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Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Back to Talkeetna! We started the day at 14,000 with an early wake up. The weather was looking like it wanted to get worse, so we hurriedly packed up camp and began our decent to the air strip. After picking up our cached gear at the 11,000’ Camp and making great time on the lower Kahiltna, we arrived at the air strip only to be greeted by four teams of climbers waiting to fly off. The weather had been ‘iffy’ all day and none of the air services had landed yet.
Soon after we arrived we got word that Jay Hudson was going to fly in and see if the visibility was good enough to land. An hour later we could hear his planes coming to get us. It felt like special treatment being the last to arrive that day and the first to leave but that’s why we fly with Jay!
Forty five minutes later we landed back in Talkeetna. After a brief unpacking job we all disbanded to our respective hotels for the first showers in twenty days. Then we all met for a celebration dinner on the deck at the West Rib Pub. Tomorrow we’ll be going our separate ways back to our families and loved ones.
Great trip guys!
On The Map
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
100% on Top!
Yesterday we had a beautiful long day climbing to the summit of Kilimanjaro.
Today we started at 7:00 feeling good and refreshed after a much needed nights sleep, we had breakfast, then enjoyed some goodbye songs and dance from our amazing African crew of porters, cooks, and local guides numbering 51. We finished the little celebration by handing out their well deserved tips and then hit the trail one last time.
It took a little over three hours to reach the park gate where the team had lunch then hopped aboard our awaiting bus for the ride back to the lodge.
Finally we are all safe and sound, cleaner, and smelling fresh after an exciting seven-day journey up and down Kilimanjaro.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kilimanjaro crew
All is well here at 10,000ft Machame Camp, Camp 1, on Kilimanjaro.
We left the Arumeru Lodge this morning and enjoyed the views of the local community and lots of farms growing bananas, coffee and corn. The flanks of Kilimanjaro provide very fertile grounds for all of these great crops. After a couple hour drive we arrived at the Kilimanjaro Nation Park gate. We registered our team and paid our entrance fee to the Park Staff and with permit in hand, we loaded our packs and began our climb. We had a steady ascent of 4,000ft and in just less than five hours arrived at our first camp in fine form. Perfect conditions in the cloud forest made for an enjoyable climb. We all settled in to our tents and discussed camp life and our prperations for tomorrow's ascent. Dinner is now complete and we are certain to enjoy many more great meals thanks to our wonderful chef and staff. Everyone is returning to their tents as we are still adjusting to our new time zone and catching up on a bit of jet lag.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Jenny Konway, Jess Matthews
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
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May 28, 2017
Though the moisture and winds we've been sitting through were forecasted to dissipate today, Denali had other plans. We haven't seen much all day due to blowing snow and gusty winds. For the brief period that we went over to the ranger tent for a visit, the max gusts hit 42 mph. We made the best of it by inviting Mike's team over for breakfast burritos. Tent fever spurred a lively and long lived game of "heads up." The weather this evening explained our current situation: a low pressure center moving to the NW of the mountain, and frontal passage over the mountain. Things should settle out once the front passes, and once Denali gives the OK, we're ready to take advantage. Until then, we'll listen to the wind blow.
RMI Guides Pete, Jess, Jenny and Team
Hello, thank you very much for regular updates!
We all hope for weather change in nearest future- we wish you a lot of sunshine with no snow and no wind.
Your creativity with meals and entertainment in such difficult conditions is amazing!
Jan- we are keeping you and the whole team (actually both teams) in our thoughts.
Stay safe and strong! Good luck!
Posted by: Ewa Grajkowska on 5/29/2017 at 6:02 pm
Today we left Mexico City for the rolling hills of La Malinche National Park on a clear and beautiful day. Our climbing objectives, Ixta and Orizaba were on display with a light covering of new snow as our shuttle merged in and out of the maze of toll roads.
The goal for today was a hike to 14,000 ft to stretch our legs and lungs. On the ascent we passed numerous locals hiking and packing up camp sites from the weekend. As we got to tree line there were large dark clouds billowing over Malinche's summit. With rain and lightening on the horizon we turned around at 13,000 ft and headed back down through a dense pine forest to our cabanas where will stay for the night.
The team is doing well and excited to get on Ixta tomorrow afternoon.
