Entries By chad gaffigan

Wednesday, June 19, 2019 - 11:42 PM PT Things started out quiet and cloudy in Talkeetna today, continuing what had been a string of manky weather. We met at the venerable Roadhouse for breakfast and the opening strategy session for our Denali Expedition. Fortified with strong coffee, the team moved on to the nearby Talkeetna Ranger Station of the National Park Service for our mandatory pre-climb orientation and briefing. We were honored to have Roger Robinson himself give our slideshow and discussion on safety and environmental policies. Roger is in the fortieth and final year of a phenomenal and heroic career with the NPS on Denali. By the time we headed out to the airstrip to pack and organize gear at the K2 Aviation hangar, the clouds were on the run and blue sky and strong sunshine were breaking out everywhere. We conducted a thorough gear check and packing session through the afternoon, culminating in a weigh-in to get everything tagged and set for loading on the beautiful DeHaviland Ski Otters parked on Talkeetna’s tarmac. Our 11 person team -7 climbers and 4 guides- got together at The West Rib pub for dinner on the patio as cottonwood buds floated like thick snowflakes in the sunshine. Most of the team wandered on down to the banks of the Susitna River to check out Denali, shining 50 miles to the west and crowding the sky. Then it was back to the hotel to tidy loose ends and get a final night in a bed. Tomorrow looks mighty good for getting started. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Wednesday, June 19, 2019 - 7:22 AM PT Our expedition has begun and the hard part is done. We managed to come together in the Anchorage airport from throughout North America. As a bonus, all of our gear made it through as well. We loaded up in the traditional Denali Overland van and trailer and got out of rush hour Anchorage traffic for the three hour push to the North. We couldn’t see much of the mountains as clouds were down pretty low, so we focused on enjoying the many shades of green on the valley floor. A stop for groceries in Wasilla broke up the ride nicely and we arrived in Talkeetna by 8PM. There was a brief tour of town before the team settled for the night in the comfort of the Swiss Alaska Inn. The work begins in the morning-packing and permitting. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

The Expedition Skill Seminar - Emmons June 8 - 13 team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning via the Emmons Glacier led by RMI Guide Bryan Mazaika. After two days of training the team drove to White River Camp Ground and started their ascent. The team will return to Camp Schurman for their final night on the mountain. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp tomorrow afternoon for the conclusion of their program. Congratulations to the Emmons team!

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons May 31 - 5 June checked in from Camp Schurman this morning. RMI Guide Walt Hailes and team returned to camp after making their summit attempt. The team reached 13,200' before high winds forced their decision to turn around. They plan to do some additional training today and spend their last night on the mountain. Tomorrow they return to the trailhead and then back to Rainier BaseCamp.

RMI Guides Casey Grom, Chad Gaffigan and their team made it to the top of Cotopaxi! As you can see from the photo, weather was less than ideal but eight of nine climbers did summit. Congratulations to the team!

On The Map

Hello again from Ecuador! The team woke up today to a tranquil setting at a beautiful mountain lodge, Chilcabamba Eco Lodge. A late breakfast was followed by walks around the local area, discovering an albino cow, and a few folks trying their hand at horseback riding. The team then had a nice discussion on packing for our next objective, Cotopaxi. This discussion led into an excellent pasta dinner. Another night of rest and we will be active again the in mountains. RMI Guide Chad Gaffigan

We did it! The whole team managed to stand on the summit of Cayambe today, after a long, cold and windy uphill battle. We had hoped that the weather would remain calm, but unfortunately the wind picked up sometime in the night before we started our climb. The team did a great job of taking care of themselves and everyone dug deep to push through the challenging conditions. The climb took just over 7 hours to reach the summit after starting out on relatively lower angle slopes that continued to steepen until the final last pitch, which was roughly 50 degrees. Once over this obstacle, it was an easy, but windy stroll to the top of Cayambe which sits at 18,997ft. We didn’t stick around too long as it was pretty cold and the view was mostly obscured by the clouds blowing by. We descended all the way back to our hut and took a brief break before heading further down into town for a well earned meal at a local cafe. We then traveled south to a wonderful and peaceful hacienda tucked up near Cotopaxi where we have just finished another great meal. Now it’s time to enjoy some much deserved sleep after such a long day. RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Cayambe summit crew

On The Map

The December 4th Ecuador Volcanoes Team reached the summit of Cayambe (18,997') today. The entire team was able to top out and everyone is back down safely. We expect to hear more from Casey later today. Congratulations to the team!

On The Map

Hello again Everyone All is well here in Ecuador. Yesterday we had a nice leisurely start to our day. We packed up for the move up onto the mountain and left the comfortable Lodge around 11am. We first stopped by the massive market in Otavalo to take in the culture and we did our best at bartering for some local goods. It was a little intimidating as Saturday is the big market day and it was jam packed with people and their goods. The team snaked our way through never ending streets of goods chatting with locals and then had a nice lunch overlooking the main square. After lunch, we headed directly to the mountain with help from a few 4x4 vehicles to make it up the very rugged road that goes all the way to the mountain hut at 15,000ft. The team chose to hike the last hour to help with acclimatization, and allowed our vehicles to deliver the gear at the hut. It was extremely windy so we didn’t venture outdoors too much. We finished the evening with a nice warm meal then turned in early for a good night's rest. Today the team got up around 6:30am to have breakfast and get ready for our hike up to the glacier that’s about an hour uphill. We spent a few hours refreshing our mountaineering skills on the glacier and taking in the views when the clouds allowed. Everyone is doing very well and the whole team is in good spirits up here since the weather has mellowed out. Our plan is to have an early dinner then head to bed as tomorrow we’ll be making our first summit attempt. We’ll shoot for getting up around 11:30pm and hopefully be out the door in an hour's time. If things go well I expect it will take somewhere around 6-8 hours to reach the summit. Then we’ll descend via the route back to the hut. Keep your fingers crossed and wish us luck. RMI Guide Casey Grom and the mountain crew!

On The Map

Hola Amigos! We had an early departure today leaving behind the busy and celebrating city of Quito. The team drove north, passing by the Equator and made our way to another acclimatization hike. Just outside Quito the landscape quickly turned from a giant valley into rolling hills with farms pitched on steep slopes, and small forest of eucalyptus trees as far as the eye could see. We visited a smaller mountain called Fuya Fuya where we got to stretch our legs on the steepest grassy hillside I’ve ever seen. Thankfully the weather was decent which allowed us to see some amazing views of the surrounding landscape that included a beautiful lake in the background. We are just on the outskirts of a town call Otavalo, which is known for its massive market and we are currently relaxing at the wonderful Hacienda called "La Casa Sol Lodge” [url=http://www.lacasasol.com]http://www.lacasasol.com[/url] The team is doing great after hot showers, a wonderful meal, and celebrating an Anniversary of some of our teammates. Everyone is in good spirits and looking forward to a nice tranquil night. RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Ecuadorian crew

On The Map