Good evening from Icchiccocha (small lake), where we're camped for the night, on our way to Alpamayo Basecamp. We did bypass Llamacorral, the standard camp, and continued another couple kilometers up valley... and the reality is that this group is looking really good!!! So continuing on, and secluding ourselves from the different groups who are sharing the trail along this section of the astonishing Santa Cruz trek, wasn't an issue. The cute note of the day, was the two dogs, beautiful but homeless puppies, who followed us all the way to camp, and are currently guarding our donkey pack. That's it for the day, we will be checking in tomorrow from Basecamp.
RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and team
Hi everybody. Casey Grom checking in from the Kilimanjaro expedition. Just wanted to let you know that everything's going great today. We finally woke to a clear sky and we're able to hike almost all day in full sunshine, which was a real treat considering all the clouds and rains and sprinkles that we've had this whole week. Everybody's in great spirits right now. We left our Karanga Camp, which is about 13,000 feet, and slowly made our way up hill up on to a ridge line where our high camp is. It's called Barafu, and it sits about 15,000 feet. Everybody did fantastic today. They are doing well up here at the new altitude. We just had another amazing meal provided by our cook, Tosha. He's been taking great care of us. We just had our little summit talk when we went over the game plan for tonight. What time we're leaving and what to wear, what to bring, all that good stuff. If the weather continues like it is, the game plan is to get up around 11:30, have something to eat, and then start walking about 12:30 tonight. It should take us somewhere between about six and eight hours to reach the summit. If all goes according to plan, I've got a SAT phone that I've been checking in on and I'm going to do my best to let all the team members give a call home. If you're following the blog sometime around 7 a.m. Tanzanian time, that's anywhere from about eight to eleven hour difference ahead of the U.S., we're going to give you a call. If you see a strange number on your phone, realize it may be us calling to say hello from the summit of Kilimanjaro. Anyway, that's all for now. Wish us luck. We're going to head to bed and try to get a couple hours of sleep before we we take off. Thanks.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
RMI Guide Casey Grom calls in from Kilimanjaro's High Camp.
Jay and Mary…hope you guys are having a climb of a lifetime! Have fun and be safe!
Posted by: Swayts on 1/14/2018 at 5:08 pm
This might be a little late but at the summit, reach for the stars and shake Grandpa’s hand. He would be so proud of you just as all of us are. Again be safe there’s lots of love back home.
Love mom.
Posted by: Caralee (Alex’s mom) on 1/14/2018 at 10:50 am
Our ridiculously fine weather continues. The morning in Shira Camp was calm and clear. There wasn't so much as a hint of any cloud or wind up on the heights of Kibo and for the first time, the sea of cloud below us wasn't complete. We could actually see bits of Africa far below. We got walking at 8:25. This was easier terrain than yesterday's rock-hopping. Just steady uphill strolling through low desert-style vegetation. We got closer and closer to Kibo and at 12:30 PM we reached our high point for the day. Fifteen thousand two hundred feet above sea level shattered altitude records for all but two of our ten person team. We celebrated with a rest break, some fist bumping and photos. Then it was time to get rid of altitude as we worked down toward the Barranco Valley. The scenery was outrageous as we crept under the ice fields, hanging glaciers and giant rock walls of Kibo's south side. Eventually we found our way down into the crazy vegetation again -giant Scenecios and Lobelias caught our attention as did the waterfalls and caves in the lava layers. We were in another perfect camp built at 13,000 ft below the great Barranco Wall. Afternoon weather was found to be just as perfect as the morning. All are hoping for a good night of sleep before the morning's wall climb.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
RMI Guides Billy Nugent and Ben Like led their Four Day Summit Climb teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Billy radioed at 7:30 am as the teams were approaching the crater rim. The report was clear skies and winds 15 mph from the North.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!
Hola! We are back at base camp safe and sound, tired but happy. A frigid, clear dawn kept us in our tents a bit longer this morning. With the first rays of sun peeking over the southwest face of Alpamayo, we knew our descent had to happen. We needed to be off the glacier before any ascending climbers reached the bergschrund over the col, otherwise we would be stuck waiting for the bottleneck to clear. We packed, and started our descent. An uneventful journey brought us to the warmth of the meadow where our cook Raúl was waiting for us with lunch ready to eat. After a couple nights of freeze dried food at our high camp; sweet potato fries, quinoa soup and a local dish "causa;" never tasted so good! Even at 14,000'. We spent the afternoon packing for tomorrow's departure towards town, and finished the day with a jump into the river for some needed hygiene (Yeap, these guys are classy, even in the mountains!). Our next post will be tomorrow from our hotel in Huaraz.
