Entries By dustin wittmier
This morning we had a hearty breakfast of fresh fruit and a locals take on huevos mexicana. The Team got packed up and organized their gear to begin the 3.5 mile hike to our High Camp. The route consists of a series of ascending traverses that gain approximately 2,500’. During this time we looked out upon the farming communities of Amecameca and Puebla. After our second break we were overtaken by some thin clouds. Thankfully they were dry and didn’t carry any lightening. More times then not we experience some thunder and electrical activity at this High Camp due to similar weather patterns that many of you have experienced in the US Rocky Mountains. If the weather gets bad we do have a hut to hide out in since it is grounded and has a few lightening rods.
The Team did well today considering the high altitude and heavy overnight packs. This camp is at 15,500’ which is a new high point for many in the group. We will make a summit attempt early tomorrow morning and we have our fingers crossed the weather cooperates.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
Today was a logistics day with a hike to continue our acclimatization. We left La Malinche around 8 am and had a delicious breakfast enroute to the town of Amecameca where we bought our water and remaining supplies for the Ixta climb. From there we drove up a winding road to Paso de Cortes which lies between the 2 volcanoes Popo and Ixta that dominate this area of Mexico. With rain lightly bouncing off our jackets, we walked the 4.5 miles from the park entrance to the hut located at 13,000’. We are packing and enjoying the new dusting of snow on the surrounding peaks. Dinner and a good night's sleep will have us prepared to head up to high camp tomorrow morning.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
Today we attempted to hike up the 14,600’ peak of La Malinche. The drive to the park entrance goes through a nice pine forest. We got to tree line around 1:45pm at 12,800’ and storm clouds had been sitting on the summit all day. There was thunder and billowing clouds for the next hour. The guides decided that being on an exposed ridge line with a building electrical storm on the horizon wasn't the best scenario. We started the descent with views of the surrounding countryside coming and going between dark clouds. We are back at the cabins having had a delicious meal and eager to get started on the Ixta portion of our trip.
RMI Guide Mike King
This is Mike checking in for the November
Mexico Volcanoes trip. Everyone arrived in Mexico City over the last 2 days with all their equipment. We had a brief team meeting and dinner last night. This morning we will head out early to get to La Malinche, a dormant volcano for the last 3,100 years for our first acclimatization hike. The bus ride takes us out of the vast and heavily populated area of Mexico City with its population of 22 million people and into the rolling agricultural communities near the border of Tlaxcala and Puebla states.
The goal for today is to hike to the top of La Malinche at 14,600’. We will check in later today once we are back down at the cabins.
RMI Guide Mike King
So far we've had a tremendous trip.
Our first day started cold and rainy, which posed no problem for us given that our training that day was largely spent indoors or at least under the cover of a roof overhead. That day was spent doing some technical training, going through equipment needed for the week, and getting to know one another.
Day 2, Monday, we moved to Camp Muir on what ended up being a fairly nice day. The group was impressive moving uphill, with nobody having difficulty with the 4,500' hike up the snowfield.
Tuesday was a very full day as we covered all the skills we needed to climb the mountain. Following our skills session we ventured out onto the Cowlitz Glacier to practice what we learned and better understand just how glaciers behaved.Following this it was back to Muir to prepare for our climb. A summit talk, early dinner and early bedtime set us up for our climb. Waking up at 1:00am and walking at 2:00, we were immediately challenged by high winds. Unfortunately, the winds haunted us all day, making for a difficult climb. But we persevered and got lucky, summiting just after 8:00am.
The team did great and we're all enjoying some well deserved rest.
Talk again tomorrow,
RMI Guide Brent Okita & Team
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier and his team reached the summit of
Mt. Shuksan via the Fisher Chimneys Route. With the forecasted weather, the team was able to summit a day early and is continuing with some training through the rest of their program. They will descend from the mountain tomorrow.
Congratulations to all on their success- 100% to the top!
A week of training and practicing mountaineering techniques has paid off, and the Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise team reached the Summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. RMI Guide Dustin Whittmier reported a touch and go summit this morning as the team climb into a cap with fresh snow above 13,000'. They are on the descent and will be back in paradise this afternoon.
Congratulations Team!
Yesterday our team made a strong summit attempt of Sahale Mountain in poor conditions. We reached 8,100' on the
Quien Sabe Glacier following a morning of low visibility as well as increasing rain and wind. With a deteriorating weather forecast we decided not to cross a tricky bergschrund, which would have put us in a difficult place considering the soggy snow conditions. We returned to camp wet, but in high spirits knowing we gave it our best go. The entire team did an excellent job and are looking forward to sunny summits in the future!
RMI Guide
Dustin Wittmier
Our team woke up just after 7am to dense fog and intermittent rain. This group is positive and experienced in the back country, so it was no problem. The skies still have not cleared up, but we were able to cover the topics of technical gear, walking and advanced scrambling all while staying relatively dry. Not wanting to get the team too wet, we took shelter in our tents after breakfast, waiting for a break in the weather. We are now back in camp, relaxing outside as the sun is just starting to poke through. It is warm and any wet items have dried out by now. The team is looking forward to climbing tomorrow and we will check in, hopefully from the
top!
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier
After a soggy morning of pushing through wet brush in the forest we emerged into the open slopes of Boston Basin. Our team setup camp in a beautiful location at about 5,600' in
Boston Basin. Grand views of the Boston Basin peaks and Johannesburg Mountain made for a beautiful sunset under mostly clear skies. A cloud layer has the valley socked in, but it is an overall perfect night higher up. Tomorrow we will be doing some training for the climb the following day. The team is in good spirits and generally happy to be surrounded by the rugged landscapes of the North Cascades.
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier
Best of Luck to you and your team Mike!!! I’ll be following along!
Posted by: Farmer Dave on 11/12/2019 at 3:05 am
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