Entries from Expedition Dispatches
The Four Day Climb July 7 - 10 was unable to climb today due to weather. RMI Guide Robby Young reported rain and high winds prevented the group from leaving Camp Muir to make their summit attempt. Winds continued to blow this morning at Camp Muir. The team plans to descent this morning to Paradise.
Moscow is cool and all, but it’s nice to wake up in the mountains. Cheget is a quiet little place, and there isn’t much going on in the morning hours. We had a casual start to our day, with an 8 am breakfast being the first item on the agenda. Breakfast was pretty normal fare. Eggs, toast, oatmeal. I usually can’t stand oatmeal, but here it’s basically soaked in cream and butter, so I can’t really complain about that. The team did a great job fueling up for our late-morning chairlift ride. I believe that everyone left breakfast on the edge of being uncomfortably full, which is really the sweet spot.
From the hotel it’s about a five minute walk to the bottom of our chairlift. We hopped on, and skimmed the tops of the trees for about fifteen minutes. It really was quite a stylish ascent. We had butterflies, wildflowers, and chirping birds below us, and nothing but blue skies above us. We unloaded at the midway station, and walked to the top of the next lift. At around 10,000 feet we hung out, took some photos, discussed the climb, and soaked up some sun. I think about 1/3 of the team have earned nicknames at this point. Some not suitable for print.
After we were satisfied with our day’s exercise, we rode the chairlift back down, more or less onto the deck of our lunch cafe, ate again, and then spent the rest of the day exploring town or relaxing. Tomorrow we’ll head up onto the mountain and stay there through the weekend. I think we’re all looking forward to it.
RMI Guide JM Gorum
Tyler- Hope the weather provides safe travel & great climbing conditions to the summit & back for your team. Looking forward to next batch of pics ! Dadio
Posted by: Kim Shearburn on 7/12/2019 at 8:41 am
Everyone looks great! We can’t wait to hear what your nickname is! We love you and are hoping for a safe climb for all of you.
Posted by: Carolyn Rossi on 7/10/2019 at 3:08 pm
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, JT Schmitt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Huascaran
Elevation: 17,716'
Good evening again from Yanapacha moraine camp. We're turning into our sleeping bags after an incredibly successful day. We turned our acclimatization day into a summit; weather was good, and spirits were high, so after our training session on the glacier, we decided to put things into practice right away. Yanapacha provided a short but steep glacier that definitely challenged the team this early into the stages of acclimatization, but now that it's under our belt, and with another night here, at its high camp, we're sure to get the most out of this rotation. Every one did an outstanding job, and the views from the summit are the new favorite for this guide. We'll descend tomorrow to base camp to the food of our cook and the rest that the thicker air will deliver. Stay tuned for more!
Elías and team
Great Kim! Got some pictures from Snapfish of you climbing 3 years Ago this week! Love momma
Posted by: Jane on 7/10/2019 at 4:21 am
Wow! Way to go Kim & team! Congrats on the first of three!!
Posted by: shel on 7/10/2019 at 12:31 am
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Our last day in St. Petersburg! The team had a great final day here in Russia. We visited the very famous Hermitage Museum, where we saw paintings and sculptures by many well known artists including Rembrandt, Michelangelo, and even Da Vinci. It's one of Russia's great treasures and houses several thousand pieces of art collected over the last few hundred years. The Hermitage consists of 5 buildings, each with 3 floors, and has hundreds of rooms. The team did their best to take in the highlights in a little over 2 hours. We took a quick lunch before stopping by the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, that's decorated almost entirely with Mosaics/ We then wrapped up the day with a wonderful evening boat cruise to see this amazing city by water. It's been a wonderful adventure here in Russia, but it's time to say our goodbyes and return to our family and loved ones. Thanks for following.
Casey and comrades
RMI Guide Nick Scott and the Five Day Climb July 9 - 12 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier with their entire team this morning. Based on the forecast the team opted to climb this morning rather than the last day of their program. They will spend tonight at Camp Muir and enjoy more time on the mountain before descending to Paradise tomorrow.
Congratulations to all the climbers!
Four Day Climb July 6 - 9 led by RMI Guide Brent Okita reached the summit of Mt. Rainier with their entire team this morning. Brent reported a beautiful day on the mountain and a great route.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Thank you guides and team.
What a great experience!
Posted by: Helen COUNTRYMAN on 7/10/2019 at 1:36 pm
CONGRATULATIONS & thanks for taking care of my son
Karen
Posted by: KAREN MULLEN on 7/9/2019 at 6:22 pm
RMI Guide Andy Bond and the Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz July 5 - 10 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Andy reported great weather and route conditions and the team enjoyed an hour on the summit. They will return to High Camp for additional training and their final night on the mountain.
