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RMI Guide Solveig Waterfall Recaps Her AMGA Ski Guide Exam

Posted by: Solveig Waterfall | February 01, 2013
Categories: *Guide News

Valdez, Alaska, is an incredible place to be in April. Long hours of daylight make for excellent opportunities to log massive amounts of vertical in the backcountry. When the skiing is good on Thompson Pass, there is no shortage of dramatic peaks and aesthetic lines.

Taking my AMGA Ski Mountaineering Guides Exam there this spring, I spent a majority of April in the area training with friends and fellow guides becoming familiar with the Alaskan terrain and snowpack.
The days leading up to the exam were filled with anxiety and endless “what-if’s” and “well-maybe’s.” Soon the other exam candidates and I found ourselves in the thick of eight days of late-into-the-night tour planning, strategizing, and pouring over weather forecasts, raw remote data, weather models, avalanche hazard forecasts, and various other slightly cloudy crystal balls. The general idea being to sort through all the data until you find a summary you like. Forecasting for an area as large as Alaska is quite difficult and many times during the week we were reminded that the forecasts were never quite wrong, but that the timing of the forecasts were usually off.
Conditions varied from thigh-deep powder in the east facing couloirs of the Iguana Backs zone, to some of the stiffest, carvable wind-board I’ve ever skied on the Berlin Wall and Odyssey.

The last few days of the exam we had great weather and flyable conditions. We employed the mechanical advantage of Valdez Heli-Skiing to get a ride into the Hoodoo glacier area for an overnight ski tour. We started with a descent of Acapulco Peak in the sunshine and finished with a long ski out of the Worthington Glacier in whiteout conditions.
Going through the process of being examined by your peers, learning from other exam candidates, and dealing with the stress of guiding new terrain and on-the-fly tour planning has been invaluable in helping me excel in all other facets of my guiding and personal endeavors.
Passing the exam and becoming one of only a handful of certified women in the U.S. is a huge honor and I am proud to represent RMI Expeditions.

 

 

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RMI Guides Tyler Reid and Solveig Waterfall Make First Ski Descent of The Pipeline

Posted by: Tyler Reid, Solveig Waterfall | January 29, 2013
Categories: *Guide News

RMI Guides Tyler Reid and Solveig Waterfall make first ski descent of The Pipeline on Mt. Angeles in the Olympic Mountains of Washington.

Follow this link to Tyler’s blog for more exciting photos!

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RMI Guides Katie Bono and Andres Marin Climb the West Face of the Kahiltna Queen

Posted by: Andres Marin, Katie Bono | January 01, 2013
Categories: *Guide News

RMI Guides Andres Marin and Katie Bono spent a week leading RMI’s Alaska Alpine Skills Seminar this spring. After the seminar they returned to the Alaska Range for a personal climbing trip.

Andres Marin: I guided the Alpine and Expedition seminars in Alaska, where our teams had an incredible time climbing and learning. When the seminars ended, I had a few days to spend climbing around Base Camp.

Katie Bono: Both Andres and I had time at the end of our trip for some personal climbing. We bid adieu to our team in Talkeetna and the next morning flew back into Kahiltna Base Camp. 

Kahiltna Base Camp sits in the heart of the Alaska Range, surrounded on all sides by peaks such as Denali, Mt. Foraker, and Mt. Hunter. With the plethora of climbing options the pair decided to climb the Kahiltna Queen (12,380’).

AM: Around Base Camp there are so many cool peaks to climb and one of those is the rarely climbed Kahiltna Queen. This peak is located at the end of the southeast fork of the Kahiltna glacier. It is the only peak in the range that divides three different glaciers: the Kahiltna, the Ruth and the Tokositna.

KB: Andres and I spent a day skiing up the Southeast fork of the Kahiltna Glacier, stopping along the way to look at different climbing options and to do some ice climbing. Kahiltna Queen looked like a gorgeous peak to climb and both of us were stoked about trying an unclimbed route.

The following night Katie and Andres began their climb up the West side of the Kahiltna Queen.

KB: The line we took followed a rib splitting the west face, starting from where the rib emerged from the glacier. The part of the climb was mostly steep snow climbing on some great and not-so-great neve (granular snow that accumulates near mountain tops from wind and precipitation). The route then transitions into ice climbing with some rock mixed in.

