The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Brent Okita and the Five Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Ben Liken were unable to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning due to challenging route conditions. The teams called Camp Comfort at 12,700' their high point. The teams will return to Ashford this afternoon.
Hey Mark Tucker checking in. What a 24-hour period we've had. Wow. Amazing night up there on Orizaba. Crazy weather, amazing light storm going on and little bit of hail. The team got up early and we put in our work, and we just had a fabulous climb. It was wonderful event that we all participated in and it's been go time ever since. Back down here all cleaned up and doing well at the Reyes Compound. We're just having so much fun; we don't want this trip to end. We're going to come away from this thing with some happy hearts and lots of experience. So we're just looking forward to getting back out there when we can. Thanks.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
RMI Guides Billy Nugent and Eric Frank led their Four Day Summit Climbs to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Billy reported lots of climbers on the route and light winds. The teams are enjoying some time on the summit before beginning their descent. We look forward to seeing the teams in Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations climbers!
All is well here in Ecuador. Today the team left the modern comforts of Quito and made our way north for our second acclimation hike. It was incredibly clear on our drive with amazing views of Cayambe, Cotopaxi and Imbabura. We were also joined by our amazing local guide and all round superwoman Fatima. She will also be guiding and providing her local knowledge to further enrich our experience here in Ecuador.
We drove about three hours north to visit and hike around the beautiful Laguna Cuicocha. It’s a hidden lake that sits high above the town of Otavalo where we are staying the night. The hike was just under four hours and took us from dense forest, Andean highlands, to surreal views of the lake and city beneath. Everyone enjoyed the day even if it was a little hot at times with the sun shining nearly all day.
The team is currently relaxing in our new very comfortable lodge for the night and looking forward to a peaceful and good night's rest.
Today we are headed off the grid to stay in a remote tented camp. Unfortunately, we most likely won't have any cell or wifi service.
I will update as soon as we return!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and Safari crew
After a night of distant thunder and periodic power outages, it was a bit of a surprise to wake to relatively calm weather and clearing skies. The team was ready for a 6:30 breakfast and had no trouble making our planned 7:30 departure from the Dik Dik. But more than one person was heard saying how comfortable the place was and what a shame that we actually had to leave such comfort. These thoughts faded quickly as we loaded into the big green Mercedes Benz expedition truck/bus and started heading East toward our mountain. The skies kept clearing as we moved down the highway, giving us some great views of Kilimanjaro. Two hours got us to the Machame Gate of the national park... the end of the road. We got out and got our permitting chores finished as our local guides figured out staffing and Porter loads. Then we got to the good part. We set out walking. We pushed upward from about 60,00 ft through jungle and tall forest. We'd found cloud cover again, but that just protected us from the sun and we didn't mind a little mist and murk. Six hours of slow, steady work took us from the zone of big trees to the land of giant heather. At almost 10,000 ft we walked into a perfectly built camp -our staff had carried more than us, walked faster, and had enough time left over to get camp all ready for our arrival. We were humbled but happy to crawl into tents. Just in time, as it turned out, since the rain began the moment we did so. Still, it was comfortable sipping tea before dinner in our dry dining tent. We had a fine meal and retired to our tents, pleasantly tired and happy to finally be on our mountain.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
We had to put up with perfect weather again today. A quick 3 hour hike to the park gate where we said good-bye to our mountain adventure. We all boarded our monster truck that held about 30 of us including all mountain gear on the roof. A stop along the way for a lunch to break up the 3 hr drive and we are back at our lodge. The Dik Dik lodge welcomed us with open arms and has done an outstanding job assisting us with desired creature comforts. They are going to supply us with our safari guides and vehicles for the next phase of our adventure tomorrow. Tonight we just finished up a great celebration dinner. Now we are off to bed, everyone is doing well and we are looking forward to starting our safari tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker & Team
The Four Day Summit Climbs led by RMI Guides Steve Gately and Geoff Schellens reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at about 6:45 this morning. Steve reported winds of about 30mph at the crest, but overall a beautiful day. The team has started their descent and are en route to Camp Muir.
RMI Guide Leon Davis called at 7:30 AM this morning from the Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons. He and the team are back at camp. They reached 11,600’, then turned due to a large crack. Later today they will take a walk to spend more time training about 500’ above Camp Schurman.
With all due modesty, we crushed day one. We were out of our hotel and on the bus and on the road just after eight. Out on the highway, our driver Said had the windshield wipers on as the clouds were low and gray and leaking a little rain. But ninety minutes later, as we passed in to Kilimanjaro National Park at the 6,000 ft Machame Gate, it wasn’t raining. As is normal, it took a bit of time to get the group registered for the climb and to get the staffing and loads sorted out, but then, at 10:40 we started walking. Freddy, of our local guide staff, set a “pole pole” pace... nice and slow and steady and we fell into a good rhythm behind him. James, our lead guide, and Frank, Phillibet, and Naiman brought up the rear. The trail, which can be muddy and slippery, was actually in pretty good shape today. The clouds stayed with us for the first half of the day and we got a hint of wet mist and sprinkles before things cleared out a bit in the afternoon. We could even see our shadows from time to time as the sun came and went. The team walked well and seemed to have little difficulty with the steady gain in altitude. We went from hours deep within the rain forest, to a final half hour in a transition to the “Heather and Mooreland” zone and finally walked into Machame Camp at 10,000 ft in a respectable five and a half hours after our start. Our staff had not only beat us to camp, they’d built the camp. Everything was perfectly set up and welcoming for our team to move in. We did afternoon tea with popcorn and then followed that up with one of Chef Tosha’s magnificent dinners. We spent a few minutes looking up at the night sky before turning in... Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars were putting on a show and the milky way was trying hard to outshine them.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
The team met after breakfast for an introduction and strategy session. We discussed short and long term plans for climbing the mountain, gear and clothing needs, timing and itineraries and finally, the staffing by our outfitter, Barking Zebra Tours. The climbers then endured a rigorous, detailed and demanding equipment check by their lead guide before a lunch out on the covered patio of our dining room. Clouds were right down low and drizzly for most of the day, obscuring any views of Kilimanjaro and Meru -the two big and prominent volcanoes in the neighborhood. We focused on the scenery closer at hand -the immaculate and lush gardens of the hotel grounds. We watched and listened to exotic birds, monkeys and a small herd of Dik Diks roaming the grass and chewing the shrubs. The afternoon plan was a bit easier once things were packed and duffel bags were labeled and weighed. We simply relaxed and tried to recover from so much travel and the many time zones crossed in the process. We got together for dinner outside again, with most opting for a sweater or two since things were a little chilly (it being mid-winter, naturally). We’ve got plans for setting out early tomorrow and for getting started on the mountain of our dreams.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
One of the highlights of my life, for sure. Thanks to the RMI team for the positive experience and seamless operation.
Posted by: Dan Colavito on 8/11/2015 at 12:12 pm
Awesome!! Hope it was all you dreamed of team!!!
Posted by: Gretchen on 8/8/2015 at 3:29 pm
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