RMI Expeditions Blog

Today was a decadent day of relaxation in Puebla, named “Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO.

The day was warm, the sun was shining, and music filled the air. This historic city could not be more charming from its tree filled main square, to the artisan markets, churches, and restaurants.

During the day, we strolled the streets, visited Pirámide Tepalcáyotl, and just caught up on life and work.

We all met in the evening for a team dinner at an exceptional restaurant, Mural de los Poblanos. We tasted moles from the region (while wearing bibs), gazed up at the moon through the open ceiling, and caught up on each other’s days.

On the way home, we indulged in the largest churro one has ever seen. We took it back to the hotel and proudly ate it on the rooftop while taking in the city views. It was a truly special moment.

If we were to write a 6-word memoir for our time together it might be: ‘Came for mountains, left as friends.’

As we have remarked throughout the trip, we love the mountains, but it is really the people that make the experience. We all come for different reasons — to immerse in nature, to stand on the top of the world, to challenge ourselves and push boundaries, to enjoy time with friends, to be truly alive… and when we leave we are always a little bit changed in a profound way. We are grateful for our paths to have crossed and that we got to take this unforgettable journey together. 

Tomorrow we head to Pico de Orizaba for the last leg of our adventure. Here we come!

RMI Climber Whynde Kuehn

People have asked me why I climb mountains. My answer has changed over the years. The short answer is I climb mountains so I can escape the mountains of my mind. 

I like Robert McFarland’s quote on the subject too. 

“The true blessing of the mountains is not that they provide a challenge or a contest, something to be overcome and dominated (although this is how many people have approached them). It is that they offer something gentler and infinitely more powerful: they make us ready to credit marvels - whether it is the dark swirl which water makes beneath a plate of ice, or the feel of the soft pelts of moss which form on the lee sides of boulders and trees. Being in the mountains reignites our astonishment at the simplest transactions of the physical world: a snowflake a millionth of an ounce in weight falling on to one's outstretched palm, water patiently carving a runnel in a face of granite, the apparently motiveless shift of a stone in a scree-filled gully. To put a hand down and feel the ridges and score in a rock where a glaciers has passed, to hear how a hillside comes alive with moving water after a rain shower, to see late summer light filling miles of landscape like an inexhaustible liquid - none of these is a trivial experience. Mountains returns to us priceless capacity for wonder which can so insensibly be leached away by modern existence, and they urge us to apply that wonder to our own everyday lives.”

Mountains of the Mind, Robert McFarland

To wrap up how I’m feeling right now, laying in a tent, at 13,000 ft, when I dream, when I attempt to define happiness, this is it. To be with new and old friends outdoors, doing things that allow us to walk the line of comfort and risk. A guide helps control this risk and allows for this exploration of growth. Thanks Ben.

Sometimes I climb mountains just to say I did.

RMI Climber Hannah McEntire 

Ps: Congratulations to the team today for our summit on Izta!

Mexico Dispatch — 2.24.26

After another wonderful breakfast, we made our way out and over to Ixta. With a quick stop in Amecameca for enough water to drink a camel dry, we got ourselves checked into the park and made the bumpy ride to La Joya. Well-fed and packed up tight, we’re looking forward to at least a few hours of sleep before tackling our next objective: Ixta.

Hip hip, cumbre?

RMI Guide Ben and Team

We had a hearty breakfast at Malinzi Resort and loaded up small day packs to head up to the summit of La Malinche today. Everyone seemed to be feeling well. We had absolutely perfect weather for our hike. 

If you like the Disappointment Cleaver then you will love La Malinche. We had alot of loose scree and rock until the final scramble. 

Everyone made it to the gorgeous summit, our camp dog "Lizzy" included! We spent some time at the summit gathering 360 views and memories to share! 

We had an easy decent and made it back in time to relax and shower before dinner. 

Tomorrow on to the next mountain!

RMI Climber Maria McCoy

"Star Mountain"

Mountains allure us

Mexico we traveled to

Together we climb.

