Entries By geoff schellens

July 16, 2017 Today we all woke up feeling good, had a very nice breakfast and sipped coffee before heading out on our acclimatization hike. At 8:00 William met us and we loaded into a shuttle for a 40-minute ride bumping through small villages to the trail head at 12,300'. We were all eager to stretch the legs and started out of the gates a little fast. Within minutes we settled into a pace more suited for our altitude. After two hours we found ourselves over looking Laguna Churup at 14,600'. With perfect weather we lounged on the granite slabs around the alpine lake occasionally dozing off in the mid day sun. Shortly after noon we started our descent back to the shuttle and then back into Huaraz. After grabbing a quick lunch in town we did a gear check and got our duffle bags packed for our launch tomorrow and then strolled back into town for a casual dinner. Everyone is doing great and we are all excited to hit the trail tomorrow. Thanks for following along. RMI Guide Geoff Schellens and the Alpamayo team

July 15, 2017 Hello all, The Alpamayo team met this morning in Lima and caught up over breakfast and lots of coffee. Afterwards we loaded our shuttle and began the long drive to Huaraz. As we fought through Lima traffic and broke away to the open roads heading north along the coast the jet lag caught up and we started napping. Soon we turned East and started up the winding roads to the high country. We managed to catch Robby, Steve and the Peru Seminar in a small town for a delicious roadside lunch. Back on the road we hit the switchbacks taking us high. Before too long we got our first glimpse of the Cordillera Blanca and stoped for photos before making our way into Huaraz. Once we settled into our accommodations we met with William, our Peruvian guide, and wandered into town for dinner. We are all feeling great and excited for our day hike tomorrow. Stay tuned for more up dates. Thanks for following along RMI Guide Geoff Schellens and the Team

RMI Guide Geoff Schellens and the Four Day Summit Climb July 7 - 10 team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. The team enjoyed clear skies and moderate winds. They will return to Paradise later this afternoon. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb team!

The Four Day Summit Climb team for June 15 - 18, 2017 was unable to make a summit attempt of Mt. Rainier this morning due to inclement weather. The team will descend to Paradise this afternoon and return to Rainier BaseCamp.

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons Team led by RMI Guide Geoff Schellens reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Geoff and team had a great day of climbing with warm temps and clear skies. The team will spend the remaining time on the mountain training before returning to Rainier Basecamp tomorrow afternoon. Congratulations to today's team!

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons led by RMI Guide Geoff Schellens did not have the weather window they hoped for last night and were unable to make a summit attempt. Geoff reported that there was about 6 inches of fresh snow on the route. The team will be finishing out their week training on many alpine mountaineering skills before heading back to Rainier Basecamp tomorrow afternoon. Congratulations to the Emmons Team!

Sorry we didn't check in last night, I was unable to get any SAT reception from Base Camp. Yesterday we descended from high camp to base camp where we were welcomed by hot lunch, beers, and warm water for a foot bath. We re-sorted gear and relaxed before an outstanding dinner and then went to bed fat and happy. This morning we woke up to coffee in bed and then eggs and bacon before we finished packing. Just after 9 a.m. we began our hike back to civilization, we quickly descended through many ecosystems over the course of the day with dark clouds nipping at our heals. By early afternoon we had made our down the Santa Cruz valley and out to Cashapompa where we met our van. We are all now back in Huaraz having just finished a huge dinner and a couple pisco soures. We are all happy to have showers and some Wifi, but also already talking about the next trip. Thanks for following along on our amazing adventure here in the Cordillera Blanca! RMI Guide Geoff Schellens & Team

We woke at midnight to cold temps and light gusts. After a quick breakfast we packed and stepped into our crampons. Just after one in the morning we left camp and began our traverse across the glacier leading to the start of the technical climbing. After a quick break we pulled out our sexing ice tool and started up the narrow ice runnel. Cold temps, a hand full of other teams, and the altitude made for a challenging climb but everyone did a fantastic job climbing and made good decisions. Shortly after sunrise the team topped out on the summit of Alpamayo to find a strong cold wind out of the east. This made for a short summit celebration before starting the rappels back down the icy face. By 10AM we were all safely back at high camp where we ate, hydrated, and napped all day. We will spend one more night here before descending to base camp tomorrow. I'm very proud of how the team did on this difficult climb today. That's all for now, RMI Guide Geoff Schellens

After a restless night of sleep at our high camp, 17,900ft, we got up late had breakfast and coffee and began our day of chilling. Everyone is adjusting well to the new altitude, some minor headaches this morning but once we were up and moving around a little the symptoms abated. After soup for lunch some folks caught a quick nap before we started packing and prepping for our summit bid tonight. We are all excited for our chance to start climbing this beautiful face we have been looking at all day. That's all for now. We'll check in again after we get back from our climb tomorrow. Thanks for following along, RMI Guide Geoff Schellens

Today was a big day, we loaded our packs and dawned our climbing equipment and walked away from Moraine camp. Once on the glacier we slowly worked our way around crevasses as we worked upward to the col. About 800 feet shy of the col we encountered to first of the three steeper pitches which the team dispatched with no problems. Everyone climbed very well and just before 3 pm we were all at our high camp. This is also where we caught our first glimpse of the face we will climb. We settled into our tents for a quick nap before tea time and then dinner. As Alpamayo caught the alpenglow of the last light of the day we retired to our sleeping bags, tired but very happy. Tomorrow we rest before we make our summit attempt the following day. RMI Guide Geoff Schellens & Team