Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Eleven miles is a long way to walk. Today, however, it didn’t feel very far as stunning vista after vista distracted us from the distance and the hours seemed to fly by. Eventually we made our way to 10,000ft here in the edge of the Potaniin Glacier and established a basecamp that will serve as our home for the next few days.
A highlight of the day was only shouldering small day packs with a few jackets and a bottle of water since a troupe of camels carried our duffels and heavy group gear for us. Climbing in places with beasts of burden may spoil our future views on carrying big backpacks.
For now, the team is laying down and trying to get a big night of sleep. The weather forecast looks good for the next few days, so if we wake to clear skies we may go climb one of the local rocky peaks.

RMI Guide Eric Frank

Hello all,

Life is great here in Huaraz! Hotel Andino is one the my all time favorite places to wake up due to the incredible sunrise views and the delicious breakfast buffet, both of which our team indulged in this morning.

After our leisurely start, we spent some time checking over our climbing gear in advance of our upcoming trips into the mountains. We also took the opportunity in the afternoon to stimulate some acclimatization by going for a hike above town to ‘Puca Ventana’, or Red Window. The views of Huaraz from this high plateau are spectacular! And after two days of sedentary travel, getting outside and working the legs and lungs was just what this team needed. Cafe Andino did the trick for a big post-hike lunch and we were off to enjoy the city for the rest of our afternoon. Living our best lives down here in Huaraz.

Tomorrow, we’ll take our hiking legs a little bit higher to Lake Churup at an altitude over 14,000’. We’ll send pics!

RMI Guide Robby Young and Team Porch Life

The Five Day Climb July 13 - 17 opted to make their summit attempt today.  RMI Guide Josh McDowell led their team to the summit of Mt. Rainier on a “fantastic day”.  Josh reported a light breeze, sunny and warm temps this morning.  The team will return to Camp Muir for their final night on the mountain.  Tomorrow they will descend to Paradise and conclude their trip with a celebration ceremony.

Congratulations to the Five Day Climb team!

The Four Day Climb July 13 - 16 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier on a beautiful day.  RMI Guide Steve Gately and team were approaching the crater rim shortly after 7 AM.  Clear skies and warm sunny temperatures were the report.

Nice work team!

The team left Moscow very early this morning and traveled via plane and bus to the beautiful Caucasus Mountains.
Our two-hour flight took us to southern Russia not too far from the Black Sea to a place called Mineralnye Vody, which is known for its abundant Mineral Waters. Southern Russia is predominately rural and is responsible for much of the agriculture that the larger cities depend on.
We were met at the airport by my friend and local guide Yuri, whom I’ve climbed with many times. Then hopped in our van for the beautiful three-hour drive up the Baksan Valley to the base Elbrus.
Things went pretty smooth minus a few little traffic jams with cars, motorcycles and cows all humorously trying to use the road at the same time.

The small town we are in is called Cheget, and it doubles as a ski town in winter and converts to a climbing town in the summer. We didn’t do a ton of exploring this afternoon due to the adjustment of the time that we are all still feeling and having started so early. However, tomorrow we will do our first acclimatizing hike and do a little exploring too.

All is well here as we are looking forward to a little exercise tomorrow.

RMI Guide Casey Grom

On The Map

Today turned into a big game of hurry up and wait for the Mongolia climbing team. We started the morning with a 4am launch from our hotel to make it to the airport for a 5:50am flight. Unfortunately high winds kept us grounded until nearly 11am, so we drank coffee, took turns walking around the terminal and did our best to rest in preparation of the upcoming climbs.
Once we were in the air, the flight was a non-stop glimpse into the varied terrain of Western Mongolia. From turquoise blue lakes to dark green hills of conifers, this place is breathtaking in every regard.
After a quick lunch we boarded a trusty Russian van and made the five-hour drive out to the edge of the Tavan Bogd Park. We sat so much today that everyone feels fully rested and ready for a week of physical movement starting tomorrow!!

RMI Guide Eric Frank

Greetings all,

The gangs all here and our adventure in Peru is officially underway! The first hurdle of the trip has passed; which is to make it to Peru with all of our climbers and all of their bags.  We even made it out of the big chaotic city of Lima in excellent time yesterday morning and set our sites on the beautiful town of Huaraz. It took us about 8 hours to get here, but the ocean views, and then the mountain views keep us entertained for the long bus ride. As soon as we crest Conococha Pass at 12,600’, we’re treated to some incredible views of the glaciated peaks of the southern Cordillera Blanca as well as the Cordillera Huayhuash. What a site to get us pumped for some climbing!

We’re now in Huaraz at my absolute favorite hotel in the world, Hotel Andino. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner here last night and got a great nights sleep. Today, it’s all about gear, an acclimatization hike above town, and some good eating. We’ll tell you all about it later. Thanks for checking in.

RMI Guide Robby Young and Team Alpaca Steaks

The Four Day Climb July 12 - 15 led by RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer was unable to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier today due to weather.  The teams climbed to 13,400’ before deciding to turn back.  They had been in the rain and snow since 3 AM and the weather was not improving.  The team is returning to Camp Muir and will repack and continue down to Paradise later this morning.

Greetings from Chopicalqui High camp! What a day… This mountain is no joke: five 60-degree pitches at 20’000ft, no visibility for the upper half of the mountain on ascent, and no visibility on the entire descent! But we did it! We reached the summit of Chopicalqui! The team needed to put up a fight and they did. Everyone stood on top shortly after 8:00 AM on a seven hour uphill strenuous push. We rolled into our sleeping bags after an early dinner that our porters had ready upon arrival. Tomorrow we’re looking forward to town and well earned rest.

RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and team

Hello Everyone!

Things are well here in Russia! Most of the team arrived in Moscow yesterday evening after some very long flights and are still adjusting to the massive time change, so we kept things simple with a little round of introductions before stepping out for a short walk and a nice dinner not too far from the hotel. 

Today we started with a visit to Lenin’s Tomb, which takes a bit of time as there are thousands of other tourists visiting. We then met up with our kind, local tour guide Victoria, who gave us a wonderful tour of the nearby Red Square, the Kremlin, and several churches including the iconic St. Basil’s Cathedral. The team also visited the famous Moscow metro, which moves millions of Moscovites daily. It’s incredibly efficient, with 228 stops, many of which are elaborately decorated.

After our tour we took a short break and then headed out once again for an amazing dinner and a nice walk. Everyone is doing great and looking forward to heading to the mountains tomorrow.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and team