Entries from Expedition Dispatches
June 28, 2015 5:18pm PST
Resting here at 14 after a big day yesterday. Clouds and sunshine are in and out along with the occasional bout of flurries. Nothing major to report. Now that we are poised and ready we are just playing a chess match against the weather. Hoping to get that window that will take us to the
summit...
RMI Guide
Billy Nugent & Team
Sunday, June 28, 2015 - 10:15 am PT
It was touch and go at base camp. We woke up to clouds and some very wet snow. As expected, as soon as we started to fire up the stoves to make breakfast and hot drinks, the skies started to open just a bit. I still didn't think that the weather was flight worthy, but I was glad that the pilots did. We were told that we had 20 minutes to be packed and ready because the planes were already approaching. We were ready in 10! We got the first half of our team onto a plane and off the glacier before the weather started to sock back in. We had to wait for the first plane to go back to
Talkeetna, drop off our first group of climbers, and then return. Luckily the weather cleared back up a bit and we squeaked out the rest of the climbers for the amazing flight back to the world of great food and pillows. After a couple of great meals and a series of showers, the now legendary "El Siete" crew is fresh, semi-recovered, and ready to be reintroduced into society.
Thank you to the group for being such a great team and for all of the families and friends that have supported us.
RMI 7 "El Siete"
June 28, 2015 12:20 am PST
Big day today... In spite of the forecast for 6-12" of new snow to fall today we awoke to partly cloudy skies, sun breaks, and only occasional flurries. Our long-shot plan to carry was a reality. We got rolling and packed up loads of supplies for
High Camp and after a quick breakfast we made moves for the headwall and the fixed lines. After a few growing pains the team hit their stride and were able to put a cache in all the way up at high camp. The need for a back-carry could have hamstrung us on our move but since we cached at camp we are sitting pretty, waiting for our summit attempt weather window to open up. We're planning on a rest day tomorrow and then it's game on. We're a tired bunch but we know that today's hard work will pay off.
All for now!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
June 27, 2015 10:32 pm PST
We intended to get stirring by about 2:30 this morning, but to no one's disappointment, that didn't happen. It was socked-in and cloudy then with wettish snow in the air. Likewise at 3 AM, not so good, and not at 3:30 either. But then things started looking up. We got up just after five and were climbing by 8:45. Conditions were once again great for climbing. With snowshoes on, we stayed right on the snow surface, as did our sleds. Without too much trouble, we got up "
Ski Hill" and hit our intended camp at 9,500 ft around noon. By then we were in the clouds again and light snow was falling, but we'd gotten high enough to make things cold and so wetness was no longer a problem. The team all pitched in admirably to build a new camp and then retreated for afternoon naps. It was burrito night in the POSH tent where we were comfortably seated on snow benches out of the weather.
We'll see about moving up to 11,000' tomorrow if folks are feeling good and the weather gives a break.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
RMI Guide Brent Okita and all of his climbing team were descending from the Mt. Rainier's crater rim at 6:33 am PST. Brent reported good conditions with some high clouds and winds 15-20 mph. The team will return to Camp Muir, repack and then continue their descent to Paradise.
We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to the entire
Summit Climb team!
We stood on top of Cotopaxi this morning! Our windy adventures in Ecuador continued yesterday and into this morning. Hiking to the climbing hut we battled 30 mph winds, which continued through the evening. When I woke up to check the weather at 11 pm it was windy but clear. I woke the team up at midnight and we had an alpine start breakfast and prepared to climb. By the time we left, clouds were intermittently blowing in and out. During the first hour of our climb a very humid cloud moved in that dampened our outer layers, which then turned to ice. The wind persisted, so did we. Climbing higher, our clothes began to wear a layer of rime ice as we fought with the wind to maintain good posture and climb efficiently. Clouds would come and go (mostly come) throughout our climb, but the wind would not relent. It made the ascent very difficult and also very cold. Our breaks were shorter due to the weather, but the team climbed strong and toughed it out. We reached the summit around 6:45 am, five hours and fifteen minutes after we set out (which, by the way, is a fast pace for Cotopaxi). The summit views were obscured by clouds so we didn't spend much time up top. Did I mention it was windy?
The descent was smooth and now we're all resting at the historic
Hosteria La Cienega in Lasso, Ecuador, near the south entrance to Cotopaxi National Park. We'll enjoy a well earned dinner here tonight, and a good night's sleep with a leisurely wake up call before heading back to Quito tomorrow.
The summit of Cotopaxi was a heck of a way to end our two week volcano tour on the Ecuador Seminar. We'll check in again tomorrow from Quito.
Saludos,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
RMI Guides
Casey Grom and
Chase Nelson and team reached the summit of Mt. Baker via the North Ridge. Casey checked-in from the summit reporting a great route, strong team, and beautiful weather with a steady breeze.
Congratulations!
Update - June 27th 3:24 pm
RMI Guide Leon Davis and team are back at camp in Boston Basin. They will spend the night before descending to the trailhead in the morning.
Original Post
In the North Cascades of Washington,
RMI Guide Leon Davis and team reached the summit of
Forbidden Peak via the West Ridge this morning. Leon reported perfect weather for climbing today.
Way to go climbers!
The Four Day Summit Climb teams led by
RMI Guides Adam Knoff and Solveig Waterfall reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. While on the summit, the teams enjoyed light winds and high clouds. The teams will return to Rainier BaseCamp in
Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations Climbers!
Friday, June 26, 2015 - 11:40 pm PT
We made it... almost. We left our camp at 11,200 feet around 4 am this morning. The group was traveling quickly in spite of heavy packs and sleds. All was well until we encountered a wet, snowy drizzle around 7,800 feet. We trudged on knowing the end was just a few hours away. When we finally reached
base camp, the snow stopped, but the clouds did not permit planes to come and pick us up. The rest of the day consisted of napping, to compensate for the lack of sleep over the past few days, and hoping for clear skies tomorrow. RMI Guides
Pepper and
Uchal are working on their clear skies interpretive dance in the event that we wake up to clouds tomorrow.
RMI 7 "El Siete"
On The Map
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I love you! You got this, Uncle Yeti. :)
Posted by: Morgan Deanenne on 6/29/2015 at 7:11 pm
Thoughts are with you as you push for High Camp…go team.
Doug - “A world without dragons is a world not worth living in.” ― R.A. Salvatore, Streams of Silver
Stay safe - move with grace.
~Belladonna
Posted by: Belladonna on 6/29/2015 at 2:04 pm
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