RMI Expeditions Blog
Lou Whittaker, the founder of RMI Expeditions, passed away peacefully on March 24th at his home in Ashford, Washington, surrounded by family and loved ones. Lou was born on February 10th, 1929, in Seattle, Washington.
He and his identical twin brother Jim began mountaineering at age 12, their first foray into the sport they would help shape. At 16, he summited Mount Rainier for the first time, the mountain that would become synonymous with his life, and earned him the nickname “Rainier Lou.” The record of his time in the mountains is bursting with achievements, from the first American-led expedition on the North Side of Everest to the first successful American expedition summit of Kanchenjunga and many others. On numerous rescues, he saved dozens of lives in the mountains; if people were in trouble, nothing could stop him.
Anyone can be a mountaineer, but not everyone can be a guide. Lou was a teacher at heart, and in 1969, he founded Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. (RMI Expeditions). Mountains were the source of his health, the wellspring of his confidence, and the stage for his triumphs, and he was one of the first to make mountaineering and its benefits accessible to the broader public. Since its inception, RMI has emphasized teaching and leading over 100,000 aspiring climbers. His leadership made mountain guiding a true profession, with many of the world's premier mountaineers benefiting from Lou’s tutelage.
When he wasn’t pushing the boundaries of mountaineering or helping to define the standard of guiding excellence, Lou was a masterful carpenter, craftsman, and builder. Lou and his wife Ingrid built unique homes of natural black basalt and massive log beams. His projects were often made more challenging by his insistence on self-reliance but were all the more beautiful for it. His enthusiasm for hard work was infectious; he was a master at pulling together a team, and the stories from those projects are still shared among those lucky enough to be included.
Lou once said, “There’s a certain amount of risk involved in life. When it comes down to dying, I want to know what it is like to have really lived.” And he certainly did. He was a pioneer, constantly pushing the frontier of the mountaineering world. He was a philosopher, always ready with a poem, limerick, or quote. He was an innovator who never encountered a problem he couldn’t solve. He was a philanthropist, who started and chaired multiple nonprofits. He was a patriarch who loved the family that orbited him. He had the vision for American Mountain Guiding, and helped to make the industry and sport what it is today.
Above all, he was a monumental man who commanded the room when he walked in and helped influence thousands of lives. He warmed both hands on the fire of life. With his size 13 shoes, he left one hell of a set of footsteps, footsteps we should all try to follow, no matter how challenging the climb.
Lou is survived by his wife Ingrid, his twin brother Jim (Dianne), his sons Peter (Kerry) and Win, his grandchildren Kristian, Gabriella, and Kalen (Ryan), his great-grandchildren Scotty and Sage, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his daughter Kim. There will be a Celebration of Life at Rainier BaseCamp at the foot of his beloved Mount Rainier this summer. We’ll have more details soon, and ask you to come raise a glass to this iconic mountain man.
“I warm’d both hands before the fire of Life….”
–Walter Savage Landor
The Whittaker family has created a Tribute to Lou Whittaker page on Facebook for you to share stories, memories, and photos.
March 28, 2024
Posted by: Jess Wedel, Sam Marjerison
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche
Elevation: 17,575'
Namaste everyone!
We did it! Everyone successfully made it to Everest Base Camp on our most beautiful day yet! We started this morning once the sun hit the trail and walked for about three hours - taking in the incredible views, the warmth from the sun and stopping for photos every chance we could get. It’s no secret we haven’t had perfect weather this trip but it’s shifting and today it was extraordinary. Sunshine, no clouds, views for days as we looked up at Everest, Nuptse and Pumori. We weaved in and out on the edge of the Khumbu Glacier and eventually arrived at our incredible base camp.
We had a delicious lunch of warm soup followed by a huge plate of food. We settled into our tents after lunch. The tent platforms are chopped into the ice and rock. It’s a pretty amazing sight. We are SO close to the edge of the lower Khumbu icefall we can touch it. This afternoon, we took in the views, felt the intensity of the sun heat up our tents and just took a few hours to enjoy all the effort it took to get here. Our camp is surrounded by mountains and glaciers everywhere you look and it all feels like a dream. We are about to eat a hearty dinner and everyone is looking forward to some sound sleep before we get to spend tomorrow exploring the area around us a little more.
There’s no wifi or service here at base camp so don’t be worried if you don’t hear from loved ones until we make it back down the valley. Everyone is doing well.
