Entries By mike king
Posted by: Mike King, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Machu Picchu
Elevation: 10,850'
Tuesday, August 9, 2022 - 6:00 pm PT
Greetings from south of the equator! Sorry for the delayed dispatch but life down here moves at a different pace and we've been enjoying it. The last few days have actually been a whirlwind of cultural sites, colorful markets and adorable fluffy alpacas. After the team flew into Cusco we got dinner and went to bed early to recover from the long travel day down to Peru.
The next day we met our local guides Chris and Javier. We went and explored the Sacred Valley outside of Cusco visiting the amazing Pisac Market and enjoyed some delicioso traditional empanadas. The second half of the day was spent wandering the ancient Inca site of Ollantaytambo. The size and perfection of the stone walls were hard to comprehend even when standing right in front of them! Some of the most impressive stone masonry the world has ever seen!
Today we continued to immerse ourselves in Incan culture by visiting the Qorikancha. This Inca temple of the sun was partially destroyed and a Spanish church built on top of it. Next we drove up to see the lovely Saqsawaman! Yes it's pronounced like it looks. This site has the largest stones of any Inca site, with one that is estimated to weigh 122 tons! The next stop was a traditional weaving market that had all 4 types of Andean camels, llama, alpaca, vicuña, and guanaco! They were adorable, very soft to pet and their wool makes beautiful garments. The final stop was the Catedral del Cusco, it was full of baroque style art and decorations.
Tonight we pack for the beginning of the Salkantay Trek that we will begin at 4am tomorrow! It's a long drive to the start of the hike but spirits are high and we can't wait to get on the trail!
Buenas noches!
RMI Guides Mike King, Jack Delaney and the team
Posted by: Mike King, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14, 410'
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Mike King and Avery Parrinello reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 4:30 am today. Mike reported 40 mph winds, clear skies, and a good climbing route. The team is in route to Camp Muir where they will take a well-deserved rest break, pack up and descend to Paradise. Then its back to Rainier Basecamp in Ashford, WA for burgers, cold drinks, and a little team celebration.
Good job everybody! Amazing team of guides across both groups
Posted by: Wes on 7/30/2022 at 5:56 pm
Posted by: Mike King, Jess Wedel, Mike Bennett
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 10,781'
RMI Guide Mike King reported clear, calm, and beautiful views from the summit of Mt. Baker this morning. Congrats to the team for their summit of a classic climb of the Cascades!
The team will spend tonight at camp basking in their success before descending back to the trailhead tomorrow.
Posted by: Mike King, Jess Wedel, Mike Bennett
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 10, 781'
RMI Guide Mike King and the Mt. Baker Coleman - Deming July 16 - 18 reached the summit of Mt. Baker just before 9 am today. Mike reported cloudy skies below 8,000' but it was clear above as they made their way to the top. All the big peaks were visible as "islands" coming through the marine layer clouds. The team will return to camp for a final night on the mountain. Tomorrow they will break camp, descend to the trailhead and complete their program.
Nice work team!
Congratulations so glad all are safe.
Posted by: Donna C. Cameron on 7/17/2022 at 9:36 pm
Congratulations to the climbers and to the guides for reaching the top. Kuddos to you and your determination and perseverance.
Shout out to Ana and Rathan for taking up the challenge. Waiting to hear about the climb
Posted by: Shilpa on 7/17/2022 at 3:27 pm
Posted by: Mike King, Alex Halliday, Ellison Boord, Bo Torrey
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons Team with RMI Guide Mike King reached the summit of Mt. Rainier via the Emmons Glacier Route, the team had a great view and a great route.
This team has spent four days on the mountain learning and practicing various mountaineering skills such as crevasse rescue, anchor placement, ice climbing, fixed line travel, and self-rescue techniques. In the evenings they enjoyed lectures in camp included discussion on mountain weather, medicine for mountaineering, altitude wellness, and equipment.
Congratulations Team!
