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Hey, this is RMI Guide Seth Waterfall checking in from Camp One on Mt. Everest at the bottom of the Western Cwm. All is well with the team. Dave is sitting next to me in the tent; he is checking in with Mark Tucker our Base Camp Coordinator. The team is snuggled into their tents next door. We had a good day today. We took a little walk up the Cwm toward Camp Two for a couple of hours. We inspected the route, crossed a few ladders and all in all had a good day. We came back to camp for a little afternoon relaxation. The weather has been fantastic, which means alternating between very hot and very cold, but the average temperature is pretty comfortable. Tomorrow we will try and head up and tag Camp Two. That is right on schedule for our acclimatization and with any luck we will hit Camp Two in the morning and head on back to Camp One for our last night of this acclimatization rotation. That is it for us. Everybody is doing well. Hello to everybody at home. We will talk to you soon. Bye.

On The Map

The Four Day Summit Climbs August 11 - 14, 2012 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams reported a beautiful day with 25-30 mph winds and clear skies. RMI Guides Brent Okita, Tim Hardin and Andres Marin started down from the crater rim with their teams around 7:30 a.m. They will return to Camp Muir and then continue their descent to Paradise later this afternoon. The Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise crew moved to 9,000' on Monday and set up camp where they will remain until Wednesday morning. They watched a beautiful sunset last night. Today the team practiced fixed line travel on a 60 degree slope and are currently hanging out in crevasses. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!

Despite moving to 14,000' yesterday, we all slept soundly in Ang Nuru's lodge here in Pheriche and the clear morning revealed the stunning panorama of peaks that we find ourselves amidst. With a day to hike and acclimatize here around Pheriche we left the teahouse and began ascending tight switchbacks up a ridge to the north of the village. Quickly gaining altitude, we were able to catch our first views of Island Peak, known locally as Imja Tse as we looked to the east up the Imja Khola valley below us. Standing proudly around Island Peak rose Makalu, Baruntse, Ama Dablam, Lhotse, and Lhotse Shar, creating a grand panorama surrounding the mountain. Focusing our attention back on the trail, we continued uphill, eventually reaching the rocky outcropping Nangkar Tshang at over 16,500'. It felt good to push our bodies to these new altitudes and the team climbed wonderfully, moving smoothly up and back down the steep hillsides above Pheriche. As we stood on the summit, looking out at the views around us and watching the clouds gradually roll up the valley from far below, three Himalayan Eagles soared past us. It was an incredible sight to see, these massive birds playing in the thermals at such altitudes. We watched them fly back and forth before gradually moving up the valley. We returned to the teahouse in the afternoon, just as the clouds rolled in. Legs tired after a solid day of walking, we kicked back in the dining room and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Today is Mark's birthday and unbeknown to him Karen has convinced Ang Nuru to prepare a birthday cake up here for him, we are looking forward to surprising him with it this evening. RMI Guide Linden Mallory

Monday, May 30, 2022 - 10:43 pm PT

Today we rested again at 14,000' Camp. The team has been soaking up the rest, eating lots of food and drinking plenty of fluids. Thanks for following along and we will keep you posted on what we end up doing tomorrow!

Thanks,

RMI Guides JT, Matias, Jackson and the RMI team.

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Avery Parrinello turned at 10,600' today due to high avalanche risk. The team had calm skies during their climb, but the new snow from recent storms has not had time to settle on the upper slopes of Mt. Rainier making travel above Camp Muir unsafe. The team has started their descent and will be back at Rainier Basecamp in Ashford, WA  in the early afternoon.

Congratulations team! 

A unique walk took us off the beaten path to Thamo Monastery where we listened to the nuns chant, ring bells, and blow long horns. They brought us a taste of their traditional Tibetan tea which is super salty and hard to drink more than a sip of, but we were honored guests. Our group is so strong and doing great with the altitude and hiking. Everyone is full of energy and incredibly positive about the journeys ahead. Our local team of Sherpa are so kind and great culture and climbing guides. They have all climbed Everest, and two of them 7 times each. They love trekking as well as climbing and sharing their home valley with us. We feel lucky to get to know them and learn about their lives here the in the Khumbu. Thank you Nima, Lakpa, Lakpa, and Kami! Tomorrow will bring a long day on the trail up to another Monastery and higher elevation. The team is doing so well that we know it will go smoothly. RMI Guide Christina Dale

What a day!  At 13,070' it was still rather chilly in the shade as we began our climb of the Barranco Wall. Looking ahead the route was already busy with climbers and porters negotiating the steep terrain. Behind us camp was finally lit up with the early morning sun, looking warm and inviting. But our attention was focused on the steady footwork that would take us safely up this cool wall. 

