Entries By jess matthews

After a long day of travel yesterday, we were re-energized this morning when we stepped outside the hotel to deep blue skies, brilliant equatorial sun, and temps in the mid 70s all at over 9,000’ here in Quito. We made our way high and low through the city excited to experience the colorful culture, friendly locals, and empanadas! We then ventured to the outskirts of Quito where we visited the site that gave the country its name - the equator! And since there’s never a bad time to snack, we hunted down a produce stand and stuffed ourselves with oritos, delicious sweet baby bananas widely grown here in Ecuador, and was soon followed by a delicious team dinner at an Ecuadorian restaurant. No, no one’s ordered guinea pig...yet. What a great way to acclimatize for a 19,000 foot volcano! RMI Guides Peter Whittaker, Jess Matthews and Team

The Four Day Summit Climb teams reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Jess Matthews. The teams spent time in the crater before starting their descent. Once back at Camp Muir they will repack and continue to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later today. Congratulations to today's climbers.

The Four Day Summit Climb Teams led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Jess Matthews reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. Jess reported moderate winds and clear skies on the upper mountain. The teams left the crater rim at 7:36 am and are making their way back to Camp Muir. Congratulations to today's teams!

RMI Guide Jess Matthews and team reached the Mt. Baker summit and are safely back at camp. The team ascended and descended the Easton Glacier Route.

Monday, August 6 - 9:00 AM PT Jess Matthews checked in this morning on the Coleman-Deming route to report that the team turned around at 8,500' due to an newly opened and impassable crevasse. They made their descent safely back to camp and back to the parking lot where they will head into town for fresh food and hot showers. RMI Guide Jess Matthews

Today was another beautiful day on the lower slopes of Mt. Baker. We started with a leisurely breakfast and then packed our gear for a short walk above camp to reach the snow and our training site. After a good day of training, we’re relaxing in our tents before dinner and then off to bed before we gear up again early in the morning for the real thing. The team is looking forward to heading uphill to put our new skills to use with the summit in our sights! RMI Guides Jess Matthews, Jessie Poquerusse, Dustin Wittmier and Team.

We had a beautiful walk into camp today. Temps were cool, the bugs left us alone, and we made smooth work with heavy packs. We were greeted by a blanket of wildflowers and the sound of waterfalls as we made our way above the tree line into camp at the edge of the Coleman Glacier. Everyone is feeling good and settling in to camp life here at 5,900’. We’ll take advantage of a full night of sleep before beginning our training tomorrow on the slopes around camp in preparation for our summit climb. RMI Guides Jess Matthews, Jessie Poquerusse, Dustin Wittmier and Team.

The Five Day Summit Climb July 21 - 25 enjoyed two nights on the mountain before making their summit attempt today. RMI Guide Jess Matthews and team reached the summit this morning under clear skies and warm temperatures. The team will return to Camp Muir, pack up their camp and continue their descent to Paradise. Congratulations Climbers!

The Five Day Summit Climb Team led by RMI Guide Jess Matthews reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at about 6:30 AM PST today. The Five Day team spends and extra day on the mountain using this day for rest and acclimatization. Today the woke early, retraced their steps from yesterday up to Ingraham Flats and climbed beyond to reach Columbia Crest. The team is on the descent en route back to Camp Muir. They will return to Paradise this afternoon. Congratulations Team!

Saturday, June 9, 2018 - 11:13 PM PT After a late night making dinner and filling water bottles, we were content to sleep in a bit until the sun hit the tents and made things a bit warmer. With packs full, we rallied back along the West Buttress, beating the oncoming traffic to the fixed lines. We rendezvoused with Tyler Jones's team at 14,000', where they were so kind as to hook us up with water and high fives, then we kept the train rolling down to 11, where Mike King's team let us use their kitchen tent and had already dug up our cache for us. We're going to sleep a few hours here, then wake up in the (not) dark (it's Alaska in the summer time) to walk the last piece to base camp, aiming to be there for first flights in the morning. Keeping our fingers crossed for flyable weather and a cold IPA before noon! RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

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