Entries By dave hahn

Strong Winds, cold temperatures, and firm conditions kept RMI Guides Dave Hahn, Bryan Mazaika, and the four Day Team at Camp Muir last night. The weather has cleared up a bit this morning, so the team will take a short walk on the Cowlitz Glacier before descending. We expect them here at Ashford Basecamp in the early afternoon.

Well done Team! 

Tuesday, May 31, 2022 - 6:39 pm PT

This day won’t be forgotten soon by our team.  It was longer than most, to begin with.  We were drinking coffee at 10:30 PM and loading the buses at 11.  The rough road took us plenty high, but then we were out and trudging uphill by headlight for hours. It was cold and a little breezy, but we were looking at stars… and Jupiter and Neptune.  We stopped in a hut long enough to put on helmets and harnesses and then marched up to the snow, where we donned crampons and ropes.  The walking got easier on the snow, except it was all getting to the kind of heights that are just plain hard to climb and breathe in.  We transitioned onto a glacier, still in pitch darkness.  By daybreak the team had reached above 18,000 ft.  All of the magnificent volcanoes of Ecuador were lined up for our viewing pleasure.  There were plenty of clouds at different levels but it was evident that we were going to get lucky.  Things steepened for the final 800 ft to make the team dig down deep for energy.  But by 8:40 the gang was on the summit of Cotopaxi at 19,347 ft.  13 of our 18 climbers made the top, along with 6 of our excellent Ecuadorian guiding staff.  The team was back at the lodge by midday and packing for departure.  By 2 PM we were in our buses and headed for the jets.  Now -at 6:30 PM- we’re high over Cuba, pointed toward Miami and a celebration on the water.  A big day indeed, much of our team shattered personal altitude records and found inner strength they hadn’t imagined. 

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Today was nice and easy… a chance to sip coffee and stare at the big volcano out the window.  It changed every few minutes, with clouds and light increasing, decreasing and doing just what clouds and light always do.

We took it easy to enhance our acclimatization and to prepare for tonight’s climb.  There was a small and easy training and gear session out in the grass.  But that was balanced by naps and meals. 

We’re ready!  Awake in just a few hours for our Alpine start. 

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Sunday, May 29, 2022 - 6:33 pm PT

Today we climbed Iliniza Norte to it’s quite pointy summit at 18,818 ft.  The entire group made the top in a mere two and a half hours from the hut.  We began at 6:30 AM in partly cloudy conditions.  It was a little cold and windy at first, on icy and slippery rock and dirt, but things improved.  We got amazing views of Cotopaxi and Iliniza Sur, but the rugged rock scrambling required to get up Iliniza Norte kept us well focused on the task at hand.  We hit the top at 9 AM and spent 30 minutes before beginning a careful descent.  The team moved well, with excellent help from our local guide staff, and we were at the base of the mountain by midday. 

We enjoyed a celebratory steak lunch at a restaurant on the way to Cotopaxi National Park and then made our way uphill and into the park to the Tambopoxi Lodge.  Clouds cleared from the mountain at sunset and we had amazing views of our big objective of the next few days. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

May 28 5:15pm PT

Checking in from Nuevos Hortizantes Refugio!

The entire team, 20 of us plus 5 local guides, are in place for a summit attempt on Iliniza Norte. This is an important part of our preparation for Cotopaxi. Today we climbed three hours and 2700 ft under cloudy skies to reach the hut. We'll set out at 6 AM to go toward the 16,818' summit. Hoping for clear skies and grand views. Perhaps we'll get some good exercise.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn and Team

Our team made it down to Ecuador yesterday and this morning.  By midday we were together in Quito and ready to stretch out after travel.  We need exercise and altitude to get prepared for our climb of Cotopaxi in a few days.  We took a bus ride through the bustling and vibrant city to the tram onto the slopes of Rucu Pichincha.  The teleferico got us way up to 13,500 ft in a hurry.  It was cloudy, so we only had glimpses of the bases of the great volcanoes, but conditions were just fine for strolling along the trails.  We enjoyed seeing Caracaras (colorful hawks) and went close to 14,000 ft in altitude.  By then the hour was getting late and we decided to call it good for a big first day in Ecuador.  We had an easy walk down, a few coffees and donuts for the tram ride, and then a trip back to the hotel.  We finished with a fine dinner and a plan for setting out for further altitude training in the morning. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn and Team

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Nikki Champion spent the week at Camp Muir honing their alpine mountaineering skills. While the spring storms kept the team from making their summit attempt, they had a valuable week of training the will prepare the climbers for future expeditions on Aconcagua and Denali. 

