RMI Expeditions Blog
Posted by: Billy Nugent, Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Elevation: 11,000'
An early rise gave way to a groggy ride to the airport this morning that was fortunately on the quicker side because the majority of Moscow had yet to wake. After navigating Aeroflot's slightly confusing baggage system our team was relieved to settle into an airport restaurant and enjoy a decent breakfast and more importantly a decent cup (or two) of coffee. A slight delay, a quick flight to Mineralnye Vody, and a longer bus ride to Cheget completed our traveling for the day. On our drive we watched the rolling hills of farmland become more pronounced, eventually turning into mountains, and finally turning quite impressive with huge relief as we drove up a craggy canyon. Cheget is a little outpost of sorts but our hotel is pretty cool, complete with beautiful views of glaciers above from the forest below and even a medieval motif to the dining room. A bit weary from travel, we're all excited to get out and stretch our legs on our first acclimatization hike tomorrow.
We'll let you know how it goes.
Over and out,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hello from the Dik Dik Lodge. Everyone has arrived.
Before lunch we met for our orientation meeting and gear check. We then spent the afternoon finalizing and preparing our gear for the mountain.
Now we are all set for Kilimanjaro! Once we finished dinner is off to our rooms to finish last-minute packing or a bit more Internet time.
The plan is to meet up for breakfast at 6:30 am and be ready to go by 7:30. We have a couple of hours driving to the national park and it's good to be early.
All the gear looks good and tents and food are all set to go. The team is starting to get excited. We are all looking forward to getting the climb under way.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Mt. Baker did not fail to impress our small team this week! We set out from Glacier, WA to make an attempt on Mt. Baker's mighty North Ridge. Our approach put us at camp at the toe of the Coleman Glacier where we reviewed relevant climbing techniques and relaxed ourselves to sleep.
We awoke under the full moon and set out at dusk to begin the climb. A few hours of casual glacier travel found us at the base of the route. The forbidding clouds to the west stood down and we began our ascent. We gained the ridge and with some steep snow climbing and we were in business! Soon it was time to get into the meat of the route, the ice pitches. Under the snice (snow+ice) there was quality ice, so it didn't take too much excavation to find good placements for our tools. As we topped out the ice pitches the clouds returned and soon we were relying on instruments to find the top. After a bit of thought-provoking route finding we navigated the jumbled glacier that guards the cumbre (summit) and celebrated efficiently before descending the Coleman route back to camp.
It was a great day with good company - all you can ask for in the mountains! Standing on top doesn't hurt either.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Congratulation Jake + team..Thx again support on Rainier ‘12
..Walter / IN
Posted by: Walter Glover on 7/26/2016 at 5:13 am
Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Hi Everyone!! First, the entire team wants to say hello to family and friends back home. Today we spent all day traveling to St. Petersburg, the coolest city in Russia. Needless to say, we are tired. However, the team is going to celebrate our first night here by going to one of my favorite restaurants, Jerome’s, a “French-ish” restaurant. Yes, French! We have eaten plenty of authentic Russian cuisine. Tonight, the team is going to kick back, relax and enjoy the “white lights” of St. Petes!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
This morning RMI Guide Brent Okita led his team to the Mt. Rainier summit. With a forecasted freezing level over 15,000' and sunny skies, the team began their ascent from Camp Muir in the early morning hours. After spending some time on the top, the team began their descent at 6:40 a.m.
Congratulations to Brent and his team!
Fantastic life rewards! Best wishes Brent! Your friend Spud
Posted by: James Spodobalski on 12/15/2016 at 10:16 pm
Congratulations!!! That is awesome. It’s must have been beautiful at the top. Such a thrill!
