RMI Expeditions Blog

Hey, this is RMI Guide Seth Waterfall checking in from Camp One on Mt. Everest at the bottom of the Western Cwm. All is well with the team. Dave is sitting next to me in the tent; he is checking in with Mark Tucker our Base Camp Coordinator. The team is snuggled into their tents next door. We had a good day today. We took a little walk up the Cwm toward Camp Two for a couple of hours. We inspected the route, crossed a few ladders and all in all had a good day. We came back to camp for a little afternoon relaxation. The weather has been fantastic, which means alternating between very hot and very cold, but the average temperature is pretty comfortable. Tomorrow we will try and head up and tag Camp Two. That is right on schedule for our acclimatization and with any luck we will hit Camp Two in the morning and head on back to Camp One for our last night of this acclimatization rotation. That is it for us. Everybody is doing well. Hello to everybody at home. We will talk to you soon. Bye.

On The Map

Our team is all tucked in at Mt. Everest's Camp 1. Myself and Lam Babu attended an all expedition meeting to sort out details for upcoming upper mountain rope placement. In itself there is a mountain of rope to be carried up the hill. Great to see all the cooperation amongst the teams to get this job going. Dave Hahn called in from Camp 1 after the team was settled in. Listen to his audio report below. RMI Guides Mark Tucker and Dave Hahn

On The Map

We were all keyed up and ready to climb last night. Dinner was eaten with a sense of purpose, figuring we'd burn thousands of calories going up the Khumbu Icefall and living at Camp One. Each climber turned in carefully, arranging every piece of gear just so for a cold pre-dawn start. And we were up at 4 AM getting boots tied and helmets on when the word came down of a collapse in the middle of the Icefall. We could then see the parade of Sherpa headlights in the lower half of the Icefall... all going the wrong way. Down. Chherring and Gyalgen from our own team had radioed down to say that the route was impassible and that the midsection of the climb would need special attention -new ladders and fixed rope- from the Icefall Doctors. The coffee was hot and our pre-climb breakfast of boiled eggs and porridge was on, so we sat down together anyway and tried to get used to the idea that we weren't going up. No great physical and mental test to pass after all. Until tomorrow. It was with an odd mix of emotions that we each then went back to bed for a few hours. The next time we rose and had breakfast, around 8 AM, a thin blanket of fresh snow had somehow fallen on the tents. It was calm and sunny and the Icefall was unnaturally free of visible climber traffic. After this breakfast, we took our smartphones out to the medial moraine to connect with the world and to read the sad news coming from Boston. We then took a quiet hike down glacier, pioneering our way back across through the gleaming pinnacles of ice until we could reach the well-traveled lateral moraine that is the main foot/hoof path into Basecamp. We passed teams in mid-Puja and tent after tent after tent and basecamp after basecamp... everybody is here now. We don't actually know the number of climbers assembled, but it must be another record season from the looks of things. Most eyes today were focused upward and hopes were pinned on the Ice Docs finding some new way through the heart of the glacier. We'll try again tomorrow. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Mark Tucker here at Everest Basecamp (EBC). Home away from home. I recently completed an Everest Basecamp Trek and Island Peak climb. Always a pleasure to share this amazing place with adventure travelers. I had a great time. Hope the return home for my team went smooth. Thank you all. Back at EBC, I am settling in. Getting organized is always a bit of work but much appreciated as our team's prepare for the rotations to the upper camps. Now that the organizing is done, I opened up the local grocery store for the team. They went shopping for their food to be consumed at Camp 1 on their upcoming nights. They plan to head full force thru the Icefall in the early AM, looking at three nights on the hill. The team looks great, ready to get into meat of the climb. We did take time out to build the horseshoe pits and get in a couple games. Burrito night tonight. A favorite meal here at EBC. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

We're on a well-deserved rest day today at Basecamp. Yesterday we did our last turn up in the Khumbu Icefall before we push on to Camp 1. The cool and cloudy weather we've been having is supposed to clear with light winds so that should work in our favor. Dave went up to Camp 1 this morning with our Sherpa crew to get our camp location dialed in. Once we pick a day, we'll head on up for our first rotation. Here's a photo I snapped in the 'popcorn' section of the Icefall yesterday. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

