Entries from Expedition Dispatches
July 4, 2017
Happy Independence Day to all of our readers back home in the USA! We couldn't find any fireworks, so we celebrated with a nice walk around the hills of
Cheget instead. Beautiful weather and warm temperatures allowed for a leisurely tone today. We spent around an hour above 10,000 feet, snacking, trading factoids, and testing out some thinner air. Passerby might have called it lounging, but we're going to call it hard work. Whatever you want to call it, today was a success.
We headed back down toward tree line for lunch in Cheget. The team considered purchasing matching headwear as a sign of solidarity and unity. Ultimately, the potential headpieces proved to be far too itchy. A good idea nonetheless. Now, gear has been sorted, packing has begun, and we are just about ready to move up to the mountain tomorrow morning.
RMI Guides JM Gorum and Mark Tucker, and the Elbrus Crew
July 3, 2017
Dobryy vecher!!! That's good evening, to all of you at home. We are writing from the wonderful hamlet of Cheget after another full travel day. We left our hotel this morning at 5:40, packed our 24 duffels and 12 bodies into a van, shuffled through airport security, and departed for Mineralnye Vody. We all made it, and so did our bags. Excellent news!
The sun and heat of our more southerly locale had people changing into shorts and flip flops as soon as possible. After checking in to the hotel, the team enjoyed a walk around town, some locale cuisine, wonderful views of Elbrus, and maybe even a nap or two. More relaxing is on the schedule before our first acclimatization hike tomorrow. We will check in again tomorrow.
Thanks for following along-
RMI Guides
Mark Tucker and
JM Gorum, and the Elbrus Crew.
On The Map
RMI Guide Brent Okita led the
Four Day Summit Climb July 1 - 4, 2017 to the summit of Mt. Rainier today. Brent reported clear skies with moderate winds and nice climbing conditions. The team spent some time on the summit enjoying the views and celebrating the 520th summit of Mt. Rainier for Brent Okita. The team will return to Camp Muir and continue their descent to Paradise later this afternoon.
Congratuions to today's Summit Climb Team and to
RMI Guide Brent Okita!
July 3, 2017
In a perfect world, it would have been sunny and calm at high camp the morning after our summit. Then we could have packed at our leisure and enjoyed morning coffee. Instead, it was a surprise storm with annoying gusts of cold air and the sun caught up in a ragged and ugly cloud cap. We packed and ate anyway and eventually got walking down the West Buttress at noon. The weather was actually worse at high camp than along our descent route. We had a smooth trip down the fixed ropes into an unexpected snowstorm in Genet Basin where we pitched our
14,000 ft camp again. We'll recover here for a night and give the storm a chance to quit before our journey to 8,000 ft tomorrow. The forecasts still suggest that the weather will improve... some day.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn and team
Our
Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz June 30 - 5 July has enjoyed sunshine and clear skies during their time on Mt. Rainier. Today they made their summit attempt via the Kautz Glacier and stood on the summit of Mt. Rainier around 7:30 am.
RMI Guide Jake Beren reported good conditions and light winds. The team will return to their High Camp today and spend a final night on the mountain. Tomorrow they will pack up camp and descend to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's Kautz Seminar Team!
Huaraz City, second to none when it comes to stunning mountain dwellings. Today, we dialed in our gear and took an acclimatization hike to 12,000', a perch called Puca Ventana (Red Window). Views of Huaraz City, and the highest massif in the range, Huascaran, were our rewards. After our hike we enjoyed lunch at a climbers' favorite, Cafe Andino. More rest, relaxation, and prep took us into the evening as we look forward to moving into the mountains tomorrow. Ishinca Valley will be home for the next week and we're excited to finally get eyes on these incredible ice-covered spires. We'll touch base tomorrow from
Ishinca Base Camp. Stay tuned.
RMI Guides Robby, Steve, William, and your favorite ESS-Peru team
Greetings from High Camp on
Artesonraju. After our forced carry to high camp on Saturday, we had yet another rainy and snowy day at base camp yesterday. Regardless, today was as clear as we have seen so far this trip, and we moved to high camp early this morning, to beat the other awaiting teams to the prime real estate at this moraine. Tents are pitched, food and fuel stashed and gear ready. We're going to take another day here at 5100m to acclimatize better and be in position for launching later this week. Everyone is doing well, and the excitement is high!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos and team
The
Four Day Summit Climb June 30 - 3 July reached the summit of Mt. Rainier under clear skies and nice temperatures led by
RMI Guide Zeb Blais. The team was beginning their decent from the crater rim at 7 am. They will return to Camp Muir and then continue to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
RMI Guide Solveig Waterfall and the
Five Day Summit Climb June 29 - 3 July, reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Solveig reported a windy day with nice and clear weather. The team started their descent from the crater rim at 7 am. They will return to Camp Muir and descend to Paradise later this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb team!
July 2, 2017
This was THE day after all. There wasn't any question that we'd be able to make it work once we saw conditions on the South Peak at 6:30 this morning. Yes, it was plain that the storm was still with us, with much cloud in every direction out in Alaska, but it was all below us and the winds were light. We ate, geared up and got moving out of camp by 8:45. As anticipated, we went from a sunny camp to a shady "autobahn" (the long steep traverse to Denali Pass) but the climbing was just hard enough to keep us warm. At the pass, we caught a little wind -which we tended to walk in and out of all day- but it was never more than about 10 mph. We climbed the steep rolls to the "Zebra Rocks" and then the broad upper bowl of the Harper Glacier. We went past the Archdeacon's Tower and crossed the football field at 19,500 ft. Then it was up Pig Hill to the spectacular summit ridge. There wasn't much question that we'd make the final 30 min cruise along the spine to the tippy top.
It took us eight hours to get to the highest point in North America. And then we liked it so much we stayed an hour. Our descent was free of any complications -all had saved enough energy to make it down safe, with no slips or stumbles. We were back in camp by 9:30 PM and ate dinner in the late evening sunshine... amazed at what we'd accomplished together. Now it is after midnight and the sun is around the bend, so good night to all from 17,000 feet in Alaska from a lucky crew of climbers.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Greetings all!
Your
Peru Expedition Skills Seminar Team has safely arrived in Huaraz City, perched in the high Rio Santo Valley of the Cordillera Blanca. It was a long journey by bus, 8 hours in total, from the hustle and bustle and modern amenities of Lima, to the humble mountain city of Huaraz. We enjoyed an incredible dinner tonight at Hotel Andino, the nicest spot in town. Alpaca steaks, Lomo Saltado, and numerous classic Peruvian dishes filled our table. Everyone is excited to be in a new country, and looking forward to some trip preparation, and further acclimatization tomorrow. Until then, thanks for following along; the best is yet to come!
RMI Guides
Robby,
Steve, William, and your ESS-Peru team
Thanks for the updates Mark and JM!
Go Dori Go!
Good luck to everyone on the way up… hope the wind blows away that Cardinals hat though :)
Posted by: Rhina on 7/5/2017 at 9:27 am
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