AM: The mixed climbing was great all the way to the summit. The day was incredible and the views were just amazing. At the top we stopped to melt water and high five. Then it was time for us to start descending the West Couloir Route. The descent ended up being longer and more difficult than I expected as we had to do over fourteen rappels.

Following the successful climb, Katie and Andres, skied two hours back to Base Camp. After 25 hours of climbing they returned safely to Base Camp.

KB: Seeing the moonrise while we were climbing was awesome! It came up for maybe an hour or so and just skimmed the edge of the horizon.  For the whole way up we had splitter weather and were basking in the sun at the summit. After this trip I can definitely understand why my friends are excited about Alaska.  It was great to be able to climb the Kahiltna Queen after guiding the Alaska Seminar since it enabled me to spend so much time in the Alaska Range. Andres has heaps of experience in the Alaska Range and I learned a lot from working and climbing with him. 

AM: All and all it was a great climb with a great partner. I am already looking forward to next year’s seminar and more personal climbs in the Alaska Range.

Andres Marin is a senior guide at RMI leading programs in Washington, Alaska and Colorado. He is an off-width specialist and an accomplished ice and mixed climber. One of his recent achievements includes climbing the five hardest mixed lines in Ouray, Colorado, in a day. Andres is a fully certified alpine and rock guide sponsored by Millet, Blue Water Ropes, 5.10, Petzl, GU and Ice Holdz.
Katie Bono is an RMI Guide and accomplished climber with impressive ascents in North America and Canada. A retired Nordic ski racer and Millet athlete, she currently holds the women’s speed record on Mt. Rainier.

To see more of their climb check out Andres’ Kahiltna Queen video.

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RMI’S TOP TEN BLOG POSTS OF 2012

Posted by: | December 14, 2012
Categories: *Guide News

From Expedition Dispatches, to interviews, to new records set by RMI Guides, see what the this year’s top 10 most popular posts on the RMI Blog!

10. RMI GUIDE SETH WATERFALL RECEIVES VALUABLE AVY 3 TRAINING

I’ve just returned to Washington after taking part in a six day Avalanche Level 3 course in Jackson, WY.  ‘Avy 3’ is the highest level of formal avalanche training in the US.  It is a professional level course designed for Guides, Ski Patrollers and other avalanche forecasters. Read more…

9. MOUNTAINEERING TRAINING | NUTRITION FOR MOUNTAINEERING TRAINING

Mountain Climbing has a high requirement for energy. Quality nutrition is a key component of training success. In this conversation with Registered Dietician Sally Hara of Kirkland, Washington, I had a chance to ask some of the questions which often come up in training for mountaineering. Read More…

8. MT. EVEREST EXPEDITION: RMI TEAM REACHES SUMMIT!

On Saturday, May 26th at 9:31 a.m. Nepali time the RMI 2012 Mt. Everest Expedition reached the summit! RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Melissa Arnot led the team of climbers to the summit of Mt. Everest at 29,035’. Read More…

7. MT. EVEREST EXPEDITION: REST DAY AT ABC

Our team enjoyed a rest day at Camp 2 (ABC) today.  Their plan is to head for Camp 3 tomorrow.

This really is the start of the Mt. Everest summit push in my eyes.  How the next two days go, can have real impact on the summit day. Read More…

6. MT EVEREST EXPEDITION: DAVE HAHN AND TEAM AT CAMP 3 ON LHOTSE FACE

Hello from Everest Base Camp,
I spoke with Dave and Melissa at Camp 3 and WOW did they sound great!
The climbing team left Camp 2 early this morning under perfect conditions. Read More…

5. RMI GUIDE KATIE BONO RECOUNTS MT. RAINIER SPEED ASCENT

I first thought of doing a speed ascent on Rainier late in the summer of 2011.  I started guiding with RMI that summer and spent plenty of time that year carrying heavy loads up the Muir snowfield as quickly as possible.  I come from a cross-country ski racing background and I raced professionally for the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation, the Rossignol Factory Team, and Dartmouth College before that. Read More…

