Monday July 6th 11:23 pm PT
Our rest day at 14,200 ft was jam packed with naps and meals in the POSH tent. It wouldn't have been a great day for moving higher anyway since we watched a storm take over the upper mountain. Steve Gately led the team out to the "Edge of the World" before the clouds came around and each climber got the thrill of looking down thousands of feet to the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. In the late afternoon, we all put in a work session to improve the snow walls protecting our tents. By dinner, the storm had arrived at 14K Camp and snow and wind took over outside. We'd love to move up tomorrow so we'll hope this weather moves on through.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Sunday July 5th 10:26 pm PT
We started walking uphill at 10 this morning. There was a mean-looking cloudcap on Denali when we first looked up, but things mellowed as we ate breakfast and geared up. We made excellent time, climbing up the fixed line section to 16,200 ft on the West Buttress, and in the process, we shattered altitude records for Gary, Peter and Pat. It took a few minutes to cache food in a raven-proof snow hole up there and then we cruised down with light packs. It turned out to be a sunny and warm day down at 14K Camp and we were happy to rack out for a few hours in warm tents before dinner. We've earned a rest and acclimatization day tomorrow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Super news! Congrats Peter for crushing previous heights, and for bravely climbing to new ones. We are all pulling for you down here at sea level with kayaks and paddle boards as our adventure travel. Be safe and keep warm.
Posted by: Laura Taft Paulsen on 7/7/2015 at 7:30 am
The Mount Rainier Four-Day and Five-Day Summit Climbs reached the summit early this morning. The teams reported winds and a small cap forming, as they started their descent the winds have calmed and it is a beautiful morning.
¡Hola again from BC!
In case you missed our call this morning, here is the recap; another 100% summit success!!! Everyone did an excellent job on our climb up Urus East, a step above the previous Ishinca, on a day where we encountered steep terrain, short pitches, involved scrambles and rewarding rappels. Our views of distant Copa, where we head next, from the top, were jaw dropping; all of us can't wait to head there day after tomorrow. We're enjoying dinner as we speak, and in twelve hours we'll be hitting the trail downhill towards Huaraz for a day. Stay tuned!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Sunday July 5th 10:45 am PTRMI Guide Billy Nugent just called the office to check in. The team had a long, tough day yesterday breaking trail through the new snow that had fallen on the route. After sleeping in this morning, they are getting ready to depart Denali's 11K Camp. They are hoping to be at Kahiltna Base by late afternoon/early evening.
Hello, this is the RMI crew on top of Mount Urus. This is guides Elias, Peter and Robby. We are going to show you the excitement of the crew. {Cheers from the team!] I think that was loud and clear but once again 100% on the top of Nevado Urus. We're pretty psyched. It's 10 o'clock local time and we are having a great time. The weather gave us a break. Been a couple days of snow but we are under sunny skies now looking at our next objective, Copa, and if I turn around, I'll be looking at our last objective, Ishinca. Stay tuned. We'll be letting you know how we are doing on the last stretch in the next couple days. That's it from the top of Urus. Bye.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos calling from the Nevados Urus summit!
Saturday July 4th 11:00 pm PT
Our first morning at 14K camp was calm and easy. We slept in until the sun peaked over Denali's West Rib at 9:15 AM. We had a leisurely breakfast in our new POSH dining tent (stolen from Billy Nugent's RMI Team) and then we geared up for retrieving our cached food, fuel and equipment from 13,500 ft. That just took us about two hours, round trip, and then the team took it easy for the afternoon. Billy Nugent's team made the top yesterday and we were happy to share camp with them for a couple of hours as they passed through on their descent to 11,000 ft. After dinner, we had a short refresher training session on climbing fixed ropes as of course that is our next goal, to climb the fixed ropes to 16,200 ft. As usual, we'll need to see what the weather does... it started snowing again this afternoon.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
RMI Guide Brent Okita and the Four Day Summit Climb team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Brent reported a great climbing and a beautiful day.
Congratulations to Today's Team!
Greetings!
We're ready for our next objective, Nevado Urus. We all appreciated a rest day today, after yesterday's summit on Ishinca. We spent the day learning and practicing rappelling as well as fixed line ascension in the vicinity of base camp. We also had a thorough discussion regarding expedition planning. Now we're packing for tomorrow's alpine start, hoping to tackle Nevado Urus before the forecasted weather pattern hits - grapple to snow in the mid-afternoon. That's it for now!
Wish us luck tomorrow,
RMI Guide ElÃas and team
After a relaxing evening at Casa Sol, this morning finds us in the indigenous center of Otavalo. We're spending a few hours strolling the streets and exploring the bustling Saturday market. Saturdays here are a sensory overload of sights, smells, and sounds, as the market is loaded with handmade crafts, jewelry, woven goods, art, and more. Delicious aromas from all of the restaurants and food vendors fill the air.
After lunch we'll head up to the Cayambe Climbers' Hut, where we'll spend the next two nights. It will be our first stint at sleeping up high, above 15,000'.
The plan is to go out to the toe of the glacier tomorrow to review climbing techniques, such as cramponing and self arrest with the ice axe. We'll retire early tomorrow night in preparation for our alpine start and summit attempt of Cayambe, Ecuador's third highest mountain at nearly 19,000'.
Thanks for following our adventures. We'll touch base again tomorrow from up at the hut.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
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Peter Thomas - your Simpson Thacher DC team is cheering you on! Way to go!
Posted by: Ally Meringoff on 7/7/2015 at 10:09 am
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