RMI Expeditions Blog
The Four Day Summit Climb led by JJ Justman was approaching Mt. Rainier's crater rim at 6:50 am along with the Five Day Summit Climb led by Mark Falendar. JJ reported clear skies above and light wind. The teams will return to Camp Muir and then continue their descent to Paradise.
The Expedition Skills Seminar – Kautz climbed through the Kautz ice chute this morning. Their team made good work of the route and they were going to enjoy a short break off Wapowety Cleaver as this will be their high point for the trip. The team will return to Ashford later today.
We look forward to seeing the teams back at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's Four and Five Day Summit Climb teams!
June 17, 2014 - 11:00 pm PT
A rest day on Mt. McKinley! And well earned. The weather has been kinda funky; we woke this morning to around a foot of new snow but things steadily improved over the course of the day. Eventually, the sun broke and we enjoyed some turbo-tanning for much of the afternoon. But now the flurries are back and the flow has shifted from southeast to westerly. We briefly got a view of the tundra over Kahiltna Pass with a wall of large cumulus clouds headed our way. We are now in those clouds but they haven't hit with much wind so camp is still pretty pleasant. The gang is packing up for tomorrow's forward carry where we are hoping to get a cache in around Windy Corner, setting us up for a move to 14,000' if the weather cooperates.
We will talk to you later,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
June 17, 2014 - 7:14 pm PT
Once again the weather turned nasty overnight. We woke up to howling winds, snow, and low visibility. We waited until later in the morning and the weather began to get better. We decided to do our back carry since the weather was just good enough to travel. We made great time getting back down to our cache at 10,000'. We dug up our cache and were reunited with much of the food and gear that we will not be using until higher up on the mountain. As we were headed back up to camp, the skies cleared somewhat and the weather was downright pleasant the rest of the day.
Our plan for tomorrow is to cache much of the same food and gear up
towards 14,000'. This will take some of the weight off from our move day and help us acclimatize to higher altitudes.
Climb high and sleep low.
RMI Guide Mike Haugen and "The Ocho"
On The Map
June 16, 2014 11:31pm PT
Happy Monday from all us sinners up here at 14 Camp! Today we rested and trained for our foray up the
fixed lines. After a bit of afternoon rest we then spent some time fortifying camp. It's been great up here so far and we are lucky to be surrounded by the other RMI teams. Everyone had been super hospitable and helpful getting settled in. If the weather allows, we will try a mission to the top of the fixed lines. If not, a day of rest sure wouldn't hurt.
That's all from 14!
RMI Guide
Jake Beren & Team
June 16, 2014 11:05pm PT
Well, the Rolling Stones hit the nail on the head with this one. We've sort of adopted it as our theme song of the day, as the weather continued to thwart upward movement for our team. Temperatures and wind in camp were more conducive to resting inside than hanging around outside, and the team spent most of the day relaxing in our posh, eating pancakes and sharing stories with the other climbers who stayed in camp.
While the forecast isn't the greatest we've seen, we're still hoping for a window of high pressure for a summit attempt this week. We are getting close to a go/no go date, but spirits remain high and the stoke for the experience is strong. Keep sending the positive vibes and we'll do our part if the mountain cooperates!! Cheers from a well-lived-in
14K camp,
RMI Guides
TJ,
Garrett,
Bryan and the No Troubles Crew
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer checked in from Camp Muir at 6:45 am. The
Four Day Summit Climb team was forced to turn around at Ingraham Flats due to deteriorating weather. They experienced gusty winds, drifting snow and heavy precipitation. Camp Muir had a small accumulation of snow throughout the morning.
The
Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz led by Elias de Andres Martos checked in from their high camp. The team was expecting to make their summit attempt today but we unable to do so due to the poor weather. The team experienced a very stormy night with consistent winds.
The Four Day Summit climb will return to Rainier BaseCamp later today. The Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz will continue their training and spend another night on the mountain. They will return tomorrow afternoon.
June 16, 2014 - 8:03 pm PT
We arrived at our
11,000' camp in the late afternoon today. Our plan was to leave early this morning to head up here, but the weather was pretty terrible. White out conditions and strong winds kept us in the tent all morning. Just after noon, the weather started to get a bit better and we got word that the conditions were better higher up. We heard a couple of planes that take people on scenic tours overhead, so our suspicions of clear skies above were confirmed. We packed up our camp in record time and headed uphill. The conditions grew steadily better the higher we went and the traveling was actually pleasant.
We arrived in camp way earlier than we predicted as our team has been very steady and strong as we travel up the mountain. We built a storm fortified camp and are just finishing up a well earned meal.
Our plan for tomorrow is to do a back carry. This means that we will go back down to dig up our 10,000' cache and bring those supplies up to our new camp. We will hopefully have the weather to complete this task early so that we can rest up for our days at higher altitudes.