4. MOUNTAINEERING TRAINING | SETTING A BASELINE: EVALUATING YOUR CURRENT FITNESS

To begin a conditioning plan for mountaineering, first establish the baseline of your current fitness level.  This baseline allows you to compare your current strengths to what you’ll need on the climb.  With this, we can compose a training plan that builds steady improvement between now and the day you set off for the mountains. Read More…

3. LOU WHITTAKER INTERVIEW

RMI Founder Lou Whittaker was interviewed last month by the Magic Valley Newspaper in Twin Falls, ID. Lou took some time off from skiing in Sun Valley to sit down and talk about his lifetime of climbing. Read More…

2. MOUNTAINEERING TRAINING | INTERVAL TRAINING

Interval Training is a training technique employed in many endurance sports. It refers to a training session where periods of high intensity effort, followed by rest, are repeated during a training session. Read More…

1. RMI GUIDE KATIE BONO MAKES SPEED ASCENT

Katie Bono climbs Mount Rainier in 4 hours, 58 minutes on July 24, 2012.

RMI Guide Katie Bono completed a car-to-car speed ascent of the classic Disappointment Cleaver route. Her effort is significant not only because it sets the female speed record but also because it adds a female presence to a list which had been exclusively male dominated. Read More…

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RMI’S TOP TEN VIDEOS OF 2012

Posted by: | December 13, 2012
Categories: *Guide News

From videos shot by RMI Climbers to interviews with RMI Guides and clips from the world’s greatest peaks, see 2012’s top ten most viewed videos from the RMI Video Collection!

10: CONGRATULATIONS SETH WATERFALL, 100 RAINIER SUMMITS

9: MELISSA ARNOT TRAINS TO CLIMB MAKALU

8: MEET JJ JUSTMAN

7: DAVE HAHN: 14TH EVEREST SUMMIT

6: MT. McKINLEY WEATHER WITH DAVE HAHN

5. RMI CLIMBER VIDEO: PANORAMIC ECUADOR

4. MELISSA ARNOT INTERVIEW

3. CLIMBING MEXICO’S VOLCANOES: VIDEO BY JJ JUSTMAN

2. EXTREME ECUADOR: CULTURE AND CLIMB

1. ACONCAGUA SUMMIT DAY: VIDEO BY JJ JUSTMAN

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RMI Guide Katie Bono Recounts Mt. Rainier Speed Ascent

Posted by: Katie Bono | July 29, 2012
Categories: *Guide News

RMI Guide Katie Bono completed a speed ascent of Mt. Rainier on July 24th, ascending from the Paradise Parking Lot to the summit of Mt. Rainier and returning to Paradise in 4:58. Her ascent is believed to be the fastest ascent of Mt. Rainier by a female climber. Here, Katie describes her climb:

I first thought of doing a speed ascent on Rainier late in the summer of 2011.  I started guiding with RMI that summer and spent plenty of time that year carrying heavy loads up the Muir snowfield as quickly as possible.  I come from a cross-country ski racing background and I raced professionally for the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation, the Rossignol Factory Team, and Dartmouth College before that. I quit ski racing in 2011 but soon realized that I missed the feeling of pushing myself hard and finding my limits.  As a result, this summer I found myself thinking about a speed attempt more frequently.  It seemed like a cool way to push myself in a way I hadn’t before.  When I first started thinking about it, I was planning for something in the sub-7:00 range.  As a way to test the waters, I did a hike up the Muir Snowfield in early July trying to simulate a manageable pace to the summit and ended up with a time of 1:36.  My time for running back down the Muir Snowfield was 38 min, including a stop to chat with friends.  After that, I sat down, did the math, and figured that if I could do 1:45 to Camp Muir (elevation gain of ~4600’), 1:45 from Camp Muir to the summit (~4400’), 1:00 back to Camp Muir, and 0:30 to Paradise, I could do it in 5 hours.  The big questions were:

1. Whether I could maintain pace all the way up to 14k of altitude and 3.5 hours of uphill hiking, and
2. If taking an hour to get from the summit to Camp Muir would feel at all unsafe.  I didn’t want to do the climb recklessly - it was just a fun and unique challenge.

