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By three this morning, my team of prospective Kili climbers was all present and accounted for on the fringes of Arusha, Tanzania. Eleven of us spent the day getting ready for a week on the move. As is normal with my groups, the team stifled yawns and feigned great interest as I conducted our introductory meeting after a fine Dik Dik Hotel breakfast. They claimed "jet lag" was the culprit rather than my rambling on. Possibly. We're a good ten hours removed from some west coast US homes now. After the briefing, it was time for personal equipment checks and packing for an early departure. This left a good chunk of the afternoon for the gang to relax, to walk the garden-like grounds of the hotel, and to periodically climb the water tower to see if Kilimanjaro was out. She was, by evening... faintly... and floating like a cloud in the distance. As we organized, the local guides and kitchen staff had the much bigger job of packing the food and gear for the trip. It was impressive as always to see lead guide Freddy Kilewo out there making order of the chaos. He has about fifty people to plan for, between porters, camp staff, clients and guides. He makes it all look easy. We'll begin walking the Machame route tomorrow and coming to grips with this challenge that many have been dreaming and scheming about for years. But this evening it is time to enjoy a send-off feast and a last night in a bed... even with jet lag, we all know it is a good deal. Best Regards, Dave Hahn and Team

The Four Day Summit Climb Teams led by RMI Guides Jake Beren and Paul Rachele reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Jake reported a "super beautiful" day with light winds, and a cloud layer at about 8,000'. The teams have started their descent and will be back at Rainier Basecamp this afternoon. Congratulations to today's teams!

May 26, 2016 - 11:29 pm PT Tonight's dispatch will be short courtesy of Storm Evans. Everyone is doing well but very occupied with shoveling out our tents every 45 minutes as the 60mph wind that is ripping through camp fills everything back in with spindrift. Not the most pleasant day, and we certainly didn't even entertain the thought of going anywhere. Hopefully the winds give us a reprieve and let us get some sleep tonight. We'll touch base tomorrow. RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

On The Map

Update 7:15 pm PT Hi all... We are safely back at camp after a long descent down a very wet and snowy central gully on the summit pyramid. The team stayed strong the whole way through and rounded out a great day after putting the whole team on the summit. Now, it's just a walk through the woods tomorrow morning and we'll be back in Babylon! 2:07 pm PT Hey everyone. It's Billy checking in from the summit of Mount Shuksan with our whole crew! Give a shout you guys,"Yeah!" I will give you guys a call when we are back down at camp , safe and sound. We are about to begin our descent. RMI Guide Billy Nugent

Good morning. This is RMI Guide Eric Frank calling from the top of Mount Shuksan. Our team climbed up this morning from the Fisher Chimneys route, had a beautiful day. Now we're just hanging out on top. We're going to be up here for 20 or 25 minutes, enjoy the view, get some photos, then we'll work our way back down. Hope everyone's doing well, take care.

Hello again from Kilimanjaro - Today the team had our usual start at 7am with a full breakfast at 7:30 and hit the trail just after 8. The skies were clear and it felt wonderful to be hiking uphill in the warmth of the sun. Our route today took us up to about 15,000' (setting new altitude records for some) as we passed a landmark known as Lava Tower and then descended down into the Barranco valley. This valley is full of giant groundsels and senecio trees that look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. As we arrived at camp the clouds enveloped us once again and we are currently relaxing back in our tents waiting on dinner. Everyone is doing well and enjoying the climb. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

On The Map

Hello everyone and welcome to RMI's second Kilimanjaro's trip of the season. The team arrived late last night after our very long and tiring flights from the U.S. We were greeted by the wonderful staff from the Dik Dik Lodge with warm smiles and a little champagne to toast our arrival. After a short and quiet ride to our lodge we had a quick dinner then headed off to bed to catch up on some much needed sleep. The team met this morning at breakfast with fresh fruits, homemade bread and jam, and plenty of good Tanzanian coffee. We then got together for a formal round of introductions and an overview of the upcoming adventure. We discussed our plan for the climb and made sure everyone has all the necessary gear to keep us safe and warm on Kilimanjaro. After a short break some team members took a short stroll on the beautiful grounds hoping to catch sight of some of the monkeys that often visit and some even managed to spot Kilimanjaro in a break in the clouds. The rest of us did a little packing and caught up on a little more sleep to help get adjusted to the big time difference. We have just wrapped up an amazing five-course meal with great conversations, and everyone is squared away and looking forward to hitting the trail tomorrow as well as stretching the legs a bit. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Greetings friends and family. Today marks the start of our great African adventure to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. It's with much excitement that the team has finally come together here in Tanzania at the beautiful Arumeru River Lodge. Although some of the team braved long 20+ hour flights from home in getting here, others took advantage of being this far from home to enjoy time in Amsterdam, Monaco and Tuscany before arriving. A few folks just arrived early to the hotel and were able to relax by the pool after what can be an exhausting trans continental flight. The wonderful staff at our hotel restaurant even stayed open late when the last of the crew didn't get here from the airport until 10:30 pm last night. We're off to a great start as we prepare for a full morning tomorrow. We'll review our itinerary and what we can expect on the mountain, and then do a thorough equipment check to make sure we have everything necessary to have a fantastic expedition as we scale the heights Kilimanjaro over the course of the next seven days. Following a bustling morning we'll be treated to a relaxing afternoon before we get underway the following day. Mmm... a cold drink by the pool might just be the ticket to rid myself of the last of my jet lag. We'll talk again soon, RMI Guide Brent Okita

Today was the perfect catch-up day. We had a leisurely breakfast at the Arumeru River Lodge and then got down to business for a little while with a team meeting. We discussed the climb to come and how to prepare for it. Those preparations didn't take very long and equipment checks were easily completed by lunch. The team took walks through the park-like grounds to see the monkeys, tortoises, exotic birds and dik diks that roamed freely about. Low clouds kept things pleasantly cool but prevented us from catching a glimpse of Kilimanjaro. Our gang enjoyed the swimming pool, which made up -somewhat- for the limited views. By evening, with all in order for the adventure to come, we simply ate, drank and relaxed... laughing over shared memories of our previous adventures. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

The team arrived to Base Camp early afternoon and in the commotion of celebrating, showers and packing for the mules we forgot to check in. We are heading for Pampa Las Lenas in a few minutes. The walk will retrace our first two days of the Trek and will culminate with an asado dinner and another beautiful night sleeping under the stars. The team is eager to get back to town and looking forward to lighter backpacks. This dispatch will conclude our expedition. We had amazing weather and a great group of climbers! Thanks for following along.  RMI Guides Mike King and JM Gorum