Early departure from one of the world's largest cities. Traffic not so bad as we made the three-hour drive to our first big mountain, La Malinche at 14,636 feet. A nice lunch was had near this peak that is surrounded by fields of corn and beautiful stands of pine trees. We made a quick turn of unloading our equipment in the digs for the night, which is a comfortable cabin with fireplace and even a hot shower. It was all uphill from there. Great to get out and hit the trail. The idea was to the top but getting used to the altitude and some new equipment was the priority. We made good time up the lower forested area and found the team on the summit ridge at the same time as a strong weather impulse hit the upper mountain. Hail, rain in the clouds, no visibility and wind a howling gave us great training with the kit that was pulled from our packs to keep us protected from the nasty weather. A number of our team hit new altitude records and a smooth descent has us fed and clean in the digs for the night. All is good wish u were here.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Hola from Mexico City!
The team and I did some last minute shopping today in town to support our adventure ahead. It's a perfect summer day at 7,200 ft, which is a good altitude to start at. It's not too busy here in the Zona Roza area. People are enjoying life all around.
We are going after three big hills on this trip and will be filming along the way. This will be a fun!
More news tomorrow,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Mark Tucker calling from the Kilimanjaro Airport. We are all moving in the direction of home: a couple to Zanzibar and some are off to England. We have been knocking it along the old, dirt trail. We got a shower in and a five-course meal at the Dik Dik and have been having a gas. It's amazing how time just compresses when you're enjoying yourself so much. Unfortunately we haven't been able to communicate with you due to some challenges in the connectivity world. But overall, I hope you guys have been kept up to date. Everybody's doing great. We had a wonderful summit and a fabulous safari, hate to leave Africa. But we have so many great memories and the team has had a lot of fun. Thanks for following along and we'll talk to you next trip.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
A conservation area and a World Heritage site, Ngorongoro Crater, a large volcanic caldera is recognized by one private organization as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa- the unparalleled beauty of one of the world's most unchanged wildlife sanctuaries.
Teams Top Ten for today-
*Infant elephants in a large group doing their thing
*Hippos in the pool doing their thing
*Our 4th of the Big 5 the infamous black rhino
*Serval cat walking along side us for as long as we liked seeing prey on point
*Zebra cuddling with head on bum of other
*First sighting of ostriches in the wild
*The tiny vibrant colored sunbird in contrast with the Kori Bustard the worlds heaviest flying bird
*Our great local staff of drivers ability to pick game out of the bush
*A warthog that must have been to beauty parlor with beautiful swept back hair and double tusks
*Elephant in a tussle trumpeting as we leave the viewing area hearing them for a while after
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
What adventure! All my life I have dreamed of what you are actually doing. With so little time left, don’t sleep, Allison and I look forward to hearing every detail of your every day on the Dark Continent.
Today we traveled to Lake Manyara. It was the first day of our four day safari through Tanzania and we had a great day. Here is what the team had to say about our day in the bush.
TOP TEN LIST
One comment about today?
1. The hippos fighting in the pool - Peter
2. The first sighting of a herd of Zebra right next to our vehicle - Chelsea
3. Observing the silver billed horn bird take a dust bath - Bonny
4. Take off and landing of a huge flock of yellow billed storks - Mark
5. Taking in the sights of land and people on the highway while standing up with head out off open roofed Land Rover - Nate
6. Baby Baboon riding on the back of it's mother, with cute ears - Elizabeth
7. Bargaining skills of local guys trying to sell a necklace - Jonathan
8. Vista of the Great Rift Valley from on top of the escarpment - William
9. Diversity of wild life in the field of vision at one moment - Allidah
10. The over easy eggs at breakfast - Madison
Carl and I went on our own safari to Highclere Castle today. Not only is the Castle breathtaking, but the grounds are truly amazing. BUT, I think I would trade in a minute for YOUR safari! Love the comments. Soak up every minute! xo Allison
Posted by: Allison Muller on 7/16/2015 at 12:12 pm
As I write, the band is cranking here at the Dik Dik. We had a great departure from the mountain this morning with perfect weather.....again.
