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Hello once again from Punta Arenas, in the far South of Chile. The team made its way back from Torres Del Paine this morning on a blustery day. Storm clouds were swirling across the towers as our driver piloted his van out of the park and back toward our Antarctic adventure. The word was that ALE -our logistics company, had managed to get two preliminary flights accomplished, clearing the way for our own flight to go forward. We were sorry to leave Torres Del Paine since we'd all glimpsed a the possibilities for endless hiking and climbing, but we were excited to get back to working on our primary goal, Mt. Vinson. We did see a number of Condors and Guanacos during our drive out of the park and a lot of wind whipped lakes and lagoons. Back in Punta, we reconnected with some of the other passengers-to-be for our flight to the ice and we compared notes on a couple of great days in Patagonia. In the late afternoon, we tried to get our equipment squared away for a weigh-in tomorrow morning and the subsequent loading of the airplane. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

After several days and lots of hands-on training, our Emmons seminar team successfully reached the summit of Mt. Rainier yesterday. RMI Guide Avery Parrinello reported beautiful weather for the climb. The team enjoyed several days of great weather during their training days and ascent from camp to camp before their climb yesterday.

The team is currently on their descent from Camp Schurman back to Basecamp in Ashford where they will celebrate their successful summit. Congrats team!

RMI Guide Eric Frank called from the summit of Pequeno Alpamayo this morning at 7 am PT. The entire Bolivia Expedition Team along with Eric and Caleb were enjoying the views from the top! They will return to Base Camp of the Condoriri Group to spend another night and plan to do some additional training from there tomorrow. Way to go team!

Wednesday, June 1, 2022 - 12:52 am PT

Quick dispatch: We are homeward bound. We packed up camp at 17,000' and started down the West Buttress. We got to high five the team led by JT Schmitt as they passed us on their ascent. At 14,000, we regrouped, grabbed everything we had left, and considerably heavier, started towards 11,000' Camp. By 6 we had made it to 11,000'. The air is so much thicker! We dig up our cache from what seems like ages ago, and made a quick meal in team Champion's cook tent. We'll sleep for a few hours, then wake for an early push to the air strip. With any luck we'll be in Talkeetna mid morning tomorrow.

RMI Guide Pete, Leif, Erika, and team

Success! The gang went to bed with another deceptively improving weather trend only to wake up (for the third time this trip) in the middle of the night to more stormy weather. We decided that since this was our last chance we'd give a hail Mary attempt. After a quick breakfast and some tinkering with gear and backpacks the time came for us to push out. Surprisingly, the winds had started calming down, which heartened the guides at least a little bit. As it turned out, that abatement was indeed only temporary... We climbed to the edge of the glacier and roped/cramponed up, and after only an hour or two in the elements we were starting to ice up. Somehow everybody kept it together and we continued upwards into worsening winds, winding our way through a jumble of a glacier and then skirting around the massive rock face of Yanasacha. Weather was bad most of the day but after reaching the upper slopes of the mountain we were fully exposed. When we reached the summit (half of us crawling) we were elated but couldn't stay long because of the blastingly continuous 50 mph wind and the fact that were covered with over and inch (yes an inch!) of ice from being in a freezing lenticular cloud all day. The guys were a little beat but pulled it together to descend like champs all the way back down to the refugio. All in all we were out in the storm for a little over 10 hours, managing to bag the summit and safely descend. We were greeted back at the refugio by Victor, our driver, who had hiked up from the parking lot to hang out. Knowing our ride was waiting down the hill, we celebrated with a quick beer and crammed all of our crap into our packs. A short walk down a scree field brought us to the van which brought us back to civilization in Quito! The team showered up and hit the town for a fabulous multi-course meal complete with wine and pisco to celebrate properly. Hopefully folks weren't too ragged making their early a.m. flights. I'd like to thank a great group of guys for making this such a fun and memorable trip (pako's ipa, triple cheeseburgers, two left crampons, pansies, sock boiling, knee taking, etc.) and thank Jaime and Diego for being awesome guides and a pleasure to work with. Thanks again everybody! Signing off, for now... RMI Guide Billy Nugent

Sunday, May 29, 2022 - 6:20 pm PT

The team enjoyed a beautiful day at 14,000' Camp today, resting from the days prior and preparing for the days ahead! We are planning to rest again tomorrow, after the last ten days the team deserves it!

RMI Guides JT, Jackson, Matias and the RMI team

An always tough move to 17,200' was made a bit more pleasant today with some perfect weather and climbing conditions. We're all in bed now after setting up camp and having dinner. We're awaiting the morning to see if this nice weather holds out. If things are perfect, we'll go for the summit! I've learned that you just can't pass up a perfect day on this mountain. I've seen too many other folks squander opportunities that never arise again. However, a rest day would be most welcome if conditions are at all marginal. It might just mean that we have to wait out a weather system coming our way in the next couple of days. Goodnight, RMI Guides Brent, Leon and Maile

Saturday, February 12, 2022 4:09 AM PST

Hola Amigos,

We woke with an excitement in the air, today we were leaving the city. After a few nights in Quito it was time for us to head north to our next destination. Bellies full of continental breakfast, we gathered all of our belongings, squeezed into the tiny elevators and stacked our duffels in the lobby to await our driver, Hector. 

A two-hour drive through the countryside was a welcome rest from yesterday’s hike. The van winded up cobblestone streets until the road was covered with water from the overflowing lake. We had made it to our activity for the day. It was time to stretch our legs up Fuya Fuya and get our heart rates up. Our bodies are working hard to adjust to the altitudes and be ready for the three volcanos awaiting us. Beautiful views, pretty flora, and mysterious clouds provided great backdrops. 

Slippery grass and muddy steps led us to the top where we were greeted by a large group of Deutsch high schoolers. After snatching our summit photo, we made our way back down to the van, some with muddier butts than others. A few team members took the opportunity to take a cold dip in the lake because when at Fuya Fuya why not. Bellies growling, we made it back to town for some pizza before we loaded back in the van, up more steep cobblestone streets to our hacienda. 

The hacienda is beautiful with a peaceful presence overlooking the town below. The team enjoyed some downtime before rallying together for some learning. Tonight’s entertainment before dinner was learning about knots and hitches, a building block for when we learn about crevasse rescue. A delicious dinner wrapped up the day before we all went back to our rooms to pack for tomorrow. Tomorrow we head to our first snow covered volcano.

With nerves and excitement surrounding us, we enjoy one final night with Wi-Fi before heading into the mountains.

Buenas noches,

RMI Guides Adam, Hannah, and Team

The American Lung Association Climb for Clean Air team led by RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli and Nikki Champion reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team climbed the Disappointment Cleaver Route and had a beautiful day of climbing.

The climbers on these teams raise funds for the American Lung Association’s Climb for Clean Air Campaign. As of today the teams have raised $335,690.06!!

Congratulations Teams!

RMI Guide Mike Haugen checked in via radio at 7:40 am as the Kautz Seminar July 18 - 23 team was just reaching the crater rim.  The team did well and climbed strong from their camp at the top of the Wapowety Cleaver.  After enjoying the views from the summit the team will descend via the Disappointment Cleaver route.  This group met at Rainier BaseCamp on Sunday, July 18 and after two days of off mountain training began their ascent via the Kautz Glacier Route.  Their time on the mountain included glacier travel training as well as focusing on techniques required for the current conditions on the upper mountain.  The team will conclude their program with a celebration in Ashford later today.

Congratulations to the Kautz Seminar climbers!