Entries By dave hahn
Just ahead of the crack of dawn, we gathered for a pot of coffee and a walk up to the top of the town. From a hill above Namche we knew we'd have a chance at a million dollar view. Since the hills that form Namche are pretty much mountains by anybody else's measure, we were breathing good and hard when we reached our destination. It was all worth it though as Mount Everest was standing out big and beautiful at the head of the valley. A giant, violent and ragged plume of cloud was streaming from the summit. This was our first glimpse of our far off goal. We stood taking pictures in every direction as the mountains around us lit up with fiery first light.
Finally, hunger and the need for more coffee got the best of us and we retreated to the Camp De Base dining room for breakfast.
This was our full-on rest day... Meant to prepare us for a couple of days of travel to greater heights, and so the gang got to choose their own individual programs for how to spend the time. Most combined forays into town for shopping with naps and reading and a few games between meals. Tomorrow we'll move up to Deboche.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Tashi Delek! All is well here in Namche Bazaar. We're having a great time so far on the trek into base camp. This morning we slept in a little bit and had a nice long breakfast. After that we hit the trail for an acclimatization hike to the villages of Khumjung and Kunde.
Khumjung is the home of one of the Hillary schools and kids from all over the area walk there every day to attend class. The villages all looked nice and tidy as the fields have all been freshly tilled and the yaks are all gone up the valley carrying gear for the expeditions.
We were able to catch a couple of glimpses of Lhotse and Nuptse but Everest was in the clouds all day. That was OK though as Ama Dablam and Thomserku were out and looking very proud.
The team members are all doing well and are getting progressively more psyched as we head up the valley. Tomorrow we will spend another day in Namche acclimatizing before we move on.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
The night in Phakding, with the river dependably charging past to form perfect "white noise", was conducive to deep sleep. This morning we ate a relaxed breakfast and hit the trail at 8:30 under a light overcast. Travel along the river, through more small farms and villages, was peaceful and easy. Crossing a few long suspension bridges we soon came to the entrance to Sagarmatha National Park, where Lam Babu submitted our permits. A short walk into the park took us to Jorsalle where we ate lunch at the final tea house in town. Then it was across the river again and onward to the Namche Hill where we rapidly gained altitude and shed a little sweat in the process. An hour's hard hiking brought us to the lower end of Namche Bazaar at just over 11,000 ft. We strolled the narrow "streets" -there are no cars- and made our way to Camp De Base, our home for the next three nights. The afternoon was spent shopping and exploring. We put on a bit more clothing against the cool evening air and met for a great dinner in the communal dining room.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Go DAN Go! Thinking of you and your team.
Enjoy the journey. All the best.
Julie
Posted by: Julie Miller on 4/10/2013 at 10:16 am
We’re all counting on you JENKINS!
Posted by: Paul Cornell on 3/30/2013 at 8:31 am
We were up at 4 AM in the Yak and Yeti Hotel and we were packing. By 5:30 the team was at the Kathmandu airport and ready for some "hurry up and wait". The wait wasn't so long though, on this morning, before we were riding a little shuttle to our plane while watching the sunrise. We boarded the twin prop Dornier and took off in cloudless but smoky skies. Once through the thick smog layer it was possible to see a row of giant and jagged peaks out the port side windows. After a quick 30 minutes, the plane was in a steep descent toward the tilted Tarmac of Lukla airstrip. The landing was fast, flawless and loud as the pitch of the props was reversed to brake the plane. Within just a few moments we were out of the hectic 9,200-feet airport and in the quiet comfort of a tea house. The 2013 RMI Everest Expedition took its first steps at around 8:30 as we set off in perfect weather. The team only needed one rest along the way as we traveled through small farms and villages. The rock walls of our valley soared above and we could see a handful of glacier covered sharp summits floating over everything. "Traffic" was light on the trails - we leap-frogged a couple of teams we happened to know for a while, but for the last hour or so we had things pretty much to ourselves and could enjoy the quiet of the forest and the turbulence of the river. Shortly after noon Dan, James, Mark, Seth and myself, along with our Sirdar Lam Babu, pulled into Jo's Garden in the northern suburbs of Phakding.
