Entries By 04/2026

The mountains lost a legend this week.

To the climbing community, Jim Whittaker’s impact is immeasurable. To us at RMI and Whittaker Mountaineering, it was foundational.

Jim was Lou’s twin brother, and their shared love of the mountains shaped American alpinism in ways that still echo today.

Rest easy, Jim. We hope you and Lou are climbing something beautiful.

The daily blogs from this trip have been a huge hit at home it seems. And while many of you are reading them each day to see what we have been up to, we have also been reading your comments. They have brought tears to our eyes from both laughter (looking at you Rosie) and sentiment. 

What the daily blogs don't show you is the day to day life we have experienced together. This much time together has created a unique bond. We show up early for each meal, not because we have to but because we genuinely like spending time together. We get our daily dose of Piper over our morning coffee/tea and while none of us have met her, she is our favourite dog on this trip. We know one another's breakfast order by heart with one particular order even turning into a nickname (miss you Pancake Fred). 

We know if we see any animal on the trail that Steven is going to try and pet it and Vanessa is most likely going to be taking pictures of it.  We know to never leave our phones unattended around Brian but if this happens we know the resulting photos will be hilarious. Some days our biggest decision is what kind of tea we want to have and with the ongoing fresh mint shortage this area seems to be experiencing we have had lemon ginger honey tea almost as many times as Jack has asked if it's finally time to pull out the microspikes. 

We almost always end each night with a card game where inexplicably Rick always has Aces. We were all blessed to be part of Kevin's journey to basecamp, fulfilling a promise he had made to his daughter.

We are a competitive bunch and while this has led to many aggressive games of 22 - now shortened to 12 and including rock paper scissors for "funsies" it has also led us to push one another to keep going on the days when it was hard to keep moving and breathing. Some days it's the small things that help like Vanessa's dancing while on trail or Brian pretending to be on a rollercoaster when crossing a bridge, or watching Tim and Fred's friendship blossom in real time (still is and will always be my favourite TV show).

The real joy in this trip has been the people. Our amazing team of porters who carried our heavy gear with smiles on their faces. Our local guides who arranged and rearranged plans constantly for us, kept us on schedule and made sure none of us were trampled by Yaks. Our climbing guides who stayed up all night to set the fixed lines on Lobuche then successfully led the team to the top. Our amazing guide Jess whose sense of humour was a bright spot on many days.

Today we flew back to Kathmandu after 17 days in the Khumbu valley. The snack weight in our bags has been replaced by yak bells and Everest Outfit gear, although not as much as Tim who is an unofficial Everest Outfit influencer. Our bucket list has 1 or 2 extra check marks on it. 

For me this trip was a 30 year dream turned into reality. I knew it would be amazing but it turned out to be so much more. Chatter has now turned to which mountain we will climb next and if we are lucky enough we will climb together again.

RMI Climber Jen

Thursday, April 2, 2026

Hello there,

The trail from Namche to Lukla is long — longer than you remember — but yesterday it was lined with rhododendrons in full bloom, which makes just about any suffering tolerable. On the way down, we carried out bags of trash collected for the Sagarmatha Next and SPCC clean-up efforts. Small contribution, but it felt right to leave the trail a little better than we found it.

The real story of the day, though, happened at dinner.

In Lukla last night, we gathered around a shared table to honor the porters and guides who made this entire expedition possible. These are the people who carried our loads, knew the trail in every kind of weather, kept us moving when we were tired, and kept us laughing throughout. No summit happens without them — and we wanted to make sure they knew we knew that.

The meal turned into dancing. Someone produced a boom box, and for many hours after dinner, we celebrated together — not as clients and crew, but as a team that had been through something real. It was one of those nights you don’t want to end.

Tomorrow we fly to Kathmandu!

— RMI Guide Jess Wedel & the Team

Namaste!

If the past few weeks have been defined by purpose and altitude, today was defined by the sweet relief of coming down from both.

The trail from Pangboche to Namche is deceptive — one might assume a descent would be all downhill, but the Khumbu has a sense of humor. As the saying here goes, “sometimes up, sometimes down.” Legs went to autopilot, brains finally went offline, and the team moved smoothly through the mountains with something that felt a lot like ease.

Arriving at Namche on the back end of an expedition hits differently than arriving on the front — the altitude is kinder, the breathing comes easier, and the body quietly begins to recover.

We made a beeline for Eat Smart, a welcome break from teahouse fare: barbecue chicken sandwiches, wraps, and a freshly baked matcha cheesecake. The afternoon was spent wandering Namche’s vibrant streets — yak bells, hand-painted art, and prayer beads found their way into packs.

Tonight, there’s talk of moving our nightly card games to the Irish Pub or maybe the Dancing Yak. Or if some people’s dreams come true — both. Time will tell. We’ve spent weeks locked in on our goals. It’s nice to just… be here.

RMI Guide Jess Wedel and the team