RMI Guide Mike Walter and his team of climbers reached the summit of Cotopaxi on July 3rd around 11 am PT. They descended to camp and will head to La Cienega today.
Congratulations to the team!
July 3, 2014 - 11:19 p.m. PT
The forecasts had us optimistic that today would work out well for a carry to 13,500 ft. At seven AM though, it didn't seem that Denali's clouds had read the forecast. It was socked in above, below and to the West of us. Even so, there was a mass exodus from 11,000' camp underway. The five other guided groups that we've been playing leap-frog with for the past week were all busting down their camps and getting early starts at moving up. By the time we'd finished breakfast, we had the place pretty much to ourselves (to our knowledge, no other climbers have come onto the mountain behind us). The weather, although a little murky and more threatening than we'd expected, seemed stable enough for our mission. We put crampons on our boots today instead of snowshoes, an ice axe in our hands instead of two ski poles, and we elected to give our sleds the day off, loading all food and gear for the carry onto our backs. At just after 9 AM we started up the steep "Motorcycle Hill" above camp. We made steady progress onto "Squirrel Hill" and then into the "Polo Field" laid out below the end of the West Buttress. By the time we reached Windy Corner at 13,300 we were thankful for the cloudcover which was keeping things just cool enough for comfortable climbing. And significantly, Windy Corner wasn't windy. We cruised up and around it to our intended cache site at 13,500 ft. Digging a raven-proof cache occupied us for long enough that the clouds began to clear while we were at it. This meant we were treated to some spectacular views during our descent. With lightened packs, we got down without difficulty. The route was in fabulous condition due to so much recent snow. We haven't crossed an open crevasse since leaving basecamp whereas in other years we might well have stepped over a hundred at this stage of the climb. The forecasted fair weather arrived and made our afternoon and evening resting back at 11,000 camp sunny and easy.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Happy 4th to JT, SS and the rest of the team! Thanks for taking us all on this incredible journey with you. Wishing you clear skies and safe travels. Sending all our love, KK&J
Thursday, July 3, 2014 - 3:01 PM PT
Howdy, ya'all from Alpamayo Basecamp.
Up here at 14,270' the air is a bit harder to breathe, but we are doing well and feeling strong. The hike today was a unique mix of open glacial plains and mossy paths through the woods which remind us of the land of the hobbits.
Currently the team is reading or napping in the tents to avoid the intense mid-day sun. We are all performing well and, weather permitting, plan to carry some gear up to a higher camp tomorrow.
RMI Guide Eric Frank
Thursday, July 2, 2014 – 4:43 PM PT
Yesterday our team experienced the unparalleled vistas of a clear sky at 16,200’ on Denali as we were finally handed a nearly perfect day. We loaded up three days of lunch and snack food plus a few personal items for our carry to the top of the fixed lines which crest Washburn’s Ridge—the most stimulating section of Denali’s West Buttress Route. The team did great learning how to jumar. All members of the St. Angelo family and Jay and Mary Lampas hit personal altitude records. Fatima did a great job breaking trail down the lines, literally paving the way for thirty other climbers on the same program as us.
The population of 14k camp has increased dramatically. What once was a camp that resembled a wide cow pasture with wandering wildlife now resembles a city with distinct neighborhoods on main thoroughfares. Just like a city, this can create traffic jams when multiple teams, all roped together, try to move around at the same time. This sudden influx of guided teams means we will need to wake up at 4 am, while the temperature here sits around 5 below, just to beat the crowds and avoid a bottleneck.
This afternoon we had a lengthy breakfast which leaned more along the lines of a leisurely brunch. We then took a beautiful stroll to an incredible precipice called the Edge of the World. Great weather allowed us more breathtaking views and inspired us for the hard days to come. Hopefully our next contact will be from high camp.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
The sun is setting, and the sky is a brilliant shade of red as we sit down to dinner. What a day it has been! The scenery during our hike into Llama Corral (11,500') today was nothing short of amazing. Tower cliffs and a mountain stream provided a great backdrop for plants ranging from cactus to meadow flowers. A thoroughly enjoyable walk.
Thanks to everyone who is following along.
Mike, Scott and RMI Guide Eric Frank
Hello this is Elias, Robby & The Ishinca Valley team for the Peru Seminar,
We are established at our Base Camp here in the Ishinca Valley at 14,400’. Everybody made it OK here to Base Camp. We had a nice day hiking through beautiful landscape that allowed us to see some our future objectives. Right now we are retiring to bed after great day of hard work.
We will check in again soon!
Elias and The Peru Seminar Team checking in from the Ishinca Valley
Hi Kim, Have a great 4th of July!!!...I just hiked the 2 ridges at Radnor Lake & missed having you,Lora & Michael with me. Sophia Rose loves seeing the deer in the yard. I am sending you a big hug! The updates & photos are excellent on the RMI web site. The mountains of Peru look amazing! Stay well & travel safe!! Love, Dad
Posted by: shel on 7/4/2014 at 8:05 am
Hey Kim! Have a great 4th of July! We are thinking of you - Sophia loves catching fireflies! Love, momma
The Four Day Summit Climb Teams led by RMI Guides Seth Waterfall and Solveig Waterfall reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Seth reported clear skies above with moderate winds and cool temperature. There is a cloud deck below at approximately 7,500'. The teams began their descent from the crater rim at 7 am en route to Camp Muir. The teams will continue their descent to Paradise and we look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later today.
Congratulations to today's teams!
Hello everyone!
Today has been a day of a little work and a lot of rest. We woke up to a delightful breakfast of bagels with cream cheese and bacon and after some casual conversation it was time to go retrieve our 10,000' cache. All was well except for a minor raven attack......thankfully the only casualty was a bag of ramen noodles. It was a 3 hour round trip and before long folks were back to relaxing and drinking glacier fresh water. Our plan for the rest of the day is to keep hydrating and get ready to carry a load to 13,500 ft tomorrow. Stay tuned as we continue our slow but steady climb up this giant pile of rock and ice.
RMI Guide Ben Liken
We had a very nice and relaxing stay at the Hacienda Chilcabamba, enjoying excellent food, great views of Cotopaxi, magnificent star gazing, and warmth from wood stoves.
Well fed and rested, now we're headed to the climbers' hut on Cotopaxi where we'll review climbing techniques and prepare for our summit bid. Hopefully the weather cooperates; so far it hasn't disappointed.
We'll check in again tomorrow to keep everyone up to date.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
RMI Guide Tyler Jones radioed at 7 am with his Four Day Summit Climb on their descent after reaching the summit of Mt. Rainier earlier this morning. Tyler reported moderate winds and a cloud cap on the summit. As the teams descended they were reaching the base of the clouds. The second Four Day Summit Climb team led by Geoff Schellens was also descending with Tyler.
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons led by RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer reached the crater rim around 7:30 am. The team was going to spend to a few minutes on top before starting their descent. They will return to Camp Schurman for their final night on the mountain.
Congratulations to today's teams!
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Happy 4th to JT, SS and the rest of the team! Thanks for taking us all on this incredible journey with you. Wishing you clear skies and safe travels. Sending all our love, KK&J
Posted by: Kelly T on 7/4/2014 at 2:26 pm
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