The next step was figuring out my gear plan.  Fortunately, I’ve had a very full schedule on Rainier this summer, and as a result, I had lots of time to think about logistics at Camp Muir while trying to fall asleep at 6:00 P.M.  I decided the best plan would be to wear running shoes, specifically a pair of shoes with built-in gaiters I had lying around.  I would wear YakTrax to Camp Muir and up to around 12,000.  After that, the route gets steep enough and snowy enough that I would don aluminum strap-on crampons over my running shoes.  I checked out the forecast for the summit and used my experience from ski racing to figure out clothing strategies for racing hard in the cold - I would wear lightweight climbing pants, a base layer top, a super-lightweight hooded down jacket, and belay gloves as my layering system.  I also decided to bring along some gels and sports drink in a water belt.

When the day came, I woke up groggy and sleep-deprived.  I had picked up my boyfriend and fellow RMI guide at the airport the previous evening and hadn’t gotten back to Ashford until the wee hours.  Driving up the road to Paradise in the morning, I realized I forgot both my YakTrax, and my sunscreen.  Oh well, you only live once.  So I kept on driving up.  I got out of the car, tuned my iPod to some electronic music, and was off and running (or, more precisely, rest-stepping).  It was a beautiful morning, and perfect for climbing.  I had picked that day for good weather and good route conditions - the Disappointment Cleaver route is fast, direct, and reasonably safe right now so all systems were a go.  I started off around 6 a.m. so I could hit the snow conditions just right for ideal ascending and descending.  Having climbed the route two days prior, I had a solid sense of how to time it.  The lack of YakTrax turned out to be not an issue - the snow was just grippy enough to make it work. 

I reached Camp Muir at 1:38 on the timer, grabbed my crampons that I had cached earlier (and convinced some friends to set out for me), and dropped down onto the Cowlitz Glacier.  The next big hurdle was climbing the Disappointment Cleaver.  The whole way up, I had been walking at a very high cadence to minimize fatigue, but the rockiness of the Cleaver made it pretty much impossible to do that and it was a difficult stretch. After the Cleaver, the upper mountain was a haze of looking alternately at my feet, the rate of ascent function on my watch, and at the remainder of the mountain to climb.  I hit the crater rim at 3:30 on the time, sprinted (a.k.a. walked) across the crater rim over to Columbia Crest, did a quick gaze around the whole panorama of the Cascades, and headed down.  The crampons gave me just enough purchase to feel very safe running downhill, and I made it back to Camp Muir about 45 minutes after reaching the summit.  I passed the RMI groups on the way down, and they offered to radio the crew at Camp Muir to get out some Gatorade and baby wipes for me (the most uncomfortable part of the climb, hands down, was the massive salt deposits on my face.  However, they possibly helped prevent the outrageous sunburn I somehow avoided). 

After reaching Muir, I had 35 minutes to get back down to Paradise, but I was starting to falter.  I sprinted down through the sun cupped snow, trying not to fall with all my stabilizer muscles maxed to their limit and hit the trail leading back to Paradise.  At this point I was looking at my watch, fairly convinced that I was going to get to the parking lot just over 5 hours.  And, not that stuff like that really matters, but it’s somehow infinitely more satisfying to dip just under than just over.  So I focused in, tried not to terrify too many tourists with my mad dash, and reached the bottom of the steps at Paradise at 4:58:41.  I stumbled around glassy-eyed in the parking lot for a while, and then drove back home to get ready to climb the next day.  All in all, it was a great climb — I definitely surpassed my own expectations, and it was incredibly fun to be able to do it with the cheering and good vibes of all the other people on the route that day going for their own summits.   

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RMI Guide Katie Bono Makes Speed Ascent

Posted by: Katie Bono | July 25, 2012
Categories: *Guide News
Elevation: 14,410'

Katie Bono climbs Mount Rainier in 4 hours, 58 minutes on July 24, 2012.

RMI Guide Katie Bono completed a car-to-car speed ascent of the classic Disappointment Cleaver route. Her effort is significant not only because it sets the female speed record but also because it adds a female presence to a list which had been exclusively male dominated.

Bono described the route, which she climbed 12 times, as straight-forward and direct, minus the rocky section of Disappointment Cleaver itself, where she expressed difficulty keeping “the high-RPM, small steps” she was able to use on the remainder of the route.