Much of the climb we snaked through weaknesses in the rock that allowed us to walk upright on the well-trodden path. The fun came dealing with those places that demanded more precise footwork and the use of handholds on the rock. At a couple of places, we'd 'spot' these moves to maximize safety, but the team moved like the savvy climbers they are, or have become. After one and a half hours we were rewarded with a huge flat area at the top of the Wall where we refueled. The scenery here opened up dramatically to the steep cliffs and glaciers leading to the summit. Our route, thankfully, skirts these precipitous faces, traversing east to Karanga Camp, and eventually the route to the summit. 

Getting to Karanga demanded we climb up and down through a couple of valleys, but the views and scenery were so nice that nobody complained of the need to reascend precious altitude gained earlier...

It was nice getting into camp by 1:00 to enjoy the warm, beautiful weather up here. Tosha had an incredible paella whipped up for lunch after we had the chance to settle into our tents and wash up after the dusty trail.

How spoiled we are!

Tomorrow: High Camp - Barafu.

Sunday, May 7, 2023, 10:01 pm PT

Be very quiet…we’re hunting for crevasses!

Today we took our skills out into the wild, to test ourselves against the Ruth Glacier. No we didn’t walk around until someone fell in, we instead wandered through the maze of crevasses looking for the perfect one to safely lower someone into and haul them out of. The intricacies and difficulties of crevasse rescue don’t fully translate practicing on flat ground. Our biggest challenge was finding a crevasse that wasn’t drifted full of snow from the last storm and subsequent winds. After a lot of weaving and winding through the broken edge of the Ruth we finally found one that was a little more open than the rest. We sent RMI guide Mike Bennet in as our guinea pig to see if the snow floor could be collapsed and our crevasse deepened. Surprisingly the snow floor was deep and solid, so we made due with the 25 feet of snow wall we had available. The team performed admirably and even dialed in a second crevasse rescue system known as the “Drop C”. By midafternoon the sky was blue and the sun was hot and the team had completed training. We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging and organizing 

for our move to high camp tomorrow!

Beunos noches,

RMI Guides Jack, Mike and the team

RMI Guide Dave Hahn radioed from the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning to let us know the Four Day Climb July 23 - 26 teams had reached the summit and were starting their descent.  Dave reported sunny skies and light winds and a perfect day.  The teams were beginning their descent from the crater rim around 7:20 am.  Once back at Camp Muir they will rest, re-hydrate, repack and continue their descent, another 4.5 miles and 4,500', to Paradise.

Nice work today team and congratulations!

We woke up to low clouds over Rivertrees Inn… but that has been an everyday kind of thing, so it wasn’t much of a concern.  We had our breakfast and did our last-minute packing and gear sorting and then boarded the team bus at 8 AM. 

It took about two hours to get to the Machame Gate of Kilimanjaro National Park.  We did a lot of people watching on the way, seeing how Tanzanians go about day-to-day life.  And we watched the plants and vegetation change as the bus climbed up to the 6000 ft gate.   As expected, there was a little time to kill at the park entrance as the permitting process was completed.  We used the time to review efficient walking strategies and to discuss the terrain that lay ahead.  Finally, at about 10:30, we got walking with our staff of local guides.  Tom, Naiman, Phillibet, and John set the perfect pace, as usual.  We had about four thousand vertical feet to climb in about six miles.  Before long we were climbing in the clouds rather than under them.  It was easy to understand why the thick forest had moss on every surface.  The cool conditions made for the perfect walking temperature. The trail was a little muddy and slimy underfoot, but not to the point that you’d sink into the muck.  We didn’t have much trouble with traction or with maintaining a steady pace.  We took a few breaks for snacks and water, but by mid-afternoon the forest was changing to smaller trees, and it was clear that we were getting somewhere.  We came out above the clouds and the trail dried out.  The last hour or so into camp was in fine, blue sky and sunshine weather.  We rolled in at 3:30. Such a pleasure then to see that our staff already had camp built and ready for us.  We just had to move in and enjoy life at 10,000 ft.  That got easier when the last clouds above fell away and Kibo (Kilimanjaro’s central peak) came out for sunset. 

We spent the time before dinner staring at the giant rock walls and impossibly steep ice fields and glaciers. In our dining tent, we had a great feast and a little story time as John -our lead guide- explained his progression into becoming a full climbing guide, 255 Kili summits ago. The team checked out a few Southern Hemisphere stars before crawling into tents and calling it a day.  A good day. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team