Entries By tyler reid

It was worth the wait - the weather this morning was absolutely perfect and our whole team was able to ski from the true summit of Mt. Elbrus! We woke up to brilliant stars and an impressive Big Dipper, and soon found ourselves being propelled uphill by snowcat to our starting point for the climb. Snow conditions on our ascent were a bit too frozen for skinning, so we put on boot crampons and threw our skis on our packs, moving efficiently up the well established climbing route. A long, ascending traverse brought us to the col between the east and west summits, a nice flat spot for a break. Above the col we broke through the shadow line into the sun, and after a couple more hours, onto the summit plateau. 15 minutes later we were on top, enjoying spectacular views deep into the Republic of Georgia, and the impressive surrounding Caucasus Mountains. And then came the best part. A never-ending-feeling 6000' descent back to our camp. We had the full range of snow conditions on the way down; the last 2000' or so was pure hero snow - incredibly smooth, predictable, perfectly sun softened corn. Of all the teams climbing this morning we were the only skiers! Such an efficient way to travel in the mountains. Our team was back at camp hours before any other team. After a few gondola rides down into the lush lowlands and a nice lunch, we're back in the village of Azau for a well earned celebration. RMI Guide Tyler Reid

June 26, 2016 - 12:13 am PT Hey, this is Tyler Reid with the Elbrus Ski Team checking in from summit. We had an absolutely perfect morning, weather is incredible, temperatures are nice and warm, there is not a cloud in the sky and almost zero wind. So the sun is nicely softening our snow surface and we are actually going to be able to ski right off the summit which is not always possible on this mountain. So we are super psyched for our decent here the best part is yet to come and we'll check in when we get back to our camp safe and sound. Alright, talk soon. RMI Guide Tyler Reid

On The Map

Just a quick update from the Elbrus Ski Crew. We got all packed up and ready for our summit attempt tomorrow, but after another close look at the latest weather models, it looks like Sunday is going to be a better weather day. So instead of waking up at 2am tomorrow, we're going to take another rest day with some possible light skiing activity, and hold out for Sunday. Everyone is doing great and psych levels are high... RMI Guide Tyler Reid

Our timing with the weather was perfect today - as I write this, there's a high intensity hail storm making a lot of clatter on the metal roof of our hut. This morning was beautiful. We ascended up to 15,500', a little beyond Pastukhova Rocks, building on our acclimatization. We were treated to some very nice turns on our 3,000' descent back to the huts, and we got a few jealous looks from climbers walking down on foot. Another great day on Mt. Elbrus. Tomorrow is focused on rest, and the next day we'll see if we can ski from the top! RMI Guide Tyler Reid

Greetings from Mt. Elbrus! We're nicely settled into our rustic huts here at around 12,600'. This morning we did the gondola shuffle - loading all of our duffle bags and skis onto a moving gondola, and then unloading all of that stuff from a moving gondola...multiplied by three gondolas! We were pros by the last one. This afternoon we went out for an acclimatization ski tour and reviewed some of the skills we'll need for our summit attempt. It's great to be here on the mountain! RMI Guide Tyler Reid

On The Map

Today we rode the chairlift up the lower flanks of Cheget, a little ski area adjacent to Mt. Elbrus, and were treated to our first views of the mountain. As skiers, we were pleased to see some fresh snow up high. Above the chairlifts we had a beautiful alpine walk up to 11,400' - a good start to the acclimatization process. We spent the afternoon going through our equipment and making final preparations to head up the mountain tomorrow to our camp. All is great with us... RMI Guide Tyler Reid and the Elbrus Ski Crew

There's a saying I've always liked to believe, that your abilities in the mountains are inversely proportional to your abilities in the city. Whether or not this is true, I was more than happy to hand over the reigns to Svetlana this morning, our Russian tour guide. She took us on a very interesting and informative journey through Moscow, with emphasis on the Kremlin and Red Square (she speaks perfect English). A sensory overload of history, beautiful architecture, and tourists concluded with a delicious lunch at a traditional Georgian restaurant - an unmarked hidden gem down a side street, through a parking lot, around a corner, and down a staircase. Tomorrow we fly to Mineralnye Vody, and head for the mountains! We're ready... RMI Guide Tyler Reid & Team

Greetings, Our whole team is here in Moscow and we just finished up a nice first dinner together. Everyone did great overcoming our first challenge - walking back to the hotel in a severely down-pouring lightning storm. With jet lag. Everyone passed the test with flying colors. And flashes of light. We're looking forward to a great trip! Cheers, RMI Guide Tyler Reid and Team

My last experience on Volcan Lanin was two years ago, and it was severely windy. Since then I've yet to talk to anyone who has had a calm experience on this mountain. Two days ago as our team was climbing a steep gully, with 7,000' of vertical relief above us, that Lanin wind taunted us. The weather forecast called for things to calm down in the late afternoon, but weather forecasts in southern Chile should be read with a degree of skepticism - there's simply a lack data points in these parts to expect much accuracy. At 3:30 in the afternoon I thought to myself, we'll give it 45 more minutes. The wind needs to mellow out significantly. And we need to find a safe place to camp. Basically some alignment of the stars, or we're going to have to retreat to the monkey puzzle forest... At 4:15 I scampered up the steep edge of the gully while our group took a break under a rock outcrop. On a protruding ridge I stumbled upon a perfect, safe, snowy ledge carved out by that Lanin wind. And then I thought wait a minute - where's the wind? Gone. We had an amazing evening camped in our fortified perch, looking out on dramatic cloud layers. Darkness turned to what felt like daytime, with a very full moon illuminating our tent walls. The next morning we started climbing - kicking steps in the frozen snow with crampons on our boots. Our Chile Volcanoes trip landed in the middle of a very unsettled weather pattern here in Araucania. 1,500' above our camp on Lanin, the snow started to fall, the wind started to blow, the clouds came in, and my attention started to turn from my surroundings to my GPS. Time to go down. Good thing skiing is so much fun in and of itself. We were smiling big by the time we rolled into camp, and smiling bigger by the time we hit the snow line on the lower flanks of the mountain. 3000' or so of perfectly smooth corn... Thanks Chile for 8 awesome days of skiing, and thanks Lonquimay and Sollipulli for allowing us to visit your summits. Llaima and Lanin...we'll be back next year. And thanks to our awesome Chile 2015 crew: JP, Stephen, and Wendy. And a special thanks to our amazing local outfitter and guide, Sergio Perez. RMI Guide Tyler Reid

Today we're having a rest day in the town of Pucon with an afternoon trip to the Termas (hot springs). Tomorrow we set out for two days on Volcan Lanin, our final objective of the trip. We'll keep you posted on how things go the next couple of day but for now, it's time to rest. RMI Guide Tyler Reid