Entries from Expedition Dispatches
The
Four Day Summit Climb July 1 - 4 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning led by
RMI Guide Casey Grom. Light winds and partly sunny skies greeted the team this morning. They were able to enjoy some time in the summit crater before starting their descent.
Congratulations to today's team!
Tuesday, July 3, 2018 - 9:52 PM PT
We could see forever this morning, and then it got better. The high clouds were gone, the low clouds were gone and the middle clouds were gone. We were up at six and walking by 8:45 in the cool shadow of the South Peak. By noon we’d topped out the fixed ropes and were starting up along the phenomenal crest of the
West Buttress. We never got anything stronger than gentle breezes, despite our exposed position. There were a few big smiles as the gang came up past Washburn’s Thumb and began to flirt with 17,000 feet. We pulled into the 17,200 ft camp in mid afternoon, six hours after leaving our Camp at 14,000'. Building camp was hard in the rarefied air, but we got it done and sat down to a six PM dinner in our newest snow dining room. We talked about how a summit day might work tomorrow and how to prepare tonight. We will need to get a little bit lucky on the weather, and everybody will need a good night’s rest... but then if it all works out, we’ll be ready to take advantage. Light, high clouds have taken over the western sky, but the sun is still powering through at 8:45 PM and we can see rivers, tundra, mountains, glaciers and planet Earth for hundreds of miles.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Tuesday, July 3, 2018 - 7:43 PM PT
Greetings!
Today we set our sights even higher than the day before. The team’s goal; Laguna Churup at 14,600’. We took a quick bus ride this morning after a Hotel Andino coffee fiesta, and before we knew it, we were staring at the crystal clear blue and green waters of Churup, gazing up the steep moraines at the first glaciers of the trip. The scene at Laguna Churup is surreal, and we spent a good amount of time soaking it in, and letting our bodies register the new altitude record for our trip. A quick descent led to an afternoon of packing, resting, eating, and Huaraz City-living. We capped off our acclimatization days with yet another exquisite dinner here at Hotel Andino! We even had the chance to catch up with ElÃas de Andres Martos and team upon their return from Alpamayo. Tomorrow, the climbing begins as we make our approach into the Ishinca Valley, and build our Base Camp at 14,500’. The comforts of city-life will soon be in the rear view, but the joys of the alpine will soon follow. Until then, thanks for following.
RMI Guides Robby, Alan, William, and team Lomo Saltado
RMI Guide JM Gorum called to let us know that the
Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons Team were on the summit of Mt. Rainier. The team put their week of training to work and climb via the Emmons Route on Mt. Rainier. JM reported cold and windy temperatures, but a great climbing route. The team is on their descent back to Camp Schurman where where they will spend the night before hiking out tomorrow.
Congratulations to Today's Team.
Monday, July 2, 2018 - 10:17 PM PT
A fine summer’s day in the Alaska Range. The gang slept late today, but when we emerged, the views were amazing. We could see clear down to Mt Spurr and the Tordrillos. Some clouds were still playing around the
South Peak of Denali and it appeared to be a little windy up that way, but as we had a slow and yummy pancake breakfast, nobody had complaints about the weather at 14,000' Camp. This rest day was just as relaxing as we could have hoped for. Even so, we weren’t totally relaxed... everyone is getting keyed up for the summit bid now. We prepared for moving up tomorrow and we hydrated, rested, ate, read and sorted gear (again). We’ll see what kind of morning we get tomorrow.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
RMI Guide Andy Bond and the
Four Day Summit Climb June 30 - 3 July team were reaching the summit of Mt. Rainier just before 7 AM today with 100% of their team. Andy reported clear skies and steady winds around 25 mph as they reached the crater rim.
Greetings from Icchi Coccha.
We're on our way out, camped at our same first camp on the way in... Since we were heading out earlier, it took a bit more logistics to organize our "donkey train". But these awesome guys made it happen for us and came with short notice. It's amazing how things work in these places, with no written contract, just a verbal agreement, and a satphone call to a distant neighbor of our cellphone-less mule driver, human sense is the common norm. "Someone needs me, I must assist" they must think. And a two-day journey uphill becomes a sprint so they can bring us back to our commodities.
We left midday instead of early morning and decided to keep soaking in the greatness of the
Andes, since pushing it all the way out with our late departure, would have us arriving late. So, here we are, enjoying another great meal from our cook Emilio, breathing thicker air, and witnessing the mountains getting bigger above us, as we descend.
We look forward to a shower and clean clothes tomorrow, to catch up on emails, to a meal in a restaurant and to a room with clean sheets... but surely, and despite the "no summit" this year, the magnitude and majesty of these peaks will always be greater than any mundane human desire.
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andres Martos and team
Greetings from Huaraz!
Your
Peru Expedition Skills crew had a full day of fun here in the beautiful city of Huaraz, Peru. Nestled in a valley at 10,200’, we set our sights higher today, and hiked above town to 12,000’ as part of our acclimatization sequence. We stimulated our muscles, and sparked cellular changes in our blood as we work towards a move to Base Camp in the Ishinca Valley (14,400’) in a few days. The views from Puca Ventana (Red Window) did not disappoint this morning. We followed our hike up with a delicious lunch at a local climber favorite, Cafe Andino. Fresh squeezed juices, Inka Kola, Burritos, and Lomo Saltado were popular choices amongst our team. The rest of our afternoon was spent perusing the narrow streets, shops, and restaurants of Huaraz (aka, the Chamonix of South America). Tomorrow, more acclimatization and prep is on the docket. Well keep you in the loop!
RMI Guides Robby Young, Alan Davis, William, and your ESS-Peru climbing team
Monday, July 2, 2018 - 10:02 am PT
RMI Super Crew 6 is safe and sound back in Talkeetna!
I expected to be tired waking up early to head to Basecamp from our 11k Camp. I realized when you wake up at 11 pm it is either too early or too late to wake up tired! The tired came later.
We had a beautiful night/morning finishing the 10 miles of glacier that delivered us to the airstrip.
Denali gave us one more round of mini snow and wind before it finally gave us a moonrise and sunrise combo.
We arrived at the airstrip just in time for the planes to start flying. We got all of our gear de-rigged and ready to throw on the plane when we were informed that the plans for us had just been changed and the pilots would be picking us up at the upper airstrip a 1/4 mile up glacier. Since the planes were already in the air, we loaded sleds and packs up Beverly Hillbilly style and made the trip in record time just as the planes arrived to bring us back to civilization.
I really appreciate all of the hard work and great attitudes that the Super Crew brought to our adventure. Also, thank you for all of your blog comments and support. It made a huge difference knowing all of you had our backs!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen and Super Crew 6
On The Map
The
Four Day Summit Climb June 29- 2 July turned around at 13,200' today due to high winds and poor weather conditions. RMI Guide Steve Gately and the team will return to Camp Muir to repack and then will continue to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later today.
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I hope by now you have summited and are starting back down. Great job!
Posted by: Roger Coffey on 7/5/2018 at 8:24 am
Wishing you all a happy 4th! Send it Tom!
Posted by: Joe Walker on 7/4/2018 at 9:11 pm
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