RMI Guides Jess, Sam and the Everest Base Camp crew
Sign Up For Everest Base Camp Trek & Lobuche, March 16, 2024 Emails
Thanks for the update - CONGRATS to all on this EPIC journey. So excited for everyone.
Posted by: Elena on 3/28/2024 at 6:19 pm
Way to go! Congratulations to all of you.
Posted by: Diane on 3/28/2024 at 1:16 pm
March 27, 2024
Posted by: Jess Wedel, Sam Marjerison
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche
Elevation: 16,950'
We made it to Gorekshep — our last stop until Base Camp. Wahoo!!
We started the day with some affirmations sent from home (shout out to Heather! We are LOVING all the little surprises) and decided our motto for the day was “Be Happy. Shine bright. Dream big.”
After days on the trail and as our bodies are working hard to adapt to these altitudes, little reminders to keep a positive attitude and hold fast to our dreams is so important. We walked slow and steady today focusing on each breath. Deep breath in, out, pressure breath, pressure breath, deep breath and repeat. After all this time at high altitude we have learned how much this helps as we go into thinner air. This team is STRONG and after a few hours we made it to Gorekshep.
We warmed up with lemon ginger honey tea and RaRa soup before some of us ventured to the top of Kala Patthar, a climb just outside of Gorekshep, reaching over 18,500 feet. The rest of us stayed warm in the teahouse dining room while playing cards and telling stories. The daily afternoon clouds moved in but the Kala Patthar crew still got some epic Everest views.
We’re off to sleep and can’t wait for what tomorrow holds!
RMI Guides Jess, Sam and team
Sign Up For Everest Base Camp Trek & Lobuche, March 16, 2024 Emails
We are thinking of you and hope you had a successful and inspiring trek to base camp
Ted and Patti
Posted by: Ted and Patti Reingold on 3/27/2024 at 5:26 pm
So excited and in awe of everyone. Cheering you all onward. I’m a friend of Jenell P. Followed her trekking in Tanzania to Kilimanjaro summit - now EBC. Best wishes to all - Elena A ⭐️
Posted by: Elena on 3/27/2024 at 11:11 am
March 26, 2024
Posted by: Jess Wedel, Sam Marjerison
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche
Elevation: 16,175'
All is well on the trek!
Today we left Pheriche and hiked further up the valley to Lobuche. One highlight of the day was crossing the terminal moraine of the Khumbu Glacier. A moraine is a mass of rocks and sediment carried down by a glacier. Some of the white rock we walked across is millions of years old!
The second highlight of today was stopping at the Climber’s Memorial at the top of Thukla Pass. It’s a humbling place to be with over 100 memorials of climbers who have lost their lives in the mountains. With the misty clouds moving through and the many prayers flags surrounding the memorial stones, it was surreal. After leaving the memorial, we carried on a gentle trail leading us to Lobuche at nearly 16,200 feet.
We were greeted with warm tea and veg fried potatoes for a late lunch. We also got to share a masala tea with our porters and Sherpa guides. We could not do this trip without them and it was a special day for us all to get to sit down together. We spent the afternoon resting and enjoying good conversation with our team. All while cuddled up next to the warm stove and in our puffy pants! It’s a chilly night in Lobuche but we’re all happy to be here and be healthy.
RMI Guides Jess, Sam and the base camp crew
Sign Up For Everest Base Camp Trek & Lobuche, March 16, 2024 Emails
We are thinking of you and hope you had a successful and inspiring trek to base camp
Ted and Patti
Posted by: Ted and Patti Reingold on 3/27/2024 at 5:32 pm
March 25, 2024
Posted by: Jess Wedel, Sam Marjerison
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche
Elevation: 13,950'
Hello to everyone at home!
Today we had a rest day in Pheriche.
A few of us went on a lovely walk through the village (making sure to stop at the bakery, of course!), some hiked a little ways up the hill behind the village and the Lobuche climbers went to the top of Nangkartshang Peak reaching over 16,600 feet.
Whatever we chose to do, we all got better acclimatized to the altitude before we head higher tomorrow. This team made smart decisions about what their body needed to keep our goals of Everest Base Camp and Lobuche Peak in mind and that’s what any guide likes to see.
We all made it back in time for lunch together at the teahouse enjoying warm rara soup and heaping plates of french fries!
We spent the afternoon having coffee in the warm sunroom, working on puzzles, and even doing a little harness and ascender demonstration for the Lobuche climbing team.
We had a lively dinner followed by some cribbage and Uno. We’re all tucked into our warm sleeping bags with hot water bottles keeping our toes warm and looking forward to our hike to Lobuche tomorrow.
