June 10, 2016 - 12:12 am PT
And back to the tents... Rain kept us at camp today, with the exception of a few hours in the afternoon. We spent that time learning and reviewing more rope skills, and talking about staying motivated for a climb tomorrow. Our hopes are on the South face of the Middle Troll, the main formation that reigns over the Pika glacier.
Stay tuned.
RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and team
June 9, 2016 - 10:38 pm PT
Hello!!!
We are all safe and sound back at our high camp after a long summit push. This morning we got out of the tents at the suns first rays to clear but windy weather. We were a bit nervous as the wind extended into the late morning but once we were tied in to the ropes around 10:30 the sun started to grace the slopes of Denali Pass and the wind let up a bit. We climbed smoothly up to the pass.Today was a chilly one, filled with managing our feet, hands, and faces against the pesky cold. Our bodies were spent as we finished Pig Hill and to our surprise the summit ridge was rather warm and welcoming. We took photos, embraced and congratulated each other on a strong effort. The crew made great time on the way down and we are grubbing on soup and ramen, looking forward to descending to more oxygen rich air.
Time for a bit of rest for this tuckered out crew!
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
Congrats team
Very exciting and very thankful to hear you are heading down safe. Please be careful on your way down and cannot wait to hear the stories upon Dan and Eric’s return.
Thanks to the RMI guides for keeping our loved ones safe.
Karen
Posted by: karen Stewart on 6/11/2016 at 6:26 am
Congrats all! Now hurry down Mr. President Oxygen because I’m trying to plan your next expedition :-)
Posted by: First Lady Oxygen on 6/10/2016 at 8:56 pm
June 9, 2016 - 9:22 pm PT
We woke up this morning to cold clear sky's with a nippy wind. After a quick breakfast we packed camp, made a cache and got rigged to start climbing. Of course at this point it began snowing heavily, the wind picked up and the visibility went down. We pumped the breaks and hung out in Jake's posh tent for a little bit. By noon thirty we called it and decided to set up Camp at 11 again. 10 minutes later another guided team returned from an unsuccessful cache attempt saying that it was really nasty up there! After getting tents up we got together for some fresh brewed coffee and snacks, the truffled gouda cheese was a huge hit.
The forecast for tomorrow is looking better so we are planing on moving up tomorrow.
Thanks for following along
The Upper West Rib Team
June 9, 2016 - 8:11 pm PT
"Nature does not hurry, yet all is accomplished"
Lao Tzu
Today was a much needed rest day for our squad. While we may have been strong enough to move to 14 Camp, we opted to rest and recover from the effort of yesterday's carry. Sometimes being patient can be tough on a day with good weather, but it pays to be conservative. We had clear weather in the morning, but it quickly turned nasty, making our call to rest even easier.
Spending the day napping, feasting and getting ready for the move sets us up for the upward launch whenever Denali lets us go.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
June 9, 2016 - 6:16 pm PT
Hi Everybody -
It's Tyler Jones and the RMI 4 Team. We are standing on the summit of Mt. McKinley, well now Denali. We are all doing well and we will give another shout when we get back to Camp.
Thanks for your support and we will talk to you all soon.
Ciao -
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
RMI Guide Tyler Jones check in from the summit of Denali.
Congratulations team!!! I’m so happy and proud of you guys and hope you have an amazing feeling of accomplishment! Your strength, perseverance, patience and humility when needed carried you to the top! I’m celebrating your achievement here in NYC and hope you have a safe return down!
Ongun I can’t wait to see you and give such a big hug!!!! Mwah!
The Four Day Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Ben Liken made their summit attempt this morning but turned back after reaching 12,500' due to increased winds and cold temperatures. The teams have returned to Camp Muir were they will have a short break before continuing to Paradise.
We look forward to seeing the teams at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon. Good work teams!
Congratulations to the team! Climbing to 12,500 ft in those conditions is quite an accomplishment. Thanks to the guides for keeping everyone safe. We look forward to giving hugs and kisses to Team Medley.
June 9, 2016 - 1:56 am PT
We awoke this morning inside a ping pong ball. Watching the weather for a few hours revealed a slightly improving trend, certainly no deterioration. We decided that it was manageable and set forth. The clouds we traveled through and among were friendly and trail breaking was quite doable for this squad. We kept flowing up until we strolled into 14 Camp. We dumped a hefty load of supplies to ease our eventual move to the upper mountain. We are sitting pretty back at 11,000' Camp, fed and ready for bed. Nice work team!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Dear B-Law, if you’re reading this note you already know. The house has been boarded up. The doors. The windows. Everything. We’re at the Comfort Inn. Room 112. I love you. Austin
Have fun Team. Brad, send me a postcard from the top.
Posted by: Austin on 6/9/2016 at 6:40 pm
Hi Mattie-
We miss you so much and love hearing about your team’s progress through Jake’s updates. The boys, the PC’s, Adryan, Taira and I are all praying for favorable weather for you in the days ahead. Stay warm, rested, hydrated and focused! Love from us all!
June 9, 2016 - 1:28 am PT
And... we climbed the "Lost Marsupial", on The Throne. Stellar route, stellar scenery and stellar crowd. It is hard to describe what it is to be atop one of these formations, surrounded by the longest glaciers in North America, the tallest peaks in the Alaska Range, and the best views in the world. Nobody around for miles, and a sense of insignificance directly proportional to the size of our accomplishment. Our two rope teams climbed and descended synchronized, like a well oiled machine, and pitch after pitch, rock, ropes, snow and gear were one with our climbers. Magic enough? More tomorrow.
RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and team
June 8, 2016 - 10:30 pm PT
The team did an excellent job today. The weather was mealy; periods of light snow, partly cloudy, some wind here and there. Everyone handled all these conditions, and a big climbing day, in stride. We made our way from 11 Camp up Motorcycle Hill, up Squirrel Hill, across the Polo Fields, around Windy Corner and on to 14 Camp. At 14,000' we caught our first glimpse of the Upper West Rib for a few seconds when the clouds parted. Then we headed back to our home at 11 Camp. Everyone is feeling great and excited to move up a little more.
Thanks for following along, cross your fingers for good moving weather for us.
RMI Expeditions Upper West Rib Team
Fingers and toes crossed for good weather! Love seeing these awesome pictures and updates. Great job so far, team! FMR, Ben! Lol. With love from Brooklyn, NY :)
On Tuesday, June 7, 2016 at 2:02 p.m. PDT, RMI Guide Brent Okita reached the summit of Mt. Rainier for the 500th time, becoming only the second person to reach this exclusive milestone.
Brent; along with RMI Guides Leah Fisher and Christina Dale, Peter Dale and Aaron Mainer; ascended Mt. Rainier via the Disappointment Cleaver route. It was a windy day on the summit but the team took time to celebrate at Columbia Crest. After many hugs and photos were exchanged, they traversed to Liberty Cap for their ski descent of the Edmunds Headwall. Brent described his 500th summit and ski descent as “one of the coolest days of my life!”
To put this in perspective, Brent has logged over 9,000,000 vertical feet on Mt. Rainier throughout his 30-year career. “Brent is a mentor, leader, and above all an inspiration to all mountaineers,” said Peter Whittaker, owner of RMI. “The fact that Brent has challenged himself on this mountain for 30 years and successfully summited Rainier 500 times is extraordinary. Even more amazing, Brent continues to climb at the pace of a 20-year-old guide and will likely climb Rainier another 20 times this summer...his endurance and fitness are unmatched.”
Brent, 55, has worked at RMI since 1986 as a professional climbing instructor and guide, leading teams of climbers on ascents of Mt. Rainier. In that time, he has also reached the summit of Mt. Everest (via the North Side) and led over two dozen RMI guided parties up 20,310’ Denali in Alaska, the highest mountain in North America. Other ascents to his credit include Vinson Massif (Antarctica), and several expeditions to the French, Swiss, and Italian Alps (Mont Blanc, Matterhorn, Monte Rosa, Jungfrau).
Setting records is not Brent’s motivation; his 500 summits of Mt. Rainier are a natural consequence of his tenure with RMI and dedication to the sport of mountaineering. With no thoughts of retirement, Brent plans to continue guiding climbers on Mt Rainier and Denali for the foreseeable future. In the winter months he pursues his love of skiing, working for Crystal Mountain Ski Patrol. He and wife, Julie, make their home in Enumclaw, WA, where they enjoy bicycling and hiking.
Congratulations Brent!
Well done, Big Bro!! The family is all proud of you ... again!
Posted by: Brad Okita on 6/15/2016 at 8:57 pm
Awesome Brent, I remember when you first started guiding for RMI. Congratulations on your alpine achievements, I wish I was there to ski the Edmunds with you, snow is going fast in the Tetons so will head to the Winds on days off. Peace and much Love, Bill Moe/ former Paradise/ Muir Ranger/ Teton Helitack USFS, Jackson Wyoming
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Congrats team
Very exciting and very thankful to hear you are heading down safe. Please be careful on your way down and cannot wait to hear the stories upon Dan and Eric’s return.
Thanks to the RMI guides for keeping our loved ones safe.
Karen
Posted by: karen Stewart on 6/11/2016 at 6:26 am
Congrats all! Now hurry down Mr. President Oxygen because I’m trying to plan your next expedition :-)
Posted by: First Lady Oxygen on 6/10/2016 at 8:56 pm
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