We lunched, we napped, we ate again and now we are retiring to the rooms for the night, ready to complete the transition from airports and jet lagged city life to mountains and rivers and valleys and walking.
Best,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Looks like everything is going well. We are excited to track your trip. Climb on!
Posted by: Lance on 3/28/2013 at 9:29 am
We are thrilled to be able to track your progress. Great to learn that your journey has begun.
Posted by: Bob Bordignon on 3/27/2013 at 7:21 pm
The RMI 2013 Everest Expedition has now officially started! Dave arrived late last night along with the last of our baggage. We are now set to head out from Kathmandu.
We had our first full team meal this morning at breakfast and after that we had an interview with Elizabeth Hawley. Miss Hawley is a fixture for Everest climbers. She has maintained a very thorough database of all ascents of the mountain ever since the first ascent of the mountain in 1953. It was a treat hearing her stories of climbers past and present. Now in her 90s she is still sharp as a tack and is absolutely interested in all of the expeditions on the mountain.
After that we spent the rest of the day packing for the trek into base camp. If all goes well we will fly into Lukla tomorrow and trek to the village of Phakding. We're all fired up to get that started.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
James
I see you made the plane flight. How was that landing?? good luck man.
Posted by: Wayne on 3/27/2013 at 9:45 am
all the best as you journey to high places!
Posted by: michelle on 3/26/2013 at 6:59 pm
I'm calling this the unofficial start to the 2013 RMI Mt. Everest Expedition. It can't be official yet because we are still waiting for Dave Hahn to arrive in Kathmandu after being delayed en route.
The rest of us have all arrived over the last two days and are doing great. We got together for dinner tonight in the district of Thamel, a crazy-maze of restaurants, shops, bars and hotels.
Tomorrow we'll spend the day picking up last minute items and getting packed for the trek into Everest Base Camp. We're all looking forward to getting started!
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
Godspeed to Mark and the whole team!!! Praying for a safe climb!!!
Posted by: marcus on 3/25/2013 at 8:22 pm
Looking forward to the updates of your expedition. Save travels!
Posted by: Ken Allen on 3/25/2013 at 5:16 pm
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Our last day on the ice turned out to be all about flying. Flagging down an Ilyushin 76 is a big deal. This one set her wheels onto the ice runway around mid afternoon. By then we'd taken tents down and checked our bags at the first class counter (a table in the snow with a roll of stickers, some clipboards and friendly ALE staff who were not checking our ID's). Our Union Glacier hosts even gave us a deluxe final lunch in the dining tent. Once the plane landed, there wasn't any need for us to hurry. It takes a while to unload such a big and powerful jet transport. Eventually we caught a ride out to the ice runway in a comfy tricked out big wheeled van (with Utah plates) and then we were picking seats on the Ilyushin. The plane took off a little after 5 PM and the Russian crew cranked up the heat. 4 hours later we'd crossed the Drake Passage and were floating in over the Straits of Magellan. Punta Arenas lay waiting with flowers and Trees and grass in vibrant midsummer color. The sun set as the bus brought us in from the airport (we hadn't actually seen any sunsets while down on the ice). By 11 PM we'd checked into the hotel and showered and gotten together in the lobby for one last, pleasant, mandatory team function... The victory dinner!
Thanks for following the trip and for the friendly encouragement of the blog comments (which were relayed to us).
Best Regards and Happy New Year,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
This was a quiet and easy day at Union Glacier Camp. We slept well and ate well at low altitude. We sorted equipment, chatted with fellow climbers, wrote in our journals and every now and then stood outside the tents to see the mountains, the snowcats and airplanes and the Kansas-sized expanse of ice stretching to our Northeast.
Many spent the day browsing through the great Antarctic Exploration library in camp, learning of Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen. For a change of pace in the evening, the climbing teams sat for a story session detailing the pioneering expeditions to Mount Everest.
