RMI Expeditions Blog

Mountaineering and music have much in common to share. When we consider music, we often think of pleasant noises combined together to make song—but it is precisely the silence between those bits of noise that make music more than simply a frantic crashing of sound. So too, it is with mountaineering: much focus is given to the getting up the mountain, but it is the descent that gives it meaning. You can no more have a successful climb without a descent than you can have a front without a back. And adding the mode of skiing to that descent provides an additional aesthetic beauty to that project. During early-April I had the opportunity to explore and expand my understanding of the ski mountaineering aesthetic through the American Mountain Guides Association's Advanced Ski Guide Course. This ten-day course is the follow-up to the twelve-day, introductory Ski Guide Course (which I'd completed in 2015) and is the precursor to an eight-day Ski Exam. With the benefit of RMI's commitment to the professional development of its guides, I was able to attend the Advanced Ski Guide Course in Thompson Pass, Alaska. Thompson Pass is part of the storied Chugach Range, the setting for more extreme skiing videos than perhaps anywhere else on the planet. Jagged, flat-iron peaks are flanked with row upon rows of steep and deep powder couloirs that spill into massive glacial basins, with easy access provided by the Richardson Highway running through it, connecting the port town of Valdez with the rest of The Last Frontier. This makes it the perfect place for the Advanced course. Whereas the introductory Ski Guides Course focuses on safely moving groups through backcountry avalanche terrain and finding the best skiing along the way, the Advanced Ski Guide Course brings in the components of safe travel on glaciers (e.g., navigating in white out conditions, avoiding crevasses, dealing with crevasse rescue, etc) and managing skiers in technical mountain terrain (e.g., roped travel through steep rock and snow, belayed entry into steep terrain, effective group management in narrow couloirs, etc). But there's more to it than just the technical aspects—because, after all, in ski mountaineering the focus of climbing a peak goes beyond just the joy of standing on the summit—there is the consideration of finding the most enjoyable line to ski on the way down. Having completed AMGA certifications in Rock and Alpine Guiding, I'm versed in the technique and mindset needed to successfully climb large objectives, and that mindset could be generally summed up with the word “efficiency”. Moving into the world of ski mountaineering has been an exciting shift of paradigms, working to also incorporate in the concepts of “aesthetics” and “enjoyment”. In the world of alpine climbing, enjoyment is often seen as what you experience upon completing the goal, standing on the summit and coming back down safely. In the world of ski mountaineering, standing on the summit is a necessary pleasure before the true pleasure of ski descent can be attained. A greater focus on both product and process that I'm finding increasingly attractive. I'm not the only one finding this product and process increasingly attractive: backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering is among the fastest growing segments of the outdoor world. And RMI is at the forefront in developing programs to help its audience enjoy the sport. RMI Guide Tyler Reid leads ski descents of Europe's highest peak, Mt. Elbrus, and explores Chile's renowned skiing with RMI Guide Solveig Waterfall. In 2018, I'll be doing a Mt. Baker Climb/Ski as well as a custom ski/climb program. RMI, long at the lead in helping climbers reach their summit goals, now has a range of excellent ski options to ensure that the descent is both safe and extremely rewarding. For a look at some of my other experiences with backcountry skiing, ski mountaineering, and the AMGA Ski Guide program, check out these links: • Mammut Athlete Team Blog about my ski experiences in the Alps prior to the Ski Guides Course. • RMI Blog post about my experiences in learning snow science during the American Avalanche Institute's Level 3 Avalanche Course. RMI Guide Kel Rossiter

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir May 28 - 2 June, 2017 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today! RMI Guides Adam Knoff and Paul Rachele led their teams to Camp Muir on Monday and have been working on mountaineering skills. Due to the weather forecast they opted to make their summit attempt today but they will remain at Camp Muir until Friday where they will continue to train. Congratulations to today's Seminar Teams!

May 30, 2017 Greetings RMI Denali followers, this is Robby Young with the May 3rd Denali Expedition calling you from Day 26. We are sitting in the sunshine here at 14,000' Camp. We awoke this morning to some cloudy skies, some high winds and snow which delayed our progress uphill just one more day. It looks like the weather is going to be beautiful tomorrow and the next few days giving us our opportunity to finally climb higher on the mountain. We are looking forward to a move to 17,000' Camp tomorrow morning if the weather does in fact allow. Until then, we will talk to you soon. Caio, RMI Guide Robby Young

On The Map

May 30, 2017 After a full day packing up, weighing our gear and some serious duffel shuffling we are all set to jet into the Alaska Range tomorrow! Weather permitting we should head in mid morning and take stock of a most beautiful set of mountains. Our fingers are crossed for a grand adventure and we will keep you all posted on our journey. Take care everyone! RMI Guide Jake Beren

May 30, 2017 The weather yesterday evening was a pleasant break in snow showers, but only for a few hours! We had heavy snow over night that wound up only stalling our progress for the time it takes to whip out 100 silver dollar pancakes with blueberries. The morning snow dissipated just as we stuffed the last few items in our packs. We began our climb today in a brisk wind which we welcomed with the hard work of trail breaking. The team did an amazing job getting to our previous high point, where we loaded our personal food and equipment in our sleds. We have "Friends in High Places". Big thanks to our other RMI team lead by Brent, Christina, and JT. They helped us by bringing some of our group food and fuel from our cache yesterday during our storm rest day at 7,800 camp. With the climbing done for the the day, we entered the second half of the work day building camp and a mighty fine job our crew has done. We finished our day with loaded quesadillas and relaxing in the cook house. We are happy to have full bellies and the kit all here ready to rest and acclimatize at camp tomorrow. With weather on our side the team will deliver groceries to 14 Camp on Thursday! RMI Guide Tyler Jones

