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The whole team received an A+ for their homework. They aced the final exam and summer vacation starts tomorrow. What a treat for us as guides when a team takes training serious prior to a climb. A very diverse group when it comes to experience and age. The fact that they all came to the class in the best shape possible puts the chances for a safe summit much more reasonable. What you learn up high is a very unique skill set. The physical and mental demands you are faced with and have to deal with can change your perspective on many facets of our everyday lives down in the low lands. To subject you self to a lack of usual creature comforts by your own submission takes a different sort of duck. I Am very proud of my Tucklings. A nice send off from our local staff at the Meweka Camp, what a great local crew we had the pleasure to share the mountain with. Three hour descent thru the cloud forest ,get that ,it was cloudy and cool, go figure! A few final pictures at the Kilimanjaro exit sign gate, and then all aboard for the two hour transfer to the Dik Dik lodge for the night. Cleaned up and fired up for the banquet ahead. We will probably cut a swath through our lodge that may take awhile to heal. That's just what the thick air can do to you. RMI Guide Mark Tucker and Team

The Four Day Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Ben Liken made their summit attempt this morning but turned back after reaching 12,500' due to increased winds and cold temperatures. The teams have returned to Camp Muir were they will have a short break before continuing to Paradise. We look forward to seeing the teams at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon. Good work teams!

Team Orlando was in full safari mode as we explored the Ngorongoro Crater and all the wildlife and beauty it had to offer. We visited a Maasai Mara village to learn the great history and culture of such a strong and beautiful people. RMI Guide JJ Justman & Team

Hey, this is Seth. We are all headed to the airport to catch our flights home. We've had a great trip and today was no exception. In the morning, as we returned through Tarangire National Park, we got very lucky and saw two leopards . It was a great cap on what had already been a wonderful trip. Everyone is excited to go home but we all wish we could be on safari forever! RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

...And hello again from "Arwaycoccha" Camp, aka BC, for climbers. We just returned from Moraine Camp, where we went this morning for a carry and acclimatization hike. Covering the 800m of elevation, that rise straight up from camp, was nothing out of the ordinary for the team. Hardware, fuel and some food is already waiting for us when we start the move towards the top. We have been able to ditch the weather the last couple days, and only hope we can continue to do so, unless the Gods of Meteorology do it for us, and we can start to move under clear skies. We're going to start our "chilling" program for the next 40 hours; we'll let you know how that goes. RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and team

Hey, this is Mike with Aconcagua #4. We are standing on top of the tallest mountain outside of the Himalaya. It's a beautiful day, near windless, you could be wearing a bikini on top today and get a sun tan. Everyone that's on top today, is doing great. We'll send a dispatch in once we descend back to our High Camp. Thanks for following along on the blog. We will descend to Plaza Argentina (Base Camp) tomorrow morning. Thanks. RMI Guide Mike King

On The Map

RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Hannah McGowan led their Four Day Summit Climb teams August 29 - 1 September to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Pete reported light winds and clear skies. The teams enjoyed the views from the summit before starting their descent. Congratulations to today's climbers!

RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos and team hit the crater rim at 11:15 a.m. via the Kautz Glacier Route. They had 100% success to the summit! Elias reported good conditions, a tired team, and an extremely crevassed Nisqually Glacier.

May 27, 2017 10:15 pm PST During our break on the Polo Field at 12,800',someone asked if we could keep our big down parkas on. Good question. It was pretty darned cold and the wind was directly into our face. I'd never had to climb in my parka at that elevator before, but it sure sounded like a good idea to me. Our attempt yesterday really set us up for success today. The team learned how to keep their faces protected while not fogging up their glasses or goggles. And that allowed us to travel in some chilly conditions today. A great skill to have before we get to the higher, colder parts of the mountain. Our time thus far has been particularly cold and unsettled. I'm just glad we haven't been hanging up at 14,200' this whole time like our other two groups. With luck, we'll get there just as this predicted high pressure system comes through, hopefully with the expected rise in temperatures too. We wore those parkas all the way around Windy Corner to our cache site at 13,500', where we were finally sheltered from the wind and could bask in some sunny, warm weather. Amazingly, we all opted to keep those big coats on all the way back to camp. With the wind at our backs and nothing much in our packs, we could gloat just a bit as we passed by the madding crowds on the uphill slog into the cold wind. Our hard work was done, and we were headed back to camp. There's something to be said about being up early and back early even at the cost of breaking trail each morning. If we get another break with the weather tomorrow, we might just make the move to 14,200' camp. That would be fantastic, especially how everyone is doing so well. That's it from 11,200'. It's been a big day. RMI Guides Brent, Christina, JT & Team

Hello from the Dik Dik Lodge. Everyone has arrived. Before lunch we met for our orientation meeting and gear check. We then spent the afternoon finalizing and preparing our gear for the mountain. Now we are all set for Kilimanjaro! Once we finished dinner is off to our rooms to finish last-minute packing or a bit more Internet time. The plan is to meet up for breakfast at 6:30 am and be ready to go by 7:30. We have a couple of hours driving to the national park and it's good to be early. All the gear looks good and tents and food are all set to go. The team is starting to get excited. We are all looking forward to getting the climb under way. RMI Guide Mark Tucker