Fit to Climb: Week 11 Schedule

DAY	WORKOUT	TOTAL TIME	DIFFICULTY
1	Rainier Dozen / Easy Hiking ( 30 min)	42 min.	Medium
2	1-2-3 Stair Workout x 4	72 min.	Very Hard
3	Rainier Dozen / Rest	12 min.	Recovery
4	Rainier Dozen / High Intensity Stair Interval Training (50 min)	62 min.	Very Hard
5	Rainier Dozen / Rest	12 min.	Recovery
6	Rainier Dozen / Cross Training	60 min.	Medium
7	Rainier Dozen / Hike (6 hrs, 15 pounds of pack weight)	372 min.	Medium
	Total	10 hrs 32 mins

BRIEFING This week’s weekend hike is 6 hours and your Day 2 stair workout will bump up to 4 sets of the 1-2-3 Stair Workout. Be sure to stay focused on your sleep and food intake this week, you’ll be burning a lot of energy and you want to give your body the rest and fuel it needs to recover from these workouts! DESCRIPTIONS OF WORKOUTS Day 1: Rainier Dozen + Easy Hiking (30 Minutes) Today’s hike is a recovery workout and you can always substitute it with a different activity, such as running, biking or swimming. The important thing is to move at a moderate pace for 30 to 45 minutes. The pace can be conversational and you do not need to be dripping with sweat at the end of the workout. Day 2: Stair Interval Training: The 1-2-3 Workout Warm up with some moderate paced stair climbing. Then, make three efforts: one moderately hard, one very hard, and one close to maximal effort, with rest periods in between. This may look like: • 2 minutes at 50-65% intensity, followed by 3 minutes of rest (1 minute standing, 2 minutes descending) • 2 minutes at 65-80% intensity, followed by 3 minutes of rest • 2 minutes at 85-90% intensity, followed by 3 minutes of rest Repeat this sequence four times. Day 3: Rainier Dozen / Rest Begin your day with the Rainier Dozen. Feel free to take another 30 to 60 minutes of light exercise if you feel like it (a brisk walk is a great option). If you feel tired, today is a good opportunity be good to take a complete rest day instead. Listen to your body. Day 4: Rainier Dozen + Stair Interval Training (50 Minutes) After the Rainier Dozen, warm up for about 10 minutes, and then climb up and down a set of stairs, at a consistent pace, for about 40 to 50 minutes. Cool down with some stretching. You don’t need to carry a pack on your stair interval training, the focus in this workout is on speed and intensity. Day 5: Rainier Dozen / Rest Begin your day with the Rainier Dozen. Feel free to take another 30 to 60 minutes of light exercise if you feel like it (a brisk walk is a great option). If you feel tired, today is a good opportunity be good to take a complete rest day instead. Listen to your body. Day 6: Rainier Dozen / Cross Training (60 mins) Warm up with the Rainier Dozen and then spend an hour in some moderately vigorous activity as cross training (find out more about cross training here). Listen to your body, and have fun with it. Day 7: 6 Hour Hike (15 pounds of weight) Warm up with the Rainier Dozen, and then hike for 6 hours, or about 10 - 12 miles. Be sure to hike at an even pace. Be sure to prepare yourself for this hike. It may require extra food and water and ensure that your socks are comfortable and your feet are well taken care of. Consider taking an extra pair of socks to change later in the day if your feet are tired or wet. SUMMARY It’s normal to feel that you are pushing the limits with this week’s workouts. You are ... and you’ll do well to let friends and family know that this is an important time for you. Remember that during this phase you are intentionally going to the edge which means that you are taking risks. Peak training requires meticulous attention to restoration and recovery. This is not a time to be burning the candle at both ends. Ample sleep, quality food and good relaxation are your allies when you challenge your body like this. But, the benefits are worth it! - 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.