What a packed week we had up on the Roof of Africa?! To be a guest in a foreign county is something special and this group shined at embracing the local staff as friends, not just someone for hire. The local staff were all so much a part of our success; it was tough to say goodbye. The time you spend on these big mountains is extreme in many ways and you always learn something about yourself and others. It's a special and hard to describe experience.
Tomorrow we will continue to cut a swath through Tanzania as we head over to Lake Manyara National Park for our first day on safari. We're pumped!
Don't forget to kiss the Blarney before you're next adventure!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Congratulations to the invincible group of 10! We have been reading about your progress with great interest and are glad to know all went well with the climb (not that there was any doubt!). Can’t wait to see all of your photos and hear first hand from you about all of your African adventures. Cheers! Courtney and Carl
Posted by: Courtney Bergeron on 7/15/2015 at 11:00 am
Team!!! What a great group you have been to all who have helped this climb be so successful. It speaks volumes for who you all are as human beings. How wonderful these folks from different cultures helped you all to achieve a goal of a lifetime. So thankful for them and all of ya’ll. Prayers for continued safety as you continue to experience a different beauty of Africa!! Hugs, Edi and Tim
Our team reached the summit of Kilimanjaro this morning in good style and we have now arrived at Mweka Camp at 10,000 ft for our last night here on Kilimanjaro. This group I have had the pleasure to climb with excelled in all phases while on the mountain. I have a high level of confidence they will be able to handle phase two, our game viewing safari. But for now we will enjoy a well deserved night's rest and tomorrow make our way down the to the trail head.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Congratulations to all of you - what a great family outing - much bigger than the usual picnic. Thanks to your dad for making this experience and these memories possible and for bringing all of you along in the great mountaineering tradition he loves. Have a safe trip down. Love, Meg
Another day of nice weather...YEAH! A few hours of hiking and here we are at Barafu Camp at 15,000 ft. The team got busy upon arrival preparing for the early morning departure from here toward the summit, sorting through the stay and go gear since we will come back thru this camp on our way down from the summit. We all pooled together our favorite treats and made up some tasty looking lunches. We took a short hike up to get familiar with the start of the climb that will confront us with our alpine start from High Camp to the summit of Kilimanjaro.
It's nap time now before our early dinner then we will take another short rest before starting our summit attempt. The team continues to do well, wish us luck!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker & Team
Can we have a couple more beautiful days please?! I don't like to beg but if we can continue with weather like this we would greatly appreciate it.
A nice lazy start to the day was our plan in order to miss the traffic while climbing the Barranco Wall. The Barranco Wall is a series of rock bands just out of camp that gets your attention and requires your hands from time to time. At the top of the Wall we took some photos and gave each other some high fives before continuing on our way. We then traversed below the upper mountain for a couple hours to end up at Karanga Camp (13,160') for the night. Camp is situated on a bit of a slope but our staff did a fine job of finding some pretty flat ground for the tents.
We continue to adjust both mentally and physically to this extreme environment; we're meeting the challenges head on. This team did there homework, taking training to heart prior to the climb and the investment is paying off. What a great group to climb with on Kilimanjaro!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
It was a BIG day, but not so enormous for this tough team. We woke up early and put in a solid six hours of climbing in good style. At one point on the trail we reached just under 15,000 ft, our current trip high point. We are now at 13,030 ft at the Barranco Camp. The plan of climbing high and sleeping low is in place for acclimatization and seems to be working well; everybody is in good shape. The upper mountain towers above us at this camp and the beautiful weather will make for a fantastic sunset tonight.
Tomorrow we tackle the Barranco Wall as we continue our ascent of Kilimanjaro. We will check-in and let you know how that goes.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Whoo Hoo! 13,000 ft and climbing so excited for you all can’t wait to see the summit photo. Go team go! Xox
Posted by: Diane on 7/11/2015 at 7:00 am
Go team go!!! Everyone is doing great!! Sounds as if ya’ll are having great weather. Stay strong and know that ya’ll are all loved very much!!!
Edi and Tim
Good luck Adam we love you!!!
Posted by: Alexis on 8/11/2015 at 3:54 pm
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