Safari time at Lake Manyara National Park. The drive into the park took us a couple hours. The animals were out in force and a few clouds helped keep the temperature nice. Our all wheel-drive Land Cruisers took us comfortably very close to thousands of native creatures. This was a pretty nice introduction to the incredible bio-diversity that Africa has, and everyone enjoyed the day. We had a nice lunch in Campsite 1 but no tent time for the team on phase two of the trip. Our lodge has received thumbs up from all. Very comfortable here at the Plantation Lodge, and the dinner could not have been better. Up early for our next park in the morning.
All is well here in Africa,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
We saw the sun on day one and haven't really seen it since. The trend of southern flow pushing moisture our way continues, and it snowed off and on all day. While climbing on bright, bluebird days is nice, it really doesn't get much better than conditions today. While we couldn't see a lot, there was very little wind on a piece of the mountain that is known for wind, the clouds and snow kept the temps pleasantly cool, and the fresh snow has set up creating great cramponing conditions. We cruised out of camp a bit after the main rush, which kept us out of traffic all day. A few smooth stretches later, we rounded Windy Corner and reached our cache site. All told, the day was really smooth and pleasant, and we're feeling really good about getting a big chunk of weight uphill. On the docket for tomorrow is done hard chilling time, nap competitions, and general self care before we look to move to 14.
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Jenny Konway, Jess Matthews and Team
Our Alaska Mountaineering Seminar May 17 - 27 team is here in Talkeetna, packed and ready to fly...but sometimes ready is not enough. A Southwest flow over the Aleutians is slowly pushing that warm moisture that brings snow and rain to the range. So we played the game of waiting and lost the luck. Nonetheless the team here is of joyous enthusiasm and energy and we shall try again tomorrow.
We will hope for clear skies in the morning.
RMI Guide Mike King
Namaste everyone.
The team has arrived after some very long and tiring flights. Everyone is doing well after a well deserved night of rest here at the tranquil Yak & Yeti Hotel.
Today we met for breakfast and a team meeting to discuss all the gear and the adventure that we are about to take. After our meeting we headed out on a tour of Kathmandu where we visited the beautiful Monkey Temple and the famous Boudhanath Stupa.
It's quite the culture shock visiting this busy city packed with nearly four million people. The streets are packed with people, motorcycles, and cars that honk endlessly.
I'm sure everyone is looking forward to the peace and quietness of the Khumbu where we head tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
That’s a good looking team! Enjoy the wonders of the Himalaya with invaluable Casey’s and Christina’s expertise in the area, plus their wonderful personalities!!!!
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos on 3/19/2017 at 1:01 pm
Everyone at home in Minnesota is excited and thankful for your updates! We love you Gary and Jan and are praying for a great trip for you and your team!!
We have officially made camp up at 12,500 feet on Mount Elbrus. Today the team woke early and grabbed all our gear and headed up the mountain. Arriving early we decided to continue up to 13,500 to acclimatize. The team is now back at camp resting and enjoying our first day on the mountain.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
The July 15th Russia team has officially begun with a great day touring the great city of Moscow. The team is great and we certainly are looking forward to heading to Cheget to get the climb underway tomorrow. However, today we had a relaxing day seeing some of the highlights of this great city. Check out the video below and we will check back in from the little ski town of Cheget soon.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
The Mt. Rainier Expedition Skills Seminar has spent the last six days training along the Paradise Glacier and moved to Camp Muir yesterday. The team, led by RMI Guide Billy Nugent, went to bed hoping for a break in the precipitation. The guides checked the weather through the early morning hours with no such luck of weather cooperation. Although a summit did not come to fruition, the team walked up to Ingraham Flats and will descend from the mountain later this afternoon.
First, congrats to Casey Grom and his team for making the summit of Chimborazo! As for our Aconcagua team, we made our move to Camp 2 at 18,000 feet. It was a tough day but the team did great!
Tents are up, sleeping bags are laid out and the guides are busy making water. The wind was a little more kind to us today and we sure hope it will continue to get better. The forecast is calling for stronger winds and all we can do is hope for calm seas and continue to enjoy this beautiful mountain.
Tomorrow we are hoping to do a carry day and an acclimatization day to Camp 3 at 19,600 feet...weather cooperating of course.
Stay tuned!
RMI Guides JJ Justman and Christina von Mertens
The Four Day Summit Climb August 7 - 10 led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Bryan Mazaika reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Casey reported a breeze at the crater and overall good conditions. The teams began their descent from the crater rim around 7:20 AM.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Saturday, June 23, 2018 - 5:14 AM PT
RMI’s 2018 Cotopaxi Express trip has officially started. All of the team members arrived safely to Quito, Ecuador. We started off the day with a trip to a cultural museum located on the equator, where we were able to straddle the line with one foot in each hemisphere. This was followed by a tour through “Old Town” Quito, visiting Independence Square where the Presidential Palace is located, as well as touring a historic church (Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus) and seeing some of the old, historic architecture. We also visited “El Panecillo”, which is a small hill where a statue of the Virgen of Quito over looks the city. After a long day of site seeing we relaxed with dinner at the well-known Magic Bean Restaurant. Tomorrow we’re off to Rucu Pichincha, a volcano outside of Quito, for our first acclimatization hike.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
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The daily blog and pictures are FABULOUS!
Sending Joel and the team some warm Arizona sunshine.
Posted by: Susie Okun on 5/20/2017 at 1:56 pm
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