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Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
Last night's sleep was refreshing for all, and everyone looked chipper as they sidled in to breakfast. That was good because we had a whirlwind day ahead of us. We headed over to the Resurrection Gate of Red Square to Victoria, our tour guide. After a slow start waiting in the queue to see a national treasure, Lenin's entombed body, things got going with a tour through St Basil's Cathedral, abyssal made up of 10 churches, all in the same foundation, and to the GUM, the large Soviet era department store that now carries the biggest brands (Prada, Gucci, Armani, etc.). We made a stop for ice cream, then cruised around the Kremlin wall to see the changing of the guards, and on in to the Kremlin, and more cathedrals. We closed the tour down with lunch at a delicious Ukrainian restaurant, and then into the afternoon to sort details and nap. Dinner at a restaurant in the nearby design and architecture school went long, but was delicious, and no one minded given the good company we are in. All in all, we had a stellar day, and are excited to take steps towards the mountain early tomorrow morning. By tomorrow evening, we will be in Kislovodsk, ready to launch to Elbrus Northside Base Camp, where the mountain adventure begins, and we leave the city life behind for a bit.
We are very much looking forward to it!
Best,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum, and team
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Hi Everyone!! First, the entire team wants to say hello to family and friends back home. Today we spent all day traveling to St. Petersburg, the coolest city in Russia. Needless to say, we are tired. However, the team is going to celebrate our first night here by going to one of my favorite restaurants, Jerome’s, a “French-ish” restaurant. Yes, French! We have eaten plenty of authentic Russian cuisine. Tonight, the team is going to kick back, relax and enjoy the “white lights” of St. Petes!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
We did it! We stood on the highest point of Europe.
I have to admit we were pretty lucky with the weather, as it was near perfect. The team did a fantastic job of taking care of themselves and climbed strong. We reached the summit around 7:15 am in clear skies with a wonderful view of the entire Caucus mountain range.
But it didn't end there, after descending a short ways off of the summit we were at the saddle between the two summits that Elbrus has and a few of us decided to climb both summits while the rest of the team descended safely back to camp. It only added an additional 1.5 hrs, so not too bad, especially since we had such amazing weather.
After everyone returned to camp, we had a quick lunch and then packed up to head down valley to our hotel at the base of the mountain.
Everyone is high spirits and smelling great!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and a happy crew
On The Map
Great news! Congratulations to the whole team on reaching the summit. Many thanks to Casey Grom for a safe and successful climb…
Thad’s dad . . . Sam’s granddad
Posted by: Burton Golden on 7/16/2016 at 12:15 pm
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Robby Young, Jess Matthews
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
The May 10th Denali Expedition led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Robby Young, and Jess Matthews were able to fly off the Kahiltna Glacier around 8:00 p.m. on Friday, June 3rd. After 24 days long days on the mountain, the team rushed off for showers, greasy burgers, and real beds. The team's patience paid off with a successful summit of Denali but everyone is excited to be returning home to their loved ones.
Congratulations climbers!
Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hello! We have started the safari with a real treat. After being in Lake Manyara National Park for about 20 minutes we had a herd of elephants walk right in between our two cars. Enjoy the close-up video below.
They are really amazing animals and our group was really happy to see the giant pachyderms up close. We'll continue on our game drive for another hour or so before heading to the Plantation Lodge for the evening.
Tomorrow we will head to Ngorongoro Crater and visit a Maasai Village. I'll check in again tomorrow.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Posted by: Solveig Waterfall, Billy Haas
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Elevation: 18,701'
Hello Everyone!
We are all back in Tlachichuca after a beautiful summit day on Orizaba. We awoke at midnight and were out the door by just after 1. The team did an excellent job of preparing and getting out of camp on time! With all he new snow in the area lately, we were able to put crampons on just above the Piedra Grande Hut which made the walking conditions a bit more efficient! We reached the summit at just after 9 am and enjoyed clear skies, calm winds, and relatively warm weather, considering it was one of the coldest climbs I've had down here.
