RMI Expeditions Blog

We are back at the comfort of lower elevations, the meals of our cook Emilio, and the safety of the Andean meadow in which it sits. Our summit climb yesterday was incredible; mainly because of the climbing ability of our climbers, (providing the fastest and most efficient one this guide has had) but also because the weather, conditions and surroundings. We had the mountain to ourselves, which contributed too. This morning, we had to drag our feet out of Camp 2, since a whiteout engulfed us upon waking up. The weather gave us a break and without hesitation, we started our descent to BC. We know we're not done till we dismount our horses tomorrow at the trailhead, but our sense of accomplishment makes us believe so; we have climbed, arguably and according to many, the most beautiful mountain in the world. We're going now to rest that thought in the warmth of the first night not on the glacier in a few days, and let you know all about it tomorrow from our hotel. RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos

This morning we woke up around 7:00 gathered for a delicious breakfast with lots of coffee and packed a small day pack. Today's mission: a short acclimatization hike just outside of Huaraz. Shortly after breakfast we loaded in to the shuttle and drove about 40 minutes out of town to the trailhead at just over 12,000 feet. Starting out in the rolling foothills were stunning snow-capped peaks looming above us. We couldn't contain our excitement and began hiking too fast. Quickly we realized our error and settled into a reasonable pace. A few hours later we found ourselves at the beautiful Laguna Churup, 14,000 feet, where Don and Jesse promptly went swimming. We relaxed by the amazing alpine lake eating lunch and taking photos before descending back to our shuttle. This afternoon we will rest at our hotel, do a little shopping in town and enjoy another delicious dinner before hitting the trail tomorrow. Everyone is doing well and spirits are high. Thanks for following along with us on this amazing adventure! RMI Guide Geoff Schellens

Our Four Day Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides Peter Whittaker and Mike Uchal reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The teams reported a perfect day of climbing with light winds and sunny skies. RMI Guide Mike King and his Expeditions Skills Seminar team also reached the summit of Mt. Rainier via the Emmons Route this morning. They will descend back to Camp Schurman and spend some more time training on the mountain before returning to Rainier Basecamp tomorrow. Congratulations to today's teams!

Hi all, The whole team arrived in Lima late last night for our Alpamayo Expedition. We gathered for breakfast this morning at the hotel and excitement is running high. Shortly after breakfast we packed and loaded our van for the long drive to Huaraz. Huaraz is a beautiful town in the foothills of the Cordillera Blanca at 10,000' surrounded by stunning peaks. After arriving at our hotel we met our Peruvian guide, William, and discussed some logistics for the up coming days, spent some time relaxing, and had a fantastic dinner. Tomorrow we will go for a short hike before resting and packing for the approach. Thanks for following along with us, RMI Guide Geoff Schellens

We enjoyed our last evening in St. Petersburg with an early dinner and a boat cruise through the canals of this beautiful city. Thanks to our group for a great climb of Mt. Elbrus and a wonderful adventure in Russia. Until next time, RMI Guide JJ Justman

Hi again, this is Elias it looks like the previous message got cut by the satellite reception. We are back at Camp, everything went pretty well. This team crushed it, they climbed 450 meters of really step ice on Alpamayo in less than five hours. They killed it. We are safely back at camp. Sorry we couldn't call from the top but if you have seen pictures of the mountain, there is only room for one person at a time so we couldn't call from there. This is pretty awesome. We want to thank everybody who has been cheering for us. We will keep you posted tomorrow from Base Camp, hopefully. We're going to chill tonight here at High Camp, because we had the entire mountain to ourselves. So there was no rush to leave early, we had a later start, enjoyed ourselves in the daylight. We are going to sleep here and then do the descent tomorrow. That's all for now and thanks again for following, and we will check in tomorrow from Base Camp prior to heading out the next day. Take care, Bye. RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos

Hello once again everyone - This was a marvelous day as we visited the famous Ngorongoro Crater, considered by some to be the 8th wonder of the world. We started early with hopes of catching more of the elusive wildlife. Today we saw more zebras, Cape buffalo, wildebeest, giraffes than anyone expected, in fact at such close range that we could almost touch them. We also saw plenty of hyenas, ostrich, Impala and saw a few lions, hippos, elephants, and even managed to spot a couple of Rhinos off in the distance. Needless to say it was a wonderful day of well deserved safari. We then wrapped up the day with a visit to a working Maasai village. The Maasai are the local nomadic people that have inhabited this area for more than a thousand years and still try to exist with their same way of life. Finally we returned to the amazing Plantation lodge to relax and enjoy another wonderful meal. All is well! RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

The Four and Five Day Summit climb teams led by RMI Guides Mike Walter and Solveig Waterfall reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning via the Disappointment Cleaver route. Mike reported great climbing, light winds and mild temperatures with a few clouds at around 6,500'. RMI Guide Billy Nugent and his Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz team climbed via the Kautz route and successfully reached the summit of Mt. Rainier in time to watch the sunset. The team will be finishing up their training today and be back at RMI Basecamp later this afternoon. Congratulations to today's teams!

