This was our Kilimanjaro kickoff day... but it was also our Kili catch-up day. We began our climb by sitting down as a group just after breakfast and strategizing. We went through our itinerary and discussed goals and contingencies. Then we checked each climber's gear and clothing for the trip, finally we packed and weighed each load. We had lunch outside under the patio awning as dik diks (smallest of the antelope family) roamed the grounds and velvet monkeys played in the trees. Afternoon was the "catch-up" portion of the day as we rested and attempted to reset our day/night perceptions to fit our new setting -about nine time zones off -give or take. We'd take trips up the Lodge's observation tower from time to time in order to look for Kili on the horizon. Clouds kept it hidden today though. Tomorrow we'll set out for the mountain just after breakfast and will relay a team picture or two as we progress.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Hi Mom and dad,
I hope you are having a good time! You are defiantly the coolest parents for doing this trek! Don’t worry all is well in Brussels.
Love,
Nora
RMI Guide Brent Okita checked in from Columbia Crest at 6:45 am today. The Four Day Summit Climb August 22 - 25 teams enjoyed a beautiful morning on their way to the summit crater of Mt. Rainier. They will spend some time soaking in the views before starting their descent. Once back at Camp Muir the teams will re-pack and continue to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
The Upper West Rib team assembled today at the Anchorage airport and started our journey north to Talkeetna. All of us are excited to have the trip underway. We have lots of logistics and preparing to take care of, but that will start tomorrow. Tonight we are going to get settled into our hotel, have some dinner, and relax. That's all for now, thank you for following along with us as our adventure begins.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
Once the sun hit the tents, camp came alive with teams rustling around, getting breakfast going and packing up. It seemed everyone was either carrying to Camp 2 or moving. We were carrying. After breakfast, we packed our bags and hit the trail once again. It was a busy day for the porters. Many of them with loads of 30-40kg cruising up the mountain as we all said, "Hola." With our own loads on our backs, we too made our way up the mountain to our future home Guanacos Camp aka Camp 2. It felt good to go higher and breathe in the thinning air. It just means our summit push is getting closer and closer. Once again as the sun sinks behind the ridge a chill fills the air and we all go back to our tents to get warm. Tomorrow we will be enjoying a rest day before we move up to Camp 2 the following day.
Goodnight,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
RMI Guide Steve Gately just called from the Mt. Shuksan summit. The wildfire smoke is not too bad today, which is a nice shift. The team is happily snacking and will call us later from camp.
Congratulations to today's summit climb team!
Friday, June 1, 2018 - 10:30 PM PT
We're falling into the rhythm of Denali. After a big day yesterday, it seemed appropriate to take a rest day and avail ourselves of the comforts of 14,000' Camp. It was a stellar, beautiful day and we rested for most, taking a brief reprieve to practice and train for the fixed lines tomorrow. We'll take our first spin on those and everyone is excited to get on the West Buttress and some exciting terrain!
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
Hello, this is Eric Frank calling from Boston Basin in the North Cascades. Just wanted to let everyone know that the West Ridge of Forbidden team was back down in camp safe and sound. We had a full day of adventure today. We climbed the West Ridge to the summit. Everyone on the team made it, which was great. (transmission lost)
RMI Guide Eric Frank
RMI Guide Eric Frank calls in from Boston Basin post Forbidden Peak summit.
Hola From Otavalo, Ecuador,
This morning our team of intrepid climbers met our one man team and intrepid driver, Orgel, and headed into the not so subtle Quito morning rush hour. Climbers heading off to a big mountain are always ready to leave the grips of the city in search for greater adventures but today Quito had a way of making sure we didn't rush off and lose sight of where we were. Wall to wall cars made the first five miles take as long as the final 50 but rain was falling so we didn't feel rushed either way.
