Summit Day Success!

All 10 climbers summitted Iztaccihuatl around 8 am this morning!  The team is headed back to Tlachichuca for the night.  Tomorrow (Thursday) we will head to Pico de Orizaba and set our next camp at about 13,943 ft.  We are hoping to summit on Friday morning!

Izta is a MASSIVE volcano topping out at 17,343 feet.

Greetings from Mexico-Numero Dos

The OLER High Altitude International Mountaineering course had a fantastic day on North America's 8th tallest peak, Volcan Iztaccihual or Izta.  Everyone is doing well and will be spending the night at camp #1 at 12,900 feet.  Check out Kling Mountain Guides blog for a more details!    

Greetings from Mexico

The OLER High Altitude International Mountaineering course has successfully made their way to Mexico!  Today they left Mexico City and are headed to Amecameca and La Joya.  They are planning to stay at the Altzomoni hut at 3,900 meters to acclimate.  Check back soon for updates! 

Mexico City and Jackson, MO!!! Here we come.

Spring Break is here!  JD is headed to Mexico to climb two volcanic peaks and Emily is headed to Missouri to work on a hiking guide.  JD will be sending sat phone updates to Emily and she will posting updates here and on Facebook.

Stay tuned!

Possibly, My (JD's) New Favorite National Park

I stopped in for a quick visit to Great Sand Dunes National Park near Alamosa, CO the other day.  I've been near it before, but have never stopped in.  I'm so glad I finally did!  The Dunes were amazing!  They reach 750 feet high in some places and cover almost 40 square miles (and can be seen from space).  To top it off, the Dunes have 14,000 ft peaks to the north and south (we have climbed Blanca and Ellingwood in the past).

A small portion of the Dunes. 

Blanca, Ellingwood, and Little Bear (all 14ers) sit near the Dunes.

Chaco Canyon NHP

Last weekend we took a trip down south to Chaco Culture National Historic Park.  What an amazing place!  The canyon was littered with Chaco Culture ruins that dated back as late as 850 A.D.  The best part was that you could actually walk through the ruins into several of the rooms within the buildings.  There were also numerous backcountry trails that we are gonna go back for as well as biking trails.  Check out some pics:

The Pueblo Bonito. 

Emily, investigating the ruins. 

A Kiva in the Pueblo Bonito.

Brasstown Bald

On Memorial Day weekend in 2005 we took off for our second highpointing trip.  On May 29th we arrived in northwest Georgia to knock off Brasstown Bald (4,784 feet).  It was only a .5 mile walk up to the highpoint from the parking area, but well worth the views.  If memory serves, I believe we had to pay a parking fee. Three bucks maybe?

The Drive:  From Blairsville, GA, drive 8 miles south on US 19.  Turn left onto State Highway 180 and drive another 9 miles.  Turn left onto State Highway 180 Spur and continue 3 miles to the parking area. (a bike race that Lance Armstrong was in was held there just a few days before us. people had written "Go Lance Go" all over the road)

The Hike:  You can locate the paved trail next to the gift shop and hike the short .5 mile to the tower on top of the mountain.  Return to your car the same way.

 Emily stops along the trail for a picture.

JD, as high as he can get on the tower.