RMI Expeditions Blog
Friday June 19th 11:15 pm PT
After a much needed full night of sleep, we woke up to sunny, perfect weather. The Uchal-Dee power duo made us some delicious pancakes for breakfast. We did some training for our next adventure on the fixed lines that we will find on the steep slopes that lead us up to our next camp. The rest of the day was spent enjoying the great weather. We are going to bed with a light snow showering down on our tent. Our plan is to try to carry some gear up towards
17k camp...if it clears that is.
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
Friday June 19th 11:11 pm PT
On Thursday, June 18th,
RMI Guide Jake Beren and his June 2nd
Mount McKinley Expedition reached the summit!!!
After our spectacular day on the roof of this continent, we have to come down. Waking to calm winds and warm(ish) temperatures, we packed up our high camp and bid our snow walls and tent platforms adios. Leaving 17K Camp we cruised the Buttress and made it down to 14K Camp where we dug up a cache and wished the ascending
RMI team bon voyage before heading to 11K camp to grab a few winks while the glacier sets up for our walk out to the runway.
Amazing how just last week we were camped here with a huge mountain ahead of us filled with so many unknowns. Now we are on the other side of the mountain, grateful for the exploration of an amazing place on planet earth.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
We packed up our gear, loaded up the van, and left Quito, heading north towards the town of Otavalo this morning. On tap was another acclimatization hike up the extinct volcano
Fuya Fuya. The hike started at Lake Mojanda, high up in the Andes. The trail wove through the high Andean grassland, with increasing steepness with every step. A short rock scramble culminated in a 14,000' summit with great views and not a breath of wind. A quick descent followed. We are now at our hacienda for the night, Casa Sol, where we are looking forward to a hot shower and a nourishing meal...I'm sure we won't be disappointed.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
The Four Day Summit Climb, led by Seth Waterfall and Ben Liken, reached the summit of
Mt. Rainier today. Seth reported a fair amount of wind and cool temperatures with clouds hanging around 9,000’. Both teams began their descent at 7:25 a.m.
Thursday June 18th 10:15 pm PT
Today was another early wake up, and then we broke camp and retraced our steps back up to
14K Camp. Everyone did great with the move, and the name of the game for the rest of the day was beating the heat around camp, moving in and mentally preparing for a much deserved day of rest tomorrow. The word on the street is blueberry pancakes could be involved.
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
On The Map
Thursday June 18th 9:30 pm PT
Hi everybody! Billy here checking in from
Kahiltna Basecamp on a gloriously sunny day. We enjoyed a big breakfast this morning in Talkeetna's Roadhouse and scooted over to the airport to confirm the fact that we'd indeed be flying first thing. A flurry of packing and final weigh-ins preceded the loading of the planes, a group photo, and a smooth departure. The great folks at K2 were really helpful and quickly delivered our team to Basecamp in two simultaneous otter flights. Next thing we knew we were on the ice and having come from summer it felt a bit abrupt but the sun was strong and kept us warm as we got accustomed to our new surroundings. We spent much of the day building our camp, organizing gear and supplies, and rigging sleds for tomorrow's departure up the hill. The team is psyched for a big adventure and ready to work hard.
All for now!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
We had a great climb today, with everyone climbing strong and reaching the summit of
Rucu Pichincha. At a height of nearly 15,700', many of our team set new personal altitude records today. We were working hard and breathing deeply in the thin air of Rucu, which rises abruptly out of the city of Quito. We accessed the upper ridge of Rucu via a gondola ride to over 13,000'.
The weather cooperated with us today, although on the summit the views were obscured by clouds. Lower on the climb we were afforded impressive views down into the Quito valley below.
We're psyched for a little down time this afternoon. We head up north tomorrow to climb Fuya Fuya. We'll keep you posted.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Thursday June 18th 10:20 a.m.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent just called from Talkeetna. K2 Aviation is ready to fly the team onto
Mount McKinley! Once they are settled into their first camp, Billy will check in with us from the glacier.
Wednesday, June 17th
Our
Ecuador Seminar trip is officially under way. We met this morning for breakfast and group introductions, and then hit the ground running. First on our to-do list was head out to the Panecillo, a statue and view point overlooking Ecuador’s capital city, Quito. Surrounded by mountains and sitting at nearly 9,000’, the views were beautiful, including a glimpse at tomorrow’s objective, Volcano
Rucu Pichincha.
Next up, we toured the streets of colonial Quito. Here we got history lessons from our local guide and visited churches, the presidential palace, independence plaza, and more.
Finally we were off to the Equator to simultaneously place a foot in both the northern and southern hemisphere. At the Equator we visited an ethnographic museum and learned about the various cultures of this diverse country. We also saw some simulations explaining the Coriolis Effect and the significance of being at mitad del mundo …literally at the middle of the world.
The evening ended with a team dinner with traditional Ecuadorian food. One bold team member ordered the local delicacy, cuy, or guinea pig.
With day one in the books, we’re eagerly awaiting our first acclimatization hike tomorrow. We’re headed to the Volcano Rucu Pichincha, one of the major volcanoes forming a geographical boundary of Quito. We’ll be in touch tomorrow!
Ciao,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Our
Mount Rainier Summit Climb teams, led by Walter Hailes and Pete Van Deventer, were just reaching the summit at 7:10 a.m. Walter reported winds of about 20mph, cool temperatures, and they were just below the clouds hanging right above the summit. Both teams began their descent at 8:15 a.m.
Elias deAndres Martos and the
Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz team checked in and were at 12,600’ working their way to the summit.
Previous Page
Next Page
Mike,
Please tell my dad “Happy Father’s Day” from his family. We love him and are thoughts and prayers are with him.
We can’t wait to hear the stories…
Thanks for your posts.
Josh
Posted by: Josh on 6/20/2015 at 11:52 pm
Beautiful pictures! I am glad the blueberry pancakes materialized for the hungry gents. Hope the weather holds for you guys. We are at our cabin on the lake riding our ATV’s and fishing in the lake for Father’s Day weekend. Our adventures are much more mild. Enjoy your Father’s Day adventure tomorrow, Doug, and we will enjoy ours.
Posted by: Chris on 6/20/2015 at 4:47 pm
View All Comments