Dress Rehearsal Day. We were up at 4 AM, breakfasting by 4:15 and throwing on our packs about an hour later. By the time we were getting our crampons on, it was just lit enough that we no longer needed the headlights. The goal today was a "practice run" up to the midway point of the Khumbu Icefall route. We were lucky in that there was very little traffic on the route this morning. Blame that on the New Year's observances, I suppose, but it all worked well for us. We moved up through the "first ladders" area and then up the steep and airy "popcorn" section. The word last week was that the route had initially been established with only one ladder... but without a doubt we went up and over at least fifteen ladders to the halfway mark. The glacier is on the move, with the route consequently changing a little every day. We had a quick snack in the morning shadows at the "Dum" short for the "gear dump" which used to be a halfway camp and or gear staging area in the mid point of the Icefall. Then it was down... carefully, since every cramponed boot needed to be placed exactly to avoid drop offs and crevasses. We did quick arm rappels down one little ice wall after another until we were able to get down below the first ladders and out of the zone where we were endangered by ice over our heads and voids under our feet. Life got better then. We were back to Basecamp for lunch and afternoon naps. In the afternoon, the sky clouded up and it appeared to be snowing on the upper halves of all the big peaks. At three I went to the first meeting of team leaders. It was something of a reunion since everybody there was an Everest repeat offender. We tried to hammer out a few details about radio frequencies and placements for rescue gear, among other things. It turned into a good afternoon for hiding in tents, but that was fine. We did good outside work in the morning. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Rest day for our entire team today. The Sherpas were certainly entitled to one after their big day going to Camp II and back. And for the rest of us, it has been several days back-to-back of hikes and training. Time to slow it down, catch up on food, hydration and rest. And of course, hygiene. Today was shower day... we've got a little on-demand propane burning water heater rigged up on a shower tent that does the trick nicely. Not every day, of course, because propane isn't exactly naturally occurring in this valley, and because getting water just where you want it to be is rather labor intensive, as well. But every now and then it is oh so nice to get clean again. Just before lunch, Mark Tucker made it into camp, fresh from Island Peak and another full circuit of the route to Lukla. So with our Basecamp manager on scene, the entire team is now assembled. The climbers are getting gear ready for a "dress rehearsal" in the Icefall tomorrow, a practice run to the halfway point. The Sherpas are getting ready for a holiday... Nepali New Year tomorrow. To help with the festive atmosphere, Seth and I gave out brand new RMI uniform gear: Eddie Bauer First Ascent climbing clothing for the staff. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

The last RMI winter seminar of the season is almost complete. The team is getting close to the Paradise parking lot and we can smell the cheeseburgers already. We had a great week of training and climbing. Thanks for following along everyone. RMI Guides Brent Okita, JJ Justman, Katie Bono & Thomas Greene

The day started pretty early for Lam Babu and the Sherpa squad. They were putting on crampons at 4 AM and getting busy with the Khumbu Icefall as daylight came on. The five men were passing Camp One by around 6:30 and carrying their loads on up toward Camp 2 (Advanced Basecamp or ABC). The rest of us were just getting up and enjoying a calm morning at EBC, happy that the storm of the past couple of days seems to have fled. Great day for another hike, as it turned out. We went for a slightly farther goal today, if not exactly higher. Kalapathar is around 18,300 ft and we'd beaten that the other day on Pumori Camp One, but for KP we needed to descend farther, pretty much to the village of Gorak Shep. So the overall altitude gain, including having to climb all the way back up to Basecamp afterward, was greater. Exactly what the doctor ordered... more exercise at altitude, more great views. Kalapathar is actually not a mountain summit in its own right. It is more properly about as high as you can reasonably go in trail shoes on the start of one of Pumori's insanely steep ridges. But it is perfectly positioned to gain views of Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse, not to mention Pumori. And it is popular. We were in the mainstream of trekker and climber and porter traffic again, and things are definitely getting busy now. Just walking through Basecamp takes us a good twenty minutes and we are only going through about two thirds of camp (since we live in the upper third). But it turned out to be a wonderful day and we even had the top of Kalapathar to ourselves -for a few minutes, at least. We were able to keep in communication with the Sherpa team and were pleased to hear that they were all back down to base by about noon. A monumental effort, all safely accomplished. So now, although we don't have tents up yet at either place (no sense putting them up any earlier than necessary, the wind would just take them down) we have Camps One and Two established. The team is working steadily up toward the goal of safely taking on the Icefall. The route to Camp One is steep, technically difficult, dangerous and at high altitude... So if it seems like we are going out of our way to be ready for that first time through... We are. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map