During the week the team learned route planning and preparation, avalanche forecasting, instruction regarding Leave No Trace practices and environmental considerations; and a discussion/demonstration of knots, anchors leading into crevasse rescue.

The team will be descending today returning to Rainier Basecamp early this afternoon.

 RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Dustin Wittmier and the Mt. Rainier Five Day Climb teams endured a steady and consistent spring storm at Camp Muir. Windy conditions prevented the teams fom ascending above Camp Muir but will make for epic stories of traveling to the outhouse while at camp. The teams will return to Rainier Basecamp in Ashford this afternoon.

What a difference a day makes.  Yesterday morning we woke at Vinson high camp and finished the “day” around a campfire in Miami, Florida. 

We packed camp on another cold but beautiful Antarctic morning and started climbing downhill at 11:30 AM.  Getting down the steep “fixed rope” section was the tricky part, but we managed it without great difficulty and pulled into low camp at 1 PM.  We switched gears, pulling off crampons and rigging sleds for the lower angled glacier walk to Vinson Basecamp.  There were some low clouds about and a forecast for more to come, so it wasn’t certain that we’d be able to fly out.  But we didn’t think too much about that as we walked the amazing walk down the Branscomb Glacier to VBC.  We pulled in at 4 PM… minutes after Russ landed his ski equipped Twin Otter.  We were greeted at VBC with fist bumps, champagne and COVID tests.  We did the duffel shuffle into the plane and shared a last cocktail with the top notch ALE staff.  Bidding Scott and Hannah goodbye, we loaded up and flew to Union Glacier.  Our timing being perfect, as always, we showed up at 6:30, just in time for an excellent dinner -sitting in chairs at a table in the comfortable dining tent.  By then we knew our Bombardier jet was inbound and so we simply extended dinner for a few hours to sit and talk and mingle with the other adventurers.  Nimsdai, the great Nepali climber and expedition leader, walked in fresh off a plane from the South Pole, and regaled our team with accounts of skiing the “Last Degree”

The “Global” landed at 11PM on the blue ice runway as we watched and cheered.  We took our last steps on the glacier and up the ramp to the luxury of the plane.  Within minutes, Sniggy transformed from Vinson climber to Pilot and lifted us off the Ice.  In less than four hours we were back to Punta Arenas, but only to refuel and say goodbye to Ed Viesturs -who stayed behind for a planned second Vinson climb.  The team toasted Ed as we flew through the South American night.  By early afternoon we were in Miami, Florida and welcomed “home” by Sean “Stroker” Gustafson.  Stroker -the famous F16 pilot and former Vinson climber- had us out to his place for a memorable evening of jet skiing, fishing, and fabulous dining.  Stroker’s family made us quite comfortable and welcome around a campfire to finish the “day”.  The team told stories of mountain climbing and space travel.  We laughed and plotted future adventures long into the night.  It is rare to end an Antarctic journey with a campfire in the sand, but I highly recommend that you try it. 

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

We went for it today!  Another absolutely beautiful, sunny, calm and clear day.  It was something of a long shot for our entire team to be fully acclimated and ready for this serious push to 16,000 ft but we decided it was worth the try.  That summit or not, we wanted to give it a go.  And so we set off at 9 AM.  It was cold at first, but rapidly becoming evident that -without even a hint of breeze- we wouldn’t suffer so much from the low temps.  In fact, many of our team were pealing off down pants and bibs in the first uphill hours.  We made steady progress, but the altitude took a toll and ultimately we formed turn around ropes.  Those of us coming down early put our hopes and best wishes into those continuing to the top.  Those pushing on got determined and efficient and topped out at 4:45 PM with inspired help from Scott, from Conrad Anker and from Hannah.  Our entire team was reunited at high camp by 7:30 PM and enjoyed several easy, comfortable New Years Day hours recounting the adventure and looking out over the precipice of Vinson’s great western wall.  We blew out candles on cookies for Sarah’s perfectly timed birthday and called it a day.  An incredible day in a wondrous place. 

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn