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Wow... All I can say is that it's been a crazy ride. Two days ago we were sitting tight up at Camp 2 waiting for the weather to open up and now we are down in
Penitentes celebrating our escape from the wrath Aconcagua. We had decided to hold on a day or two longer and see if maybe the forecasts were wrong but alas, they were not. We made the decision to pull the plug and head down when the lowest wind speed predicted over the next 7 days was over 50 mph with several pulses up in the 70's. We woke on the morning we intended to descend to clear skies but moderate winds blowing snow and by the time we were able to pick up camp it had clouded over and the wind had intensified significantly. As we descended around and down the mountain the storm chased us all the way to Basecamp... There was no respite despite our descent into a portion of the mountain that is historically more protected. Our team was able to stick together and move well despite the challenging conditions. We were greeted warmly by the Basecamp staff upon our arrival back at Plaza Argentina. We enjoyed real chairs and a real meal (chicken Vesuvius) for the first time in over a week and then crashed hard. The next couple days we made our way down the Relinchos and Vacas Valleys and spent our last night out on the trail after devouring an amazing asado prepared by our mule drivers. We ate (beef, beef, beef!) and drank (vino, and even a little wild turkey) and went to bed happy and tired after a long couple of days. This morning we rose and walked the last of the Vacas to the road where we checked out with the park rangers and were greeted by our shuttle driver with beer and Fanta. Not a bad way to finish a long and tough expedition.
Next stop, Mendoza!
RMI Guides
Billy Nugent,
Katrina Bloemsma and Team
RMI Guide
Billy Nugent radioed at 7:23 am as his
Four Day Summit Climb team and the
Five Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide
Solveig Waterfall reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning, and were starting their descent from the crater rim. Billy reported it was very windy with winds from the NW.
Congratulations to today's team!
RMI Guide
Brent Okita and the
Four Day Summit Climb team were walking onto Columbia Crest, the highest point in Washington State, at 7:05 am this morning. The team climbed into a light cloud cap, but otherwise had calm weather. They are now en route back to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's teams!
Hello everyone and welcome to RMI's third Kilimanjaro's trip of the season -
The team arrived late last night after our very long and tiring flights from the U.S. We were greeted by the wonderful staff from the Dik Dik lodge with warm smiles and a little champagne to toast our arrival.
After a short and quiet ride to our lodge we had a quick dinner then headed off to bed to catch up on some much needed sleep.
The team met this morning at breakfast with fresh fruits, homemade bread and jam, and plenty of good Tanzanian coffee.
We then got together for a formal round of introductions and a overview of the upcoming adventure. We discussed our plan for the climb and made sure everyone has all the necessary gear to keep us safe and warm on
Kilimanjaro.
We then took a short break and went for a stroll on the beautiful grounds hoping to catch sight of some of the monkeys that often visit. Then we did a little packing and caught up on a little more sleep to help get adjusted to the big time difference.
We finished the evening with an amazing 5 course meal with great conversations, and everyone is squared away and looking forward to hitting the trail tomorrow as well as getting a little exercise.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Hello again everyone
Today the team awoke to beautifully clear skies and views of Kilimanjaro looming above us.
We started our day with fresh fruits, eggs, porridge and plenty of coffee, before setting off on our second day.
The trail out of camp slowly ascends through the last remaining trees and makes its way along a rocky ridge that eventually climbs up onto the Shira Plateau. We hiked a little more that 4 hours and have ascended to just over 12,000' to reach our next camp.
Everyone enjoyed the warmth of the sun and the views of the valleys below as we climbed steadily up Kili.
We are currently relaxing in our camp enjoying good conversations and stories from team members.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew!
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Kilimanjaro Climb & Safari, September 9, 2024
Rest is important for the body and mind. It allows both to replenish the energy it has lost from hard work. And today we did just that. The morning began with a casual breakfast with copious amounts of hot water for coffee and tea. From there we enjoyed the warmth of the sun and pleasant conversation as we lounged among the rocks. Of course there was plenty of snacking all day long. As we say in the mountains lunch begins after breakfast and ends at dinner. Now that we are rested and getting a little antsy to start walking uphill again, we are ready to move to
Camp 2 tomorrow.
