Hello from Moscow.
The RMI Mt. Elbrus Northside team has all arrived and the trip is officially under way. We met up this evening for a meet-and-greet and then went out to dinner. The team seems very well aligned as far as goals and expectations for the trip. It was a short night for us as many folks have just arrived in Moscow and, it's raining with thunder and lightning all around the downtown area.
Tomorrow we're scheduled to take a tour of the Kremlin and the other sights around Red Square. I'll take some photos and send them on in the afternoon.
RMI Guides Seth Waterfall & Pete Van Deventer
Hello everyone.
We are checking in from Kislovodsk, Russia. The team has had a tough time re-acclimatizing back into the civilized world. We re-learned what nozzle turns on the hot water and what fork to use first with our salads. Tomorrow the team flies to St. Petersburg for our final "descent" off the mountain! In the meantime, I'm going to bury my face in this cheesecake!
RMI Guide J.J. Justman
Hello from Elbrus Northside Basecamp! Our good luck with the weather has continued. Our hike down from Camp 1 was rather pleasant, other than our huge packs. We took our time and now we're relaxing and waiting for our ride back to Kislovodsk.
RMI Guides JJ Justman and Seth Waterfall
Congratulations team! Happy anniversary Rayn! I am so proud of you…now hurry up and come back home to me!
Posted by: Jessica Eddy on 9/5/2012 at 6:07 am
Good luck on your ascent, and remember that once on the top, you are only half done! listen to your guides, keep a positive attitude, and enjoy the eexperience. Prayers will be with you.
Hey everyone it is JJ Justman and Seth Waterfall and the ENTIRE Northside Elbrus team on the summit of the highest peak in Europe, Mt. Elbrus at 18,510'. We have a beautiful day- sun is shining, birds are chirping, butterflies are flying. And the team just did fantastic, 100% success. We're very proud of the team. We got a little bit of work to get down hill but tell you what, the team's just doing great and we're gonna get down to camp, have a little water and go from there. Thanks for following along. And thanks for all your wishes. We will touch base one more time, just letting you know that we got down safe and sound, but everything is great on the highest mountain in Europe. Ciao for now.
Update 7:55 a.m. PST: JJ called to report the team is back at Camp 1, which is off the glacier. The team is doing great and they have a lot of packing to do before the continue their descent. The team will check in again from Kislovodsk.
RMI Guide JJ Justman calls from the Mt. Elbrus summit!
Hello everyone, this is J.J. Justman with the Mt. Elbrus Northside team. We are happily at high camp, getting our tents up. Seth and I have our kitchen set up and we're making water and hots for the team. It is is a beautiful day! Again, guides are a little superstitious bunch so I'm gonna knock on wood, and cross my fingers and toes, but we just have a marvelous day moving up here to high camp at 15,300'. We're just gonna settle in, relax, make a bunch of hots, some soup, a little bit of dinner, drink a little more water and then we're gonna get ready for a summit attempt tomorrow. So wish us luck, wish us good weather here on Mount Elbrus for tomorrow and hopefully will be calling you from the top with some good news. Thanks for following along and we will talk with you again soon, bye.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
RMI Guide JJ Justman checks in from Mt. Elbrus high camp.
Hi there this is Seth checking in for the Mt. Elbrus Northside Expedition. Our friend the wind finally gave us a break today! At around 2 am the big gusts died off and by sunup everything was calm. Everyone was stoked to get up and finally get on the glacier. By 9:00 we were cramponed up and climbing. The route was great and JJ set a nice pace. We made it to our high camp in 4.5 hours. We dropped off some food, fuel and a little gear there and then boogied back down to Camp 1. If the weather allows we will move up to high camp tomorrow!
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
What to do when the wind is blowing 70 mph at Camp 1 on Mt. Elbrus? That is the question. And the answer is tough filled with so many choices. Read my book? Nope, forgot it at base camp. Read Seth's Harper magazine? Done. Drink hot drinks? Check!
The team was productive today at Camp 1. We secured our tents for the heavy winds and during a lull we went down and retrieved our cache at 11,500 feet. We now are sitting on a stockpile of food and fuel so Bring it On wind!
Everyone is feeling great at 12,500 feet. And a little adversity does a body good. I just hope my iTunes movie hasn't expired on my iPhone!
RMI Guide J.J. Justman
Hello from Mt. Elbrus,
It wouldn't be an expedition without a little bad weather. Today we awoke to rain and thunder showers. However, it wasn't really that bad so we packed our bags and hit the road for Camp One.
The team did great carrying heavy packs that only got heavier with all the rain. We made it into camp mid afternoon, got our camp set up and just finished a hot gourmet meal by yours truly.
Tomorrow we are going to wake up late, enjoy some Starbucks coffee at 12,500 feet and then head down to 11,500 feet to grab the rest of our gear. We hope everyone is enjoying our blog. Take care and we will touch base again soon.
RMI Guide J.J. Justman
So fun to be able to follow you and your fellow travelers on this blog, Matt. Appreciate the updates and photos. I sent the CBS interview website to Gr. Aunt Reet in NJ….she loved it! Also sent to Mathis family in K.C. Sending prayers for good weather and safe footing!
Posted by: Rita Redfern Morrett on 8/29/2012 at 10:59 pm
If this is Ryan Eddy’s team….God speed and have fun!
Hi everyone,
This is the Mt. Elbrus North-side Expedition checking in from our Base Camp. Today we carried a big chunk of our gear up to about 11,500' before returning to 8,500'. The summit was socked in today but the lower slopes had mostly sunny skies which was perfect for us. Our group is 100% healthy and strong and everyone is having fun. We're going to spend the afternoon relaxing and prepping for our move up to Camp 1 tomorrow.
RMI Guide J.J. Justman
What an exciting adventure! Love the awesome photos of the climbing teams’ smiling faces and beautiful scenery:-) Have a great trek up and down Mt. Elbrus Ryan and see you soon.
Posted by: Cheryl Kirwan on 8/29/2012 at 9:01 am
Dave, taught the Crafton Academy yesterday and met your son, I’ll keep an eye on him for you.
We have put the adventure back in adventure travel! Today our team made the arduous and breathtaking seat of your pants four wheel drive ride into Base Camp on the North side of Mount Elbrus.
It really was smooth sailing but the road demands full attention. It's a rally car racers dream. We have set up camp in this beautiful Russian valley. We took an afternoon stroll to the mineral springs that bubble out of the ground (Perrier and San Pelligrino eat your heart out)! However no one had the guts to take a dip in the enclosed mineral pool. The water is a balmy 40 degrees!
The team has packed the packs with group gear consisting of dinners and breakfasts for up high: ropes, pickets, fuel and personal clothing. Tomorrow we will carry to Camp 1 and return to base.
I have to get going, tonight Seth and I rock/paper/scissored for who gets to make chow...I lost. Get ready for chili cheese hot dogs with southern quesadillas!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Congratulations team! Happy anniversary Rayn! I am so proud of you…now hurry up and come back home to me!
Posted by: Jessica Eddy on 9/5/2012 at 6:07 am
Good luck on your ascent, and remember that once on the top, you are only half done! listen to your guides, keep a positive attitude, and enjoy the eexperience. Prayers will be with you.
Posted by: Jimmy on 9/4/2012 at 5:11 am
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