Not that we needed it, but yesterday's thunderstorms with hail, lighting, and strong winds only confirmed we'd made the right call to delay by one day. By morning today the clouds had blown off and the sun was back out but you could still see the wind up high blowing strong. Rather than rest all day again, we went for a nice hike after breakfast to stretch the legs and exercise the lungs a bit. Being a Saturday there were dozens of snowcats full of people and endless snowmobiles flying past as we hiked.
After our hike we enjoyed another nice meal cooked by Albina and then sat together to discuss our upcoming climb. We have gone over all the details and are already packed up ready for morning. Our plan will be to wake up around midnight, have breakfast at 12:30 and hopefully be riding our snowcat by 1:30. The snow cat will drop us off basically where we ended our highest acclimatization hike two days ago. From there it should takes us about 6-8 hours to reach the summit of Mt. Elbrus if all goes according to plan. The forecast looks better than yesterday's and the team is very ready for the climb.
We'll do our best to call from the summit, and will undoubtedly check in when we return.
Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
It is 10 am Seattle time so by now you have reached the top and come back down with lots of stories and good thoughts. Kevin are you keeping a journal for a great book? Love to all Mom and Granny
Posted by: Cornelia Granny on 7/20/2014 at 9:49 am
By now you must be climbing, or maybe already there. So glad the weather broke for you, and looking forward to many good pictures. Be safe—MA
The Four Day Summit Climbs led by RMI Guides Zeb Blais and Lindsay Fixmer reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams experienced very high winds upon approaching the crater rim. The team enjoyed some time on top before starting their descent around 7 am. The teams will return to Camp Muir for a short break before continuing down to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!
We had a great day of climbing today on Mt. Shuksan. We started at the Lake Ann trail head (4700') and climbed up through the Fisher Chimneys, which consisted of a couple thousand feet of 3rd and 4th class rock climbing. The weather and climbing conditions were perfect for us, and we climbed at a leisurely pace, making it to high camp in a little over 6 hours. Our spectacular camp is at just below 7000', on a rock ridge nestled in between the Upper Curtis Glacier and the White Salmon Glacier. We've got views southwest to Mt. Baker and north into Canada; it is truly a stunning alpine setting.
We're hoping the weather cooperates with us (the forecast is calling for some rain) and let's us climb to the summit tomorrow. We'll be in touch tomorrow to let you know how it goes.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Hello, this is the Alpamayo climbing team. We are calling from Base Camp. We had a really nice day. We went up to Camp 1, also known as Moraine Camp, to do a carry. We climbed about 600 meters of elevation, some 2,000 feet. We dropped off the gear, set up camp, and we came down. We’re now relaxing here. It’s about 1:30 local time. And we’re going to have another awesome meal prepared by our own cook, Emilio. The plan for the remainder of the day is to rest, and we will do that tomorrow, as well – a rest day before we start moving up. That’s pretty much it for now. Kensie, Parker, Tony, and Pete are doing great, and we are psyched! That’s all for now. ElÃas speaking here. We’ll keep you posted on our next moves tomorrow. Hope everyone’s doing well back home.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Elias de Andres Martos called in from Moraine Camp.
Wishing you a great climb with views that define breath taking and air that feels good to breathe deeply. Hope you all continue to feeling good as ur elevation increases. And that your weather behaves nicely through out your ascent. Happy for each step that brings you closer to the summit. And then again back down. Stay safe!
Today the team got up a little early to make use of the firm snow to practice using our crampons, and we revisited how to self-arrest also. After our morning session we enjoyed breakfast and then relaxed near camp till lunch. The weather has slowly been changing here and shortly after lunch we decided to postpone our climb by one day as the forecast is showing a slight improvement for tomorrow evening. So that means another day of rest tomorrow!
Not much new to report here, but everyone is doing well and we have our fingers crossed that the weather improves enough to allow for some amazing views.
We'll check in again tomorrow before our big climb!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Am sure you are anxious to start the climb but glad you can wait a day to get better weather. Prayers and good thoughts for you all Love Mom and Granny
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise led by RMI Guide Mike Haugen reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. The team spent several nights on the mountain training for their summit attempt on Rainier and gaining knowledge and experience for future climbs. Today is the sixth and final day of this program putting their new skills to use.
