as they easily made their way up with their loads carefully balanced their heads. It is astonishing how easy they made it look!
Our gracious crew had sprinted ahead to have camp waiting for us and it was a welcome site after hiking for just over 4 hours. We arrived in time for a hot lunch and thankfully, just before those clouds started to sprinkle on us.
Everyone is doing great, especially since we are all warm and dry in our camp.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and Crew
Our class of 2nd graders is studying Antarctica and we are looking at where you have been and reading your stories. We are all very amazed at your adventures and some of us have climbed in the Catskills and Adirondacks knowing you may have climbed there when you were in 2nd grade. We are studying the animals, the geography and weather and hoping to learn more about Antarctica in your posts.
Posted by: Gretchen Werner on 1/25/2018 at 12:00 pm
Well done Sue and team! Stellar work :-) Safe travels home
Posted by: John Horgan on 12/18/2017 at 11:45 am
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