Entries By dave hahn
June 9, 2018
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Christina Dale
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 13,500'
The Four Day Summit Climb Teams led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Christina Dale reached High Break at 13,500' on
Mt. Rainier before high winds forced the team to turn. Dave reported very strong winds and clouds above and below the them. The team has started their descent and are en route to Camp Muir.
June 5, 2018
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Kel Rossiter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
Summit!
At 8:45 am
RMI Guide Dave Hahn radioed to say, "We are walking into the
Crater Rim." The mountain has a cloud cap with some high winds and also some sunny skies. The teams will spend some time on top before starting their descent.
Congratulations to today's summit climbers!
May 27, 2018
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Jenny Konway
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14.410'
The
Mt. Rainier Summit Climb team led by RMI Guides
Dave Hahn and
Jenny Konway walked into the summit crater at 8:00 am this morning. The team reported wind speeds of about 5 mph, excellent weather, and excellent route conditions. They have begun their descent from the summit and will be back at Camp Muir.
May 21, 2018
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Christina Dale
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Christina Dale led their teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Dave reported a perfect day on the mountain. Both teams saw 100% of their climbers reach the top today. They will spend some time enjoying the views then begin their descent to Camp Muir and continue down to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's
Summit Climb teams!
May 13, 2018
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Steve Gately
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The
Four Day Summit Climb May 10 - 13, 2018 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning led by
RMI Guides Dave Hahn and
Steve Gately. Dave reported clear skies with some light winds. The teams enjoyed some time on the summit before beginning their descent. Once at Camp Muir, they will re-pack and continue their descent to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later today.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams!
May 5, 2018
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Andy Bond
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,800'
The
Five Day Summit Climb team led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Andy Bond reached 11,800' feet this morning before weather and route conditions forced them to abort their summit attempt. The team has had two great days on the mountain, they are back at Camp Muir and will return to Rainier Basecamp in the early afternoon.
Congratulations to today's team!
February 11, 2018
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Our final day in Africa started way out in Balloon Camp in Tarangire National Park. Our “tent cabins” were luxurious and the staff helpful and friendly in getting us out on the dirt road by 7 AM. We were still deep within the park, and so within a moment or two of saying our goodbyes we were standing in the back of the Landcruisers looking for leopards. They eluded us. But an extremely beautiful, quiet morning in the wilderness did not elude us. We stopped frequently for eagles, vultures, cool tracks, impalas and hartebeest. We came on a seemingly endless parade of giraffes who stopped long enough for a photo and to nibble the acacia trees in passing. Families of elephants came by on their grass eating missions, bound for rivers and pools. We looked up every tree and under every bush for cats and predators, but the best we could scare up were a couple of cute little jackals following a gang of impala.
By 11 AM we left the park and hit the highway toward Arusha. We made one stop as we reached town, at the cultural heritage museum and craft shop, then we pressed on toward Usa River and our hotel. We had time to shower and repack and even rest before an early dinner -our last together- and loading up on one more bus.
Kilimanjaro was out and awesome as we ate and then rode toward the airport in the last of daylight. It seems hard to believe that two short weeks ago, we hadn’t all known one another. It also seems hard to believe how many things we’ve since accomplished as a team. We’ll start going in separate directions again fairly soon -but with a heck of a lot of fine memories to connect us.
Thanks for coming along for the ride.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
February 10, 2018
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
It was a little tough leaving the Plantation Lodge this morning -it is a very comfortable place and we’d enjoyed our two nights there, but it was time to be moving on.
