Entries By dave hahn
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
February 6, 2018
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 10,000'
As planned, we were up and getting ready at 11:30 last night. It was a calm and clear night with just enough moon to see by but not so much that the stars were washed out. We set out at 12:40 AM. There were headlights well up the mountainside already, which was a pretty thing to see, but it also made clear just how far and high we had to go. We took hourly rest breaks, and sure enough, we put more clothing on at almost every pre-dawn break, until we basically had it all on. Those were cold hours, anticipating a 6:30 sunrise. It caught us at about 18,000 ft and instantly made life a whole lot easier. We pulled onto the crater rim at Stella Point after seven hours on the go. Another hour and ten minutes got us over to Uhuru, the true summit. It was magical walking along the crater rim and checking out the glaciers and the lay of the land on the roof of Africa. High fives and handshakes were in order on the top. There may have been a tear or two, and of course a bunch of pictures. We started down after thirty minutes. Our clear day was already going cloudy, but that kept some sun off of us for the descent, which was a good thing. At 12:10 PM we were back to Barafu. A great sit down lunch in our dining tent did wonders to restore our strength, we packed up and started down toward Mweka Camp just after 2 PM. When the rain and hail hit halfway through our 4 hour, 5,000' descent, it wasn’t totally unexpected. We couldn’t very well run down the tricky rock trail to escape the showers. Ultimately it meant that we had to watch every single slippery step on the way to camp at 10,000'. The rains quit as we got in at 6 PM but life was a little soggy and muddy for our final night on the mountain. We’re not complaining though... on the contrary, we’re feeling lucky that we got perfect weather exactly when we needed it for climbing.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
February 6, 2018
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 19,341'
Hey, this is Dave Hahn with the RMI Kilimanjaro team from Utah. We're on the summit. It's 9 a.m. and we are on the highest point in Africa, Uhuru (Peak) 19,341 feet. It's a beautiful day up here, just a little breeze on top. We're all enjoying ourselves, taking a couple of pictures and will send you a dispatch from camp tonight to let you know that we've all got down safe. Everything's going really well. Thanks for following along. Bye for now.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
RMI Guide Dave Hahn calls from the summit of Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.
On The Map
19,341…! Congrats to all and cheers! Looking forward to raising a glass of the finest beverage of choice upon your return! You guys “rock”...... get it, “rock” !
Posted by: Lee & Susie on 2/6/2018 at 4:45 pm
Congrats to all!!! So excited for each of you…such an accomplishment! Can’t wait to hear all about it. Continue your safe travels.
Posted by: Brandi Gerdes on 2/6/2018 at 10:15 am
February 5, 2018
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 15,000'
Morning was easier at Karanga. The sun was on camp early and we weren’t parked down with the cold air in a valley. It was a leisurely start to the day since we didn’t have far to go to make High Camp. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, but since we knew they’d form up soon, we drank in views of Kibo’s giant rock walls and tenacious glaciers. We marched out of Karanga at 9 AM and worked up a broad and tilted plateau. The clouds did indeed form up, but that didn’t bother us. We concentrated on efficiency techniques in walking and breathing and told tall tales from high places to pass the time. Things steepened just a bit as we came to the final ridge but we were feeling strong and arrived in Barafu -or “Ice” Camp at 12:15.
After an incredibly good lunch of fresh foods cooked from scratch at 15,000 ft, we strategized and plotted our summit bid and then packed and prepped for it. Dinner was early, and so was bedtime, with folks turning in just after 6 PM. We’re aiming for a midnight breakfast and an alpine start. Hopes are high... just as they ought to be with everything running smoothly.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
So excited for you two to make to the summit! Looking forward to the great photo !
Posted by: Shirley on 2/6/2018 at 11:10 am
So excited for you two to make to the summit! Looking forward to the great photo !
Posted by: Shirley on 2/6/2018 at 11:10 am
February 4, 2018
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 13,160'
We woke up in clear and cold splendor down in the Barranco Valley. Kibo seemed directly overhead with glaciers and icefields hanging at impossible angles. We were done with breakfast and packing our packs when our entire staff... forty porters, guides, camp and kitchen boys surprised us with a singing and dancing session. Led by Mbongo... a highly talented porter in an “American” costume, the team laughed their way through five or six sing-alongs while we joined in, clapping, dancing and cracking up. It was good fun and also served to ease any anxiety folks might have had about tackling the imposing Barranco Wall right out of camp. We set out at about 9:30 and within just a few minutes were putting hands on cold rock to pull ourselves up from one set of ledges to another in order to negotiate the wall. Traffic was pretty light -there have only been a handful of other teams sharing camps with us- which made things a good deal easier. By 11 AM we were atop the wall and the sky was clouding over -repeating the pattern of the past few days. We crossed down into the next valley to continue our traverse of the south side of Kilimanjaro. By the time we hit the steep sides of the Karanga Valley, we were enveloped by swirling mists again. A final thirty minute climb out of the valley brought us to Karanga Camp at 13,160 ft. We ate a late lunch and relaxed in camp for a few hours while the clouds and a few sprinkles came and went. Stepping out after dinner, we discovered the clouds were gone and that a million stars were out overhead while a carpet of lights far below pinpointed Moshi and a few other towns. All in all, we thought it was a pretty good Super Bowl Sunday even without TV.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Well done up there. Safe successful and happy summit ascent - much Love Paul and Julie xox
Posted by: Paul Ropner on 2/6/2018 at 3:57 am
Congrats on conquering the B Wall! Press on to the summit! Utah love!
Posted by: Lee & Susie on 2/5/2018 at 5:21 am
Another sparkling and clear start to the day. Mt. Meru, our 15,000 ft volcanic neighbor to the West seemed close enough to touch in the early morning air at Shira Camp. Kibo stood out in all its glory with bunches of recent snow on her flanks. We got walking at around 8:30 AM heading directly toward the central peak. The trail was a good deal easier than yesterday’s rock hopping. We gained altitude steadily, but without getting on any steep terrain. It took a few hours to work up the broad plateau through juniper and low sage-like shrubs. Clouds had begun to form and by the time we reached our highpoint for the day, the 15,200 ft “Lava Tower” we were robbed of any views by fog and murk. Even so, we sat for a pleasant half hour eating lunch in the clouds, having broken altitude records for about three quarters of our group. Just as we began our descent toward camp in the Barranco Valley, it started raining and so we quickly covered up. The storm lasted about an hour, but didn’t give us much real trouble in our descent. Just before we reached camp, as we came into a fabulous garden of Lobelias and Giant Senecios, the rain quit and things dried out a bit. We rolled into camp at 13,000 ft at precisely 3:30... just ahead of tea time. Chef Tosha dazzled us with another fine dinner in our dome tent to finish this big day.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Looks awesome! You guys are sooooo amazing! Keep it going. I love the updates.
Posted by: Brandi Gerdes on 2/5/2018 at 9:27 am
Keep it going, Sue & Todd! We hope that your feet are staying strong and that you’re sleeping well to take on that mountain.
Posted by: Jeff & Jen Drutman on 2/3/2018 at 3:53 pm
February 2, 2018
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 12,200'
We woke to crystal clear skies and a view of Kibo -Kilimanjaro’s central peak. After breakfast, we were walking by 8:30 AM. Our trail today was more difficult, right from the start, with steeper grades and bigger steps through volcanic rock. We labored uphill through the “heather and mooreland zone” a very different type of vegetation than yesterday’s near jungle of big trees. In general, we were coming into the open, with bigger views in all directions. Eventually we worked along a ridge crest enjoying glimpses of hawks and eagles soaring below our vantage point. After several hours and several thousand feet of vertical gain, we began a traverse to the left out toward the Shira Plateau. By afternoon, clouds had overtaken us and we walked in swirling mists. A few steeper rock features required sharper concentration and the use of handholds and balancing, but eventually we turned the corner onto the plateau and walked down a couple hundred feet on easy ground to reach Shira Camp at 12,600 ft. The day’s March had taken us just over five hours. We’d earned a restful afternoon going back and forth between our sleeping tents and the dining tent. Rain showers caught up to us in the early evening, but only for 15 minutes or so. By the time we finished dinner we had largely clear skies and a million stars.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Yahoo! Thinking about you guys every day. Onward and upward!
Posted by: Lynne Elliott (FA) on 2/3/2018 at 6:44 am
Dilly Dilly! Press forward! Great photos!