Buenos dias,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
As expected, when the sun went behind the mountain at
Low Camp last night around 3 AM, the temperature took a dive.,. probably down around zero F. It made it past the mountain again at 10:30 this morning, making it just about ten times easier to get out of our sleeping bags and unzip the tents to begin the day. We went for a carry up the fixed lines to 11,500 ft today. Shifting gears a bit, yesterday it was dragging sleds and using ski poles, today it was crampons and ice axes and no sleds. We got going at about 1:40 and hit the top of the ropes at 7PM. It was a fine day for climbing with nothing but blue skies and calm and still conditions, which made it a little easier to concentrate on good techniques for climbing continuously steep snow. We carried food and supplies for our summit push and cached at the top of the lines, basically at the beginning of the long, tilted summit plateau. Descent back to Low Camp took us two hours. It was nice, after the last few days, to come into an existing camp. It didn’t take too long to get dinner and a bunch of water for drinking. We’ll rest tomorrow, which also makes it easier to relax tonight.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Today was our first rest day up on
Mt. Elbrus. We managed to sleep in a little bit, usually a rarity in the mountains. After a substantial breakfast, we got a little training in reviewing some essential skills and introducing some techniques specific to the route. In addition to training, a few members of the team got some gambling in during our down time. Playing poker for toothpicks is serious business up here. We just finished dinner, everyone's gear is organized, and we are ready for an early morning tomorrow!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
January 19, 2017
Checking in from Plaza Argentina at 4,200m on another beautiful day here in the central Andes. Our team enjoyed some tasty breakfast burritos this morning and then passed our checkup with the basecamp doctors. We are settled in nicely and the team is feeling strong and even slept well despite yesterday's sharp increase in altitude. We'll spend this afternoon arranging our group and personal gear for tomorrow's carry up to
Aconcagua Camp 1. Not much else to report for now... We'll check in again tomorrow after our first foray onto the upper mountain.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
January 18, 2017
We've arrived! After an early a.m. and brisk river crossing on the back of a mule our team made our way up the Relinchos Valley smoothly and steadily. We climbed the 3,000' into
Plaza Argentina (Basecamp) with a little hard breathing but were otherwise unhindered by any real difficulties. Clear skies and amazing views of the mountain were a treat and a hearty welcome from the Griselda, Anita, and Juan, the Grajales Basecamp staff, was icing on the cake. After some refreshments and setting up of camp we are settling in for a tasty dinner tonight and a well deserved rest day tomorrow. Sleeping our first night at nearly 14,000' might not be the most comfortable but with time our bodies will adjust to the new altitude and hopefully start in to building our foundation of acclimatization for our climb.
All for now,
Billy
January 17, 2017
Hola from Casa de Piedra! Last night we enjoyed an amazing asado prepared by our herrieros complete with salad plenty of steak and of course wine at our first trekking camp. After a beautiful night out under the stars our team woke to the rustling of mules and crawled out of our sleeping bags in the early dawn light. A quick trail breakfast and some coffee or tea warmed us up and we hit the trail. We moved extremely well and made short time on our move up through the
Vacas Valley and were even treated to our first views of the peak. Tonight's dinner wasn't quite as grand as last night's but it'll do. Early to bed tonight in preparation for tomorrow's very early rise... We we all looking forward to making into Basecamp tomorrow afternoon but one more day on the trail and about 3,000' of vertical gain remain in our way. I'll check in tomorrow and let you know how it went.
Billy
Things were a little breezy at Shira Camp this morning and it looked like it was nuking up on the crater rim of Kibo, Kilimanjaro's main peak. Our team had enjoyed the sunset at Shira, and the stars in the clear night sky, so a little wind didn't keep anybody from loving the sunrise as well. Our packs were on and we were walking straight toward Kibo by 8:20. As compensation for the breezes, we were granted sparkly blue skies above and a bright white sea of clouds below.
We gained altitude steadily as today's walking was much easier than yesterday's rock hopping. In just a couple of hours we were up over 14,500 ft and breaking everybody's previous personal altitude records. We kept right at it, cresting at 15,200 ft beside the "Lava Tower" at noon. By this point we were right up under the glaciers and giant walls of Kibo. We'd climbed right out of the Moorland Zone of vegetation and into the Highland Desert Zone. The team had no troubles coming down the steep trails beyond the Lava Tower and so we got rid of about two thousand vertical feet on our voyage down into the exotic vegetation of the
Barranco Valley. We checked out the Lobelias and the Giant Senecios as we went. It seemed the perfect afternoon for taking in a thousand new sights, from waterfalls to dark caves in the Lava and Basalt. Our new camp was already built and waiting for us just on the edge of the cloud sea and we were again amazed at the strength and speed of our loc al staff. Now we are settled in at 13,000 ft below the intimidating Barranco Wall... but the wall can wait until tomorrow. Tonight we'll watch the light change on Kibo's glaciers, rock walls, icicles and towers.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide
Dave Hahn
home sweet home
Posted by: kat branchflower on 1/29/2016 at 2:28 pm
What a journey ! At least you all got back safe and sound. Blowing gales here today also!
Love Diane and Paul
Posted by: Paul and Diane on 1/29/2016 at 2:00 am
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