RMI Guide Tyler Reid led the Four Day Summit Climb to the summit this morning. As of 7:30 am both teams were at the top of Disappointment Cleaver on their descent. It's a bluebird day on Mt. Rainier, clear skies and warm temperatures. The teams will return to Camp Muir for a short break before continuing to Paradise.
We look forward to seeing both teams at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon. Congratulations to today's climbing teams!
July 17, 2014 - 8:45 pm PT
In just under 24 hours, our climbing team went from the 17,200 ft high camp to the 7,200 ft basecamp. It wasn't remotely easy. Luckily, we had a calm start to the day which allowed us to balance carefully down the exposed and spectacular crest of the West Buttress. Things got tougher at the base of the fixed lines when we needed to virtually swim through bottomless powder snow. We reached easier terrain upon which one could walk laboriously in knee deep new snow and this ground got us to 14 camp. We did a fry-up of a few quesadillas while reorganizing gear and then set off in cloud toward Windy Corner. Plenty of snow kept us walking funny and breathing hard as we negotiated the side hills and corners of Squirrel Hill and then Motorcycle.
At 11 camp we threw up tents and downed dinner. The team wanted to just sleep for a few hours before resuming the march to BC at 2:30 AM. The early start would give our best chance at catching the lower glacier in a frozen (rather than slushy) state. We pushed on through the night gloom, a few thick fog banks and miles of glacier. It was great to see -as expected from conditions on the way in- that the lower Kahiltna was well put together. Very few crevasse crossings troubled us. Finally we got working, trudging and sweating up Heartbreak Hill. As we progressed, the weather improved to the point that with our arrival at the former site of Basecamp (nothing remains so late in the season) it was good enough to dial up K2 Aviation on the Sat Phone and seek a pickup. The K2 pilots did their normal exceptional job in whisking us out of winter and into the Talkeetna summer.
Day 21 of our climb will end with a victory dinner in town. True, we stopped a couple thousand feet short of the summit, but victory is still ours. It feels that good to have endured Denali together.
Best Regards and thanks for following,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
An amazing 21 days for the team and for those of us who climbed vicariously with you all the way up and back down! We do not regret missing the summit, since the climb is a great success in itself, proving who you all are, and allowing us “lowlanders” to share in your successes!
Dennis and Georgia
Posted by: Dennis and Georgia on 7/18/2014 at 10:30 am
Congrats on your safe return. It is always a good day when you live to climb another day. Now you can plan your next climb!! :o)
Hello this is the Alpamayo climbing team calling from base camp. It's been an awesome two days from the trails to get here. We have settled into a really nice camp at the base of the mountain. We have already had lunch and enjoying some rest. The team is doing really well. Everybody's moving pretty nicely along these elevations. Right now we are at 4,400 meters. We are going to relax for the remainder of the day, most likely do a carry tomorrow to Moraine Camp before taking a rest day the following day and continue to move up on the mountain. That's it for now and we will keep you posted. Bye.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos calls in from basecamp.
It was another beautiful day here on Mt. Elbrus! We woke to clear skies, calm winds and a amazing view of the enormous Caucasus range. (Really you should google it sometime!) We had our standard breakfast of porridge, boiled eggs, assorted meats, cheeses and coffee. Today was our planned acclimatization hike and we did just that. The team hiked for about three hours uphill and reached about 15,000 ft, which was a new record for some. We enjoyed the views took a few photos and then headed back down to camp for lunch. The remainder of the afternoon has been spent playing cards, reading and napping.
All is well and we are looking forward to having a rest day tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
The Four Day Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Billy Nugent reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Brent reported a gorgeous day with clear skies and winds 25-30 mph on the summit but 15 - 20 mph throughout the climb. The teams began their descent from the crater rim around 7 am and will return to Cam Muir before continuing down to Paradise.
The Expeditions Skills Seminar - Kautz led by Jake Beren also reached the summit this morning. At 8:30 am they began their descent and will return to their camp where they will spend another night on the mountain.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
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It is 10 am Seattle time so by now you have reached the top and come back down with lots of stories and good thoughts. Kevin are you keeping a journal for a great book? Love to all Mom and Granny
Posted by: Cornelia Granny on 7/20/2014 at 9:49 am
By now you must be climbing, or maybe already there. So glad the weather broke for you, and looking forward to many good pictures. Be safe—MA
Posted by: Mary Ann on 7/19/2014 at 1:21 pm
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