Entries By dave hahn
August 9, 2019
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 13,160'
We slept in this morning... to the decadent hour of 7:00 AM. The idea was to let the majority of porter traffic get out ahead of us so as to reduce traffic jams on the route up the "Great Barranco Wall". It was easy to go for the slow start in such a beautiful place. The morning light show as the sun found its way into our deep valley and the surface of the cloud sea below us was magical. We left camp at 9:30 and promptly found the traffic jam we’d hoped to avoid. The route begins with a system of rock ledges and small but steep scrambles so there are a number of natural "choke points". Generally we try to let porters have the right of way since they are balancing heavy loads on their heads and moving much faster than we will go. But it is high season and there were hundreds of porters and climbers tackling the wall at once. We waited on a few of the more spacious ledges and eventually made it to the more open middle sections of the wall (where the climbing is really just steady uphill hiking). It was a thrill to top out the wall and have the big views of Kibo and the hanging ice fields and glaciers above us. Then the hiking became routine and beautiful as we traversed under the mountain’s south side and came to the steep-sided Karanga Valley. It didn’t take us very long to go down one side and up the other to get to Karanga Camp at 2:00 PM. This camp is on a broad and open slope with unobstructed views of both the mountain above and the world around us. Mt. Meru, our 15,000 ft volcanic neighbor is prominent out to the West. Our afternoon followed a now familiar pattern, meals and naps interspersed. Coming out of the dining tent after dinner, we were all mesmerized by the stars above and the lights of Tanzania below.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
August 8, 2019
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 13,030'
Morning at 12,600 ft was cold and frosty... and beautiful from Shira Camp. Partway through our breakfast, the sun found its way over Kilimanjaro and warmed us right up. Conditions were perfect for walking when we set out at 8:20 AM. Our route took us directly in toward Kibo -Kilimanjaro’s towering central peak. The terrain was easier than the rocky narrow track we were on yesterday. This was gently rising, wide open juniper and sagebrush. Within a few hours we were breaking altitude records as we passed 14 and then 15,000 ft. At 15,200 ft we’d reached our goal, the Lava Tower. Clouds had come over, making us notice the cool air, but the weather wasn’t unpleasant, by any means. We sat for a good half hour, enjoying a fine lunch spread presented on a Maasai picnic blanket by our camp staff. Then we shifted gears and walked downhill for a couple thousand feet into the garden-like Barranco Valley full of Sceneccios and Lobelias. We pulled into camp at 3:20, making for seven hours and our biggest day yet. Then it was time to snack and rest and gaze up at tomorrow’s challenge... the Great Barranco Wall.
After dinner, our staff surprised Mike Winiarski with a perfectly prepared and presented birthday cake. The guys sang in English and Swahili as we all laughed and clapped along. Mike admitted that it was a birthday he wouldn’t soon forget.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team
August 7, 2019
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 12,600'
We were treated to another clear morning -above Machame Camp at least- there was a sea of clouds below, but that didn’t bother anybody. We enjoyed a 7:15 breakfast and by 8 AM we were ready for walking. John, the lead guide on our local staff, formally introduced us to the fifty man team of porters, cooks, tent builders, waiters and guides helping to get us up Kilimanjaro. The team sent us off with a song as everybody clapped and danced along.