RMI Guide Jess, Sam and team
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March 24, 2024
Posted by: Jess Wedel, Sam Marjerison
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche
Elevation: 13,950'
Namaste Everyone,
We woke up this morning to sunshine and beautifully clear skies. From our dining room window, we had views of Everest, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam. We’ve settled into our daily routine of getting up, packing our duffel bags and heading to breakfast where we have all found an affinity for Tibetan bread with honey - it’s delicious warm fried bread (think funnel cake) and we have made it our mission to review every Tibetan bread in the valley. We’ll let you know which one we think is best!
After breakfast, we head outside, determine which layers to wear for the day, put on sunscreen and our buffs over our mouth and nose to protect us from that cold, dry air. Once on the trail, we do our best to maintain a nice, steady pace, with stops every hour or so to stay hydrated and take in the insane views. There haven’t been too many other hikers on the trail but we are constantly navigating yak trains moving up and down.
Our mantra of today as we moved to nearly 14,000 feet was “I’m strong like a yak”. We hiked for a little over five hours to get to our tea house in Pheriche and everyone did great. We’re looking forward to spending two nights here as we let our bodies acclimate before moving higher.
RMI Guides Jess, Sam and the base camp crew
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March 23, 2024
Posted by: Jess Wedel, Sam Marjerison
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche
Elevation: 12,664'
After dinner, a few of us sat around the dining table and I asked, “what was the highlight of your day?” And the answer was “walking through the pine trees in a cloud.” Someone else chimed in that they agreed because “everything seemed very peaceful.”
We had another big day - leaving Namche and heading toward Tengboche. Climbing up to the top of Namche and turning the corner on the trail to views of Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam was remarkable. We had intermittent clouds this morning but the mountains continued to peek through as we moved along the trail. This is one of my favorite trekking days because the views are endless. We stopped for as many photos as possible because we knew the clouds would settle in by the afternoon.
Just before lunch, we headed back down a big hill toward the river and lo and behold we saw a large group of Himalayan tahr - a type of mountain goat. They were so curious looking at us looking at them with tilted heads and calm eyes. After lunch, we had two more hours of uphill. Everyone did excellent even as the clouds socked in and it began to snow. Before we knew it we were in Tengboche, dawning all the layers we brought to try to stay warm and dry.
We were able to have a very special blessing by the llama at the monastery and spend some time listening to their afternoon meditations and prayers.
Now, we are all tucked into our sleeping bags with hot water bottles right next to us. We are staying at a beautiful teahouse called Rivendell and being taken such good care of. It was a special day today and we are so thankful for the people of the Khumbu valley opening their hearts and homes.
RMI Guides Jess, Sam, and team
Sign Up For Everest Base Camp Trek & Lobuche, March 16, 2024 Emails
Hello again!
It was an incredible day here in the Khumbu Valley. We woke up to blue skies and sunshine beaming in our windows. It was such a welcome surprise after a few days of rain. We quickly ate breakfast so we could get outside for some views of the great ones. We had a “choose your own adventure” day — some of the team climbed to Everest View Hotel while some of us walked to the Sherpa Culture Museum. No matter how we spent our active rest day - we all got to see MOUNT EVEREST! And boy, was she showing off. It was more beautiful than could ever be captured in pictures and a moment none of us will soon forget. Being surrounded at every turn with towering mountains makes you feel small in the very best way.
We all met back up for lunch just as the clouds rolled in. We spent the afternoon wandering the endless shops of Namche, picking up little treasures and learning more about the Sherpa culture. It’s been a bit colder than normal so we opted to get down puffy pants. We are happy to have these as we go higher and an added benefit is the highlighter yellow, blue and red makes it nearly impossible to lose each other. Another day comes to an end here in Nepal and we are all refreshed and ready to keep climbing towards our goal.
Sending lots of love and hugs to our family and friends back home.
RMI Guides Jess, Sam and team
PC: Jess Wedel
Sign Up For Everest Base Camp Trek & Lobuche, March 16, 2024 Emails
This trek has been absolutely stunning so far! Feels like I could use some RaRa soup, some epic views of Everest, and a bright orange—or maybe even fluorescent yellow?—jacket right about now ....
Posted by: Some guy from Puyallup on 3/22/2024 at 10:38 am
March 21, 2024
Posted by: Jess Wedel, Sam Marjerison
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche
Elevation: 11,300'
“We look like a bag of skittles,” Jenell said as we started our morning leaving Phakding.