This spring, while another hot and dry winter in Utah began to wind to a close, my friend, and fellow RMI Guide, Steve Gately and I were desperate to find a real winter. The island country of Iceland, once an isolated and expensive island destination to visit, has made a big effort to attract foreign tourists, since the 2008 collapse of their economy, by subsidizing direct flights from Europe and N. America. Lucky for us skiers, this presented an opportunity to explore and ski the volcanic peaks and fjords that Iceland harbors amongst its wild and otherworldly landscape. It being both of our first time to the island, Steve and I made our goal to ski as many of the coastal mountain ranges as we could. Arriving in the city of Reykjavik after a red-eye flight, we spent that first day battling heavy eyelids, touring the walkable capital city, sampling the wide array of fresh seafood and local brews, and beginning our feeble attempt to learn a few Icelandic phrases to help get us by for the next two weeks. “Tveir bjora, takk”, meaning, “two more beers, thank you”, was the only phrase we could retain well enough to use during that first day. Car rentals are notoriously expensive, but we found a deal on an old Toyota Rav4 with decent tires that seemed to be held together well enough for half the price, and we were off. We drove the length of the main highway on the south side of the island, also known as the Ring Road, passing by the active and massively glaciated volcanoes along the southern coastline. Finally reaching the Eastfjords, we were a bit discouraged by the high snow levels in these broad fjords, but found charm and beauty in the tiny and isolated fishing villages. We spent a couple days skiing spring “corn” snow as it slowly softened with the warmth of the low angled sun of the springtime. An experience of a lifetime, the clear nighttime skies lit up with the Northern Lights like we could have never imagined. Domes of vibrant green and purple rocketed over our heads while we camped in the empty Neskaupstadur town campground, taking in the show in awe. Moving northward and then west, we drove across the volcanically active rift valley where the Earth’s crust was being created in real time, creating hundreds of miniature volcanoes, steam vents, and rugged lava fields. Eventually, we reached the Troll Peninsula, the skiing mecca of Iceland. In recent years, the “Troll” has increased in popularity with skiers through recent ski films and the presence of Arctic Heli Skiing. The popularity of this place was well justified; we found some of the best spring corn skiing we’d ever experienced, with the Arctic Ocean serving as our backdrop. The aesthetics and quality of skiing was only matched by the hospitality of the people we met in the small village of Dalvik. Our days here were spent skiing while evenings were filled mingling with locals and tourist skiers alike on the front steps of the local Kaffihaus (Coffeehouse), which doubled as a pub in the later hours of the evening. As with many of the small communities in Iceland, the owners of our hostel also ran this Kaffihaus, serving their own fish stew from their friends’ fishing boats, and serving beer brewed a couple doors down the street. Traveling onward, we drove the barren and isolated roads from Dalvik to the northwest corner of the island: a series of peninsulas collectively referred to as the Westfjords. We hunkered down in the town of Isafjordur, surrounded by hundreds of steep ski runs that plummet to the ocean, as the snow began to fall. We spent the next six days drinking coffee, while the snow pounded down outside, immediately jumping in the car as soon as the sun made one of a few brief appearances. In a neighboring fjord near the village of Flateyri, we found the siren that had drawn us to Iceland: a beautiful fjord that held the deepest and driest powder of the trip; a long series of steep chutes looming above the ocean. After a winter of scraping and scratching by in Utah, this mythical run made our ski season whole! During these rare moments of sun the formula looked something like: drive around the fjords looking for ski runs (the best were steep rock-lined couloirs), climb up, ski right back down to the car, manage to drive our manual transmission Rav4 in ski boots to another ski run, and repeat. The snow in the Westfjords did not let up for days, even as our time to return to Reykjavik approached. The most hair-raising adventure of the trip was driving the fjords and passes back to civilization in southern Iceland. Over one particular pass, we had to put our rental to the test, busting through snowdrifts until we found a lineup of cars waiting to follow a supersized snowplow the rest of the way back to the main highway. Back in the capital, Steve and I celebrated the end of our trip just like we did at the start; enjoying the fresh fish and brews of Reykjavik, knowing that we had only scratched the surface of the skiing that this country has to offer. _____
Robby Young is a senior guide at RMI Expeditions, leading trips in Washington, Alaska, and Peru. Robby calls Park City, UT home, where he is a ski patroller at the Canyons Resort. When not guiding, Robby is found chasing splitter crack climbing and perfect powder around the globe. He is also a talented photographer: view his images at www.robbyyoungphotography.com.

Hello, this is Elías and the Alpamayo team calling again from High Camp. Today, at the base of the Alpamayo Head Wall, we are taking a rest day, as we'd let you know yesterday. The weather looks really good, we are in good spirits and health, and we're just relaxing and waiting for our summit push tonight. So tomorrow, this time, check in, and hopefully we will have a summit report from you. Otherwise, stay tuned until then, and best regards to everybody back home. Bye. RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos