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Summit for Whittaker, Viesturs and Team

Posted by: | May 19, 2009
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest
Elevation: Top of the World

Peter Whittaker and Ed Viesturs reach the summit of Everest.

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Mt. Rainier: Expedition Skills Seminar - Summit!

Posted by: | September 21, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir led by RMI Guides Brent Okita, Billy Nugent and Linden Mallory reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today.  The team was walking into the crater rim at 8:20 a.m.  Winds are 20 mph and there is a cloud cap on the mountain this morning.  The teams will return to Camp Muir and continue their training of expedition skills.  They will descend from Camp Muir to Paradise on Friday and conclude the program at Rainier BaseCamp.

Congratulations to today’s climbing teams!  Enjoy the rest of your time on the mountain.

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Shishapangma: RMI Guide Team Returns to Kathmandu

Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos | October 17, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Guide News *Everest

Dear friends, family and colleagues: we are happy to get back in touch with you. Before all, we would like to apologize for the lack of communication of the last 10 days, but unfortunately, we were the most frustrated with that issue. Our satellite phone decided not to cooperate with our solar panel, and recharging the battery was an impossible task. Being the last team this season on the mountain, we could not borrow any other means of communication and we understand the worries this might have caused. But this is what being in the Himalayas brings to all of us…

That said, we are eager to announce that entire team is back safe in Kathmandu after having reached the SUMMIT ON THE CENTRAL SUMMIT OF SHISHAPANGMA at 8013metres!!!!
On Oct.11th, Bridget, Jake, Geoff and Elias reached the central summit in the mid afternoon, on a warm and cloudless day, after having followed the NW ridge for several hours from C3 (Elias and Bridget) at 7450m and from C2.5 (Geoff and Jake) at 7100m. The next day, Oct 12th, Eric and Leon, who had made shelter in C3 the previous day, started strong towards the summit. Leon reached the summit hours later, having Eric turning around well above 7600m in a wise and mature decision that honors this young, strong and smart climber, since his cold toes were not warming up in those early hours and up there you are the mercy of the temperatures.

Two days later, the entire team was reunited at Base Camp, from were we would proceed to do several back-carries to clear our gear and trash from anywhere below C1 at 6400m. After another day of rest and packing, we initiated our descent towards the trail head, also called Chinese Base Camp, were we arrived yesterday, the 16th. We were picked up by our truck (who learned about our arrival by a paper note sent down 2 days earlier with a yak shepherd) which would take us to the town of Nyalam, just a few Kilometers away from the Tibetan-Nepali border, to spend the night. This morning (Oct 17th) we made it into Nepal not without a couple small issues at the border and multiple traffic stops en-route to our hotel in Kathmandu, due to the heavy tourist season in the area. Is close to midnight here, so I will stop writing, but we will send you a good recap of the entire expedition soon.

Again, thanks to all of you for your support, your interest and the good vibrations sent. Best regards.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos

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Shishapangma: RMI Team Ready to Begin Rotations Above Camp 1

Posted by: Jake Beren | September 20, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Guide News *Everest

Hey guys, this is the Shishapangma team.  We are just calling to check in.  Everybody is well.  We did feel the big earthquake the other day.  Both our team up at Camp 1 and our team at BC are just fine.

We are going to send another team up in the direction of Camp 1 later this afternoon.  We are going to start our rotations a little higher up.  All is well here.  We are waiting for a weather window and just hanging out.

So, we hope all is well back in Ashford.  We’ll be giving you a shout when we have a little more to say.  That is all from Tibet.

RMI Guide Jake Beren

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Mt. Everest Expedition: Dave’s Thirteenth Everest Summit

Posted by: | May 21, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest

RMI Guide Dave Hahn summits Mt. Everest for a Record Thirteenth Time. On May 20th, 2011, Dave Hahn, Linden Mallory and their Sherpa team stood on the summit of Mt. Everest on a clear and beautiful day. Congratulations!

The team has safely returned to Everest Base Camp.

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Mt. Everest Expedition: Sara McGahan on Climbing and her Studies

Posted by: | March 30, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest
Elevation: 11,300'

Hi, my name is Sara for those of you that are reading this that don’t know me, I am 16 years old, and a sophomore at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Georgia. I started climbing when I was 12 years old, and since then I have climbed Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Aconcagua, Rainier, Denali (Mt. McKinley), and a bunch of other mountains.