The first known speed ascent was made by Lou and Jim Whittaker, with John Day, in 1959 (7 hours, 20 minutes). Craig Van Hoy (5 hours, 25 minutes; 1981), Justin Merle (4:49:35; July 9, 2008), and Liam O’Sullivan (4:46:29; August 5, 2008), all former Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. guides, successfully lowered the record times until September 17, 2008 when renowned guide Willie Benegas completed the round trip in 4:40:59. Benegas’ record currently stands.

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June Training Tips

Posted by: | June 17, 2012
Categories: *Guide News

It’s June already. Do you have a Mount Rainier climb planned this summer? If so, you are probably at the peak of your training efforts and devoting a good amount of energy and time to preparing your body for the big climb. Many people ask, “What’s the most important thing for training right now?”

If you are less than a week away from your climb, you’ll want to rest. By all means, do some activity — but just enough to keep you moving — not so much that you arrive fatigued. You’ll want to maximize your sleep and relaxation this week. Also, be sure that you’re eating plenty of carbohydrates to ensure you start the climb with a full tank.

If your climb is still a few weeks or even months away, then you have a great opportunity to add to your endurance.

I like to keep things simple. My recommendation to people training for mountaineering is to include at least one long hike each week. How long? Well, your summit day will start in the middle of the night and you may well be climbing and descending for upwards of 14 hours. So, it’s important to condition yourself to be on your feet for that long.

Practically, if you live near Mt. Rainier you can train on any number of long steep hikes in the area, or even hike up to Camp Muir for practice. One big weekly hike is my minimum, but if you can you’ll benefit from back-to-back days of hiking, or maybe even sneak in a midweek hike as well. A man I know was out of shape with only two months to go before his Mt. Rainier climb. He realized he was behind on his training, took vacation time, and hiked Mt. Si, near Seattle, eighteen times in one month! I thought it was a bit extreme and advised him to pay attention to his knees and joints, but he did it — and he made it all the way to the summit and back.

If you live in a flat city you can still get in good training. I’ve done urban hikes before to get in condition for a climb. Once, when I was getting ready for a big climb while I lived in London, UK, I would put a metal weight and some water-bottles in a pack and walk all day, stopping at restaurants to eat and visiting the occasional museum. It’s fun and a great way to see a city. This winter in Seattle I set a goal of walking three miles each day. It’s great for the feet, legs, and back and it’s easy to plan to walk places instead of driving. Arrive at work or a friend’s house and tell them you walked — you’ll inspire them too! It might be tough to get elevation in flatter regions, but don’t let that stop you from building endurance.

If you can’t hike or walk anywhere then bicycling is about as close as you can get to hiking as an alternative. It works the same energy-systems and many of the same muscle groups. If you do a lot of cycling, also do jumping exercises, perhaps even get a jump-rope and use it for a few minutes every day. That will help with the coming-down part of the climb. Cycling builds strength and endurance but doesn’t replicate the impact of stepping down. The combination of both is very effective. 

Top three tips for June:

1. Make the main thing - the main thing: It’s a long endurance climb with a 35lb pack. Go long in training and wear a pack when possible.
2. Back up your long hikes with shorter sessions: 60 - 90 minute efforts at a higher intensity. Stairs, stair-master, elliptical machine, cycling or spin class are good options. 
3. Mix up your training: Some long and steady ‘conversational’ pace sessions; some hard and steady; some intervals of 1 minute of very hard effort followed by 1 minute of rest.

A parting thought: I used to get close to a climb and worry that I hadn’t done enough of this or of that. Right now you’ve done what you’ve done. Its best to take out a calendar, figure out how many long hikes you can fit in, block out those time and then use the other days for shorter sessions. Take a day or two of rest as well, you’ll benefit from doing so. As the guides will tell you on the mountain, don’t worry about tomorrow or next week, just focus on now. Focus on how you can complete — and enjoy — today’s workout. You’ve trained hard and what you do now will make a difference on the mountain.

Good luck.

John Colver
Author of Fit By Nature by Mountaineers Books.
www.adventx.com

For more information please see our resources for mountaineering fitness and training.