On The Map

May 30, 2017 We woke up to an unexpected foot of fresh snow this morning and unable to see the Buttress above us, let alone many of our camp neighbors. Our initial plans to head uphill became questionable at best, but we crawled out of our warm tents for some breakfast burritos and hoped for a change in the weather. The skies eventually cleared and the sun began to warm the basin, but the winds persisted up high long enough to set our sights on tomorrow. Anxious to stretch our legs, we took advantage of the warm afternoon with a short walk to the "Edge of the World" for some spectacular views of the Alaska Range. The sun brightened spirits and kept folks lingering outside their tents all afternoon to soak it up before dinner. It was a much needed lift to prepare us for our uphill push tomorrow to 17 camp and on to the highest point in North America. RMI Guides Jess Matthews, Jenny Konway, Pete Van Deventer and team

On The Map

May 30, 2017 Finally we get a break. After nine days of squirrelly, cold, snowy weather the sun broke out just prior to noon. There was an inkling of better weather coming earlier, but nothing definitive. And when it broke, camp went nuts with folks either moving or carrying loads. We opted to stay put, not liking the idea of fighting all that traffic going up Motorcycle Hill and coming into camp at 14,200' late, needing to build camp as the shadows overtake camp and the temperature drops 30 degrees. A couple of folks are fighting small colds, and this warm, easy day is just what the doctor ordered. When we saw rope teams waiting for 30-40 minutes to just leave camp because of the traffic, we felt pretty good about the decision. We certainly enjoyed the day as it became spectacularly sunny and clear. This is the Denali I love and dream of coming back to every year. With the weather folks are streaming into camp and it's as big as I've seen it. But, with just a little luck, we'll be out of here early and moving into a 14,200' camp that has been vacated by the crowds of climbers amassed there waiting for their opportunity to move to 17,200' camp for a bid for the summit. Everyone's dispositions have brightened with the sunshine, which is amazing considering the good cheer among the team even in the poor weather. We'll be talking to you from 14,200' soon! RMI Guides Brent Okita, Christina Dale and JT Schmitt

On The Map

May 30, 2017 Our unseasonal snowfall over the past two days set the team up for a wary summit bid in the wee hours of the morning. Leaving High Camp at 17,000 we found ourselves in boot high fresh snow. Yet, after two hours of uphill, we quickly came upon wind deposits well over a meter deep and made the tough but safe call to walk back to our refugio amongst the clouds. However, our morning wasn't quite over, for as we peeked back down through the cloud ceiling we were just in time to watch the entirety of an absolutely spectacular sunrise. The sun rose behind Huayna's sister to the east and lit three levels of clouds in hues of pink and gold. One rope team simply stopped in the middle of the boot pack and watched for 45 minutes as the valley below us slowly filled with light. Right as the sun finally crested the peak to our east, the valley clouds rose up around camp and engulfed us in a glowing mist. Despite not getting the chance to climb higher, I'm afraid we would have missed the sunrise being stuck in the high clouds and honestly it was all any of us could have asked for. RMI Guide Eric Frank

May 29, 2017 Another two feet of snow fell on us last night, and it was still snowing when I awoke to check the weather throughout the morning. So, another storm day at 11,200' Camp. With all this snow dreams of skiing the deep 'pow' entered all our skiers' brains, but the only face shots we got was when the wind caught the snow we were shoveling from our tents and blew it back in our face. Oh well. The snowfall intensity was remarkable. Fifteen minutes after clearing your tent it appeared that you had done nothing. Since we had enjoyed a great rest day yesterday, I thought it better that we stretched our legs just a little today. So, we roped up for a short stroll down to 10,100' where we helped out our team behind us and carried some of their cache up to camp for them while they were taking a storm/rest day at 7,800'. Loads were light and in a couple of hours we were back at camp. An afternoon relaxing back in the tents topped off our little walk, leaving the team feeling pretty darned good at dinner. We're all keeping our fingers crossed for tomorrow. Send us positive thoughts for the weather. And thank you for the blog replies. We've gotten one batch sent to us so far and everyone loves hearing them. Good night from 11,200' camp, hopefully for the last time. RMI Guides Brent, Christina Dale and JT Schmitt

On The Map

May 29, 2017 Hello, this is Eric Frank calling from the Casa De Guilles here on Huayna Potosi in Bolivia. The last couple days have been pretty interesting, yesterday a fair amount of snow fell on Huayna Potosi and we weren't really sure what we would find this morning. When we woke up the weather was good and we were able to climb up to the high Refugio in fairly comfortable conditions. Once again things changed, and it started dumping a bunch of snow so we spent most of the afternoon watching the flakes fall and clearing off the roof of our little shelter. We are just getting tucked into bed now, hopefully things will turn around in the morning. There's a fair amount of snow on route so wish us luck, we're going to make conservative decisions and see how far we can go. Thanks for following along. RMI Guide Eric Frank