RMI Expeditions Blog

The most famous RMI guide that ever lived was also a profoundly humble man in an arena not known for fostering humility. Nawang Gombu Sherpa was a man of many such contrasts. My memories of working with Gombu aren’t unique or privileged. I wasn’t seeing some side of him that others weren’t privy to. But because of his unassuming nature, casual acquaintances might have mistaken his stature in the world. Certainly not, if they’d studied mountaineering and 20th century world history. Gombu was the first man to summit Mount Everest twice. He was the longtime director of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and he was nephew to Tenzing Norgay. He was the youngest Sherpa on the successful 1953 British Mount Everest Expedition and was one of the last surviving climbing Sherpas of that heroic era. Nawang Gombu had met the queen of England on several occasions. You can find a picture of him in a 1963 National Geographic magazine placing a silk scarf of friendship around John F. Kennedy’s neck in the Rose Garden. But if you worked and lived with Gombu around Mount Rainier in the 70’s, 80’s or 90’s… you probably don’t remember him doing a whole lot of explaining as to why he was so special. More likely you remember him working very hard. And as he got a bit older and less capable on the mountain, some may remember that he also worked hard down around the guide shop, pushing a broom or helping with rental gear. Despite his unfailingly open and friendly personality, it wasn’t the easiest thing for a young guide to get to know Gombu. He was from a different generation and a vastly different culture and so he talked and acted a little differently… and often times he was a bit needy since he was somewhat isolated in Ashford without a car. So, while everybody called him a friend… that was pretty easy with Gombu, it took a little extra effort for someone to actually be his friend and include him in activities and routines. But for that Gombu was always profoundly grateful. I’m embarrassed now to remember how many times he cooked me dinner and then didn’t allow me to wash dishes afterward. There wasn’t even any question on that… he’d just push you out of the way (and he never lost that particular strength). We did have some fun together… but not enough to justify all of that dishwashing on his part. I’d take him into the suburbs for haircuts and shopping trips to the malls. We’d go into downtown Seattle so I could obsess over shiny climbing gear in the stores. We went rock climbing out at Leavenworth (Gombu was better than I was, not surprisingly) and we even went to the soldout Kingdome to watch Ken Griffey Jr. hit a homerun (his ninth in nine games… it was a big deal). I recall how amused the people in the stands around us were to hear me trying to explain baseball to a Cricket fan… if only they’d known who he was. But I thought that a lot back then, since, as I say, Gombu didn’t go out of his way to let people know he was famous. Which brings me back to the guide shop and a typical start to a day on Mount Rainier in which I’d meet a bunch of new climbing enthusiasts. They’d introduce themselves and detail their previous successes and immediately I’d find out about the banks and corporations they headed, and I’d hear about their ambitions for high places and their admiration for those that had already been to those places. And amidst all the introductory chest thumping (not just theirs… my chest got worked as well) I’d look over to see Gombu sweeping dust off the rental counter and I’d pause to consider that those captains of industry - and I - might not ever meet a greater mountain climber than the small, friendly, quiet legend who’d just fitted them for boots. RMI Guide Dave Hahn, June 17, 2011

The Four Day Summit Climb July 14 - 17 led by Jason Thompson and Walter Hailes were forced to turn around today at 13,200'. The team encountered strong winds and poor visibility. It has also been snowing heavily. The team will descend to Camp Muir to re-pack and re-fuel before continuing their descent to Paradise.

There wasn't much chance to finish the journey this morning as it snowed until about 8 AM. By nine the sun was poking through and we knew we couldn't count on the glacier surface being firm enough for safe travel. So we sat for the day and waited for a clear and cold night. We've waited through many days on this trip and this was one of the tougher ones. Denali was out in all of its glory and although from a distance we could no longer tell just how much snow it had gotten or how hard the wind might be blowing, it sure looked climbable. Our climbing tomorrow morning will be in the other direction, but these will surely be the most important steps we take on the entire trip. The lower glacier in mid-July demands respect. We'll get moving by three or four in the morning and will try to reach the airstrip by 9 or 10. RMI Guide Dave Hahn

7800' Kahiltna Glacier We had high hopes this morning at 14 Camp. The sky was clear and although we could see signs of wind up high on Denali's South Peak, we believed we could finally get up to 17,200'. At least we felt that enthusiasm until just after breakfast when I used the satellite phone to track down the weather forecast. It called for snow. It actually called for lots of snow... Like 30 inches in the next 24 hours. This was difficult information to reconcile with the sparkling blue sky and brilliant sunshine we were then enjoying. And it was particularly hard to reconcile such a possibility of big snow with our diminished food supplies. I gathered the team and gave them the hard conclusion the four guides had reached: we could not go up with such a prediction on our 17th day of a 22 day trip. If the forecast were even half right, we'd be trapped at 17,000 ft waiting for avalanche conditions to stabilize and by the time we were on our way down the mountain we wouldn't have enough food to deal with any further setbacks to our progress. In mid-July with no Park Service personnel on the mountain and with no well-worn track in the snow and with plentiful crevasse puzzles to solve down low on the glacier, we needed to anticipate further challenges to our descent of the mountain. We could no longer look up the hill. In fact, we couldn't even sit at 14 Camp long enough to see if the dire snow predictions came true since such a snowfall would set up a significant avalanche hazard threatening our route down to 11,000'. It was a tough thing then to let go of our summit ambitions while the sun was shining and while we still had food and fuel and while the remaining teams on the mountain reached seemingly opposite conclusions as to how to deal with the storm. But we packed up anyway and started carefully down the mountain. Ever so slowly, the clouds moved in, but we still had great views from Windy Corner and excellent traveling conditions down through 11 camp. It got a bit murky and mushy as we pushed down onto the main Kahiltna Glacier and we needed to be careful of sagging snow bridges on the crevasses of Ski Hill, but that all worked out fine. In just over six hours we reached 7800' and called a halt to the day's march. Time for dinner and some rest in our tents. The glacier surface is soft, soggy and not terribly supportive and the light is flat... Not ideal conditions for taking on complicated crevasse fields. We ate dinner and got in our tents as the snow began to fall. Our focus is now on completing the final push to the airstrip, but on our terms -when conditions are favorable. RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

This morning’s climb led by Win Whittaker and Billy Nugent had to turn around at 12,300’ because of low visibility and high winds. They were back at Camp Muir where it was snowing and in the clouds. They are planning on heading back to Paradise around 8:00 a.m.

The Four Day Summit Climb July 12 - 15 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. RMI Guides Mike Haugen and Casey Grom and their teams checked in from the crater rim at 7:40 a.m. PT. They reported clear and sunny conditions with a steady wind. Congratulations to today's teams!

Still at 14,200', I'm afraid. There was a cloud cap sitting on Denali at 7:45 this morning when we started checking weather. The cap meant snow and wind were working over the camp at 17,200' and so we weren't anxious to head that way without some improvement. That cap dropped lower as we ate breakfast and eventually it mingled with some clouds from below to put us in the soup. By midday it was snowing and we had to write off our chances for going high on this day. On the bright side, our team members that were suffering from minor colds yesterday had kicked those ailments by today... Vitamin C and bedrest. The gang put on climbing gear and walked up the first hill over camp, despite the steadily falling snow, just to get some exercise and some time out of the tents. Our forecasts call for more snow, unfortunately, so we had to do a bit of contingency juggling of supplies today. As we mentioned a few days back, we can't afford to be separated from our cache at 16 by avalanche conditions as our food supply at 14 Camp dwindles. This afternoon three of the guides broke trail up to the fixed lines and then ascended to 16,200' to retrieve the cache. There was plenty of recent snow to plod through and there were scars and debris piles from a few avalanches, but today things were stable enough and the mission was a success. The entire team greeted the cache raiders enthusiastically upon their return at dinner-time. We'd certainly hoped to use the cached supplies for our summit bid... and we cling to that hope. But now we have that food and fuel safely within our grasp should we need to retreat instead. The team is upbeat and optimistic... and realistic. We know we need the weather to improve in the next few days, defying the forecasts. RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Our Four Day Summit Climb teams led by Peter Whittaker, Ed Viesturs and Jake Beren reached the top of Mt. Rainier today. Visibility was low and winds were strong, so their time on the top was short. The teams have started their descent and are on their way down to Camp Muir. Our Kautz Glacier Climb led by Mike Walter sent us a radio call at 1:59pm PST from the summit of Mt. Rainier. The entire team reached the summit via the Kautz route. Congratulations to today's teams!

Oddly enough, we had great weather today, but we couldn't really put it to good use. We stayed in our 14,200' camp. Forecasts called for dire weather and a couple of our gang were under the weather, dealing with minor colds, so we decided to give everything and everyone a day in which to get better. In fact, none of the other teams on the mountain moved either. We know of four, one other guided group at 14 Camp and three teams up at 17,200'. The National Park Service team packed up their camp and flew out of 14 today by helicopter, their season finished. To take advantage of the fine sunshine and to stretch legs, most of our team roped up and took a short walk to the "edge of the world" on the rim of Genet Basin. It offers magnificent views nearly straight down to the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier and also a good look at the lower portions of the West Rib climbing route. Obviously, if we have the opportunity tomorrow, we want to get back to work on the West Buttress route. RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

The Four Day Summit Climbs July 10 - 13 led by Brent Okita and J.J. Justman reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. J.J. reported clear skies and cold temperatures with winds below 20 mph. There is a cloud deck below them at 9,500' but blue skies above. Congratulations to today's summit teams!