After three nights spent at Camp I, the time to descend came early this morning. The lively winds helped to motivate us out of camp when the sun hit our tents. Walking down through the icefall after being up for a few days is always interesting, and amazing how fast things have changed. Everyone made their way through the ever-changing river of ice efficiently. Base Camp always feels so much sweeter after a few nights up high. We arrived under clear skies and unpacked into the solitude of our own tents; our home away from home. Everyone is doing really well, and after a few days of rest at Base Camp, we will all certainly be feeling even better as we prepare for our second rotation onto the upper slopes of the mountain. RMI Guide Melissa Arnot

On The Map

RMI invested with a local solar outfitter a few years back, and as you can see by the picture we are charged up! At the start of this season we used a generator to jump start the batteries, but since then its been all sun. On cloudy days we have to be a bit careful on how much power we use from the bank of six good-sized car-type batteries but usually plenty of juice. Without it, tough to send out this dispatch and even the best generators are too loud. The other photo is of one of our star players here at Base Camp, Raju, who is at the watering hole of choice for now. The staff makes lots of trips to this spot daily with five-gallon plastic jugs to keep us full of that most important beverage. As the glacier moves throughout the season, so will we and the watering hole. With all of the human impact over the years we will boil all of the drinking water. Not yet there with the solar so we do use kerosene for cooking here at Base Camp. We have a most wonderful on-demand gas-powered shower tent that we try and not overuse, which you can imagine on a warm day is so fantastic it is hard to convey. A bit different nowadays since my first trip to Everest in 1990. It was 72 days between showers. Hey, we did what we could, but that first shower was a good one! Dave Hahn is at Camp 1 and a link to his audio dispatch is below. That's all for today from RMI's Everest Expedition. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

Current report from RMI's Everest team: Windy and cool with the jet stream right over the region today. Wind usually means not much snow and that is the case today. RMI Guide Dave Hahn and crew went on a hike toward Camp 2 and are now back at Camp 1 for another night in their great First Ascent tents. Sherpa team is planning to carry more gear up to Camp 2 tomorrow. We are just stock piling Camp 2 for now, leaving gear in duffel bags and not putting tents up since it will still be about a week before the team stays overnight. Without a staff at Camp 2 to keep track of tents, there is no sense in subjecting them to tough weather conditions. The whole team is in great shape and the game plan is right on schedule. It is just a matter of time and next thing you know it, it will be summit push time. Big mountains take a while but they are sure worth it. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

Hello from Everest Base Camp, This is my first chance to take a breath here at Base Camp. If you can call it that. Breathing here is always a challenge. It is crazy to think that with all the hard work Jeff Martin put in here at base camp prior to my arrival, it was still non-stop this whole last week. However, the first big reward came today when RMI Guide Dave Hahn and company called down from Camp 1 reporting that all is well. We have the best of the best when it comes to a team of climbers. And the support we give them to make this climb a bit easier is very much a group effort from Kathmandu to the USA. We had a wild thunder storm this afternoon with a trace of snow but the clouds have cleared and it is pretty clear now. The RMI team left Everest Base Camp at 5 a.m. this morning and made it to Camp 1 in under four hours. That is a very respectable time for the climb of almost three thousand feet. It looks like all the training paid off. We had a nice dinner in the cook tent with the Sherpa team and I am looking forward to my favorite hot water bottle and a good night's rest. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

We are kicking off our Everest climb for Spring 2012. We've already been overseas for a little more than three weeks now and at 17,500 ft Everest Base Camp for about a week. We've benefited immensely from the work put into the building of this comfortable and efficient camp by RMI's Jeff Martin, basecamp manager Mark Tucker and the entire Sherpa staff. The climbing team feels confident that they've now shaken off the "trekker germs" collected during our 11 day push up the Khumbu Valley. Everyone seems well acclimated and we've successfully stretched our legs and lungs on the hills around camp and the approaches to the Khumbu Icefall. On April 16th, we held a Puja ceremony, seeking the blessing of the gods before putting ourselves in danger on the mountain. The Puja was deemed a great success and our Sherpa team has consequently completed two missions through the Icefall, going as far as the site which will become our Advanced Base Camp (or Camp II) at a little over 21,000 ft. Reaching that camp will be one of the goals of our climbing team in these next few days, but we don't intend to sleep that high just yet. First things first… if all goes well, we want to get an early start tomorrow morning, say around 5 AM, and then to climb through the Icefall to spend three nights at Camp I (just under 20,000 ft in the Western Cwm). Our Sherpa team tells us they are satisfied with the present state of the ever-changing Icefall Route. As usual, we'll need to climb steep glacial ice, cross ladder bridges over deep crevasses, pass efficiently under avalanche threats and generally keep moving well when the going gets tough. We figure that this first push should take us around 4 to 4.5 hours. The climbers have spent most of today sorting gear, packing food and getting packs neat and orderly. We even showered and put on semi-fresh clothing. Now we'll launch our first "rotation" on the mountain toward an eventual summit push. Each rotation should take us higher on the hill, encountering different challenges and hazards… but also progressively bigger and more spectacular views of the world. Descending back down to basecamp for smart rest and recuperation between rotations will take on added importance as we get farther along with the game. It is a big season on Mount Everest with perhaps 40 other teams encamped around us at the base of the mountain. We've each been happy to bump into friends and fellow climbing guides around camp and plans are being laid for communal meals and gaming sessions to fill the downtime. The weather has been "normal" enough with each day starting cold and sparkling clear, but then clouding up by noon and dropping a little snow by late afternoon or early evening. Our views of Everest's summit pyramid have revealed a dry and increasingly rocky profile to the upper mountain. Either the winter didn't produce significant volumes of snow up high, or -as is more likely- the jet stream winds have been working overtime to scour the peak. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Melissa Arnot reached Everest Base Camp a few days ago and the expedition is underway! Keep an eye on the RMI Blog over the coming weeks for updates on their climb. In the meantime, check out this video from Outside Magazine where Dave describes his preparation for climbing Mt. Everest.