Entries from Locations
June 12, 2016 - 10:50 p.m. PDT
The Denali - Upper West Rib Team did a great job today. Blue sky and light wind graced us this morning, and despite a slower than desired departure out of camp everyone climbed really well. As soon as we stepped out of camp we sank up to our knees. This was the first day we got off the beaten path and made our own trail up to the
Upper West Rib. Unfortunately with all the new snow fall in the last couple weeks breaking trail was difficult and energy expensive. Despite this added challenge the team did a great job and we worked our way up to the West Rib at 16,400'. We cached a couple days of food and fuel here and began our descent as the clouds started to roll over the ridge. We're all tired after a high output day but happy with our accomplishments. The weather forecast is calling for a storm approaching tomorrow and lasting a couple days so we will rest and prep for our summit rotation.
Thanks for all the support out there!
RMI Guide
Geoff Schellens and the Upper West Rib Team
June 12, 2016 - 11:35 am PDT
Good Evening,
Today was a very productive rest day for the
Upper West Rib team here at 14k camp. We slept in, had a slow breakfast of eggs and hash browns with lots of coffee and then relaxed. At around noon we started building snow walls to fortify our camp. The team was unstoppable! These guys worked for hours and even when I told them to take a break, they would be back at it 5 minutes later. We are planing to cache some food and file up on the Rib tomorrow, weather permitting.
Thanks again for following along,
RMI Guide
Geoff Schellens and The UWR Team
The Four Day Summit Climb June 9 - 12 led by RMI Guides Mike Walter and Zeb Blais reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning around 8 am. Mike reported clear conditions with moderate winds as they were making their ascent above High Break. The teams were able to enjoy some time on the summit. They began their descent from the crater rim at 9:20 am. The teams will return to Camp Muir for a short break before continuing down to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams!
June 11, 2016 - 11:57 pm PT
Hi all, we are at
Base Camp. Just when you think it's over it's not till the fat lady sings. We packed our camp for what what we had hoped was the last time early this morning. The crew as always on this trip was ready to roll early and we arrived at base camp at 8:30 this morning with lite snow and cloudy skies. With all our will we wished the fog and snow away. Our wish was only met after the planes has powered down for the day. A long day of anticipation of burgers, beer, and more was lost so we enjoyed each others company and reflected on our journey in the Alaska range. With the weather on the lower glacier clearing a bit this evening we're hopeful to see all the colors of the outer world we departed from 16 days ago. Hoping to smell the summer in the low lands and eat like kings tomorrow. Blow some good weather vibes our way!
Cheers,
RMI Guide Tyler Jones & the team
On The Map
June 11, 2016 - 11:11 pm PT
Today was a delight. We slept in a little, enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and hit up some training. The
fixed lines loom a thousand feet above us and we prepared ourselves for them with a simulation above camp. We duplicated the transitions with ascenders until the team became certified ascender ninjas. We are ready to tackle them, I only hope they are ready for us.
After our training we rested for a bit and then fortified camp. The team busted out walls and worked very well together on the parapets and ramparts that will secure our castle while we are crusading higher. Should the weather hold we will try to establish a cache for the upper upper mountain. We'll let you know how it all goes tomorrow. Sleep well friends.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
On The Map
June 11, 2016 - 10:29 am PT
WOW!!! What a day we had yesterday. Indescribable fun and challenge on "The Middle Troll", the main of the rock spires towering above the
Pika. The weather held, just as it did for "The Throne" two days prior, we were able to sneak a super classic climb in.Splitter crack climbing 1200 feet straight above camp, while wearing only a base layer and seeing the ski-equipped planes land on the glacier beneath us, are only some of the surreal experiences the team had. Everyone faced an individual technical crux at some point on the route (the Middle Troll's South Face), but everyone was up for the task and the reward of the most radical view from the summit was attained.
Today we're waking up, yet again, to another snow storm that is presumably going to limit our activity. We'll make the most of it. Hoping to fly out tomorrow as scheduled, our next post will be greeting you all from Talkeetna.
RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and team.
June 10, 2016 - 10:59 pm PT
Waking up at 17K camp this morning was tough after yesterday's big day. We were happy though to be on the move again, back down the mountain to thicker air. Walking down the
West Buttress was beautiful, and this time we were actually able to enjoy the knife ridge views. Taking in views is much easier walking down when you're only using half the physical effort as the way up. The mountain treated us with pleasant weather all the way to 11K Camp until we hit the storm layer, walked through some high winds and blowing snow and eventually below the storm to 7,800 camp. Now we're enjoying a cheese, bacon and bagel fry up celebration and looking forward to the final leg of our journey back to basecamp tomorrow! See you all soon and thanks for the support!
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
On The Map
June 10, 2016 - 10:11 pm PT
We woke this morning to much improved weather. Some scattered clouds and a light wind but a huge improvement from yesterday. We had a quick breakfast and set about breaking camp. Just after the sun hit we were off and climbing. The team did a great job today, we had to battle a little around
Windy Corner, it was a bit windy (go figure), but we were out of it soon and on to 14K Camp. After tents were up, everyone settled in to our new home above the clouds. Tomorrow we will do some training and fortify our camp with snow walls.
Thanks for following along with us.
The
RMI Upper West Rib Team
The
Mt. Rainier Summit Climb teams, led by
Mike Haugen and
Mike King, turned at Ingraham Flats this morning after a rough night of snow and high winds. The guides reported an ominous cap over the mountain after checking in from Camp Muir. Shortly after 8:00 a.m., both teams began their descent to Paradise.
The
Four Day Summit Climb team led by RMI Guides Seth Waterfall and Nick Hunt were unable to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams turned back at Ingraham Flats this morning.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall called from Camp Muir shortly after 7 am, reporting 8-10” of fresh snow at the Ingraham Flats and very cold temps. Both Summit Climb teams have begun their descent from Camp Muir to Paradise.
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Dubay, you missed a great summit in Baltimore last week for an even better summit. Good fishing (of course Garrick’s boat caught all the fish), good food, good company. Be safe and enjoy. See you soon.
Posted by: Bill Pinkham on 6/14/2016 at 4:42 am
Amazing photos. Lots of thoughts for you all from down here in WA! Happy climbing!
Posted by: Korinne on 6/13/2016 at 2:55 pm
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