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*retraction* for Doug’s dad, yesterday was 15.5 miles per Doug’s phone. Some people had 14 miles…. it’s was a contentious dinner conversation. 

Today we left Francis Domes after a windy night. The dome fabric was blowing in the wind, tired hikers snored, and the geodesic dome frames shook at times. We had some uphill, downhill, “matt approved” terrain and some dry riverbed for trail. Most of the hike was along Lago Nordenskjöd which was windy enough to have white caps and spray. 5-6 condors soared above and one below us which is rare for these large birds with a 6’/2m wing span….mas o menos. We enjoyed some great views of the Horns and got our first glimpse of the Torres as we rolled into our refugio.

The insatiable thirst returned, and we are looking forward to our last day up to the Torres tomorrow morning. It has been a great trip regardless of the heavily debated terrain and mileage discussions. This group has been one for the record books…in a good way!

Thanks for following along.

RMI Guide Mike King and Team

Wednesday, June 27, 2019 - 9:55 PM PT Mission successful! We cached gear up at 17k high camp. The morning started out pretty warm (for 14,000 ft in AK). We made our way up to the fixed lines. For our first time up the fixed lines, the group did exceptionally well. We made our way up to the ridge at 16,000 ft and caught some wind. We decided to keep going up since everyone was staying warm and relatively comfortable. Although we never lost the wind, we made our way all the way up to high camp. I think our climbers were too distracted by the incredible climbing along the ridge to care about a bit of a breeze. We said hi to Mike Walter's team at 17k, cached our stuff, and then headed back down to our camp. After a 10 hour day, our climbers (and maybe guides) have earned a well deserved rest day tomorrow. We have been saving a breakfast burrito meal for such an occasion. Goodnight! RMI Team Siete

Hello! We have started our progress towards Ama Dablam, and we left Khumjung this morning under an unusual layer of fog that made our walk a bit chilly and damp. Our arrival to Debuche, half way between Khumjung and Ama Dablam Base Camp, was greeted with the best soups so far this trip, and we are enjoying the afternoon staying warm inside our lodge, named Rivendell. Nothing more to report from the trails today, other than we have started to feel the home stretch of our journey towards Ama Dablam; early bed tonight and tomorrow base camp! RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos

We left 14,000' Camp this morning on a mission. We were going to make it to Kathiltna Basecamp. We packed up our heavy packs and sleds and headed downhill. The weather was just right for our long haul. We had a nice breeze all day that kept us from cooking on the sometimes brutally hot lower glacier. We worked our way well over 10 miles of glacier and finally found our way to a deserted Basecamp and airstrip. Since it was too late for the ski planes to come and pick us up, we hunkered down, set up camp, and ate a nice dinner. We even found a couple of beers in our cache. I wonder how those got there? RMI Guide Mike Haugen and Team Siete

On The Map

All is well here on Kilimanjaro!
Once again, we woke to beautifully clear skies with even better views of Kilimanjaro and clouds obscuring the valleys below. Our morning ritual has been walking around 6:30 and getting everything in our tents packed up before heading into our very spacious dinning tent for quite the feast. Normally there is fresh fruit, fried eggs, bacon, and plenty of hot coffee awaiting us, obviously we’re being spoiled up here by our wonderful staff!

We hit the trail once again around 8am and hiked for an hour before taking our usual 10-15min break, then back on the trail for another hour. All total today we hiked for just over 6hrs before reaching camp which is set up and ready for us. 

Along the way we passed around the famous and beautiful Lava Tower reaching just over 15’000ft, setting new altitude records for some and we also chatted with a few other climbers who are on the same schedule with us. All in all, it was a really nice day with clouds gathering in the afternoon to help keep the temperature comfortable for hiking. 

That’s all for now. 
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili Crew

RMI Guide Ben Ammon led a small group of climbers on a quick ascent of Mt. Baker via the Easton Glacier.  This strong and quick team reached the summit of Mt. Baker today and made a complete descent. They have now completed their program.

Nice work team!

Namaste everyone.

This morning we left our tea house in Phakding and headed up the valley toward Namche Bazaar, which is the largest village in this famous valley. We hit the trail just before 8 along with quite a few other trekkers.  Everyone did really well on the hike, and no one seemed to mind pausing often for the endless mules and Zopkyos (cross between a Yak and a cow) carrying loads headed up valley and basecamp as we made our up the trail. It was moderately busy on the route with trekkers and porters alike, but thankfully the traffic seem to flow pretty smoothly.

The team crossed a number of high suspension bridges without a problem, even with a light rain falling. Overall it was a really enjoyable day as we climbed up to just over 11'200 where Namche sits.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and Base Camp Crew

We are settled back into the climber’s hut at Cayambe after a morning of reviewing climbing skills.  Some competitive rounds of Yahtzee will now be followed with afternoon charcuterie and tea.  The team is in good spirits and looking forward to our first alpine start tonight!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier & Team

We have had a great few days working our way south from Araucania to the Lakes District. We had a nice day of ski touring on the ridges across from Lonquimay before heading south to Pucon. Beautiful views that morning of Sierra Nevada, Llaima, Villarrica, Tolhuaca and Lanin. We had a nice rest day in Pucon while a wet storm hit the region. That day we were slated for Villarrica, the most active volcano in South America. It's currently under "Amber alert" after spitting some lava and smoke in the last couple weeks. Our backup plan was another nearby mountain - Quetrapillan. But with a forecast of heavy snow and 80 knot winds, a down day seemed like a better plan. Yesterday we worked our way further south into the Lakes District, arriving to Refugio Teski on the flanks of Volcan Osorno. This morning we set off in light snow flurries and low visibility, once again with optimism that things would improve. Improve they did as we skinned through the cloud deck into the sunlight. We didn't quite make it to the top of Osorno. The wind was whipping and the steep summit slopes were icy. But we did get an amazing 4000'+ descent above Lake Llanquihue. Snow conditions were once again uncharacteristically good for this time of year - a smooth, preserved, fast powder surface illuminated in cold sunlight. Quite a run to end the trip on. And one that should make the wait for our Northern Hemisphere winter more tolerable. An added bonus was having our friend and outfitter Sergio join us on Osorno. He doesn't usually travel this far south with us but this was a special cameo. RMI Guide Tyler Reid

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!