RMI Guide Mike Haugen and RMI Team "The Ocho"
On The Map
June 16, 2015 - 6:07 pm PT
Snow, wind, sun... Repeat. That's been the story of our day today with rapidly changing weather that seems to change every twenty or so minutes. Despite the moderate weather our team was able to descend to the cache at 9,600' in a total whiteout, retrieve it, and climb our way by Braille back to our
camp at 11. For a lot of our guys it was their first experience in not so perfect weather so it served as good training for the inevitably bad weather we'll endure higher up. Even though it was a little crummy, we made short work of the back-carry and are settling back in with a planned rest day on the docket for tomorrow.
Also wanted to make a brief shout out to all the dads out there... Sorry I forgot to mention it yesterday but out here you lose track of what day it is at all. Happy belated Father's Day!
More news as our saga unfolds,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
Editor’s Note: This "pulse check," adapted from the end of John Colver’s Fit To Climb Program, a sixteen-week Mt. Rainier training program, is a general check-in two weeks before the climb.
You really can’t build any more fitness less than two weeks before the climb. The other side of that point is there really is the potential to squander the benefits you’ve worked for by doing too much in the coming weeks and arriving to the climb thoroughly exhausted. For some people, the crux of the training is managing the reduced amount of effort and intensity. In a very similar way to being stuck on a mountain waiting for a storm to pass, this reduced workload may test your patience, but you have to recognize that to overdo it now would be akin to stepping out into the storm. There is just no point.
Roughly speaking, the training intensity and volume are reduced by 50% in the coming days. Some ways to manage the additional downtime can be reviewing your gear, reading about the climb, watching a movie or catching up with friends and family. The last few weeks of training are busy and your climb is coming up at the end of next week. It’s time to relax.
Given that your climb is coming up very soon, this week’s and next week’s preparation really blend into each other. As you look ahead at your schedule for the next ten days, bear in mind that it’s perfectly fine to juggle around the days to suit your needs. Another important thing to bear in mind is that it’s certainly okay to skip training days. The goal from now onwards is rest and preparation. The climb is the event that all the training has been leading up to. Most people are going to be a little nervous. If your nerves are getting the best of you, now is a good time to start actively practicing relaxation and anxiety management skills. My frank observation is that no matter what concerns or doubts come up between the start and the end of this week, the right thing to do in almost every case is to relax and focus on the next hour. You will need all of your energy to climb this mountain and you should feel confident that the training you have will afford you the opportunity to reach the summit of
Mount Rainier.
There are, however, many things that cannot be controlled, weather and snow conditions being the biggest factors. It is easy to worry about both of these things, but I can promise you as a guide I learned not to worry about those things until the time is actually right. The determination of whether to continue or turn back is always a calculated decision made in the moment, and this is one of the fascinations of the challenge. A climbing team can have a hundred percent perfect weather forecast and if there’s a slight air pressure change two hours from the summit, this can result in white-out conditions and winds so high that turning around is the only reasonable option. It is also true that many successful climbs start out in poor visibility and inclement weather which dissipates as the team climbs higher. No one knows what the conditions will be like on your summit day and this is why the gear list contains clothing and equipment for all conditions. What you can count on is the knowledge that no matter how many times your guide has walked out of Camp Muir in the middle of the night, she or he does not forget what it was it is like the first time. Try and suspend thinking about what is happening above the clouds; I say this with absolute assurance, you will be supported by a
world-class guide team.
On this note, many people report that the experience of being part of a team is one of the most memorable aspects of the climb. Being connected by carabiners and a thin nylon rope is certainly a bonding experience. The famous French guide and writer Gaston Rébuffat often spoke of the “Brotherhood of the Rope” to symbolize the connectedness of everyone on the team. It’s an amazing experience to share the mountains with like-minded climbers!
If at the end of next week, you stand on the summit of Mount Rainier, it will be because you put one foot in front of the other, over and over again, and met the challenge of climbing 9,000’ from the alpine meadows of Rainier’s foot to the glacier capped summit. Along the way, you will find synchronicity with your teammates. You will boost them when they are tired and they will do the same for you.
_________
John Colver is a longtime climber, former mountain guide, and certified personal trainer with the American Council of Exercise. Colver introduced outdoor fitness classes to athletic clubs throughout the greater Puget Sound region before creating his
adventX brand. Currently, adventX leads training programs in Seattle and Colver presents clinics on outdoor fitness at companies such as Microsoft, Boeing, the American Lung Association, and REI. Colver lives in Seattle.
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The
Four Day Summit Climb Team led by Casey Grom and the Five Day Summit Climb Team led by Zeb Blais reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 8:00 am PT. The teams reported clear skies and good climbing conditions with some chilly temperatures. They were able to enjoy some time on top today and began their descent around 9:20 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 later today.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams!
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Looks nice sittin on top of the world! Can’t wait to hear about it.
Posted by: Brian Worthington on 6/19/2014 at 2:57 am
So sorry you were unable to summit, Justin. Glad you and the team were able to do the ice chute. Very proud of you and anxious to have you back home, where it’s 90 degrees! Love , Mom & Dad
Posted by: Mom on 6/18/2014 at 6:33 pm
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