We enjoyed nearly an hour of time on the summit and then carefully began our descent to camp. The upper mountain was a bit icy and we exercised careful footwork and precision focus on our walk down the steep and smooth slopes of the Jamapa to the glacial moraine at 16,000'.
Back in town, we were all excited for the delicious dinner the Reyes family provides, and quickly got our equipment packed and ready in order to fully enjoy our meal at this quaint and historic soap factory.
Today was the final day of our expedition, and we are all looking forward to heading home to family and friends!
Thanks for following along!
RMI Guides Solveig Waterfall Billy Haas, and the team
Audio transcription from Orizaba summit
Hi everyone! This is Solveig calling in from the top of Orizaba. The team and I are up here. It's a beautiful day- light winds and clear skies. Was a beautiful night as we climbed under a full moon. The team is doing well. We're going to take a few more minutes and enjoy yourselves and then start our descent. We will check in from Tlachichuca. Cheers.
RMI Guide Solveig Waterfall calls from the Orizaba summit!
On The Map
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Jambo from Africa everyone!
We have had an exciting last two days as we made our way to Tarangire National Park, known for their abundance of elephants, and we weren't disappointed.
Yesterday we spent about four hours driving through the park which is mostly a savannah with a river running through it. We saw hundreds of elephants and more giraffes than I've ever seen, and plenty of other wildlife too.
We spent the night out in the African bush in a remote tented camp called Kakoti that overlooks Tarangire Park.
We arrived to watch the beautiful sunset one last time and then enjoyed yet another wonderful meal.
Today we finished our safari with a drive back through Tarangire where some of the team caught a glimpse of a leopard as it crossed the road before it disappeared again. There were plenty of elephants again and everyone enjoyed our last day as we made our way back to the Dik Dik Lodge before quick showers and then it was off to the airport.
Thanks for following!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Posted by: Jackson Breen, Raymond Holt, Rosie Hust
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 10,781'
The Mt. Baker - Easton Glacier Climb July 11 - 13 reached the summit of Mt. Baker led by RMI Guides Jackson Breen, Ray Holt and Rosie Hust. The team returned to camp and enjoyed a few hours of sleep. They will continue their descent to the trailhead and conclude their program.
Congratulations team!
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
The team showed up to play and brought their A game today. Today we made our way further up the mountain carrying a load up to Camp 1. We piled our gear under a rock, breathed in the thinning air at 16,200' and then strolled on back down to the comforts of basecamp where juice and snacks awaited. Everyone did a fantastic job. Our team looked strong and motivated. This is going to be a good climb. After a hard day's work, we are looking forward to our rest tomorrow which is also our last day at basecamp.
Goodnight all,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
On The Map
This camp has an amazing view, especially when we have so much moonlight with a near full moon. If you can get yourself out of the tent during the night, the light illuminates the Polish Glacier and all the surrounding peaks. This Team has enjoyed the plentiful stars and seemingly 3D Milky Way during the first part of the trip and now the moon light will brighten the path early on our summit day.
The rest day has been fairly standard, big breakfast and lots of reading and hanging out in the tents. There have been some high clouds that have made the day cooler than previous and we have been fortunate with such favorable weather. Tomorrow we will pack up camp and move up to 19,600’. The day will go by fast as we get tents set up, make lots of water and prepare for a summit attempt on Saturday morning. The next five days include a lot of effort and ground to cover, fingers crossed the winds are light and the sun burns bright.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
Good luck in the next few days - stay strong!! Tell Sam Hall hi, this is his sister Annie :-)
Posted by: Annie on 1/24/2019 at 11:43 am
Sounds like the trip is terrific, if a bit soggy. Have a safe climb - looking forward to hearing more. Have fun Ed!
Gayle
Posted by: Gayle Hutton on 8/8/2016 at 6:50 pm
Looking forward to reading the blog! Wishing all of you a terrific and safe climb.
Posted by: Gayle Hutton on 8/4/2016 at 9:33 pm
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