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Thursday June 25th 10:00 a.m. PT
RMI Guide Dave Hahn sent us a couple photos as they were embarking on their flight to
Kahiltna Base. Once the team is situated on the glacier and moved into their first mountain camp, Dave will check in with us again.
May 15th 2:30 pm PT
Overnight winds here at the 11k Camp were strong, but subsided a bit by morning. We woke early and fired stoves for a much anticipated cup of coffee...followed by a breakfast of smoked salmon, cream cheese, and bagels (it's not all about suffering up here).
Our team was ready, but the winds up above
Motorcycle Hill and around
Windy Corner, where we intend to place our cache, never subsided to levels that we were comfortable with.
We ended up taking another rest day here at 11k, which is always a good thing. Hopefully we'll be able to make our cache tomorrow. We'll keep you posted.
RMI Guide Mike Walter and the team
Dawn broke clear and cold this morning as we packed up to move to our next camp,
Barranco. The altitude hangover of our first night at 12,500' couldn't be ignored, but by the time we reached camp the small headaches had left us to be replaced with the simple fatigue of a hard day of climbing.
Today was a good day. Our route was perfectly set to give us some challenging altitude as we ascended to Lava Tower at 15,200'. This gave our bodies the chance to acclimate, and our descent to 13,000' and Barranco Camp has allowed some nice rest. Already the team is feeling better.
Set in a valley with the south face of
Kilimanjaro right above us, and the strangely beautiful giant senencia trees dotting the landscape, this is my favorite camp. We have just two more short days before we get to high camp, Barafu. And then...
But I get ahead of myself.
The group is firing on all cylinders and really coming together as a team. It's been fun to see and be a part of. Tomorrow is the Barranco Wall, which will require the use of our hands on some of the steeper places, but is less intimidating than the name suggests.
Wish us well and we'll be in touch tomorrow.
RMI Guide Brent Okita
On The Map
The
Five Day Summit Climb Team led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Bryan Mazaika reached 11,000' on their summit attempt of Mt. Rainier this morning before poor weather and visibility forced the team to turn at Ingraham Flats. Brent reported cold and windy temperatures with some blowing snow. The team is back at Camp Muir and will start their descent at 9 am. They will be back at Rainier Basecamp in the early afternoon.
Congratulations to today's Team!
And the magic started to happen... Namaste from Thame.
We've left the main Everest trail, and started to encounter less people, enjoy a more rustic path, and an overall more authentic Himalayan experience (not that up to Namche wasn't) But secluding ourselves to the
Gokyo trek means enjoying a more authentic journey.
The day today was easy, but filled with senses stimulating opportunities; from the mist climbing towards us, to the juniper burning in the villages, or the mystic appearances of Buddhist prayer flags among the fog, the entire way presented multiple chances to amaze ourselves.
We climbed above tree line in order to visit the monastery upon arrival to Thame, a side half hour excursion with the excuse of taking pictures of the yaks that seemed to be grazing on the slopes. A pick up ball game with the young boy monks was a true highlight, and despite being at 13,000 feet, we managed to forget about breathing hard and just enjoyed the smiles.
We made it back to our lodge, owned by Ang Sherpa, who's climbed Everest "only" 21 times. An honor to be in such a humble home tonight. We're now awaiting our dinner, then it will be bed time and we'll prepare for an early start tomorrow.
RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and team
We were up early for this big day of the Safari, leaving our comfy hotel at 7 AM to get over to
Ngorongoro Crater. Our Landcruisers clawed their way up the rough dirt road to the crater rim and then we bounced our way around the circle until another dirt track took us down into the collapsed caldera. Right off, we began seeing wildlife in great numbers and in close proximity. Before long we were quite used to ostriches and great herds of wildebeest and Cape Buffalo. We saw a pack of perhaps 20 hyena, barking eerily and crunching the bones of some freshly departed big animal. We got way closer than we ever imagined was possible to a couple of lionesses and a big male who decided the road would do just fine for napping. We saw (and got a whiff of) several dozen hippos, wallowing in various ponds. There were secretary birds and kori bustards, fish eagles and vultures. Gazelles and zebra were everywhere. We didn't manage to spot rhinos, but we did see a few great bull elephants. The day was fairly hot and sunny until a system of thunderstorms rolled by, cooling things for our afternoon tour. Then Edson and Juma skillfully brought the cruisers back down the rough roads to our hotel for a relaxing evening at the Plantation Lodge. Suffice to say that we were blown away by our day inside a volcano.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
We had an early rise after our celebratory dinner (and some dancing) in
Cheget for our transfer back to Mineralnye Vody. It was a little painful but not too bad as we had a nice, spacious Sprinter van to stretch out in. We caught a flight to Moscow and another to St. Pete's and then checked into our lovely hotel. Travel days always seem to tire you out even though you're mostly sitting around all day. Anyway, more sightseeing in the morning before the journey home!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
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
On The Map
June 3, 2016 - 8:32 pm PT
Today was another cold morning with a quick breakfast. We shouldered our loads for the carry to above the fixed lines at 16,200ft. The team climbed well and efficiently. The weather was white, like walking in a milk jug, and the wind light until the last few moments when we pulled up on the ridge of the
West Buttress the brisk wind and gray sky had us in our biggest warmest layers. We quickly dug a cache and dropped back onto the fixed lines where the wind calmed and we made our way back to camp for a relaxing afternoon and a trip meal highlight of quesadillas with fresh veggies and all the fixings. Tonight the team will sleep well and we are planning a rest day tomorrow with a short acclimatization hike to the Edge of the World, which is on of the nicest vistas in all of the Alaska range. The final kit of summit gear and food is stashed up high, and we're ready to make the push once the weather allows. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
On The Map
The stars could not have been brighter last night. It was bit chilly but the hot water bottles helped warm us. The frozen ground of morning gave way as the sun rose.
Our high point today was near the Lava Tower at 14,900 ft which crushed everyone's altitude records. From our high point we descended to
Barranco Camp, our camp for the night at 13,030 ft. It might seem counter intuitive to descend when we are trying to climb a mountain but it is actually very helpful for acclimatization.
It's New Year's Eve right now but there's not much party time tonight as we prepare for our next day climbing on Kilimanjaro. I bet we make up for it on safari...
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker and team
On The Map
Chris and Team, Your breakfast sounded as good as being at a 5 star resort!...mountain view…with whistleing winds~ lol We have 89 degree temps in DC today…took a very humid 9 mile run with Dad around the Capitol and Lincoln early this morning.
We had 34 people over for a BBQ to welcome the Smiths to the IG team last night. Nice enough to be outside and watch the boats float by.
Landon and Cohen had friends over to play and Landon was on his Best behavior Brooke said. She was proud of him! Cohen is still loving his Blue Elmo..lol
The twins have made it to 4.3 and 5 pounds…all is well and we are awaiting the end of this month for their arrival~
Sending all of you good thoughts and a break in the weather!
love, Mom
Posted by: Dave and Melissa on 5/16/2015 at 12:36 pm
enjoying the Blog. Ron and Kim are heading back to SC today. Temps in the 80s today and we are having a Community Free Car Wash today.
Love you Brian and prayers going up for the entire team.
Dad
Posted by: Duane Mycroft on 5/16/2015 at 4:28 am
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