Entries By henry coppolillo

The Four Day Climb August 16 - 19 led by RMI Guides Henry Coppolillo and Jackson Breen reached the summit this morning and stood on Columbia Crest.  It was a clear, calm and perfect day with views all the way to Mt Jefferson.  The teams started down from the crater rim around 7 am. Once back at Camp Muir they will repack and continue down to Paradise.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

The Four Day Climb teams for August 10 - 13 led by RMI Guides Mike Bennet and Henry Coppolillo were unable to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier today due to route conditions.  The teams returned to Camp Muir and will start their descent to Paradise around 9 am.  Their programs will conclude this afternoon at Rainier BaseCamp.

The Five Day Kautz Climb, led by RMI Guide Henry Coppolillo, climbed to the top of the Kautz Ice Chute this morning and continued to approximately 13,000 feet before determining that overnight rain had significantly deteriorated the route conditions. With safety as the top priority, the team made the decision to turn around and begin their descent.

The climbers will return to camp, spend one final night on the mountain, and complete their descent to the Paradise trailhead tomorrow, concluding their five-day adventure.

Climbers on the Four Day Climb July 15 - 18 reached the summit around 6:30 am today led by RMI Guides Sam Hoffman and Jack Ritterson.  Jack reported a very nice day and a great route but quite windy.  The teams were descending from the crater rim around 7 am.  Once back at Camp Muir they will take a short break before continuing down to Paradise this afternoon.  Their program will conclude at Rainier BaseCamp later today.

Nice work team!

Custom RMI trip led by Henry Coppollilo successfully summitted Mt. Shuksan. The team ascended via the Fisher Chimneys, a classic route that involves a mix of hiking, rock climbing, and glacier travel through beautiful North Cascade terrain.

The team is back at camp now, and said they had a lovely day.

Great work, team!

RMI's four-day climb led by guides Henry Coppolillo and Sam Hoffman reached this summit of Mt Rainier this morning around 5:15am. They reported cold temperatures and moderate winds. They are currently on their descent back to Camp Muir and will return to Ashford this afternoon. 

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz June 19 - 24 led by RMI Guides Henry Coppolillo, Dylan Anderson, Margo Kerr, and Aidan Whitelaw reached the summit of Mt. Rainier just before 10 am today. Henry reported beautiful weather and great route conditions. The team spent a few minutes in the crater before starting their descent. They will return to their high camp for one more night on the mountain and some additional training.  Tomorrow they will retrace their steps to Paradise and conclude their program at Rainier BaseCamp in the afternoon.

Way to go climbers!

The Four Day Climb June 14 - 17 led by RMI Guides Joe Hoch and Jess Wedel were turned around by high winds at 10,300'.  The telemetry at Camp Muir is showing wind gusts up to 48 mph. The teams returned to Camp Muir and enjoyed a bit of rest and perhaps a nice sunrise.  They plan to descend from Camp Muir around 9:30 am.  We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.

RMI teams led by guides Henry Coppolillo and Nick Sinapius attempted to summit Mt Rainier this morning, but turned around at 11,500', just above Ingraham Flats due to deteriorating route conditions.They returned to Camp Muir and are on their descent back to Paradise. They will be back in Ashford this afternoon. 

We woke up to full-on winter on Huayna with several inches of snow outside and more coming down- quite the contrast from the summer-like conditions we experienced on Pequeno Alpamayo just a few days prior. We dragged out feet a bit and drank some more coffee to give the skies time to clear. Finally at 2:30 am we geared up and headed outside. It was still snowing lightly but without much wind the temperatures were honestly quite pleasant for climbing.

After scrambling through a few hundred feet of rocky terrain to the toe of the glacier we roped up and began a gradual ascending traverse. The snow continued falling steadily, but the winds remained minimal and everyone settled into their hypoxic headlamp bubble as we trudged up the glacier. Hannah, our local guide Marcello and I were constantly digging small hand pits in the snow and assessing the potential avalanche conditions- we were pleasantly surprised to find the storm snow well bonded to the surface and generally unreactive, so we continued climbing as into thinner air despite the snow becoming gradually deeper the higher we got. Finally at around 18,600' we were faced with a steep traverse and a change in the snow- what was previously benign fluff had changed to a fairly concerning wind slab. Add in the increasing severity of the terrain and a gaping crevasse underneath the traverse and the decision to turn around was disappointing, but easy to make.

We turned tail and made quick work of the descent, stepping off the glacier onto the rocks just as the sun crested the horizon. The snow had stopped and the skies remained clear for a few minutes, and we were treated to an absolutely stunning sunrise as we made our way back down to the hut. More coffee, a second breakfast and a brief nap for some followed, and before long we were making our way down the steep and rocky trail to the base hut. While always disappointing not to reach the summit, our team did everything in our power to make it happen, and I'm confident that with more favorable conditions we would have summited in great style. We're back in La Paz now getting some well earned rest.

RMI Guide Henry Coppolillo & Team