RMI Climber Jesse McEntire

Hello one last time from Chile!

It has been quite the adventure down here for us, and today we hiked the final few miles back to the trailhead to complete the O Trek.

Thankfully the weather held out one more day to allow for spectacular views in all directions and comfortable temps. We made our way on what we are calling Chilean Flat, but you back home would call rolling terrain. More ups and downs than just easy strolling. It took us about 5 hours to reach the park gate and connect with our van for our return to Puerto Natales for our last night here. The team will head to Punta Arenas tomorrow and catch flights home.

It’s been an incredible journey here with some of the most enjoyable friends we could all have. Full of great stories, laughter, nicknames, and all sorts of joking along the way, for 8 days and over 80 miles.

I asked each team member to pick just one work that best describes their experience, and in no particular order here they are.

Undulating
Gratitude
Puma
Resolve
Friendship
Rocks
Extraordinary
Thankful
Grit
Perseverance

A special thanks to our amazing local guides Mauricio and Hector for sharing their beautiful country with us.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the best team!

Good morning from Mexico City!!!

What a beautiful place. After a wonderful plate of tacos for dinner, a good night of rest, and a relaxing breakfast, we are packed, mingled, and ready to roll. We are off to the cabins at La Malintzi. Today will be an easy day of acclimitization, but tomorrow will be our first true test to reach the top of Malinche at 4,461 meters. (14,636 feet) Dormant for the last 3,100 years, Malinche's original name was Matlalcueitl, meaning "lady of the blue skirt," a goddess of rain and song. Hopefully the goddess helps keep the rain away so we can reach the top to sing our song tomorrow. 

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke & Team

The weather continues to be kind to us. 

After a pretty windy evening that rattled tents all night, the morning was calm and far less breezy. 

The team had breakfast and hit the trail about 8:00 heading west along the W trek passing many trekkers and stunning turquoise lakes .

Around 3 hours into our hike we opted for a moderate side trip hike high up into what’s called the French Valley to see the backside of the towers of Torres Del Paine. This 2.5 hr hike took us into a massive cirque with hanging glaciers that we could not only hear, but could often see them cascading down the mountains.

After descending the team finished off the final 3 hours into camp, took hot showers, had a few cold beverages and then sat down to dinner with our whole team including our 8 very important porters.  

One more night here on the Trek! 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the whole crew

It was another day full of adventure here in Patagonia! 

After a much needed nights rest the team woke to a beautiful morning, and not wanting to miss an opportunity we hopped aboard a boat and headed over to explore the Grey Glacier located nearby. 

We did a quick refresher of crampons and harnesses before our glacier guides took us out on the ice to explore. Where we walked around many cravasses, took pictures, learned a little about how the glaciers have receded significantly in the last few years and move down slope roughly 80 meters a year. 

We returned to camp after about 4 hours to have lunch and prepare for the 4 hour hike to our next camp. Along the way we watched several condors soar close by and just enjoyed the stunning scenery. 

Everyone is going great and throughly enjoying each day. Although I can tell the fatigue of hiking so many days is starting to build. But this team is tough and have been on many adventures together, so I’m sure they’ll easily rally for the last few days we have here. 

We have officially left the O portion of the trek and have joined many many other trekkers on what’s call the W part. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and team!

What a day we had here in Chile! 

While technically there isn’t a “summit” day on this trek, today was officially our big day. 

The forecast had us slightly concerned we were going to be hiking all day in rain, but the weather gods were very good to us. We left camp in the dark at 5:40am and made relatively good time up to John Gardner Pass, our high point. Then descend slowly and steeply back down to the elevation of the surrounding lakes. All in all it took the team just under 11hr with breaks to finally arrive in camp for the night. 

To say the views were amazing would be an understatement, and it’s difficult to put into words how truly beautiful this part of the world is with all the mountains, huge glaciers, turquoise lakes, and peaceful forest that we’ve experienced thus far. 

We have just wrapped up another delicious meal and I’m happy to say the whole team is freshly showered too! 

RMI Guide Casey and Team