RMI Expeditions Blog
Posted by: Mike King, Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
What a whirlwind! Yesterday we were standing at almost 23,000 feet, and this evening we're back at Aconcagua Base Camp. It's a big day descending all the way, and our loads just get bigger as we pick up food and gear cached at each camp. It makes it easier knowing that we're headed to a delicious steak dinner ( better than the way in even!). Tomorrow we're back to light loads, light shoes, and getting miles under our feet. Hopefully we see Billy and team along the way. We'll be in touch!
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
We visited Lake Manyara National Park today. It sits about 75 east of Arusha and boarders the Great Rift escarpment.
It is known for its tree climbing lions and it didn't disappoint either. We saw lions, elephants, giraffes, hippos, gazelles, zebras, wort hogs, wildebeest, baboons, and plenty of other animals too. It was a great day of relaxing and everyone enjoyed the beautiful day. We even ran into the infamous Dave Hahn too.
Enjoying the good life!
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Another passage from the annals of RMI Aconcagua #5 history:
Today was decidedly less hot and subsequently much more enjoyable than yesterday. Our intrepid crew rose early and made short work of our journey from Pampa de Leñas to our second camp on the approach at Casa de Piedras. Sunny skies and a nice breeze kept our spirits high as we cruised through the enormous Vacas Valley. Right as we were arriving in camp we spotted Pete Van Deventer's crew headed down from their successful summit bid. They were looking tired and skinny but super-psyched on their accomplishment and the fact that they were headed for the barn. We gave them high-fives and settled in to build our camp. We too are in good spirits, moving well, and excited to make it to Basecamp tomorrow at Plaza Argentina.
Hasta pronto,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent and the rest of the gang.
Posted by:
Categories: Mountaineering Fitness & Training
This is officially the first training week Fit To Climb and of your Mount Rainier adventure. Much like fastening up a coat, it’s really important to get the first button in the right hole, or no amount of effort at the other end is going to make the process successful!
In physical training, a core foundational principle is to develop correct movement patterns, this so we can use our bodies efficiently while avoiding injury. The method we’ll use to practice this week is the Daily Dozen. (Download a description of the Daily Dozen here).
During this first week of training, measure your success by performing the exercises with the greatest amount of skill possible. Consider how you’ll want to move on the mountain during your climb, moving over rocks covered in ice, wearing crampons and a heavy backpack, potentially in a snowstorm. At that point, you’ll want your foot to end up exactly where you want it, and you’ll want to have the strength and coordination to efficiently move your body upwards.
The very first step toward getting there is to figure out how to move your body right. Therefore, do not worry about how many exercises you can do or how intensely you can do them; simply focus on the quality of movement and make a strong commitment to quality training during this week and for the weeks to follow.
Fit to Climb: Week 1 Schedule
- John Colver
Have a question? See the Fit To Climb FAQ for explanations of specific exercises and general pointers to help you through the Fit To Climb Program.
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, and is working on his second book, Fit to Climb - a 16 week Mount Rainier Fitness Program.
| DAY | WORKOUT | TOTAL TIME | DIFFICULTY |
| 1 | Daily Dozen (Crux Workout) | 12 min. | Recovery |
| 2 | 30 Minute Hike | 30 min. | Medium |
| 3 | Daily Dozen / Rest | 12 min. | Recovery |
| 4 | 30 Minute Hike | 30 min. | Medium |
| 5 | Daily Dozen / Rest | 12 min. | Recovery |
| 6 | 1 Hour Hike | 60 min. | Medium |
| 7 | Rest | - | Recovery |
| Total | 2 hrs 36 mins | ||
Greetings from 16,000' on Cotopaxi! This is the Ecuador Cotopaxi Express climb calling to check in. We are up at the hut relaxing, drinking some tea, and acclimatizing. We're getting ready to do a little bit of training tomorrow but for right now we are just bumping ourselves up a little higher into the atmosphere and we'll hang out and acclimatize for a bit before doing some training tomorrow and get ready for our attempt at the top the day after. So all is well up here; it’s snowing lightly but we anticipate it clearing out just in time for us.
RMI Guide Jake Beren & Team
Jake Beren checking in from Jose Ribas Refugio
On The Map
It’s exciting to follow your progress. Looking forward to the next post. Good Luck!!