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Recap: Tribute to Nawang Gombu Sherpa

Posted by: Joe Horiskey | June 06, 2012
Categories: *Guide News

On Sunday, June 3, the historic Paradise Inn at Mt. Rainier National Park hosted a Tribute to Nawang Gombu.  The much-anticipated event promised to be a memorable gathering and, despite the fickle weather, it definitely lived up to expectations! 

By 4:00PM the grand lobby was overflowing with family and friends gathered to honor the memory of the man who, all agreed, was a remarkable individual in terms of physical strength, mental determination, and above everything else, humility.  Several family members even journeyed from India to attend.  Gombu’s daughter, Yangdu, received a plaque from Mt. Rainier National Park Superintendent Randy King, recognizing her father’s years of service at Mt. Rainier. 

Needless to say, the climbing community was well represented, with Lou & Jim Whittaker (along with their families) topping the bill.  Jim recounted a story when he and Gombu were on the summit of Mt Everest in 1963:  He asked the soon-to-become-famous Sherpa what he was thinking; what was going through his mind in that historic moment; and received the succinct reply, “Getting down!” 

In the crowd were numerous professional mountain guides who worked with Gombu on Mt Rainier, as well as past clients of RMI fortunate enough to rope up with him during their summit climbs.  Phinjo Gombu, Gombu’s son and also a former RMI guide, accepted a special plaque from RMI’s Lou Whittaker, Peter Whittaker, and myself.  Phinjo then delivered a moving account of his father’s life, from boyhood to becoming a mountaineering icon.  Through it all, Phinjo recalled, Gombu remained humble and unassuming.  As he put it, “He [Gombu] simply loved the mountains.”  Everyone in the building related to that sentiment. 

2012 marks the 30th anniversary of the 1982 American Everest Expedition, led by Lou Whittaker, of which Gombu was a member.  Several former RMI guides and participants on the expedition were in attendance, including Larry Nielson, the first American to climb Everest without supplemental oxygen (1983).  Gombu used to refer to Larry as “the Animal” and with good reason!

Near the great fireplace at the west end of the lobby easels displayed photos from numerous expeditions on which Gombu participated: Everest, Kanchenjunga, Makalu, and Nanda Devi.  He also guided an RMI Mt. McKinley Expedition in the late 1970’s, with his friend Phil Ershler.  A silent auction was ongoing throughout the evening, bidding on famous photos and mountaineering books autographed by Lou Whittaker, Jim Whittaker, and Dee Molenaar among others.

Of course, nothing elicits memories more effectively than film and the medium was presented in abundance:  Gombu as a young man on early expeditions; the electrifying final steps to the top of Everest on May 1, 1963 with Big Jim; the ’82 China-Everest North Wall and ’89 Kanchenjunga expeditions. These clips represented but a few snippets of a lifetime spent in the high mountains.

Then suddenly, shortly after 9:00PM, someone burst into Paradise Inn proclaiming, “The Mountain’s out!  The Mountain’s out!”  Talk about your mass exodus.  The lobby all but emptied in a matter of moments as everyone grabbed cameras and cell phones or simply went outside to look for themselves.  The summit of Rainier, hidden behind clouds throughout the day, was there in all its glory.  The Tatoosh Range was bathed in shades of evening’s glow, while Rainier’s distant summit loomed stark and foreboding.  It fit the occasion.  Mt Rainier’s upper reaches are the realm of the mountaineer, of which Nawang Gombu represented the highest ideal.  As guide and climber, husband and father and very special friend, his memory will be kept alive in the high mountains.   

Special thanks to Ingrid & Lou Whittaker for all their efforts in organizing and promoting this truly memorable event.

- RMI Guide Joe Horiskey

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WIN A CLIMB OF MT. RAINIER!

Posted by: | June 01, 2012
Categories: *Guide News

Drawing will take place Oct. 10, 2013 and valid only for 2013 Summer Climbs. Prize includes cost of climb only and does not include any additional travel, lodging, equipment, or meal expenses incurred with the climb.

Winner will be notified via email. One entry per person. To enter visit the RMI Facebook eNewsletter Page to sign up or visit RMI at one of the Seattle Sounders games during the dates mentioned above.

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