It had rained all night and the colors surrounding the Dudh Khosi River were saturated. Amongst them our bright rain shell jackets and pants seemed especially loud.
Did we stop at the bakery just a few minutes outside our teahouse? Yes. Yes, of course we did! Pockets filled with pastries we made our way to the base of the Namche hill. It stayed cloudy and drizzled on us as we officially entered Sagarmatha National Park and soon took a quick break for lunch. The drizzle turned to a full-on rain as we stood at the base of the hill looking up at the Hillary Bridge. We got in formation, one step, and then another right behind the person in front of us. Taking deep breaths and climbing steadily. The rain didn’t let up and the mud was epic but this team stayed positive and many laughs were had along the way. We stood to the side of the trail as the train of mules slipped and slid their way past us. We listened for their bells to know when they were coming. The rain turned to a quiet snow as we hummed along those final few hundred vertical feet to Namche.
Namche Bazaar, the city on a hill. Somehow made even more magical covered in a dusting of fresh snow. What a place! We climbed a little higher through town to our teahouse, Camp de Base, and were greeted with big pots of hot chocolate and popcorn. What a day!
One of our Sherpa guides, Dawa, said to me this evening, “this is a strong team” and I couldn’t agree more. Conditions were tough on an already hard day and everybody absolutely crushed it. We are one step closer to our goal but very much looking forward to a rest day tomorrow.
RMI Guides Jess, Sam and team
P.S. Diane, we miss you!
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March 20, 2024
Posted by: Jess Wedel, Sam Marjerison
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche
Elevation: 8,700'
Hello from our teahouse in Phakding!
At 3:45am, our alarms went off and we woke up - ready with our duffel bags and all the excitement (and maybe some nerves) for our flight to Lukla. Everything went smoothly and we were first in line at the airport. After security checkpoints and the duffle shuffle, we were called to board our plane. It was a little cloudy out so we crossed our fingers it was clear in Lukla! And boy, was it our lucky day. We made it in and we were one of the only flights that did.
We were so excited to finally be hiking, the trails were quiet and the clouds hung around to keep the temperature perfectly cool. We meandered down the path, passing ancient mani stones and crossing our first suspension bridges. After three hours, we made it to Phakding! Our home for the night. Warm RaRa soup (the Nepal version of a hearty ramen) filled our bellies and we spent the afternoon resting to the sounds of the Dudh Khosi river out our windows.
All is well and everyone is doing great!
RMI Guides Jess, Sam and team
As I read an obituary in my Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper this morning ….I shed a tear because I have known Lou since I worked for him at Whittaker’s Chalet in Tacoma back in 1972-73. In 1976 I climbed Mt Rainier (Tahoma) with the RMI guide service and was blessed with having Marty Hoey as my guide. I found my passion of the outdoors and still to this day at 73 I am hiking for 5-6 miles a day enjoying the mountain air at over 7000 ft. Fly free Lou! God speed and rest in Love, Power and Peace. Thank you for being you
Posted by: Dene Canon on 3/29/2024 at 6:38 am
In October 1972, I arrived at McChord AFB as a Telecommunications Technician in the 1905th AFCS. My first tent was a JanSport from REI. I found out about RMI thru Gerry Lynch, Lou’s RMI Co-founder. 16 McChord people, family and AF personnel. We did a weekend of training at Paradise with Lou, Dan Boyd, Larry Nielsen. and Phil Ershler. To my surprise, I was matched to a Rope with Phil for our climb from Camp.Muir to the summit. In Winter like conditions in late June ’ 75. Eight of us successfully reached the Summit for a 20 minutes Stay !. Marty Hoey accompanied a 1905th colleague down to Paradise as he developed Tingling in his shoulders. That would be the one time I would meet Marty. In October ’ 84, TV national news showed a telephoto of Phil Ershler waving his Ice Axe upon reaching the Summit of Chomolungma from the North Side, the first American to do so. I got chills and goosebumps !!! remembering our meeting 9 years earlier, with Profound THANKS to the Founder of RMI ~ LOUIS WHITTAKER and PHIL ERSHLER.
I would dearly love to attend the Celebration of Life this Summer for Mr. Louis Whittaker.
With my Profound Sympathies to Lou’s Family, Phil, Dan, Andy, Eric,
Larry and All the Present RMI GUIDES.
Dennis Marrotte
Westbrook, Maine. ( ME.)
04092
Posted by: Dennis Marrotte on 3/28/2024 at 7:30 pm
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