Posted by: Mike King, Dustin Wittmier, Lauren Macklin, Mike Bennett, Jackson Breen, Trevor Katz
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb with RMI Guides Mike King and Dustin Wittmier were on the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Above this heavy marine layer, team had clear skies, sunshine and mild winds. The climbing was great with a with a direct route and it took the team 5 hours to get to the top.
Congratulations team!
Woo hoo! Way to go Kelly and Janette! I’m super proud of you both. Can’t wait to hear the details and celebrate. Have fun sliding down! :)
Posted by: Jerry Verhoff on 7/3/2022 at 9:26 am
Congrats Kelly & Janette! So proud of you- woohoo!!! Love you both!
Posted by: Christina on 7/2/2022 at 5:05 pm
Posted by: Mike King, Abby Westling, Roland Scott, Sam Hoffman, Henry Coppolillo, Nicole De Petris
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Climb for Clean Air Team along with their RMI Guides Mike King and Abby Westling reached the summit of Mt. Rainier Early this morning. Mike King reported a good route, clear skies, but strong winds on the summit. The team spent a short time on top celebrating before starting their descent.
The funds raised by these climbers will support the American Lung Association’s mission of saving lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease.
Congratulations team for your success on and off the mountain!
Congratulations! You all did fantastic and you put in the work! So proud of your fundraising and climbing efforts.
Posted by: Brittany Groh on 6/24/2022 at 2:00 pm
YESSSSSS!!!!! Now, unlike myself, come down gracefully…;)
Posted by: John Pasikowski on 6/24/2022 at 11:09 am
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons led by RMI Guide Mike King has had a successful week of training and Denali Prep. While weather and route conditions kept the team on the lower slopes of Mt. Rainier, they were able to take advantage of the time to hone in on their mountaineering skills. The team trained on and discussed the following topics; avalanche forecasting, route finding, crevasse rescue, camp building, and various glacier travel techniques.
Congratulations Team!
Posted by: Seth Burns, Mike King, Josh Geiser, Grayson Swingle, Ellison Boord, Sam Hoffman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,080'
The Four Day Climb June 6 - 9 spent a windy night at Camp Muir last night. High winds and deteriorating weather kept the group at Camp Muir and unable to make a summit attempt. RMI Guides Seth Burns and Grayson Swingle reported consistant winds 30-40 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. The teams started their descent from Camp Muir around 8 am and will be returning to Rainier Basecamp later this morning.
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Mike King, Dominic Cifelli
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 19,348'
Tuesday, May 31, 2022 - 6:39 pm PT
This day won’t be forgotten soon by our team. It was longer than most, to begin with. We were drinking coffee at 10:30 PM and loading the buses at 11. The rough road took us plenty high, but then we were out and trudging uphill by headlight for hours. It was cold and a little breezy, but we were looking at stars… and Jupiter and Neptune. We stopped in a hut long enough to put on helmets and harnesses and then marched up to the snow, where we donned crampons and ropes. The walking got easier on the snow, except it was all getting to the kind of heights that are just plain hard to climb and breathe in. We transitioned onto a glacier, still in pitch darkness. By daybreak the team had reached above 18,000 ft. All of the magnificent volcanoes of Ecuador were lined up for our viewing pleasure. There were plenty of clouds at different levels but it was evident that we were going to get lucky. Things steepened for the final 800 ft to make the team dig down deep for energy. But by 8:40 the gang was on the summit of Cotopaxi at 19,347 ft. 13 of our 18 climbers made the top, along with 6 of our excellent Ecuadorian guiding staff. The team was back at the lodge by midday and packing for departure. By 2 PM we were in our buses and headed for the jets. Now -at 6:30 PM- we’re high over Cuba, pointed toward Miami and a celebration on the water. A big day indeed, much of our team shattered personal altitude records and found inner strength they hadn’t imagined.
Best Regards
Hey Mike! Best of luck and have fun!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 8/10/2022 at 10:20 am
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