Tarangire National Park beckoned, and we were excited to see what we could see. There were a couple of important stops to make on the drive over, one of which was a visit to a Maasai village. The Maasai are just one of many tribes in Tanzania, but they stand out because they choose to continue living in a traditional style, forgoing modern conveniences. We witnessed singing and dancing and a demo of how to rub sticks to make fire. We went into the sleeping dwellings and asked our tour guides a million questions about polygamy, arranged marriages, education and building materials. The team did a little gift shopping when the women of the village presented their handmade craftwork. We then headed for the park, excited to see the wildlife. Tarangire is a series of parallel rivers and shallow valleys separated by rolling hills and broad savanna. Before too long we were spotting birds and impala, warthogs and waterbucks. It took a bit before we saw giraffes and elephants, but then things quickly got interesting. A bull elephant pointed himself directly at a couple of lounging lions and not only disturbed their date, he chased the male lion and stood trumpeting on the ground they surrendered. A high point for many of us was seeing elephant families that included a number of one month old babies. One family of 20 took to a pond to cool off and splashed, wrestled, drank and rolled for no other logical reason than that it was just plain old pachyderm fun. We found big and solitary bull elephants and watched their behavior... all serious and food focused, in contrast to the matriarch ruled families. Some of the day’s best cruising was done in late afternoon as the sun got low on lush green fields, gigantic baobab and skinny palm trees. We finished up in friendly Balloon Camp -a rustic hideaway hotel in the bush. We’ve got one last morning to see leopards and cheetahs.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
February 9, 2018
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories:
The pattern finally changed. It was cloudy and a little cool when we set out this morning. Which was actually just fine. The entrance to
Ngorongoro Preserve was a short drive from Plantation Lodge. Juma and Edson drove us up to the rim of the great collapsed caldera and we got out to stare in wonder at the “crater”. Then it was back in the Landcruisers for the rough dirt road along the rim... Juma said it was time for our “African Massage” as we bounced along the ruts and rocks. A Jeep track down through umbrella acacia trees took us to the valley floor where we immediately began to spot crater critters by the hundreds. First were the armor plated Cape buffalo, next a gang of Eland. We began to spot so many gazelles, zebra and wildebeest that they only merited a stop if they’d been born in the last few hours. Warthogs came and went. Bustards and Secretary Birds strutted past. Then came the lions. We parked near a beautiful male and female and our guides described -accurately- the process by which they’d get frisky with each other every ten or twenty minutes for an exhausting week. We watched for a few cycles, fascinated. The big cats paid no attention whatsoever to spectators. Next we saw herds of elephants in the distance and a black rhino a couple hundred meters away. Four of the “big five” before lunch. (We were missing leopards, which aren’t commonly seen down in the crater). Lunch happened to be within sight of about 20 hippos and a bunch of waterbucks. Despite the cloud cover, it was getting pretty hot in the afternoon. We kept spotting game -ostrich and hyenas... more lions and more elephants as we headed for the rough roads out of the crater. By 4:30 we were back at the ridiculously comfortable Plantation Lodge, amazed by what we’d seen but also ready to relax. We looked a little like a gang of teenagers at happy hour, focused intently on our smartphones as we shuffled pictures about. Tomorrow is another day and another national park.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
February 8, 2018
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Our safari guides, Juma and Edson, showed up right on schedule this morning with their souped up Toyota Landcruisers. We climbed in just after 8 AM and left Arumeru River Lodge -our home away from home. This was a good day to ride around in automobiles after a solid week of walking. It took some time to get through Arusha’s rush hour, but we were thoroughly entertained watching cargo motorcycles and the like. Eventually we broke into the open country west of town and rambled along dodging speed bumps and Maasai cattle. We reached
Lake Manyara National Park at midday. Early on we focused on baboons and monkeys. Some of the big animals were just plain lazy on this hot and sunny day. It was around 90 F and so the elephants we spied in the forest were sticking to shady hollows. We began to see waterbucks and bushbucks, impala and exotic birds aplenty. As we came into open country along the lake edge, we could see zebra, wildebeest, and Cape buffalo everywhere. Looking at the nearby escarpment of the Great Rift Valley, it wasn’t too hard to imagine a time when such wildlife dominated its entire 10,000 km length. We spied giraffes, although not in great numbers. A hippo got out of the water long enough for us to admire his buff physique. We saw warthogs with their little warthoglets. The big cats eluded us today, although we kept sharp eyes peeled for them. All in all it was a great day out. Juma and Edson dazzled us with their knowledge of Tanzania, its parks and people... and the fabulous critters we were glimpsing. At quitting time we were parched and ready for a little relaxation. Everyone’s eyes opened wide when they saw Plantation Lodge’s perfectly cared for gardens, luxurious rooms and friendly staff. This place will do just fine, thanks... not missing our tents.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
WOW!.... have a safe and a fabulous climb!
Posted by: Wyatt Lucy J. on 6/11/2018 at 6:48 am
I was very impressed with your leadership during our difficult situation with the storm. Thanks for a memorable and safe experience!
Posted by: Harrison Filler on 6/9/2018 at 11:44 pm
View All Comments