The trail started out immediately more steep and rugged than yesterday’s route. We gained altitude quickly in a forest of giant heather. Ultimately we reached a ridge crest and followed it for several hours, still steadily gaining height. The final hour involved a traverse out to the left where the hike became a mild scramble requiring good hand and footholds on the rock. We reached a high point at around 12,900 ft as we turned a corner onto the Shira Plateau and then it was an easy downhill stroll into camp at 12,600 ft. We reached Shira Camp near 1:00 in the afternoon and so had most of the afternoon for resting, eating and drinking. As with yesterday, things clouded up by midday and this time we had brief rain showers in the afternoon, which just made it a little easier to nap inside the tents. The clouds melted away by evening and we were treated to a fine sunset and great views of 15,000 ft Mt. Meru off on the western horizon.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
From first light this morning at the Arumeru River Lodge, Kilimanjaro could be seen towering in the distance, free of the normal cloud cover. The purists in the group maintained that the air was still "a little hazy" but the rest of us were simply thankful for the view and the chance to start our climb without rain in the air and mud on the trail. We’d finished breakfast and the “duffel shuffle” by 8 AM and so we loaded up on our bus for the 90 minute ride to the park entrance. The team stayed alert for the ride, alternating between staring at the rapidly growing mountain on the horizon and watching the Tanzanians beginning their day in the towns and villages along the highway. The bus began to climb as we drove up through banana and coffee plantations at the base of the big volcano. At the 6,000 ft Machame Gate to the park, we hopped out and got ready for walking. We were on the trail in perfect conditions at 10:40 AM. Freddy -one of our most experienced local guides- led the way and set the pace. We followed, marveling at the thick and lush forest. Eventually, in the early afternoon, cumulus clouds formed just above us and took away the sunlight that had been sneaking down through the foliage. The air got quite humid and although we were climbing steadily and getting into cooler air, we each did a fair bit of sweating. We took rest breaks each hour or so and in about five hours time we rolled into Machame Camp at nearly 10,000 ft. The team was a little amazed at how much work had been done by our support staff in building camp and making things comfortable and easy for our arrival. We enjoyed afternoon tea and ultimately Chef Tosha’s excellent dinner in the dining tent. The clouds cleared away and we came out to find a display of stars and moon and Milky Way that far exceeded the home view many of our team have access to. Day one went just fine in every way.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Today we woke to African birds singing in the trees and dik diks and monkeys roaming the garden-like grounds of our hotel. We got down to the business of preparing for tomorrow’s departure. But it was a leisurely business, to be sure. A morning meeting gave us the chance to get to know one another and to understand how we’ll tackle a 19,340 ft mountain together. A round of gear checks followed and the team then got into packing, sorting and organizing. We checked the weight of our bags after lunch and a bit of free time followed. Kilimanjaro broke through the clouds in early afternoon and many of the team climbed the observation tower on the hotel grounds to get a view. Some walked into the nearby village of Usa River to stretch their legs and some napped away the jet lag. We gathered for a fine dinner together and laughed through a few shared stories and misadventures. We’ve got the morning planned out -departure at eight, Kilimanjaro awaits.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
The trip has just begun, but we’re already declaring success! Each and every climber -and that would be eleven of us- made it from the far flung corners of the United States of America to the outskirts of Arusha, in the heart of Tanzania, without missing a flight or losing any luggage.
A fair percentage of the team goes by the name Mike, or Robert or Dave -which made introductions pretty easy. Since all are sleepy after such extensive travel, we haven’t gone much beyond introductions yet. Tomorrow we’ll get to the nuts and bolts of prepping to climb Kilimanjaro. Tonight it was all about getting settled at the Arumeru River Lodge and getting some rest.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
July 29, 2019
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
With good weather and a good route, RMI Guide Dave Hahn and the Four Day Climb reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The team began their descent from Mt. Rainier's summit crater around 7:30 AM. They will descend to Camp Muir to rest, refuel, and repack before continuing their descent to Paradise. We will see them in Ashford later this afternoon.
Congratulations climbers!
Well done…! Very proud of everyone ! Thanks to all who helped. See ya soon.
Posted by: don miller on 7/29/2019 at 9:58 pm
July 21, 2019
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Dustin Wittmier
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb July 18 - 21 led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Dustin Wittmier reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning under clear skies and a light breeze. The team spent some time on top before leaving the crater rim on their descent.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Congratulations Thomas´!! ...from down here in Argentina at sea level :)
Posted by: Pamela Ballard on 7/24/2019 at 7:23 am
Awesome!! from the Sparks WooHoo!!
