Entries By grayson swingle

The Five Day Climb April 26 - 30 led by RMI Guides Avery Parrinello and James Bealer completed their Mountaineering School on April 27 and made the ascent to Camp Muir on April 28.  The teams spent the last two nights at 10,080' Camp Muir.  Climbers were able to ascend to Ingraham Flats but due to adverse weather conditions were unable to climb any higher. Today the team is descending from Camp Muir to Paradise.  We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.

RMI Guides Grayson Swingle and Ben Liken reported the Five-Day climbing teams enjoyed a beautiful sunrise this morning. The team spent two nights at Camp Muir and enjoyed lots of hands-on training and practice to enhance their glacier travel skills all while ascending to Camp Muir in wonderful spring conditions. The team will descend to Basecamp and celebrate their accomplishments before everyone begins their next adventure home.

This morning at 8:45am everyone on the team was standing on the highest point in Mexico! We didn’t have a chance to hang out long on top because of strong winds that were bitter cold at 18,491ft. But we were able to enjoy the view before the clouds rolled in and followed us down the mountain. 

It was a difficult climb due to the strong winds, but everyone did a great job pushing through to the summit! 

We are back down in the town of Tlachichuca where we will celebrate our final night together before we fly home tomorrow. 

RMI Guide Grayson Swingle

Hello from 14,000ft on Pico de Orizaba! Today we left the comfort of Puebla behind for our final objective. A two hour bumpy 4x4 ride in the back of a pickup truck took us up to our basecamp on Orizaba. The team is feeling well rested for one more climb tonight.

We have clear skies at the moment and the forecast is calling for a clear summit bid tonight. We are looking forward to watching the sunrise from the side of an 18,491ft volcano. For some folks this will be a new altitude record previously broken on Ixta earlier this week.

Wish us luck for a beautiful morning of climbing. We will check in again tomorrow!

RMI Guide Grayson Swingle

Greetings from Puebla! Today was a great day for the team to rest and explore the beautiful city of Puebla. This city is full of history, delicious food, colorful markets and a perfect place to recover for our next climb.

After a day to explore the incredible Catholic Churches built in the 1500s, the team ate dinner together at El Mural de los Poblanos, a fantastic restaurant full of classic local dishes. Puebla is known as the home of Mole. 

Our next objective begins tomorrow as we head up to 14,000ft to the high camp on Pico de Orizaba!

RMI Guide Grayson Swingle

The whole team is standing on the summit of Ixta at 8:10 am central time! It was a chilly climb but the sun is shining now and it is warming up a bit. The team did an awesome job getting up here. Now we will shift our focus to a smooth descent. That's all for now. We will check in again from thicker air!

RMI Guide Grayson Swingle

Hello from 15,500ft on Ixta! The team did an impressive job carrying heavy loads up to our high camp today. Sunny skies and upbeat attitudes made for a great day in the mountains.

Our camp is above the clouds for now with only a light breeze. We have spectacular views of the Volcano Popocatepetl (17,800ft) to our south. Popo is an active volcano that spits out plumes of Ash from time to time which is fun to watch.

Tonight we will eat an early dinner and crawl into bed to get some shut eye before an early start to our summit attempt tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing the massive sprawl of city lights from both Mexico City and Puebla thousands of feet below.

RMI Guide Grayson Swingle

Checking in from 13,000ft on Ixta. Today the team is preparing our equipment for our trip up to high camp (15,500ft) on Ixta. We are enjoying a beautiful sunset to the west with glorious views of Ixta to the North. The mountain has fresh snow above 15,500ft.

Tomorrow will be a challenging day with heavier packs, but our team is looking strong.  As we watch the sunset, we are eating a delicious meal prepared by our wonderful local staff!

Wish us luck for continuing good weather and hopefully a successful summit of Ixta 17,100ft!

We will check in from our high camp tomorrow. 

RMI Guide Grayson Swingle

Sunday, October 10, 2021 - 5:46 pm PT

Greetings from La Malinche! Today the team moved away from the busy streets of Mexico City to the mountains that surround it. We got great views of our future objectives, Ixta and Orizaba on our drive today across the Mexican country side. 

Everyone did great hiking up to 13,700ft on La Malinche, a dormant volcano. We had sunny skies today and no wind. 

Tonight we are going to feast on some authentic Mexican food and stay in cabanas at 10,000ft. The cabanas we are staying in were once used by the Mexican Olympic team for their training. The stars are out and it is a beautiful night up here.

That’s all for now, tomorrow we move to the base of Ixta.

RMI Guide Grayson Swingle

Hola de Mexico!

The RMI Mexico Volcanoes team has arrived in Mexico City.  After negotiating the busy maze of streets from the airport we have arrived in the lively Zona Rosa district. Last night we enjoyed some authentic Mexican food and prepare for our first acclimatization hike at La Malinche today. Stay tuned for more dispatches as we continue our trip around Mexico!

--RMI Guide Grayson Swingle