Most Popular Entries
Hello 14!!! We headed out of the 11,200’ Camp at eleven o’clock this morning and arrived at 14,000’ at six o’clock in the evening. Getting around Windy Corner was very smooth even with our big packs on. Once we got to camp we busied ourselves getting camp ready and building snowblock walls. Everyone was plenty tired after a hard days work and we all crawled into our tents as soon as dinner was over.
On The Map
RMI Guide Steve Gately and his team checked in from the summit of Mt. Shuksan. The team ascended via the Sulphide Glacier and is back to high camp. The team will descend off the mountain tomorrow morning. Above are photos from their training yesterday.
Congratulations to the team!
The clouds blanketed Machame Camp for much of the night and we even had brief periods of rain... all of which made it feel wonderful to wake to crystal clear skies in the morning. We were just on top of thick layers of cloud, but finally we had unobstructed views of Kibo (Kilimanjaro's main peak) above.
We ate breakfast and marched out of camp at 8:20, immediately encountering a steep and rocky trail up through a forest of giant heather. There were large numbers of porters -ours and those of neighboring teams- balancing loads on their heads as they wove through the straight up stream of morning traffic. The clouds rose up and swallowed us again for several hours as we steadily gained altitude. Up around 12,000 ft we broke free again and had a better look at the exotic giant scenecios among the heather. 16,000 ft Mount Meru became visible to the west as another island in the cloud sea. We began a traverse along shelves of lava with the boys keeping a sharp eye out for crystals among the ancient flows. The gang easily handled a few steeper steps and we reached a high point of 12,800 ft before dropping down into Shira Camp at 12,500 ft. Then it was an easy and peaceful afternoon of eating napping eating and eating some more. We were treated to a magical evening as the
sun dropped into the clouds out beyond the Shira Plateau and the moon and stars took over at entertaining us.
Everybody is happy and healthy tonight and getting easily into the rhythms of camp and climbing life.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Posted by: Andy Bond, Bryan Mazaika, Jessie Poquerusse, Chad Gaffigan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons July 28 - 2 August, 2017 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning around 7 am. RMI Guide Andy Bond and the team headed to the White River Camp Ground on Sunday after two days of training at Rainier BaseCamp. They started on the route on Sunday and ascended to Camp Schurman yesterday. They made an alpine start this morning and were pleased to report great weather and route conditions and that 100% of their team reached the summit today. The team will return to camp today for their final night on the mountain. Following some additional training the team will descend to the trail head and return to Rainier BaseCamp tomorrow.
Congratulations to the Emmons Seminar Team!
Posted by: Mark Tucker, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
July 8, 2017
Here we are back in Cheget! We had a very interesting climb. We started looking at the weather around midnight and made our plan to leave at 3 am with the help of a snowcat ride. It was clear above us with a mild breeze at camp and the forecast was calling for moderate winds. We woke the team at 1:45 am and got ready for our summit attempt. The wind increased as we ascended but it didn't turn us back. We were prepared for a big climb and that is what we experienced. We took a few photos on the summit of Mt. Elbrus and then started our descent. We return to the huts where we spent the last few nights, had lunch, packed our gear and then continued down to the thick are of the Baksan Valley. Tommorow we will enjoy a day of rest and touring in Cheget before we head off to St. Petersburg.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
Buenos tardes!
Today we made the journey to Tlachichuca where the great Sr. Reyes lives. Sr. Reyes runs Servimont, the guide service we use to get to Piedra Grande by 4X4 trucks. The compound to which he runs his operation was once a soap factory. One of the drums used in the process to make the soap came from Philadelphia. But enough with the history lesson and back to the climbing. Once we arrived in Tlachichuca we were down to business, doing yet another gear shuffle. We packed our bags, ate a delicious lunch, and boarded the 4X4 trucks. A two-hour drive up a very bumpy and steep road brought us to Piedra Grande which sits at roughly 14,000'. We were in and out of the clouds while we pitched our tents and got settled in. Before eating dinner we had a refresher course of our skills for the climb. With fully tummies of probably the best rotisserie chicken we had ever had, we are off to get some shut eye before an early alpine start. Hopefully the next time you here from us we will be cal ling in from the summit.
Till then, good night to all,
RMI Guides Mark Tucker, Hannah Smith, and team
Looks awesome! Good luck, stay strong!
Posted by: Paul Lawrence on 11/14/2016 at 7:11 am
Good luck to all! I know you have it in ya dad!
Posted by: Kate denver on 11/12/2016 at 7:27 pm
Wow, what a day! After waking at 3:30 am to leave the hotel we drove for a few hours only to wake to the sunrise and Salkantay Peak, 20,500 ft dominating the horizon.
After getting our gear rigged for the horses and porters the team started up a dusty road passing through small settlements above the Rio Blanco. 'Mountain Plush' is how I'll describe our living and eating arrangements due to our hard working local crew. Upon retiring from our dining tent during lunch, members of the team napped in the sun and gentle breeze before ascending the final stretch into camp.
We are currently camped beneath Salkantay at 14,500 ft with tent doors open and our feet hanging out enjoying beautiful views of the glaciers, seracs and fluted snow couloirs.
The team is doing great and sends their love to friends and family who are following along. Tomorrow we ascend to our high point of Incachiriasca pass, 16,010.
RMI Guide Mike King
Posted by: Robby Young, Eric Frank
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 18,871'
Greetings, RMI blog followers! This is your ESS-Peru team standing on the top of Pisco Oeste at 18,871ft. Beautiful day as always in the Cordillera Blanca. Barely any wind and we are standing in the sun. We're all super psyched to get up this high in the culmination of our trip. Our crew has a very important message for those folks at home. [Team cheers!] We're going to enjoy the sunshine on the top for a bit more and then start walking down, then our journey home begins. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Robby Young
RMI Guide Robby Young calls in the Pisco Oeste summit!
Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hello, I am emailing from our safari at Lake Manyara National Park. We are having a great afternoon of game viewing.
The day started at the Dik Dik Hotel where we said goodbye to some of our team. About half the team is either headed back home or doing their own safari.
The rest of us have successfully shifted gears from mountain living to wildlife viewing. We were on the road just after 9 am and a few hours later we pulled into Lake Manyara. We had lunch just inside the park and then started the game drive. True to the nature of the trip we had 45 minutes of rain but now the clouds have parted, the top of the truck is open and there are animals everywhere.
Tonight we will stay at the Plantation Lodge, home of the best margaritas in Tanzania. We'll check in again tomorrow.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall and the Safari All Stars
The Mt. Elbrus team had an amazing day hiking on Peak Cheget. It was sunny all day...don't take our word for it...check out the video!!!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Previous Page
Next Page
Fascinated with your journey through an area that I have long found to be very interesting. Safe and enjoyable trip to you all!
Hal
Posted by: Hal H. on 8/4/2017 at 11:35 pm
Wonderful trekking along with Super Team Taos.
Posted by: Yolanda Deveaux on 8/4/2017 at 4:25 pm
View All Comments