Posted by: Dana Coletti on 7/25/2016 at 4:48 pm
Good evening, the Alpamayo teams had a great day today starting with coffee in our tents and then an outstanding breakfast of eggs toast and oat meal. We then casually packed up some gear to carry up to Moraine Camp and began hiking just after 10am. The light breeze kept the hike comfortable as the team made good time to 16,000' where we cached our climbing gear and supplies for our climb. We relaxed here for a bit and soaked in the amazing views of the Cordillera Blanca before descending back to BC. We were greeted back in camp by tea, soup and a great lunch followed by a siesta. Then this evening we ate another incredible dinner of soup, potatoes and chicken and a beautifully presented cake. Our cook, Hilario, is truly a master in his element. After our three-course meal we relaxed and watched a movie on the iPad before retiring to our tents for bed. Everyone is doing very well and spirits are high. Tomorrow we take a well deserved rest day after three days of solid effort.
That's all for now.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
Posted by: Casey Grom, Billy Nugent
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Hello everyone.
All is well here in Moscow. Most of the team arrived yesterday evening after some very long flights. As most of us are still adjusting to the massive time change we keep things simple with a little round of introductions and stepped out for a short walk and a nice dinner.
Today we meet with our local tour guide and had an outstanding tour of the nearby Red Square, Kremlin as well as visiting several churches including the iconic St. Basil's.
We took a short break and then headed out once again for dinner and a nice walk.
Everyone is doing great and looking forward to heading to the mountains tomorrow.
That's all for now.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Mount Rainier Summit Climb, led by Mike Walter and Solveig Waterfall, successfully summited this morning. The teams were leaving the crater rim at 7:15 a.m., reporting light winds and blue skies.
Congratulations team!
Awesome job guys! Trevor Hayes, we are proud of you!!
Amanda and JT
Posted by: Amanda Hayes on 7/24/2016 at 5:33 pm
Congratulation to Dale Fogg and the team! You all are pretty amazing!! What an accomplishment
Posted by: Georgette and Gabby on 7/24/2016 at 4:06 pm
It has been an adventure full of adversity. The weather on Elbrus has been so finicky. We didn't even see the mountain until a day ago! This morning the winds were still howling but certainly not as much as the last few days. Today was our last hope at making the summit. We awoke and headed out at 4AM and the climbing was tough with moderate winds. The winds stayed steady at 35mph and the team simply did an amazing job. It's not easy climbing in less than ideal conditions. At 9:15AM we reached the summit of Mount Elbrus. It has been a long day and we are all very happy to be safely down in Cheget. Tonight certainly calls for a celebration.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
Nice job! Congratulations Matt and Team JJ! Glad things worked out for you to summit… Looking forward to the pictures and stories!
Posted by: Fred Dietrich on 7/24/2016 at 6:10 pm
Yay! Well done David and Team! JJ, thank you for leading them to success and safety! Super excited for you all!
Posted by: Beth on 7/24/2016 at 11:54 am
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After a very good night sleep we woke shortly after the sun kissed our tents and had an elegant breakfast of coffee, quinoa porridge, pancakes, and toast. Once we had had our fill we packed up camp, and started off for the day's hike. A light breeze kept the temps comfortable as we continued up the Santa Cruz Valley this morning. Shortly before noon we broke off the main trail and headed up a series of switchbacks to gain the high valley where base camp was waiting for us. Here we also caught our first glimpse of Alpamayo. We arrived into BC and settled into our tents and relaxed for the afternoon before tea time and then dinner. Our cook Hilario, is fantastic, every meal is better than the last, the team is becoming spoiled. It will be a sad day when we have to eat our freeze-dried dinners.
Everyone is doing great, staying healthy and happy.
Thanks for following along, more tomorrow.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
Heck Yeah, Team Awesome!! Your souls must be glowing!! Thanks for bringing us along for the adventure!
-Gabi
Posted by: Gabi on 7/27/2016 at 8:17 pm
Good Luck Jim & Hunter from all of us at Floorco.
Posted by: Floorco on 7/28/2016 at 1:56 pm
Go for Guys !!!!!
Posted by: Uncle Chuck on 7/26/2016 at 8:07 am
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