Our destination today was a volcano called Fuya Fuya, which rises to 14,700 feet, higher than Mt. Rainier, but in Ecuador is relatively low in comparison to others. We come here in January because it is supposed to be the "dry" season, but today this high, tropical landscaped proved otherwise. Light rain fell in the morning leaving Quito, but north of the city and higher up the clouds thickened and the rain turned real. In Seattle there are over a hundred ways to describe rain. I'm pretty sure today we only needed one. Let's just call it, solid. With a "solid" rain falling, we solved riddles in the trailhead shelter, ran quick sprints along the lake shore before sprinting back and did pull ups on the beams to pretend we were getting our heart rate up. All-in-all the acclimating process was short lived and we were headed down having never walked a foot uphill.
The rain continued to pour as we ate lunch in town and killed time before arriving at the hacienda for the evening. La Casa Sol sits high on a steep hill overlooking town and it was here that we had the day's most exciting event. With a we cobble stone street, our driver gunned it up the hill trying to get momentum before spinning out on the wet surface. It took two more goes to pull the van into the tiny parking spot and unload the bags. Ben and I had to put rocks behind the van's tires at one point to keep him from sliding backwards into the ditch.
As we say before a day of ice climbing in Bozeman, the adventure starts the second you get in the car. Tomorrow's road promises to be even more thrilling! The road to the mountain....
Wish us luck on our way to Cayambe.
Saludos,
RMI Guides Adam Knoff, Ben Liken and Team
Hola from Quito Ecuador,
Today began with two guides, three brothers and five individuals coming together for the first time for the Expedition Skills Seminar - Ecuador. Most climbers flying into Quito arrive around midnight and don't get to the hotel until after 1am. With an 8 am orientation and team introduction, we were blessed to have a hearty breakfast, strong coffee and warm sunshine to get the guys awake. I can say guys because we are a team with no females. From past experience I can say it is usually helpful to have at least one lady keeping the men in check but judging from our first eight hours together, I have a gut feeling we should be generally well behaved.
After our breakfast and intro the team packed up in Angel's mini bus for a splendid three hour tour of some of Quito's main attractions.
First we visited the "Mitad Del Mundo" or Middle of the World, where we stood on the actual equator. Here we observed visual confirmation of the Coriolis effect, balanced an egg on a nail and watched as gravity played tricks on both our minds and bodies. I would like to say we also saw aliens zipping overhead time travel portals open but unfortunately that happened last week.
After we left the center of the earth, we headed into old town Quito where we visited a giant statue of the Virgin Mary, a three hundred year old Cathedral and the Presidential Palace. Having felt let down by absent aliens on the equator I was hoping for a brief chat with Rafael Correal, the country's President, as a consolation prize but we were told he was too busy. Go figure.....
After the tour we had a nice lunch, nap and gear check. All in all a pretty full day. Stay turned for tomorrow's dispatch because we will be climbing a mountain higher than any team member has climbed before!
Wishing everyone well back home.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff & Team Ecuador
Darlene shared your photos and it looks gorgeous. I’ve been to Quito. Got bad case of food poisoning at a hotel there. Denny’s niece lived and worked there ten years and is married to a handsome Equidorian. Good climbing!
Posted by: Mary Jane stiles on 1/8/2017 at 2:38 pm
Sounds like you are having a terrific time, stay safe and have fun
The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb teams turned due to avalanche conditions, deteriorating weather and winds. A fair amount of new snow has occurred on the mountain with drifts up to one meter. RMI Guides Casey Grom and Nick Hunt are currently descending from Camp Muir back to Paradise.
We both would like to thank the entire RMI team for your help throughout the climb in the challenging conditions and we feel that we have learned more from those few days with you than any other experience. We also loved hearing about your various climbs.
We had a great time meeting the rest of the climbers and sharing stories. Best of luck in their next endeavors!
We hope to be back next summer with better conditions and even more prepared. It’s defnitely not to be underestimated.
Thanks again
Kelly & Kieran
Posted by: Kelly and Kieran on 9/20/2016 at 10:17 am
Hi Mom and dad,
I hope you are having a good time! You are defiantly the coolest parents for doing this trek! Don’t worry all is well in Brussels.
Love,
Nora
Posted by: Nora on 9/6/2017 at 5:24 am
Curt, have an awesome adventure and stay safe!
Posted by: Kathy Goodwin on 9/5/2017 at 9:18 am
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