Friday, June 15, 2018 - 6:00 PM PT And it is a wrap up! The Alaska Alpine Climbing program came to an end. After 7 days of straight climbing with no rest or weather days, we flew out on time to beat the bad weather without risking getting stuck on the glacier. All in all, success all around! A changing weather morning made us pack up quick and the word was out from our pilots at K2 Aviation that heavy winds might delay our pick up; other areas were shut down for flying! In a record time we dismantled our camp and we were pulling our last load into the Pika Glacier Runway as the plane showed above us. A bumpy ride to Talkeetna brought us to the land of beer and pizza (and showers!) and after unpacking and cleaning our gear, the team enjoyed a nice meal as we shared the best moments of the trip. We already made it to Anchorage, and everyone is off to home. As for the guides, we're already looking forward to our next expedition in 2019! RMI Guide Elías de Andrés Martos

On The Map

Thursday, June 14, 2018 - 12:04 AM PT Good evening again from the little Swiss! Another day, another summit! Or summits I should say... the group split and the 2 rope teams headed in opposite directions, towards the east and west ends of the upper Pika Glacier. On one side, a team surmounted the Munchkin. On the other, the South Face of the Middle Troll, a towering rock formation that, with its splitter granite cracks and balancing boulders, provides delicate yet rewarding climbing and the most radical of the views. The weather has been perfect, and we're now going to bed tired, but accomplished and with a full stomach after a quite good pesto pasta dinner! RMI Guides Elias de Andres Martos & Chase Nelson

Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - 8:15 PM PT Good evening from the Pika! We're back from another great day of climbing in Little Swiss. Today we took advantage of the cold temperatures, and climbed a route up "The Witch's Hat", the southernmost formation of the cirque of mountains around our Base camp. Several pitches of steep snow, ice and mixed climbing brought the team to a narrow summit where we enjoyed a well deserved rest to our calves after the endless front pointing with our crampons. All accomplished by another objective tackled in this program, we're about to enjoy a burrito dinner at camp. Good evening everyone! RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos

Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - 2:08 PM PT Good evening! What a day we had... Another alpine objective tackled! We had some snow overnight, so we dragged our feet to see what the weather would do. It warmed up enough to melt the light snow from the rocks, so we decided to aim for a rock route. By 1pm we decided to head to the "Throne" one of the biggest formations in the Pika Glacier. We climbed the "Lost Marsupial" route, a long moderate route among the clouds, above some planes that brought tourist to the glacier, and into the evening (that's what we get to enjoy climbing in Alaska, 24h of daylight) a great pasta dinner followed our arrival to camp. After dinner, we went to bed right away, as we're planning an early departure for our next objective. Stay tuned! RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos

Sunday, June 10, 2018 - 12:56 AM PT Good evening from the Pika Glacier! Another great day for the team. We started the day shortly after midnight, and headed to the "Guard Tower" formation, about one hour north of camp. Summiting during the permanently lit Alaskan night was special, despite the lack of cold temps we were hoping for in order to have better snow conditions. Back at camp before mid day, we had a good lunch and nap, and the afternoon found us ice climbing out of a nearby crevasse. We didn't seem to be affected by the long hours of activity today, and the conversations prevailed at the dining tent for a while. It seems that the weather is changing, so we'll see what tomorrow brings. RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and team

Saturday, June 9, 2018 - 9:26 PM PT Good afternoon again from Little Swiss! We had a great second day on the ice, reviewing more skills, and getting ready for our first climbing objective tonight. We ventured to the top edge of this Pika Glacier, overlooking the tundra, and spent quite some time getting familiar with the transitions and rope work on snow, as well as checking potential routes for later in the program. We have switched to a night schedule, so we can move efficiently during the coldest hours of the day, as it has been scorching hot here. We are waking up shortly after midnight, and heading down glacier for a mixed steep snow-rock climb. Stay tuned for more! RMI Guide Elías de Andrés Martos

Good evening from the Pika Glacier, on the Alaska Range! We had a great first day of activity today. We had a late afternoon flight in yesterday, and the pertinent camp building marathon. Today, with blue skies, we ventured down Glacier to the "Hobbit's Footstool" rock formation for practice; besides some rock climbing-cragging, we reviewed a lot the rope systems that we'll be implementing in the upcoming days. Everyone enjoyed their time on the glacier and rocks, but the hit today was definitely the steak dinner. We're now headed to bed, waiting for a better day of fun on this incredible area of the Alaska Range! Regards RMI Guide Elias and the Alpine Climbing Team.