Posted by: Anne Cygan on 2/5/2013 at 5:19 pm
Wishing the Nolans as well as the whole team good luck and best wishes for a safe climb!
Posted by: John Nolan on 2/4/2013 at 7:03 pm
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Back to civilization and freshly showered!
We have returned from the mountain and are doing great. It's been a long day but we smell clean and our bellies are full after another wonderful meal from the Dik Dik staff.
Everyone is looking forward to the safari tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
CONGRATS YOU HAVE DONE great DANIEL
Posted by: w. d. cate on 2/5/2013 at 3:24 pm
Greetings from Pampa de Leñas! Our team enjoyed one last night in a bed and awoke this morning to beautiful sunny skies. Seemingly, a great day to begin our long journey. The team thus far has been exceptionally well organized and we were able to enjoy a relatively stress free morning putting the finishing touches on our packing and stashing a bunch of city clothes in the Grajales packing facility. We caught a quick ride over to the trailhead at Punta de Vacas and after checking in with the guardaparques began our journey. Relatively calm winds and scorching temperatures in the nineties caught us all a little off guard and forced us to stop frequently and soak our clothes in the river to cool off! Even after a complete soaking, our shirts were dried off completely in ten minutes! Well, despite the heat we persevered and even made good time into our first camp.
More info to come as our expedition develops,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
RMI's Expedition Skill Seminar - Winter is a go! And the first thing we are doing is the 1st principal of Leave No Trace...plan and prepare. Adam Knoff and I are busy with the team organizing and packing gear, practicing knots and hitches, and teaching various self rescue techniques all in the comfort of RMI BaseCamp in Ashford.
We have a decent forecast and our hope is to make a big push up to Camp Muir tomorrow. Will we summit? How high will we get in the frigid snows of Rainier? Stay tuned to find out.
One thing is for sure, we will be having fun while going through advanced training for big mountain climbing.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Woohoo!! Conquer that mountain guys! <3
Posted by: Roz on 2/5/2013 at 8:01 pm
Tim and Frank, my super-charged awesome inspirations: come home safe and happy and with lots of good pics. Can’t wait to hear all of your fun stories and see your smiling faces. We are all so proud, and love and miss you guys tons. HIGH FIVE!!! XXOO
Posted by: Dusty on 2/5/2013 at 6:22 pm
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 19,000'
We are all back at the tents after a beautiful summit day on Aconcagua! The weather was even better than forecasted, with no wind, clear skies, and warm temps. This let us leave a bit later, just as the sun was rising, and we enjoyed its warmth for the whole day. I personally have never had better conditions on the summit than today: just a light fleece, no gloves, and a vista that stretched for hundreds of miles in all directions. Congratulations to the team for a huge effort, and standing on the roof of South America. The guides would like to thank the whole team for such a successful and fun trip. Tomorrow we descend back to base camp, and get ready for the trek out and a return to Mendoza.
Cheers
RMI Guides Pete, Leon, Mike, and the climbers
congrats Leon and team!
Posted by: dawn on 2/6/2013 at 11:44 am
Rick can’t wait to hear your voice and hear all about your adventure. XOXOX Carol
Posted by: Carol Crye Popp on 2/5/2013 at 9:10 pm
Today gave us a chance to check out our rain skills.... We spent our time hiking to the Refugio de Horizontes on the Illinizas was great and somewhat dry. The weather was all over the place with showers and sun on a repeat cycle. But luckily the skies parted when we reached the hut and we were able to dry any wet layers and enjoy some time at 15 and a half thousand feet. A leisurely cruise back to the trail head, and it was off to the Chilcabamba Eco Lodge for the night. We arrived at the lodge in a lightning storm and checked into pre-heated rooms and settled in for hearty meal and a good night's rest. Tomorrow we ride higher and take our perch at the Jose Ribas on Cotopaxi. Wish us luck and good weather for the next few days.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
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RMI Guide Jake Beren checks in from the Cotopaxi Express Expedition.
This is so helpful, I am planning to go visit after this outbreak is control. Really missing trekking. These should be so helpful.
https://resilientfutures.com
Posted by: Alice R. Birch on 9/6/2020 at 7:51 pm
All:
The link to the Daily Dozen is the last word “here” of paragraph 2 at the top.
Busted not reading the introduction.
-Barry
Posted by: Barry Reese on 12/17/2016 at 11:25 am
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