Best regards,
Elías and team.
The Four Day Summit Climb Teams led by RMI Guides Tyler Jones and Mike Uchal reached the summit of Mt. Rainier Early this morning. Tyler reported Breezy, but clear skies above 7800’. They started their descent at about 7:10 am.
Congratulations to today's teams!
Thursday, June 21, 2018 - 10:39 PM PT
We were up at 2 AM for our much anticipated launch from Denali Basecamp. It was still cloudy and overcast and seemed to be moving toward being more cloudy and overcast, but we felt we had something of a window for moving. After a hot breakfast, we knocked down tents and rigged up for glacial travel. By 4:38 we were walking down the SE Fork of the Kahiltna with our snowshoes on. A number of other teams had begun climbing in the hours ahead of our departure, so the soft snow trail was packed nicely for us. As expected, glacier conditions were good and it was a relief not to be crossing open crevasses and sagging snow bridges. There wasn’t too much to see with all of the cloud, so we just concentrated on walking steady for an hour at a push. We very nearly saw the sun at one point just after 8 AM but that was it despite this being the Solstice and a traditional big day for sun worshipers. Five and a half hours brought us to 7800 ft, and our intended destination. By that point the clouds were right down on us and it was snowing lightly. We built a quick camp and got inside before it got snowing a little more heavily in the early afternoon. We snoozed and drank water to recover from the morning workout. The wet snow continued right through dinner, but we weren’t so uncomfortable in our cozy dining tent with snow benches and countertops. Now that all are in bed, the snow keeps on coming, but quietly... there is no wind and that is a good thing.
Best,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Glad to see that you all are moving. And what a joy it must’ve been to see Denali out in its full glory. Wishing you good weather and safe climbing ahead. Thinking about you lots Margaret and Jon. Holding down the fort here in Anchorage, Hugs from Melonie and licks from Wiz
Posted by: Melonie Rieck on 6/22/2018 at 11:32 pm
Climb on Tom, Sending those strength and good weather prayers your way Brother!!
Today our team is continuing to acclimate by enjoying a rest day at Camp 1. We had lighter wind last night when combined with the carry day made for a better night's sleep for everyone. The forecast is looking good for a summit attempt on the 5th. The team is doing great, feeling well rested and excited to continue moving up the mountain tomorrow. Until then, we continue to enjoy the amazing scenery and calm weather.
RMI Guide Mike King
Sunday, March 5, 2017
After trickling in from various airports around the US, our team gathered in Mexico City to kick off the trip. We enjoyed our first Mexican meal together and talked about the upcoming climbs. This morning, after a delicious breakfast at Hotel Geneve, the team departed from Mexico City and arrived at La Malinche, an extinct volcano towering over the historical Mexican Olympic training facility. We arrived around noon, and headed out on an acclimatization hike shortly after. Everyone felt great and we were able to climb uphill for over three hours. This was enough to get us above treeline where we could enjoy the beautiful views of the plains below. Once we were back down in camp, we settled into cabins, then enjoyed a dinner of grilled meats and veggies along with fresh guacamole and home tortilla chips! Now we are tucked in bed trying to get a good night's rest and prepare for our upcoming move to Ixta Base Camp.
Thanks for following along.
RMI Guides Eric Frank and Jenny Konway and the Mexico's Volcanoes crew
Fantastic! It looks stunning- what an adventure and what a view.
Posted by: Debi Edy on 3/8/2017 at 10:40 am
Things seem to be going great. Hope everyone is well rested for the climb to the summit. The google map indicates that the view should be very special. Kudos to the guides.
Posted by: Grandma & Grandpa Coats on 3/7/2017 at 12:42 pm
RMI Guide Mike King called from the summit of Ixtaccihuatl (17,340') at 6:15 am PT today. His team was taking photos and enjoying the views from the summit. They will descend to High Camp, pack their gear and continue their descent from the mountain. The team will travel to Puebla later today.
Congratulations to the team!
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Love the group photograph & thanks for the update, Elias. Give all my love to Taylor and everyone take good care of each other! Best wishes!
Posted by: Kris on 7/16/2015 at 9:52 am
Best of luck to the whole team and much love and kisses to my husband Wolf - Feli
Posted by: felicitas funke-riehle on 7/16/2015 at 6:09 am
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