RMI Expeditions BlogRSS

Entries By eric frank

Mt. Rainier: June 14th Update

Posted by: Casey Grom, Andres Marin, Eric Frank | June 14, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'

Our Four Day Summit Climb teams led by Casey Grom and Andres Marin reached the top of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Casey reported beautiful clear skies above 7,500’, a light breeze and cold temperatures.  The team will be crossing the crater to Columbia Crest, enjoy the views and then head back to Camp Muir.

After a successful summit yesterday, Eric Frank and the Kautz Expedition team will be back at Basecamp in the early afternoon. JJ Justman and the Expeditions Skills Seminar - Emmons team will be spending the day at Basecamp training.

3

---

Mt. Rainier: June 13, 2013 Summit!

Posted by: Jason Thompson, Tyler Reid, Eric Frank | June 13, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'

RMI Guides Jason Thompson and Tyler Reid and their Four Day Summit Climb Teams reached the Summit of Mt. Rainier this morning.  The teams reported great climbing conditions, with clear skies, calm winds. They spent some time on the summit and are now en route to Camp Muir.

Eric Frank and the Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz Team Reached the top of Mt. Rainier at 12:15pm PST today.  The team enjoyed putting their newly acquired skills to the test on the route and have started their descent. This is the first summit via the Kautz route for an RMI team this season!

Congratulations to today’s teams!

1

---

Mt. Rainier: May 25, 2013 - Update

Posted by: J.J. Justman, Eric Frank, Alex Barber, Nick Hunt | May 25, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,200'

Hi everyone!

The team today awoke to conditions that are not ideal to climb in. With all the new snow it just has not settled enough to allow safe climbing. So to enjoy and have a full mountain experience the team went up to Muir Peak to watch the sun rise. It’s my favorite part of climbing. The photos simply do not do it justice.

We are safe and we are happy and we are still laughing and having fun!

RMI Guide JJ Justman & Team

1

---

RMI Hosts Prep for Rainier Class at REI

Posted by: Eric Frank, Seth Waterfall, Paul Maier | March 06, 2013
Categories: *Guide News

RMI is hosting several Prep for Rainier classes over the months of February, March, and April at local REI stores in the Puget Sound area. Join RMI’s experienced guides to discuss everything that is need to prepare for Mt. Rainier, including conditioning, trip planning, route choice, and equipment selection to climb Washington State’s highest point!

Come out to your local REI store to hear stories and answer your questions about Mt. Rainier!

Thursday

4/11/2013

7:00pm

REI Seattle with Paul Maier

More info…

---

ECUADOR’S VOLCANOES: Cotopaxi Summit!

Posted by: Casey Grom, Eric Frank | December 20, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Ecuador
Elevation: 19,348'

Summit on Cotopaxi!

Casey Grom and Team phoned in from the summit of Cotopaxi early this morning.  It was windy and cold, but the team did great.

Congratulations Team!

Sign Up For Ecuador 2012 Email Alerts

2

---

Ecuador’s Volcanoes: Casey Grom Checks in from Cotopaxi’s Hut

Posted by: Casey Grom, Eric Frank | December 19, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Ecuador
Elevation: 16,000'

Hello everybody back home.  This is Casey Grom checking in from the Ecuador’s Expedition. I just wanted to check in to let everyone know that all’s going well. We had a nice leisurely day today at Chilcabamba. Got up this morning, got things packed up and had about just over an hour drive up to the parking lot to the Cotopaxi Hut. We got out of the car little bit of cloud and took us about 40 minutes to hike up a nice easy trail to get up here to the hut. It sits at about, oh just shy of 16,000’...(transmission lost)

RMI Guide Casey Grom

On The Map

Sign Up For Ecuador 2012 Email Alerts

---

Ecuador’s Volcanoes: The Team Resting Prior to Cotopaxi Summit

Posted by: Eric Frank, Casey Grom | December 18, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Ecuador

Hello, this is the Ecuador crew checking in. We had a great rest day. We are at the Hacienda Chilcabamba here at the base of Cotopaxi. Most of us took a nap in the afternoon, just getting ready for our next big push. So tomorrow morning we’ll head up to the Jose Ribas Refugio and get ready to climb. Things are beautiful down here. Hope everyone is doing well back home in the states.

RMI Guide Eric Frank

On The Map

Sign Up For Ecuador 2012 Email Alerts

1

---

Ecuador Volcanoes: Cayambe Summit!

Posted by: Casey Grom, Eric Frank | December 17, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Ecuador
Elevation: 18,997'

Hello everybody back home.  This is Casey Grom checking in from the Ecuador expedition.  Just wanted to let everyone know that we are standing on the summit of Cayambe right now!  Beautiful day, a little chilly though.  There’s a slight breeze.  We had a total of 10 climbers reach the summit…  One climber and one guide turned around at about 18,200’, just short of the summit.  It’s been a really long day.  The route is in good shape, but it’s just a really long route.  Took us six and 1/2 hours for the first group and about 7 hours and 45 minutes for the second wave of climbers to reach the summit.  Everyone’s been doing great, pushing real hard and are pretty tired.  We’re going to take a few minutes get something to eat and drink and start making our way back down…....... We look forward to talking with you soon.

RMI Guide Casey Grom

On The Map

Sign Up For Ecuador 2012 Email Alerts

---

Ecuador’s Volcanoes: The Team Readies for Cayambe Summit Bid

Posted by: Eric Frank, Casey Grom | December 16, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Ecuador
Elevation: 15,300'

Hello, this is Eric Frank and the Ecuador crew checking in from climber’s hut here on Cayambe at 15,300’. The sun’s just gone down and we had a pretty restful day.  We slept late this morning, had a big breakfast, and then climbed for about an hour and a half to get up to the toe of the glacier.  We trained for a couple hours, talked about the climb and then came back to have a big dinner.  We’re hoping to be in bed in the next thirty minutes. And we’ll be getting up in the middle of the night to make our attempt to climb Cayambe.  So check back tomorrow, hopefully will be giving a call down sometime in the mid morning to early afternoon to let everyone know how things are going. Have a great night.

RMI Guide Eric Frank

Sign Up For Ecuador 2012 Email Alerts

2

---

Ecuador: Team Makes Second Acclimatization Hike

Posted by: Casey Grom, Eric Frank | December 14, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Ecuador
Elevation: 13,976'

Things are winding down for the night here at the beautiful Hacienda San Luis -
The team had a big day. By 8am we had eaten breakfast and loaded our duffels into the bus transporting us for the day. A two hour bus ride brought us north of Quito to our second acclimatization climb on Cerro Negro, 13,976 feet. Despite being lower then our previous days climb, the team found the terrain quite challenging. The trail led us up some slippery, nearly vertical sections of grass and short bits of rock climbing before the summit cone. On top we were treated with clear skies and stunning views of a nearby lake. We all felt that we had put in a hard days work by the time we returned to the bus 3.5 hours later.

After stopping for some roadside refreshments, we arrived at Hacienda San Luis, a working Ecuadorian ranch that also boasts modern amenities. We spent the afternoon relaxing, getting gear in order and catching up with the outside world.

We hope all is well and appreciate everyone who is following along on our adventure.

RMI Guide Eric Frank and the Ecuador Team.

On The Map

Sign Up For Ecuador 2012 Email Alerts

---

More Entries