Entries from Expedition Dispatches
The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb, led by RMI Guide Mike Haugen, was 100% successful to the summit this morning! After topping out at 8:00 a.m., the team was able to enjoy over an hour taking in the views before starting their descent at 9:30 a.m.
Congratulations team!
After an early breakfast and some last minute packing we loaded up our shuttle and said good bye to Huaraz. We headed north out of town for over an hour before leaving the paved road for the washboard dirt road taking us east to the village of Casha Pampa. Here we unloaded our van and helped load the mules that will carry our mountain of gear into base camp for us. Now in the mid-morning sun we started our hike into the Santa Cruz Valley, the first hour and a half was dusty and hot but soon the dirt and rock gave way to beautiful rolling meadows. Beautiful streams trickled down from the surrounding hills and soon we began to see the tops of stunning snow-capped mountains emerging from above the valley walls. By late afternoon we reached our camp at Llama Coral where we set up tents, had a delicious dinner, and settled in for the night.
The team is doing very well and we are happy to be on the trail.
Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens and the A Team
Hola from C2...
And we did it!!! We climbed and summited today what's arguably one of the most beautiful mountains on Earth. Brian, Tom and James climbed in style the super direct line that after nine pitches of consistent 75 degrees on hard névé and ice takes you to the airy top shy of 20,000ft. We woke up at midnight to a beautiful night, and after breaking trail for half hour to the bergschrund, we found ourselves doing what we came to do; swinging our tools into the frozen element of this wall that is the SW Face of Alpamayo. Right at dawn we were straddling the summit and while tired, the sense of accomplishment was as big as the effort we put forth. We earned every feet of the climb by swinging and kicking and pulling and pushing... Now we are in bed, after having enjoyed another meal prepared two days ago by our cook, which we carried up to reheat in our camp stoves; fried rice with beef and fries... At 18,000ft, that feels like cheating when we see other teams eat freeze-dried food. Did we say we care about style points?
That's all for now, we will update you tomorrow of our plans for the last couple days.
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andres Martos and team
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Saint Petersburg!!!
We traveled all day and have finally arrived in one of the most beautiful cities of Europe. Things went relatively smooth despite two van rides and two flights. We got checked into the hotel here and then ran out for a quick dinner followed by a short but scenic stroll.
Everyone is very excited to explore and see this city tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
July 16, 2017
Today we all woke up feeling good, had a very nice breakfast and sipped coffee before heading out on our acclimatization hike. At 8:00 William met us and we loaded into a shuttle for a 40-minute ride bumping through small villages to the trail head at 12,300'. We were all eager to stretch the legs and started out of the gates a little fast. Within minutes we settled into a pace more suited for our altitude. After two hours we found ourselves over looking Laguna Churup at 14,600'. With perfect weather we lounged on the granite slabs around the alpine lake occasionally dozing off in the mid day sun. Shortly after noon we started our descent back to the shuttle and then back into Huaraz. After grabbing a quick lunch in town we did a gear check and got our duffle bags packed for our launch tomorrow and then strolled back into town for a casual dinner. Everyone is doing great and we are all excited to hit the trail tomorrow.
Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens and the Alpamayo team
Posted by: Eric Frank, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 8,816'
Hello, this is Eric Frank calling from Boston Basin in the North Cascades. Just wanted to let everyone know that the West Ridge of Forbidden team was back down in camp safe and sound. We had a full day of adventure today. We climbed the West Ridge to the summit. Everyone on the team made it, which was great. (transmission lost)
RMI Guide Eric Frank
RMI Guide Eric Frank calls in from Boston Basin post Forbidden Peak summit.
After a full day of travel, the team has made it to Cheget. We enjoyed our time in Moscow, but it always feels good to be in the mountains. The air is crisp, and the rivers are swollen. From the hotel we can see multiple hanging glaciers, and from town we can easily see the East summit of Elbrus.
We've got a few things to take care of here over the coming days, but it won't be long until we're living life up in the hills!
RMI Guide JM Gorum
On The Map
Be Safe and Have Fun!!! Tell Craig (Dad) we love him and we’re so proud!!- From all his kids and grandkids:)
Posted by: Hannah Clark on 7/18/2017 at 7:20 am
Good luck! Have fun and tell Zarina hello for us!
Posted by: Rebecca Robinson on 7/17/2017 at 5:33 pm
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer Reached the Summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Pete reported a clear skies and light winds. The team has started their descent and are en route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's team!
Congratulations Cory and Tim. So happy for you guys.
Love, Tina, Dan, and kids.
Posted by: Tina on 7/18/2017 at 8:27 am
Posted by: JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
The team has arrived in Moscow! Everyone has their bags, though some had to work a little harder than others for that luxury.
Today, we started with a tour of the Kremlin. We saw some really big cannons, and some very old cathedrals. Some of those cathedrals contain remains of people who died in the 14th century. That's before Christopher Columbus even sailed the ocean blue, which was in 1492, of course. There is a lot of history here.
The team toured the Red Square, ate some ice cream, and ate some lunch. After our tour, folks split ways for a bit. Some taking naps, some exploring on their own, and some opting to track down their luggage. Success on all fronts.
We just got back from dinner, everyone is packed up and ready to head out early tomorrow for our departure to Mineralnye Vody. You'll hear from us soon.
RMI Guide JM Gorum
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Buenas tardes from Camp 2 on Alpamayo! We woke up with the sun today, and made the ascent to high camp in a mere three hours, leaving behind the maze that the east glacier of Alpamayo has become by now. Our porters came up sharp at 6 am to Camp 1 at the moraine from Base Camp, and brought us fresh banana pancakes cooked two hours prior by our cook Emilio. They helped us tear camp down, and clipped in to our ropes to head up. All of us together were happy to have beat the crowds and the sun that by our arrival before noon was already too hot. We are doing very well and we feel very positive about going for the summit tonight! The French Direct up the SW Face of Alpamayo awaits with it's 450m of steep ice. Stay tuned for our progress tomorrow.
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andres Martos
Hello, Elias,
Once again, thank you for your posts and the beautiful photographs. Good luck to the team on your summit push! Please watch over each over.
George Mast
PS: Please tell Tom that Federer took Wimbledon.
Posted by: George Mast on 7/16/2017 at 9:11 pm
Is the climb completed now?
Posted by: Diana Repanich on 7/18/2017 at 5:03 pm
Way to go Jim and Will!
Posted by: Lynne Dugaw on 7/18/2017 at 3:49 pm
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