Tomorrow we'll see if conditions allow for our "scheduled" exit flight.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Just like that, we went from a high cold camp on Vinson to a low, warm (relatively) camp on the Union Glacier. It was hard work, as usual, knocking down tents, getting packed up, and getting in some breakfast this morning, but we did it. We started walking down the mountain at 10:30 AM. The fixed rope descent was a workout with the big packs, but it all went smoothly, as did repacking for sled travel at Low Camp. A few beautiful hours of glacier trudging brought us to Basecamp. We packed, repacked and enjoyed the sunshine and big views of Mount Vinson as we waited for our airplane. The Twin Otter swooped onto the strip and we loaded up. Our flight back to Union was even a little more spectacular than usual as our pilots wanted to check on a few climbers in a seldom visited cluster of steep mountains just south of the Vinson and Craddock Massifs. We landed at Union just in time for a delicious sit-down (in chairs, that is) meal in the grand dining tent. It was fun to see all of the other climbing teams again and to catch up with the ALE staff. Quite a change for my small team after these past few days of solitude. We are living in the lap of luxury now and are perfectly positioned to catch our flight north on Dec 29th, should conditions allow it.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Good things come to those who wait. We waited until 7 AM to start the stoves this morning. There were puffy clouds about, but no wind in the neighborhood. It seemed like we should go climbing.
We left highcamp at 9:20 AM, loaded for bear... or more correctly, covered in goose feathers. The clouds came and went during our march up valley. When they came it was too cold, when they went it was too hot. But eventually, we got high enough that it was just plain cold anyway. But the wind never really developed and so we didn't feel the cold as intensely as we might have. True to the forecast we'd received, the day got cloudier, but we were still surprised to get some stunning views of the sharp peaks to our north. And when we reached the beautiful and fun summit ridge, we were treated to endless views to the South and East, so that we could see a hundred miles worth of the Ellsworth Mountains in that direction. The final ridge was magical today. There was new snow sparkling on all the rock and not a breath of wind, so it was quiet, calm and inviting as we pulled onto the top of Vinson at 5 minutes after 4 PM. We took a million pictures of each other, made a few important phone and radio connections and smiled a lot. We left the top at 4:45 and made good time down to high camp in a cool and gradually thickening cloud. We were home by 7:05 PM and happily eating dinner in our POSH tent not very long afterward.
The day worked out well and we hope for one more good hard climbing day tomorrow, descending to Basecamp.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Audio Transcription:
Hey this is Dave Hahn calling from the summit of Vinson Massif, the highest point in Antarctica! I am up here with the whole crew - five of us on top today. It is a beautiful Day. We are in the strong sunshine. It is a little after 4:00 in the afternoon for us, and everybody is taking pictures on top and enjoying this place. We have a big view of the Ellsworth Mountains. It is a really enjoyable day up here, Boxing Day – the day after Christmas. Nicole, Bart, Brian, Joe and Dave all send you their best wishes from 16,067’.
Bye for now!
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Dave Hahn calling from the Summit of Vinson Massif
On The Map
Congratulations Nicole and the entire team! Enjoy your New Year! We will celebrate when you get back.
Posted by: Lisa on 12/30/2012 at 7:35 am
Congrats to all. Well Done.
Posted by: Jack on 12/26/2012 at 3:08 pm
Best of luck to Mark Wilkins and the entire team for a fun and safe adventure and summit attempt of Mt. Everest. Mark, hopefully you and your STL Cardinals wool hat will make it to the top, as they start their season tomorrow and home opener on April 8th.
I’ll follow the blog with keen interest, and prayers for you safe return.
All The Best,
Jim Gidcumb
Posted by: Jim Gidcumb on 3/31/2013 at 4:32 pm
I’ll be following your posts almost everyday. Sending greetings to your team from Florida! Wish I was there with you all have a great trip and be safe!!
safe
Posted by: julia begley on 3/31/2013 at 1:30 pm
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