Most Popular Entries
Hard day of climbing today for our team. The day began (at eleven AM) with great weather but some uncertainty anyway. The forecast was calling for marginal weather again a couple of days out and so teams were struggling to decide whether to commit to the ascent. We committed and left Low Camp at 3:40 PM. The previous carry up the fixed ropes, plus a day of rest in between, both seemed to have done the trick. We were moving well and the day was staying good. We reached our previous high point (about 11,200) and then suffered a mishap. We dropped an essential piece of gear down the hill. The loaded backpack cruised on down our of sight. There was no choice but to descend, retrieve the gear, regroup and recoup at Low Camp. We've now accomplished a good chunk of that. We are thankful that nobody was hurt, that we've still got our gear and that we've got the resources and fortitude to try again when conditions allow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Posted by: Casey Grom, Billy Nugent
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 12,000'
It was a beautiful day here on Elbrus.
We had a normal start to our day with breakfast in the hotel and then loaded up all our climbing gear and drove to the base of the ski lift where we rode not one, not two, but three gondolas to reach our new home for the next few days and happens to sit at just over 12,000ft. It's rather comfortable up here, as our outfitter has taken a few shipping containers and converted them into simple bunk rooms that sit atop some makeshift skis so they can be moved. Creative to say the least!
Once we got settled into our new home we headed uphill on another acclimatizing hike and reached about 13,500ft before returning to camp where our wonderful cook Dasha had a nice hot lunch waiting for us.
We spent the remaining of the afternoon relaxing, walking around and just enjoying the views of the Caucasus Mountain Range.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
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.
Hi everyone! The RMI Aconcagua team is safely back at Base Camp. We are enjoying cokes and beers and just relaxing. I will be honest, most of us are exhausted, me included. It was a perfect summit day and it has taken its toll. We all deserve to relax and unwind. This is officially the last blog post for our team. We will walk out tomorrow and arrive in Mendoza on the 13th. Thanks for all of your support along the way. Ciao from Aconcagua.
RMI Guide JJ Justman and JM Gorum
On The Map
Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hi! This is Seth. We are in the Ngorongoro Crater where, miraculously, I have 3G service. We are having a great day exploring the area. We got an early start and visited a Maasai village located on the rim of the crater. After that we dropped down to the crater floor and started the game drive. It started off pretty slow for the first hour but then we saw a pride of eleven lions, a single rhino and then a pair of rhinos. The last two rhinos were pretty active which was really cool. After lunch we spotted a completely different pair of rhinos making it a five rhino day. Now we're heading back to the Plantation Lodge for another night before heading out to Tarangire National Park and Kikoti Camp tomorrow.
PS: We did not get rained on today.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall & Team
Can’t wait to see your pictures Eileen. Have a great time taking in all of Mother Nature’s splendor!
Safe travels!
Posted by: Mary & Charlotte on 1/20/2016 at 8:07 pm
Congrats on your Five Rhino Day :) We’re all enjoying your pictures - they’re beautiful!
Posted by: Cindy (RT) on 1/20/2016 at 9:41 am
Hi from Shira Camp at 12,500 ft on Kilimanjaro. It's currently raining cats and dogs!
We started the day under clear blue skies, had a great breakfast and were hiking by 8:30 in the morning. The clouds started to build at around 9:30 but we had sun breaks for our whole hike.
The terrain was fairly steep right from the start but every one handled it well. The vegetation was very different from the lush rain forest we were in yesterday. As we gained altitude the fauna had a more alpine feel that corresponds to our high elevation.
After we arrived at camp the cooks made a great lunch and while we were eating the rain started. It is nice to be in camp for it so we can rest and relax with the sound of raindrops on the tents.
One of our climbers would like to say hello to Mrs. Price's second grade class. Thanks for following along with our climb.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
Woo Hoo Eileen!
L&D is keeping tabs on your journey! We are excited and impressed at your sense of adventure and climbing skills! Looking forward to hearing all about your adventure upon your return!
Posted by: Anne & Christine on 1/14/2016 at 10:44 am
Love “tagging along” on your trip - here’s to the journey! Cheers to Team Fuller and everyone else…onward ho… Wishing you all amazing sights and sounds, sweat and laughter… ;)
Posted by: Jiffy Page on 1/14/2016 at 6:25 am
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hello everyone,
Today we headed to Tarangire National Park known for its abundant elephants, and it didn’t disappoint. Not sure how many we saw, probably several hundred at the least. It wouldn’t seem like we could get tired of seeing elephants, but there were so many that eventually we had to keep driving so we could see other animals.
There were lots of giraffes, impalas, monkeys, ostriches, and many others.
One of the highlights was seeing a male Cheetah up close, only about 20 feet away. He was just relaxing under a big tree overlooking a small pond and hardly seemed to notice us.
We are spending our last night here in Africa at Tarangire Balloon Camp, which has beautiful tented rooms with screen windows to allow the sounds of the African bush in.
Everyone is doing great and hoping to see a few more big cats on our way out tomorrow. Then it will be back to our main lodge near Arusha for a brief stop before catching our evening flights home.
Thanks for following.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Posted by: Mark Tucker, Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,200'
Today is all about rest. Resting the body and resting the mind before we move to Guanacos Camp, our Camp 2, at 18,000 feet. Anxious to move up, we are passing the time watching Netflix downloaded on our phones, reading books, taking cat naps and eating quesadillas. The team is also taking advantage of the sunny weather by taking light strolls around camp to stretch the legs. All this rest will pay off as we move higher up the mountain.
Buenos Dias,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker and team
On The Map
Good luck, team on your move to Camp 2! Looking forward to some great pictures, Shannon Long!
Posted by: Mark Fisher on 1/23/2018 at 7:20 am
Posted by: Walter Hailes, Sean Collon, Chris Ebeling, Taylor Bickford
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guide Walter Hailes and the Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz July 30 - 4 August, 2017 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. After several days of training in Ashford and on the mountain the team left their High Camp this morning en route to the summit of Mt. Rainier. The team arrived at Columbia Crest around 5 am and enjoyed the views from the summit before starting their descent. Today is the last day of their program and they will return to the trail head and back to Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to the Kautz Seminar team!
The RMI Artesonraju team made a summit attempt yesterday, reaching 5,600 meters. Technical difficulties kept them from continuing, but the team is giving it another try tonight. Stay tuned!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Guys, you are determined!
Wishing you well on the next attempt -stay strong and be safe!
Posted by: Peter williamson on 7/5/2017 at 6:00 pm
Congratulations on your summit mike. That was huge…. Eric
Posted by: Eric on 2/12/2016 at 2:45 am
View All Comments