May 16, 2016 - 3:07 p.m. PDT
Hello Everyone,
Despite a bleak forecast we woke to sunny blue skies today. This morning the team ventured further up the SE fork for some glacier travel and exploring around Radio Tower. While Base Camp below was busy with planes dropping off more climbers we enjoyed a birds eye view of the lower Kahiltna, and a direct view of the north buttress of hunter. The air was hot and surrounding slopes reacted with constant wet slides and rockfall. Returning to camp was a sweltering affair, all of us sun baked by the relentless sun. Tomorrow we will stick around the area for some more skills training. We are still hoping for more of those sunny skies.
RMI Guide Leon Davis & Team
Congrats to this team!
It was a fantastic climb of Kilimanjaro yesterday and everyone did great and it was wonderful to be on top with the whole team.
It took us a little more than seven hours to reach the summit. The sky was full of stars and the weather was nice, although it was a little cold on that last stretch I have to admit.
After spending about 20 minutes on top and getting plenty of summit photos, we made our way quickly back to camp where brunch was waiting and then descended all the way to our last camp. It was a long, but rewarding day for everyone.
This morning we had a quick breakfast and got packed up one last time, then our wonderful staff gathered to bid us farewell and sang a few traditional Kilimanjaro songs.
We are currently relaxing back at our lodge where everyone has enjoyed hot showers and a delicious celebration meal.
It's time for a little sleep before we head out on a much deserved safari!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
We woke up this morning with the feeling that we would fly today and in the end we were right. A little after noon we got the call we had been waiting for. And quickly got into our boots. After a circuitous and beautiful flight we landed on the Kahitna Glacier. Despite the later hour, with good weather and high stoke, we quickly left base camp and made our way to Ski Hill. The team is very happy to be on the mountain and making our way up.
Around 7:20 AM PT the Four Day Summit Climb August 22 - 25 led by RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer rolled into the crater of Mt. Rainier. Pete reported a light breeze with some high clouds above and a low marine layer near Paradise. There was a beautiful sunrise this morning as they were making their ascent and the temperature was not too cold. The team will enjoy some time in the summit crater before starting their descent. Once back to Camp Muir they will pack up and continue down to Paradise. A celebration at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon will conclude their program.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb team!
Things were a little different when we woke up at Karanga Camp today. It was cloudy below, cloudy above and cloudy most places in between. But after some coffee and breakfast, things began to look better... as they often do. We were walking by 9 AM in any case. it wasn’t particularly cold or unpleasant, we just didn’t have views of the upper mountain as it was cloaked in cloud. Pretty soon we were above any plant life and into the alpine (translation: rock) zone. We made great time and pulled into Barafu Camp, High Camp, in just 2.5 hrs as light snow began to fall. We took shelter in the tents, but the snow didn’t amount to much and the squall passed quickly. Our afternoon was full of resting, relaxing, lunch and a team meeting to discuss the upcoming climb. The clouds finally dropped below us and Kibo was revealed -gloriously- in late afternoon.