I like climbing for a number of reasons.  I like training for climbing because I know that when I am doing it its with a goal in mind. I love the people I meet when I am climbing, and hearing all their stories and experiences. I have also been able to travel to a lot of different places like Tanzania, Argentina, Russia, Australia, Nepal, and the states of Washington, Alaska, and Colorado. Its really interesting and fun to go to all these places, and to see different people and cultures.

While on this climb I am working on two different projects for classes at my school:

1.  For science, I am measuring heart rate and blood oxygen levels at different altitudes of 4 people (including myself) to study the effects of high altitude.  I am taking readings using a small finger device and doing it twice a day.  As we move up to higher and higher altitudes its interesting to see how peoples bodies react to the altitude, and how they change as the body starts to acclimatize.

2.  Right now I am in the Northern part of Nepal and Tibet is just over the border in China. The Dali Lama is openly held in very high regard here in Nepal, but pictures of the Dali Lama are forbidden in Tibet.  For English I will be talking to people about the current situation of the Dali Lama in Tibet, their views on this situation, and any impact its had on climbing near this border and on the villages close to the border.

As I write this I am sitting in an internet cafe in Namche, Nepal.  Namche is the center for trekking and climbing in Sagarmatha National Park.  Today we took a hike from Namche, which is at about 11,200 feet, up to the villages of Khumjung, Khunde, and Syangbouche. The views from these villages are truly breath taking. Some of the men in the villages work as porters and sherpas (guides for climbers and trekkers), and the rest of the people are farmers.  Our group stopped half way at the Everest Hotel to have a coke, and we sat on the terrace with clear views of Everest, Lotse, Ama Dablam, and lots of other huge mountains.  Really, it is one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Sara McGahan

 

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Kilimanjaro: Last Day on Safari

Posted by: Seth Waterfall | September 22, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Kilimanjaro

This is Seth and the safari crew checking in from the Kikoti Camp at Tarangire National Park. This was our last full day of safari and it was a good one. We managed to see several big cats again including a leopard. That was the last one we needed to complete our finding of the ‘Big Five’. The Big Five includes: lions, elephants, water buffalo, leopard and the rhino. The game viewing has been outstanding for us. Tomorrow we are heading back to town as several folks have an afternoon flight from Arusha heading home.

Our trip has been awesome and we will enjoy this last day before we board planes tomorrow and head back to our friends and family.

RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

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Mt. Everest Expedition: Greetings from Deboche

Posted by: | March 31, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest
Elevation: 12,325'

The much celebrated 3G phone service is not so robust down here in the Rhododendron forest at 12,400 ft above sea level, so please pardon the slight lapse in trip coverage as we pass through these benighted zones.  All is well with Bill, Sara, Dave and Lam Babu Sherpa.  We moved easily up from Namche yesterday, enjoying very light traffic on the trails.  We seem to be a few days ahead of most of the big Everest teams and we conveniently flew into Lukla during a brief weather-window that few trekking groups were able to take advantage of, so the end result is that we have this part of the gorgeous Khumbu Valley to ourselves.  Conditions have mostly been cool and cloudy, although we’ve been granted grand views of Everest and Lhotse and Ama Dablam.  The temps have been perfect for walking and we took advantage yesterday by cruising up the 1,700 ft Thyangboche Hill in one continuous push.  A couple of cool and fizzy drinks out in front of the palatial Thyangboche Monastery and then we completed the day by descending a few hundred feet to Deboche.  Last night was an easy one as we enjoyed a fine dinner in a comfy wood-stove heated dining room.

The McGahan clan showed each other how to beat the stuffing out of their climbing guide at Yahtzee and then we each turned in for the night… beginning to delight in the loft of our expedition sleeping bags.  We’ll spend tonight here as well, letting our bodies catch up to the altitude and enjoying a last day (for the next eight weeks) among trees.

Best,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

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Lou Whittaker Interview

Posted by: | January 03, 2012
Categories: *Guide News

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. Check out the article: Famous Mountain Climber Lou Whittaker Talks about His Highest Climbs.

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Mt. Rainier: The Tradition Continues

Posted by: | September 19, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'

Long time RMI Guide and Owner Joe Horiskey may have 235 summits of Mt. Rainier via nearly a dozen routes in forty-two years of guiding, but he was even happier to congratulate his 19 year-old son, Robert, who successfully reached Columbia Crest for his very first time on September 8th! Congratulations, Robert! (And congratulations, Joe!)

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