Entries By chris ebeling

Ecuador Volcanoes, day three. This journey is only three days old but the number of firsts for me has surpassed the last three years. What I mean by firsts is simply having an experience down here I have not had in the 15 years I’ve been guiding these mountains. For example, I’ve never ventured off the equator tour to go find local home brewed corn beer. I’ve never been told by one of my climbers that they decided to venture out onto the fire escape, only to lock themselves out, with their roommate, and wind up on roof of the lobby looking down directly at the front desk waving to get let back in. I also have never broken two hours ascent time to the summit of Rucu Pinchincha, which we did yesterday without even trying. Yes, that’s fast....... To continue this trend, we blitzed our second acclimating hike today on a mountain called Fuya Fuya, reached the summit in record time, decided we should keep going and found ourselves on the second summit a kilometer away that I have never even considered going to. The views of Quito were amazing and the team was psyched to have two summits reached instead of one. Right when I thought the day should find its way back to normal, I was again surprised. When we descended and reached the parking lot a few of the guys asked if the lake we were parked next to was good for swimming. After a few typical guy jokes about fish that swim where fish don’t belong and shrunken heads, not attached to our necks, three crazy men stripped off their cloths, high fived and jumped into the lake. Of course at that point jokes about great white somethings happened but jokes aside, swimming in that lake has never happened! Kudos to my “brave” teammates who took the plunge. After those shenanigans, we all piled back into the bus to head into Otovalo to praise our adventurous spirits and eat some pizza. At this point I was just waiting for an earthquake or meteorite to hit the bus, just to keep the streak alive. It didn’t happen.....Gracias! Now we are resting nicely at our beautiful hacienda soaking up the warm sun and humid air. When the weather isn’t raining, it can be almost perfect. In a couple hours we will have another nice team dinner then prepare to head to Cayambe. Our fist “big” objective of the trip. Stay turned for tomorrow’s dispatch on high intensity market negotiating, crazy 4x4 truck rides and a new sleeping altitude for most. With this team I have no idea what might happen. RMI Guide Adam Knoff & Team

Today we woke up to another beautiful day in Ecuador. After breakfast our team, now complete with our outstanding local guide Jaime, headed for the teleferico (gondola) and began our first acclimatization hike on a beautiful ridge overlooking Quito. The entire team styled our climb to Rucu Pichincha, breaking a couple of altitude records along the way. After some time on the summit enjoying just enough weather to make for dramatic light without spoiling any views, we headed back to Quito to rest and pack up for our move to Fuya Fuya and Otavalo tomorrow. The whole team was happy to get up in the mountains today and are feeling great, we hope our streak of great weather continues! RMI Guide Chris Ebeling

I am happy to announce the Ecuador Volcanoes team successfully assembled in the hotel lobby this morning. They were all a bit late and I couldn’t scold anyone in particular so I plan to run them all a bit harder on our first acclimating climb tomorrow. After our team introduction we all loaded the tour bus and headed north out of Quito to the Mitad Del Mundo, or Middle of the World. Otherwise know as the equator! Here at the museum we were taught how the Amazon tribes shrunk actual heads of people, tiny fish can swim up urine streams into parts of the body fish don’t belong and snakes in the jungle can eat full size monkeys. And of course we learned how shadows tell time, the coriolis effect makes the water spin in opposite directions and gravity is possessed by aliens on the actual equatorial line. The team seemed quite interested in these scientific studies but when we left the museum they were equally as interested to detour from the set itinerary to find some local home brew corn beer called Cheecha that the tour guide said was popular in that area. We did just that, toasting a good trip together with a liquid resembling nothing like we drink back home. At this same restaurant we noticed another local delicacy roasting on a stick. Here it is called Cuy. At home it is widely recognized as guinea pig. Luckily they don’t look as cute once they are cooked. When the Cheecha ran dry we loaded up and headed into the old town of Quito where we saw great views of the city, a beautiful golden church and some of the oldest buildings in the country. Ecuador has an incredibly rich history and diverse population. Getting to see it up close never gets old. After the tour we all gathered for espresso and soccer at my favorite place one block from the hotel. Before dinner we will check some gear then team up for our first official team dinner then retire to prepare for our first official climb. Tomorrow we go to 15,400 feet so stay tuned for the report. RMI Guide Adam Knoff

Today was a day of weather on Mt. Rainier. Unfortunately, that weather was not cooperating for the summit climb teams and they were turned back at 8,500'. Mountaineering has its weather uncertainties- we take what Mother Nature deals to us. Today was not a day for aces but there will be more days in the mountains. A great effort by the team today.

The Four Day Summit Climb September 13 - 16 led by RMI Guides Christina Dale and Chris Ebeling were unable to reach the summit today. The teams left Camp Muir around 1 AM but poor visibility along with increasing winds and precipitation forced them to turn around at 10,800'. They returned safely to Camp Muir and will begin their descent to Paradise this morning. Their climb with conclude this after once they return to Rainier BaseCamp.

The Four Day Summit Climb August 2 - 5 led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Chris Ebeling reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today around 7:30 AM. Dave reported a beautiful day on the mountain. The team will spend some time in the crater and enjoying the views. They will return to Camp Muir and continue their descent to Paradise this afternoon. Their program will conclude with a celebration at Rainier BaseCamp later today. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!

The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Mike Walter and Chris Ebeling reached 13,400' before high winds and a cloud cap forced the team to turn. The team is on their descent and will be returning to Rainier Basecamp early this afternoon. Congratulations to Today's Team!

This morning RMI Guide Chris Ebeling led his Five-Day Summit Climb team to the Mt. Rainier summit. They began their descent at 8:00 a.m. and will be staying at Camp Muir for an additional night before descending tomorrow.

The Five Day Summit Climb June 15 - 19, 2018 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Chris Ebeling. Chris reported good clear weather with no winds. The team will spend return to Camp Muir and then continue their descent to Paradise. Congratulations to today's climbers!

The Five Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Chris Ebeling reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Brent reported clear skies and light winds of about 20 mph. The team will descent back to camp Muir for their final night on the mountain. Congratulations to today's team!