Posted by: Lee and Susie on 2/2/2018 at 1:34 pm
February 1, 2018
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 9,900'
Sitting down to our 7AM breakfast on the patio at Arumeru River Lodge, we had a great view of Kilimanjaro this morning. We loaded up the bus and rolled out of the lodge just a few minutes after 8 AM. Traffic was light on the main road and we made good time cruising through the farmland and small villages. Kilimanjaro got bigger and more magnificent as we turned from the highway and began walking uphill toward the 6,000 ft Machame Gate to the national park. As usual, it took a little time to get the team registered and the staffing sorted, but by 10:50, we set out walking in warm, and sunny conditions. Filibert, one of our local guide staff, set the slow and steady pace up through the tall and lush forest. Freddie, our chief guide, along with guides Venance and Happyson brought up the rear. Things clouded up as the day progressed, the high humidity and exertion had everybody sweating before too long. We saw blue monkeys in the trees, a few good birds, and even a small chameleon on the trail. The track itself was in good condition, not too muddy, which certainly helped. We came into Machame Camp (at 9,900 ft) in just over five hours. The Utah gang was delighted to find camp already built and ready for moving into. We met in the mess tent for afternoon tea and then finished the day a few hours later with one of chef Tosha’s excellent dinners. Everybody did great with this big day of work, but most were also plenty happy with turning in early for bed at 8 PM.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Yea, Caspers!!! You got this. Fun to follow your treck. Looks like quite a different route than we took.
Posted by: Laurie on 2/2/2018 at 5:55 pm
Looking good there! Hello to Lynn and Joanna!! Excited to watch the progress of your trip! So jealous!
Posted by: Troy Christensen on 2/2/2018 at 7:59 am
We’ve got the makings of a fine climbing team. Eight pals from Utah and one guide from New Mexico came together in Usa River, Tanzania these last couple of days to begin a Kilimanjaro adventure. Today our program formally began just after breakfast in the gardens of the Arumeru River Lodge. We sat for a bit discussing strategies and priorities for our week-long attempt on Africa’s highest point. Then it was time for equipment checks and packing up back in the rooms. We want to be ready for departure bright and early tomorrow. All this preparation still allowed time for a combination of relaxing and exploring in the afternoon. Some braved the heat to walk the short distance into the nearby village while others explored the reclining chairs by the swimming pool. We’re each working through jet lag via our own methods. Kilimanjaro showed itself in the distance at sundown as the haze and clouds melted away. Just after dusk, we sat down to dinner on the patio while the super blue moon rose over East Africa. All are excited to get walking up a mountain tomorrow morning.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Good luck Utah team! Looking forward to keeping up with all your adventures! Enjoy! Lee and Susie
Posted by: Susie and Lee on 2/1/2018 at 6:26 pm
Good Luck! Fingers crossed and thoughts are with you. You can do it.
Posted by: Lynette Elliott on 1/31/2018 at 3:55 pm
Friday, December 15, 2017
Back in South America! It was a fine morning out at Union Glacier. One could tell our outfitter (ALE) was anxious to get rid of the fifty odd stinky, hungry, hyper climbers in camp. The Ilyushin was off deck from Punta Arenas by mid morning and we were on it ready for take off at 3 PM. The morning at Union was wonderful, saying so long to old and new friends. Everyone commented on how long us “V1” climbers had been down (pretty far into V2) and sure, it is true... we got way behind schedule waiting for storms... but somehow today, it all seemed extremely worth the wait. Landing in rain in Punta Arenas was a novelty. Darkness was a novelty. Showers and plumbing were a novelty. Dinner together was just fun and delicious (starting at10 PM -normal for Latin America). We went to the top floor of a high hotel for a nightcap and found the other fifty climbers we’d traveled with. Lots of fist bumping, back slapping and hugging ensued. It began to crystallize... we’d lived through a great adventure together. We’ll remember it forever.
Tomorrow (later today actually) we’ll bump into each other in airports from Punta to Miami and beyond. It will be back to the same old grind... but not quite... we’ve shared enough of the good stuff in the wildest, weirdest corner of the world to make that same old grind a little finer forever.
Thanks very much for keeping track of our adventure.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Our class of 2nd graders is studying Antarctica and we are looking at where you have been and reading your stories. We are all very amazed at your adventures and some of us have climbed in the Catskills and Adirondacks knowing you may have climbed there when you were in 2nd grade. We are studying the animals, the geography and weather and hoping to learn more about Antarctica in your posts.
Posted by: Gretchen Werner on 1/25/2018 at 12:00 pm
Well done Sue and team! Stellar work :-) Safe travels home
Posted by: John Horgan on 12/18/2017 at 11:45 am
Cheers to all! An awesome accomplishment. Now relax and have even more fun!
Posted by: Your favorite aunt on 2/7/2018 at 11:51 am
You rock! What an experience.
Posted by: Karen Crompton on 2/7/2018 at 2:51 am
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