The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Tyler Jones and Mike Uchal reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 5:45 this morning. The teams spend about an hour on the summit before beginning their descent. Tyler reported colder temperatures and breezy conditions on the summit. The teams are currently descending through warmer temperatures and clouds that reach down to around 12,000’. We look forward to seeing the teams when they return to Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations Climbers!
Saturday, July 11, 2015 - 2:50 am PT
What a difference 24 hours makes. Yet again, we all worked late, yet again it is 1:30 AM. But we've got plenty to show for our labor. We began the day at 17,000 ft, blessed again with perfect weather. We are ending the day down at 11,000 ft in the clouds. It was tough work and we had plenty of dangerous steps to get just right, but we negotiated each of them safely. There was the airy walk along the crest of the West Buttress, the steep and strenuous fixed ropes, the awkward side hill of Windy Corner, the new snow to plod through on the Polo Field and Squirrel Hill and a few well disguised crevasses to sidestep on Motorcycle Hill. Done. Almost. Now for some rest and a cruise out the lower glacier.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Friday, July 10, 2015 - 2:14 am PT
Hey, This is Dave Hahn calling from 17,000 feet on Mt. McKinley. It's about 10 minutes after 1 in the morning. We had a big day yesterday, on the 9th of July. We summitted Mount McKinley! It was a beautiful day, start to finish, nice and calm and sunny, clouds down below. It was perfect climbing conditions, but it was hard climbing conditions, we had to break trail. We shared that work with a few of the other guided teams that were up here. That made all the difference; breaking trail through new snow and being able to trade off that job. But it still took a long time, I think we were out for 14 hours today. We were on the the top at 6:45 until 7:15. It was beautiful up there, really wonderful day, and all of our team made it. I believe that means that RMI is 100% for this season; all of the RMI summit teams have made it. That's just about it for the Denali season, the groups that we were going to the top with today were some of the last. I think there's maybe one more team that is a day from being in position. So far so good for us, we're up at 17k for now and we'll head off the West Buttress tomorrow. But, it really turned around, turned nice for us in these last couple days and we're very appreciative.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn calls from 17 Camp after reaching the summit of Mt. McKinley.
Hooray for everyone on Team Hahn. Impressive on any day, but especially digging new trail. What an accomplishment. Peter you rock!
Posted by: Laura Taft Paulsen on 7/11/2015 at 2:39 pm
CONGRATULATIONS to Gary and Team Hahn! Very glad your summit day was so beautiful. Can’t wait to heat the stories Gary. Hope your trek back is beautiful too. - Rob
It was a BIG day, but not so enormous for this tough team. We woke up early and put in a solid six hours of climbing in good style. At one point on the trail we reached just under 15,000 ft, our current trip high point. We are now at 13,030 ft at the Barranco Camp. The plan of climbing high and sleeping low is in place for acclimatization and seems to be working well; everybody is in good shape. The upper mountain towers above us at this camp and the beautiful weather will make for a fantastic sunset tonight.
Tomorrow we tackle the Barranco Wall as we continue our ascent of Kilimanjaro. We will check-in and let you know how that goes.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Whoo Hoo! 13,000 ft and climbing so excited for you all can’t wait to see the summit photo. Go team go! Xox
Posted by: Diane on 7/11/2015 at 7:00 am
Go team go!!! Everyone is doing great!! Sounds as if ya’ll are having great weather. Stay strong and know that ya’ll are all loved very much!!!
Edi and Tim
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Mike Haugen and the Expedition Skills Seminar – Paradise led by RMI Guide Eric Frank reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams reported warm weather and a cloud cap on the upper mountain. They are currently descending back to Camp Muir to refuel and repack before continuing down to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them in Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations climbers!
Back at Base Camp! And What a day we had! Our ascent to the summit of Copa was everything but ordinary; intricate navigation to avoid a blocking bergschund, trail breaking at 20,000ft, steep slopes in the dark... and a corniced summit ridge, among other factors, provided a great graduation climb in this, our second Peru Seminar. We managed to descend to the safety of Base Camp in a long push, picking high camp on the way. Everyone is pretty tired, but feeling well and accomplished. We are turning to our tents now, and will check in again tomorrow from Huaraz.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and team.
When I woke up to check the weather at 11 pm I could hear that the wind would not be an issue. I went outside to check the sky; it was perfectly clear and full of stars. I woke our team up immediately and reported the good news. We ate “breakfast” and packed our summit kits and were out the door by 12:15 am. The route on Cotopaxi is in great condition, with a well-worn trail in the snow for most of the climb.
Some clouds moved in and out, but the weather remained good for our summit push. Our team climbed well, and efficiently negotiated the steeper slopes near the summit. We topped out at 6:30 am, snapped a few photos and began our descent. By 9 am we were back at the climbing hut. It was an awesome climb to close out an incredible week of climbing Ecuador’s Volcanoes.
Now we’re in back in Quito and it’s time for a shower and a nap before we meet for our team’s final dinner together in Ecuador.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz led by RMI Guide Seth Waterfall reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning via the Kautz route. Seth reported warm, sunny weather on the summit. The team will descend back to camp for their final night on the mountain before returning to Ashford tomorrow.
Hello, this is the Elias calling from 200 meters below the summit of Copa, which we just tackled about half an hour ago. We wanted to get out of the wind and we're taking a break, heading down. It is 10:16 am local time and we've had a really, really hard day of work to get to the top - intricate navigation and steep trail breaking to 6,200 meters which is the top of Copa (roughly the same as Denali). Now we're heading down; we're pretty happy. And we look forward to sending you a dispatch from our camp. We're going to try to make it down to base camp, if we can, but our first objective will be high camp. So hope all is well at home and we'll keep you posted in a few hours. Bye.
RMI Guides Elias de Andres Martos
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos calls from just below the summit of Copa in Peru.
Congratulations to the entire group! Sounds like an exciting and exhilarating climb! A special hello and congrats to my dad, Larry. Looking forward to hearing more!! -Jen
Posted by: Jen on 7/10/2015 at 6:17 am
Congratulations to Elias and whole team upon reaching summit of Copa - - what a week!
Battery recharge accomplished! It is so important to be good at resting when climbing a big mountain; and boy can this team sleep!
How about a perfect weather day? It was tough but that is what we had to deal with today. Fantastic views of the upper mountain got the teams attention as we continued our journey upward on Kilimanjaro. It sure looks like along way up and it is so we are taking it one day, one stretch, and one step at a time. In addition to the jaw dropping views, the team spent today's climb focusing on their fundamental climbing techniques.
We are now settled into our camp at 12,570' on the Shira Plateau. Adjusting to this kind of altitude is always a challenge but this team is up for it. No headaches, good appetites, and great attitudes confirm that this team is doing well and enjoying the climb.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Great report. Go team go!!! Keep up the awesome job!!! Glad ya’ll had beautiful views and great weather. Prayers for safety and good health sent your way. Love and hugs,
Edi and Tim
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Hooray for everyone on Team Hahn. Impressive on any day, but especially digging new trail. What an accomplishment. Peter you rock!
Posted by: Laura Taft Paulsen on 7/11/2015 at 2:39 pm
CONGRATULATIONS to Gary and Team Hahn! Very glad your summit day was so beautiful. Can’t wait to heat the stories Gary. Hope your trek back is beautiful too. - Rob
Posted by: Rob Reynolds on 7/11/2015 at 9:47 am
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