We ate a big and fine spaghetti dinner which was followed by a surprise birthday cake and several rounds of singing, dancing and clapping in honor of Heather’s big day. She’ll have another one tomorrow, as we all will. We’ve planned an alpine start and so everyone has turned in early this evening.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Saturday, June 23, 2018 - 10:26 PM PT
This one started out differently. It wasn’t snowy at 3:30 AM and it wasn’t cloudy. In fact it looked pretty good for climbing. We were walking out of 7800 ft at 6 AM with a big view of Denali’s South Face and some of its classic climbing routes. Our classic climbing route for the day was on “Ski Hill”. Once again we had heavy packs and sleds, once again we used snowshoes and ski poles. The fact that the snow surface had frozen overnight was in our favor, making for good walking. The fact that ski hill is all uphill certainly made things harder, but such difficulties weren’t exactly unexpected. We rolled into our intended site at 9500 ft by 10 AM. Building camp was easy enough in strong sunshine and calm conditions. We snoozed away the warm afternoon, or snacked, read, chatted and hydrated. Dinner in the dining tent was a picnic in the dry and calm conditions. We can no longer see Denali from this particular angle, but the view down 43 miles of the Kahiltna Glacier certainly isn’t bad. Most were in their tents again and turning in by 8 PM when the sun went behind Kahiltna Dome. A little cooler up here now as we start gaining altitude.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
The pattern finally changed. It was cloudy and a little cool when we set out this morning. Which was actually just fine. The entrance to Ngorongoro Preserve was a short drive from Plantation Lodge. Juma and Edson drove us up to the rim of the great collapsed caldera and we got out to stare in wonder at the “crater”. Then it was back in the Landcruisers for the rough dirt road along the rim... Juma said it was time for our “African Massage” as we bounced along the ruts and rocks. A Jeep track down through umbrella acacia trees took us to the valley floor where we immediately began to spot crater critters by the hundreds. First were the armor plated Cape buffalo, next a gang of Eland. We began to spot so many gazelles, zebra and wildebeest that they only merited a stop if they’d been born in the last few hours. Warthogs came and went. Bustards and Secretary Birds strutted past. Then came the lions. We parked near a beautiful male and female and our guides described -accurately- the process by which they’d get frisky with each other every ten or twenty minutes for an exhausting week. We watched for a few cycles, fascinated. The big cats paid no attention whatsoever to spectators. Next we saw herds of elephants in the distance and a black rhino a couple hundred meters away. Four of the “big five” before lunch. (We were missing leopards, which aren’t commonly seen down in the crater). Lunch happened to be within sight of about 20 hippos and a bunch of waterbucks. Despite the cloud cover, it was getting pretty hot in the afternoon. We kept spotting game -ostrich and hyenas... more lions and more elephants as we headed for the rough roads out of the crater. By 4:30 we were back at the ridiculously comfortable Plantation Lodge, amazed by what we’d seen but also ready to relax. We looked a little like a gang of teenagers at happy hour, focused intently on our smartphones as we shuffled pictures about. Tomorrow is another day and another national park.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
At 6:40 am the Mt. Rainier summit climb team started their descent from the crater rim. Lead Guide Robby Young reported a smoky haze below the summit but clear skies at the top. The team is currently working their way back to Camp Muir.
Way to go dad !!! (Ryan Swift) You encourage us to do great things. So glad that you and the team made it to the top. Looks like a great view. Congratulations to all.
From William,Nathaniel, Adrina and Heather
Hola amigos! It is Robby and Steve and your ESS-Peru team. We are here at High Camp on Nevado Copa and about 16,500 feet and just enjoyed the beautiful sunset up here. Just ate some dinner, now we are brushing our teeth, bedding now and getting ready for tonight's climb, which will come very shortly. We're waking up in the middle of the night, sometime tonight to attempt to summit Nevado Copa, which is just over 20,000 feet high. We certainly have our work cut out for us, but the team is strong and ready. We're having a great time here in Peru in the Cordillera Blanca. We will touch base hopefully from the summit of Nevado Copa tomorrow sometime in the late morning. Until then, hasta luego.
RMI Guide Robby Young
RMI Guide Robby Young calls in from Nevado Copa High Camp.
RMI Guide Brent Okita called from the Mt. Rainier crater rim with the news, "We are on the summit on a Bluebird Day!" Clear skies, no wind, and views for miles- can't beat a summit like that. The teams spent an hour on top before starting their descent at 7:00 a.m.
Be safe sweetheart you got this! i’m so proud of you and I hope you have a great time and see lots of amazing views. I love you love, mom.
Posted by: Laura Hittmann on 5/19/2025 at 5:09 am
You’ve got this Will!!! What an adventure!
We love you!! Can’t wait to hear about it and see the awesome pics!
Safety to all!
Love, Mom
Posted by: Annette Sutila on 5/18/2025 at 2:16 pm
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