Posted by: Katie Sparks on 7/21/2019 at 3:32 pm
July 9, 2019
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Hannah Smith, Chad Gaffigan, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 348'
Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - 1:11 AM PT
The longest day. The weather remained stable and perfect... to a scary extent. Some of us lay awake last night at 14,000 just listening to the violent detonations of rock hitting ice and snow at terminal velocity. The high temps were to blame and those high temperatures were part and parcel of the prolonged good weather that allowed us to summit. For those monitoring the rockfall, it was a relief that wake-up time was at 11 PM. Best to be up and busy eating and packing then to be hearing rock and imagining worst case scenarios for a team passing Windy Corner ridiculously close up under the cliffs. We were walking at 12:30 AM and soon got to see the battlefields where car-sized chunks of granite had left deep tracks and impact craters on either side of the “trail”. Sure enough, in the zone where rockfall danger demanded our fullest attention, the track began to go over crevasse after crevasse and crappy bridge after crappy bridge. We struggled (as every one does) the then, surprisingly, the route got better. We were pleased to find things frozen up and easy travel far below the point where we’d been told to expect freezing.
Once at 11,000' the nature of travel changed. We traded crampons for snowshoes and ice axes for ski poles. The morning/evening light was brilliant on Denali. Conditions on the lower glacier were way better than we expected. We just kept trudging as the light changed and found ourselves walking up Heartbreak Hill starting at 9:30 AM. It was 11:30 before we were at the “upper strip” on the SE Fork with all of our Basecamp caches relocated from the lower strip. Our pickup arrived just after 3 PM. We loaded and lifted off and flew into smoke as the pilots pointed their Otters toward Talkeetna. We got out of the planes in down jackets... immediately appreciating that the ambient temp at TKA was over 90 degrees F. Afternoon was then spent drying gear and reconnecting to the world. We met for a celebratory dinner at the West Rib and discussed our good fortune. Day 19 was a long one, but also a very good one.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Sounds like a scary end to your trip! Glad everyone is safe. Hope you all are enjoying a Great dinner, hot shower, and comfy bed!
Posted by: Shannon Smith on 7/9/2019 at 7:11 pm
July 7, 2019
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Hannah Smith, Chad Gaffigan, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 14,200'
Sunday, July 7, 2019 - 8:47 PM PT
The fine weather continued, except there was an irritating wind blowing at 17,000 this morning when we got stirring at 7:30 AM. The wind wasn’t particularly strong or cold, but it wouldn’t go away either, so it made breakfast and packing slightly less fun. We were out of 17,000' Camp by 10:30 and walking carefully down the crest of the West Buttress. The wind wasn’t strong enough to make anybody miss a step, but it made communication tricky. Even so, we made good time down the ridge and then down the fixed ropes. Traffic is nonexistent now as the very last three or four teams of the season were all above us and going for the top in the breeze. We reached 14,000 by 1 PM and decided to build camp. Tempting as it would have been to continue on down the mountain, we have to deal now with the downside to all the fabulous weather. The warm temperatures have caused the West Buttress to shed a lot more rock than usual. We’ll try to let it cool a little before venturing around Windy Corner. An Alpine Start is called for, so we’ll keep resting in preparation for a midnight departure. We’ll try to go all the way to the airstrip from here in order to get the lower glacier in cool conditions as well.
It MIGHT be our final night on the mountain. Stay tuned.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
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So proud of both Bob’s and the view of the stars above and the city below must be amazing. Tried to make u both out in the pics, but its hard to do, except for the glimpses of one set of hands moving in a very animated manner and that has to be my husband. Miss u both!
Posted by: Cindy Gervey on 8/9/2019 at 1:22 pm
Thanks for the updates and photos. Good luck tomorrow and a special big shout-out to Bob Brothers! Keep having fun!
Posted by: Iwona Piatkowska on 8/8/2019 at 5:19 pm
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