This is Mike and the team checking in from Aconcagua Base Camp on our first rest day. The team woke this morning with smiles on their faces and all reporting a good night's sleep despite the locals celebrating Christmas Eve until 4:30am.
The Guide Elves had some stockings for the team to open and we are currently resting and preparing our gear for the carry to Camp 1 on Saturday.
Nice calm, warm and relaxing day at Plaza Argentina.
Merry Christmas!
Messages from the team:
Hey mom Katie and Kevin, and Marni! Merry Christmas. Miss and love you guys! Mike
Staying positive, wish me luck. Carmen and Adnan, miss and love you! Hinan.
Merry Christmas, Mom! Only 9,000' to the summit. Dave
Merry Christmas Ben and Blake and all. All is well here. Love you and will see you soon.
Merry Christmas Poppy, friends, SFFG & SH! We are in good shape at base camp and having a great Christmas Day. Love to all, Meredith
Merry Christmas Ma, Pa, CM, Bro, Nolan, Sis, Alyssa, CB, Kyle, Stevo, Jester, and all of our friends back in Canada! A very fun white Christmas up here at 13,800. Love, Jeff
John here hanging tough. 30 miles and 5800 feet of altitude gain over 3 days left me fighting some altitude effects. Decided to take some of my own advice- ride out the storm and eat the elephant one bite at a time. Feeling 100% better now on Christmas Day! Love to all!!
Michael….Merriest Christmas. Raining cats and dogs in Atlanta. Will make Christmas morning breakfast when you and Abby visit in the spring :) Love, Mom and Dad
What great luck! After arriving at the hut on Pico de Orizaba, it soon began to rain. Our team remained optimistic and were rewarded to a starry night! While clouds and small storm cells circulated in the distance, our mountain stayed clear and the team did a wonderful job moving through the terrain. The sunrise was exceptional and a little wind didn't do much to slow us down. It was about as perfect of a day as one could hope for and we made the most of it! The climb was relatively smooth (for 18,700 ft above the sea) and we returned to Tlachichuca tired, but happy.
Now the team has gone their separate ways, off to different adventures. Thanks for a great adventure and best of luck in the future!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Our last couple of Safari days were chock full of wildlife, natural beauty and exploring. Tarangire National Park certainly delivered. We saw hundreds of elephants dotting the landscape in family groups of fifteen to twenty. We saw thousands and thousands of zebra and wildebeest. Beautiful and exotic birds were everywhere. We saw several great sleeping lions and we looked in every acacia tree for more big cats. Despite the best efforts of our two dueling sharp-eyed naturalists; Driver Joseph and Climber Chris, we never did see the leopards and cheetahs although we were pretty sure they were watching us. Something left for next safari. None of us will soon forget this one though, and the peaceful night we spent out in Kikoti Camp overlooking Tarangire. We watched a troupe of baboons climb a sheer rock face that final evening for no other reason than to watch the sunset from the top of the rock. We'll keep their example in mind -it is often worth going out of one's way to see the wonders of this planet.
Today we are flying back around this gigantic planet toward home. Thanks for following along on our climb and safari.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Hey, this is Dave Hahn calling in from safari in Tanzania. Hey, we had a great day in Tarangire National Park. We saw hundreds of elephants. We saw a million zebras, gazelles; we saw a couple of male lions sleeping. It was great day, wonderful day. We're at Kikoti Camp, just outside the National Park right now. Unexpectedly, we don't have internet tonight so I'm not sending a dispatch but thought I'd give you a yell and let you all know that we're all doing just fine. And we're looking forward to the very last day of our trip. Tomorrow, we'll go back through Tarangire and we'll make our way back to Arusha. But all is well and we'll be in touch. Thank you.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
RMI Guide Dave Hahn checks in from Safari in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania.
RMI Guide Robby Young called at 7:01 am as he and his Mount Rainier Four Day Summit Climb team were starting their descent from the crater rim. Robby reported clear skies and a light, cool breeze from the NW.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones and his Mount Rainier Five Day Summit Climb made a sunset climb last night and reached the summit at 8:45 pm with 100% of their team. He commented that it was the most beautiful sunset he has ever seen. Tyler's team is safely back at Camp Muir and will begin their descent later this morning.
Today we had a slow morning around camp which was very nice for everyone. At noon we roped up and walked a few hundred feet downhill to pick up the rest of our gear and food. It feels great to have all of our stuff here at camp. We’re well positioned for the rest of our climb. We have 11 days of food and fuel left. All we will need once we establish a cache at 17,000’is a good weather window.
RMI Guide Eric Frank & Team decided to swap the smoky air of the North Cascades for the cleaner ocean air of Mt. Erie. The downside to the change is less significant peak objectives, but still quality rock climbing and rock movement training grounds. The team ended the program on a high note and under blue skies. Forecasts for the coming days in the North Cascades are predicting that the smoke will clear out and should provide ideal climbing conditions for climbs on Mt. Baker, Mt. Shuksan, and in the Boston Basin.
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise August 13 - 18 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning with clear skies and an overall gorgeous day. RMI Guide Jenny Konway reported that her team members were 100% successful to the summit. This team has spent several days on Mt. Rainier gaining mountaineering skills in preparation for their summit attempt. They have gained instruction and expedition style climbing skills which will prepare them for future expeditions to Denali or other big peaks. Today is the final day of their program. Once they return to Camp Muir they will pack up and continue to Paradise.
Congratulations to the Paradise Seminar team!
Congratulations to the group from Paul’s Aunt Marlene
Posted by: Marlene on 8/18/2018 at 8:34 am
Congratulations! We’ve been watching for this post. Such an amazing experience. Special “Hi” to Paul, Shane, and Ben. Congrats to all of you in the group.
Jambo everyone,
Today we visited Ngorongoro Crater. The crater is roughly 100 square miles and is home for the 30,000 to 40,000 animals that have taken up residence.
We hit the road early with hopes of catching a few more animals before the heat of the day.
There were many sightings today of hyenas, jackles, ostrich, and countless other birds. We didn’t manage to see many lions, but did get pretty close to one big male.
One of the highlights was seeing not one, but five Black Rhino which have become very rare do to poaching.
We wrapped up the day with a visit to a Maasai village not far from the crater rim. The Maasai people are a semi-nomadic tribe that exist almost entirely off of their cattle. The team spent time asking questions and enjoyed being shown around their small and simple village.
We have just finished another wonderful meal here at the Plantation Lodge under the stars and the full moon that hopefully everyone back home gets to see too.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
We packed up and left Cusco at 6 am and headed for the Salkantay trail head near Soraypampa. The drive took us over some high passes and down a very scenic river valley filled with eucalyptus trees and small subsistence farms.
When you describe to people the quality of food we eat on these Treks you get some doubtful looks, seeing is believing. Our Team feasted on guacamole and bread only to be followed by a pumpkin soup and rounded out with a main course of vegetable and cheese stuffed trout. That was only lunch, who knows what is for dinner.
Bellies full we set out into grey skies with a spectacular view of Cerro Salkantay and Humantay. Gradually the glaciers and snow covered faces disappeared in a light rain as we walked into camp, Ichupata at 14,846'.
Rain is coming down quite heavily now, the team is getting warm in their tents and we will check in tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mike King
Michael….Merriest Christmas. Raining cats and dogs in Atlanta. Will make Christmas morning breakfast when you and Abby visit in the spring :) Love, Mom and Dad
Posted by: Diana King on 12/26/2015 at 5:53 am
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