Entries By mike king
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir September 4 - 9, 2016 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning shortly before 9 am. RMI Guides Brent Okita and Mike King reported favorable conditions with 20 mph winds - increasing as they neared the crater rim, some blowing snow, and clear skies. Mike said they can see clear to Mt. Jefferson.
After enjoying the summit today the teams will return to Camp Muir for two additional days of training. We look forward to greeting the team when they return to Rainier BaseCamp on Friday.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
September 3, 2016
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,400'
The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb, led Pete Van Deventer and Mike King, is back at Camp Muir after turning on the upper mountain due to route and avalanche conditions. They encountered snow up to waist deep, providing poor footing on exposed slopes. The weather reported from Camp Muir is clear, calm, and cold. The teams will depart for Paradise soon.
August 26, 2016
Posted by: JJ Justman, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb teams August 23 - 26 led by RMI Guides JJ Justman and Mike King were approaching the crater rim just before 7 am. All of the climbers on Mike King's team were able to reach the summit!. Nice work team! JJ reported 10 mph winds and cold temps with climbers wearing their parkas. It's a beautiful day and a great climb. The teams will return to Camp Muir and then continue their descent to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!
August 20, 2016
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
Our Four Day Summit Climb teams for August 17 - 20 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The teams enjoyed beautiful weather with clear skies and a lots of bright moon light. After spending time in the crater, they started their descent. As of 7:00 am PT, RMI Guides Elias de Andres Martos and Mike King reported that they were descending Disappointment Cleaver. We look forward to greeting the teams at BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today Summit Climbers!
Great Job Matt H. and the rest of the team!
Posted by: Joe Hackett on 8/20/2016 at 7:39 am
August 17, 2016
Posted by: Mike King, Steve Gately
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb Teams August 14 - 17, 2016 enjoyed beautiful weather during their time in Mt. Rainier National Park. Today was no different as the teams got an early start from Camp Muir and were able to enjoy the views from the summit of Mt. Rainier. The teams, led by RMI Guides Mike King & Steve Gately, reported light winds and perfect weather. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Proud sister, right here! Congrats, all (especially Rich S. & Mike H.)!
Posted by: Kristen on 8/17/2016 at 5:09 pm
CONGRATS MATTHEW! ♥
Posted by: hannah on 8/17/2016 at 2:48 pm
Rain, early bus ride and some sore legs were the deciding factors to hangout this morning in Aquas Calientes instead of heading up to hike Machu Picchu mountain.
The team will pack up and take a 3:30 train back to Cusco. This will be our final dispatch of what has been an incredible trek through beautiful mountains, culminating in a nice day at Machu Picchu!
Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
August 8, 2016
Posted by: Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 7,972'
Inside information, while illegal on Wall Street, totally ligit on the Inca Trail. We got up at 2:30am so we would be first in line to enter the trail leading to Machu Picchu when the gates opened at 5:30am. While we waited some Team members slept, relaxed and 4 of us continued a best of four Hearts game on top of a backpack.
With a little under an hour of walking to the site, we cruised through the "Gringo Killer", a 60 degree 50 Incan step section just prior to the Sun Gate. No Gringos were harmed in the filming of this section. The Team enjoyed an amazing sunrise across the cloud forest and in Machu Picchu.
In total we spent 2 hours walking around the immense complex. Listening to our local interpretive guides, Erick and Winder as they described what we were seeing. The Team was shocked at the shear size of the stone work and numbers of people who had arrived via bus.
While a trip like this can be about the destination, we all agreed the last 5 days on the Salkantay/Inca trail was more about the journey; consiting of remote valleys, Andean vista's and a variety of Incan sites.
We are back in Aquas Calientes, showered and resting. Thanks for following along and we will return to Cusco tomorrow evening for departure flights on Wednesday.
August 7, 2016
Posted by: Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 12,130'
The good weather had to leave us at some point. The rain bounced off our tents most of the night and started to lighten up as we departed camp. This is our last full day on the Inca Trail.
We hiked along amazing stone work and paths, ascending to 12,130'. This has been our shortest day and we got the opportunity to see two Incan sites that are still nearly original. The team took the afternoon to see Winaywayna and some llamas keeping the grass under control.
As the sun sets, light clouds are floating in the valley and occasionally offering views of high glaciated peaks. We are getting an early start so Machu Picchu won't be quite as crowded. Five days have flown by and the team, while eager to visit the main site, is already reminiscing on our first few days in the High Andes, oh and eager for a shower.
We will check in from Machu Picchu pueblo/Aquas Calientes tomorrow afternoon.
RMI Guide Mike King
August 6, 2016
Posted by: Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 9,900'
We descended into the cloud forest today in route to our camp, Chaquicocha (9,900 ft). The temperature has increased and the vegetation is abundant after hiking over 2 passes. With the passes consisting of 1,800+ Incan steps on the descent the Team is enjoying having their boots off and a refreshing bowl of water to cool off and clean up.
Our weather has been great, a little cold for some the first two days, no rain and we got some clouds and cool air today to make for great pictures and respite from the sun.
We had the trail to ourselves except when porters would run by which allowed the Team to explore two Incan sites without fellow trekkers present. The meals continue to impress and we are excited to get into Machu Picchu for sunrise in two days time. Until then, we have more stairs to climb, card games to play and spectacular mountain vistas to absorb.
RMI Guide Mike King
August 5, 2016
Posted by: Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 12,303'
Today we are checking in from our camp, Llulluchapampa at 12,303 ft. We had a warm day walking out the Kusichaka river valley through more small villages and got to spend some time in at an Incan site. The series of terraces and walls are believed to have been a trading post for agricultural goods arriving from the jungle and high mountains to be dispersed throughout the Incan empire.
After another delicious lunch we joined the traditional Inca trail at Wayllabamba where our mule drivers departed and our porters arrived to shoulder our camp. The 16 porters are from the same village in the Andes and work as a crew. During the high season they work four to five 4 day trips, carrying 55 lbs each day. The Team is grateful and amazed with how they bound up the trail above 10,000 ft with relative ease.
So far we have not seen another group of hikers the entire trek, that will changed tomorrow evening as we approach the final 2 camps before Machu Picchu. We will get an early start so we can enjoy a quite day. Everyone is feeling great and taking in the amazing vistas of the Andes.
Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
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Congratulations Maahi! All the best for your hike to the summit. Head back safely. Missing you…..
Neil and Sush
Posted by: Susmita Jasti on 8/29/2016 at 7:01 pm
And congratulations on what you achieved ...
Posted by: Jeevan Yarlagadda on 8/29/2016 at 4:40 pm
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