RMI Guides Mike King & Steve Gately
On The Map
All agreed that it was a pleasure to wake this morning in the garden-like Barranco Valley. The clouds, which had overtaken camp yesterday evening, had dropped far below by daybreak. When the sun hit, mid-breakfast, and our dining tent began to rain down condensation, our alert and resourceful staff simply picked the whole tent up and moved it as we sat buttering toast. We were left at our table for an unexpected but quite pleasant picnic in the great outdoors. The team's eyeballs kept wandering over to the shadowy Barranco Wall and the stream of several hundred porters working up its ledges and paths. We joined the snakelike line and got our hands on the rock only to discover that the wall was pretty fun climbing. We went up about nine hundred vertical feet over a fairly short distance. At the top of the wall, we celebrated with a rest break, along with about a dozen other teams of happy trekkers. Then it was back to business as clouds had formed up again. We traversed a few valleys without great difficulty and then we could see Karanga Camp perched on the opposite side of one last steep-sided gorge. We dropped down through a forest of heather and rest-stepped right back up the other side, making it into camp in early afternoon with the march having taken just under four hours. Miraculously, our staff had once again managed to have a perfectly constructed camp up and ready for us. Within moments they invited us to lunch -spaghetti with red sauce- which all enjoyed. We spent a pleasant and quiet afternoon reading, napping, eating and drinking as clouds came and went. We occasionally got full and majestic views of Kibo's icy flanks hiding up in the cumulus. It is all starting to seem a bit more familiar and accessible. We'll be up there soon.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Jason & Jasna what a grand adventure. Have fun & b safe!!! Love, Dad & B
Posted by: Lee Pittman on 8/12/2016 at 4:45 pm
Wow. You guys are amazing!!! Have fun and come home safe!!! Love
Posted by: Jane zielinski on 8/12/2016 at 3:09 pm
Our Ecuador Volcanoes expedition is underway! Everyone (and their luggage) arrived yesterday and the team met for breakfast this morning at our hotel’s café. Today’s agenda involved an informational tour of the historic areas of Quito, Ecuador’s capitol. Angel, our local city tour guide, led us through colonial Quito, and taught us about the history of various churches, the presidential palace, independence plaza, and the large statue of the Virgin of Quito, overlooking the city. The weather was beautiful and we even snuck in partial views of some of our climbing objectives, Cayambe and Rucu Pichincha. Cotopaxi (which is closed to climbing due to recent volcanic activity) also came into view.
Next we jumped in our van and headed north to the equator, or “mitad del mundo”, where we visited an ethnographic museum and learned about various indigenous cultures of Ecuador. We straddled the equator, with one leg in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern, as we watched some demonstrations of Coriolis Effect and our position on the equator.
We’re off now to sample some Ecuadorian cuisine for dinner!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Lookin’ good, folks. Be careful - good hiking, trekking and climbing.
Posted by: George Nimmo on 6/30/2016 at 6:19 pm
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Ben Liken, Bridget Belliveau, Hannah Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
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June 26, 2016 - 9:54 pm PT
Hello,
Today we woke to our clearest morning yet, with stunning views down the Kahiltna Glacier and onward into the Talkeetna Valley. With a hot coffee and granola breakfast in our bellies, we were ready to turn the corner at Kahiltna Pass and head higher on the mountain. The entire team rocked the four-hour journey to 11,000-foot camp even with the continued burden of big sleds and packs.
After our tents were pitched we settled in for an afternoon siesta as the sun blazed above. By the time dinner was served things had changed as the clouds had built up around us and it was starting to snow. Now as we head to bed it seems to be coming down at a rate of 2ish inches per hour!
The plan for tomorrow is to break up the loads and carry some supplies and food to 14k. This will give us a taste of the crisp thin air of the high Alaska Range and help us in our acclimatization process.
We'll let you know how it goes!
RMI Guide Ben Liken
On The Map
Michael Waters, your family is with you in spirit every step of the way. Stay safe and good luck. We know you will make it! We look forward eagerly to the daily blog of the progress of you and the team from Dave. Hugs, Nan
Posted by: Lynn Shannon on 6/27/2016 at 8:57 pm
Heritage Place is cheering and praying for you all and especially our Kathleen:)
Posted by: Heritage Place on 6/27/2016 at 6:17 pm
Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hello from the Dik Dik Hotel. The team is all assembled for dinner and we are packed and ready to go to Kilimanjaro tomorrow.
Everyone arrived late last night and after a few hours of sleep we met up for our first meeting and then a session on packing our gear for the next week on the mountain.
We spent the afternoon napping and finalizing the preparations. Tomorrow we will get up at 6 AM and depart at 7:00. We have a five-hour hike to get to camp so it's nice to get an early start.
The weather reports from the mountain have been good for the past three days so we are hoping for that to continue.
I'll check in again in about 24 hours.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Buenos tardes from High Camp on Ixta.
The team is doing great, and we are about to shut down for the night so that we can get up super early and go for the climb. But the team is strong, spirits are high, and everybody did a great job getting to camp today. We'll give you a shout from as high as we get tomorrow and look forward to checking in then.
Buenos noches.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
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RMI Guide Jake Beren checks in from High Camp on Ixtaccihuatl.
Congrats to all! What a fantastic accomplishment!
Posted by: Lisa DeBoer on 1/30/2018 at 6:20 am
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