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Almost as if to make up for rain and sloppy conditions yesterday evening, today we were granted a perfect morning. We made good use of it. It was great to wake to birds singing... a reminder that we’d come all the way from the alpine zone to the forest and the land of living things. Despite the long, hard day yesterday, everybody showed up smiling at breakfast. After refueling, we stood out in the bright sunshine for a goodbye ceremony with our mountain staff. We tipped them, which is merely normal practice when forty men have worked their tails off to help you accomplish your dreams, and they sang to entertain us... and themselves. We knew -and they knew- that we’d done a lot more than just work together for a week, we’d become friends -which was worth commemorating. The singing and dancing with
Kilimanjaro as an enormous and majestic backdrop won’t be forgotten. We then shouldered packs and dropped down the four thousand vertical feet separating us from the Mweka Gate. The trail was in surprisingly good condition -suggesting that yesterday’s rains had only fallen on our heads and weren’t widespread. We got into safari mode on the hike out by spotting a few black and white Colobus Monkeys in the trees. At trail’s end around noon, we signed out with the National Park, had a fine lunch and got rolling down the highway. We drove out of the cultivation zone, full of bananas and coffee, and then cruised through the outskirts of Moshi. It took a couple of hours in the bus to reach our garden sanctuary at the Arumeru River Lodge. Showers and cold beverages were very much in order. We each took a stab at reconnecting with the virtual world before meeting for a great dinner and lots of laughs and recollections about the real world of Kilimanjaro.
Tomorrow our adventure will continue... time for a safari!
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
The
Four Day Summit Climb August 24 - 27, 2016 led by
RMI Guides Casey Grom, Jess Matthews and Blake Votilla reached the crater rim of Mt. Rainier just before 7 am this morning. They reported nice climbing and sunshine with winds and chilly temperatures.
Way to go!
Pree-vēt!
Things are good here on
Mt. Elbrus and the team is excited for tonight! We did a little prep for tomorrow by reviewing a few climb techniques and then rested the remainder of the day. Our cook Dasha has done a great job of filling our bellies with plenty of good home cooked Russian food.
Everything is set and if the weather continues to hold we'll be up at 2am and after a quick breakfast hop on the snowcat to give us a bump a little further up the mountain. It will shorten our climb a little and increase our chance at reaching the highest point in Europe.
That's all for now. Keep your fingers crossed for us!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
For some, it's a hard thing to understand, that which we do not have control over. Today our team did a carry/acclimatization day in relatively calm, however, freezing temperatures to High Camp at 19,600 feet. Everyone did well despite me not knowing who anyone was all bundled up. All I could see of Stephanie was her nose.
The team is now safely back at Camp 2 and we just made an afternoon snack, which warmed everyone up! The weather is changing again as the clouds build and the winds are slowly picking up. Tomorrow is a rest day here at 18,000 feet. Regardless of the weather we are having fun and enjoying the alpine views at
Camp 2 on Aconcagua.
RMI Guides JJ and Christina
On The Map
Today our team bid farewell to the thick air and running water of
Aconcagua Camp 1 and headed uphill to Camp 2. We spent the majority of the afternoon digging in solid tent platforms, making sure to securely fasten our tents to the mountain with the biggest rocks we could find. We were treated to a beautiful day during the move-in process; the views of neighboring Andean peaks have kept many team members busy with photo opportunities. We're just getting ready to crawl into our tents before the sun dips below the horizon and it gets COLD.
More tomorrow!
RMI Guides Mark Tucker and Pepper Dee
On The Map
Hello from
Camp 2 -
Our team has now ascended to 18000' and set up camp. We had a slow roll out of camp thanks to a bit of wind gusting overhead. We decided we might enjoy a little later start to the day, so we hung around until about 10:30 to let the sun warm things up and push those pesky winds farther east.
The Team felt the push to 18k and the gusting winds, grey skies and colder temps didn't make for a lot of conversation. Now tucked in at 18,000' the Team is sport eating and resting in their tents. The winds have calmed down and the sun is baking the tent fabric, this creates an optimal napping microclimate.
We miss you all and are jubilant to be in a position for summiting on the 13th.
Warmest of regards,
RMI Guides Mike King, JM Gorum & the team
Sometimes you get thrown a total curveball, which was the case with our
Mt. Elbrus expedition today. Apparently there has been a stomach bug simmering in the group, and it reached its boiling point last night. With most of the team suffering and feeling less than 100%, it was an easy decision to stay put and rest and recover today. That ended up lining up well with the forecast, as the next couple of days look better than today or tonight. So with that positive note, we'll get a good night's sleep so that we wake up ready to get back to work.
Best,
RMI Guides
Pete Van Deventer,
JM Gorum, and team
On The Map
After a great day of acclimatizing to 15,000 feet on
Mt. Elbrus our team has decided to take a day of rest. So today will be filled with reading, playing cards and watching Tommy Boy for the 102nd time. We will also get out and play in the snow refreshing our mountaineering skills.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
The
Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides
Leon Davis and
Ben Liken reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team reported clear skies, a light breeze and comfortable climbing conditions.The team has started their descent and are en route back to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's teams!
The "improving trend" turned out to be a bunch of baloney and shortly after finishing my dispatch last night the starry sky clouded over and began to steadily pour almost without relent. We woke in the morning and the steady downpour had not begun to show signs of letting up. The team decided over breakfast that with the zero probability of climbing
Antisana, that our best move was to pack up and hike out and hopefully dry out at a hacienda. So here we are, some time on the road later hanging up all of our gear to dry yet again at another hacienda this time at a scenic spot at the base of the Illinizas. Despite the tough weather the gang is doing our best to have fun and enjoy the Ecuadorian countryside. All this traveling has been fun but we're hoping to get in a little more legit climbing before our trip winds down.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Way to go, Joe!
Posted by: Rick on 8/27/2016 at 8:52 am
OMG!! On top of the World, Stephen! Congratulations to you AND the team!
Posted by: Diane Roberts on 8/27/2016 at 7:24 am
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