Congratulations to the entire team for reaching the summit!
Great job team!!!
Go daddy says Lily and Jax!!!
Have fun and be safe
Posted by: Ginny Gathright on 7/9/2019 at 9:22 am
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Hannah Smith, Chad Gaffigan, Luke Wilhelm
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 348'
Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - 1:11 AM PT
The longest day. The weather remained stable and perfect... to a scary extent. Some of us lay awake last night at 14,000 just listening to the violent detonations of rock hitting ice and snow at terminal velocity. The high temps were to blame and those high temperatures were part and parcel of the prolonged good weather that allowed us to summit. For those monitoring the rockfall, it was a relief that wake-up time was at 11 PM. Best to be up and busy eating and packing then to be hearing rock and imagining worst case scenarios for a team passing Windy Corner ridiculously close up under the cliffs. We were walking at 12:30 AM and soon got to see the battlefields where car-sized chunks of granite had left deep tracks and impact craters on either side of the “trail”. Sure enough, in the zone where rockfall danger demanded our fullest attention, the track began to go over crevasse after crevasse and crappy bridge after crappy bridge. We struggled (as every one does) the then, surprisingly, the route got better. We were pleased to find things frozen up and easy travel far below the point where we’d been told to expect freezing.
Once at 11,000' the nature of travel changed. We traded crampons for snowshoes and ice axes for ski poles. The morning/evening light was brilliant on Denali. Conditions on the lower glacier were way better than we expected. We just kept trudging as the light changed and found ourselves walking up Heartbreak Hill starting at 9:30 AM. It was 11:30 before we were at the “upper strip” on the SE Fork with all of our Basecamp caches relocated from the lower strip. Our pickup arrived just after 3 PM. We loaded and lifted off and flew into smoke as the pilots pointed their Otters toward Talkeetna. We got out of the planes in down jackets... immediately appreciating that the ambient temp at TKA was over 90 degrees F. Afternoon was then spent drying gear and reconnecting to the world. We met for a celebratory dinner at the West Rib and discussed our good fortune. Day 19 was a long one, but also a very good one.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Sounds like a scary end to your trip! Glad everyone is safe. Hope you all are enjoying a Great dinner, hot shower, and comfy bed!
Posted by: Shannon Smith on 7/9/2019 at 7:11 pm
Posted by: Mike Haugen, Jenny Konway, Grayson Swingle
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 348'
Monday, July 8, 2019 - 7:36 PM PT
We woke up yesterday to a fabulous day to fly back to Talkeetna. Our monumental effort to get back to basecamp and the airstrip paid off as we barely had time to make coffee in the morning before the Otter ski planes came to pick us up.
We returned to shocking 90 degree temperatures. Having been on an icy mountain for the better part of the month, our sweat glands definitely got a workout.
The crew exploded their packs and duffel bags, dried out and sorted gear, and then repacked for our travels home.
After a dinner to celebrate our amazing adventure together, everyone needed the sleep we were deprived of for the last few days.
Thank you RMI Siete for the great adventure and the amazing efforts and attitude that lead to a very successful expedition.
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
Good evening again, this time from Yanapacha Moraine camp. After a good rest/acclimatizing rest day yesterday, we moved uphill today, and established our home for the next couple of nights in the vecinity of the glacier at 4800m. The hike was one the most beautiful ones that this guide remembers, with giants like Huandoy, Chacraraju and Huascarán North guarding our ascent over the steep grassy slopes on the foothills of Yanapacha.
Everyone did a good job, arriving ahead of schedule and we enjoyed an incredible meal pre-cooked by our chef Emilio. French fries with a beef stir fry was a hit at this elevation. We waved good bye to our porters, and as the sun went down, we crawled into our sleeping bags to remain warm and keep the psych for tomorrow's endeavor on Yanapacha. Stay tuned for more,
Guides Peter, JT, Elias & team.
Sounds amazing! Have a great experience Ryan and Sheena. Yuca is doing well.
Posted by: Terry Wisler on 7/9/2019 at 4:05 am
Hi Aunt Kim! Sounds like another amazing adventure!! Tell Emilio to save some fries for me…love, @luckysuperstarcat, Sophia, Lora & Michael
Posted by: Lucky Superstar on 7/8/2019 at 9:16 pm
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Beth - Given the rain and wind this morning, today was not the day for a climb .... maybe another day. Camp Muir’s shelter beats a tent to hunker down and watch the storm. The mountain will still be there waiting for you when you come back. See you next week.
Posted by: Dick and Rosie on 7/10/2019 at 10:04 am
So sorry you couldn’t make the climb. The weather forecaster said only experts would have a chance. Was looking forward to hearing about it. Mom
Posted by: Barbara Basbagill on 7/10/2019 at 8:24 am
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