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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

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

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!

Hello, this is Jake calling from 17,000’ camp on Denali after what was an unbelievable summit day. The team is back in camp safe and sound. We are having some dinner before turning in for a very well earned night’s sleep. Everybody did fantastic today, we had perfect conditions. It was a really beautiful climb. I’ll give a little more information after we get down. Just know that everybody is safe after a wonderful day here in Alaska. Alright, that is it for now. RMI Guide Jake Beren

On The Map

Hello, this is Dave Hahn calling from Everest Base Camp. We're resting and hiking and we're watching the progress of the weather conditions. It has been snowing a little bit every day and it seems, from what we have been told, that conditions have gotten a little bit better on the upper mountain. There was significant progress yesterday. A team of climbers, sherpas made it to the South Col. The route is fixed all the way to 8,000 meters now. Our sherpa team is going up tomorrow morning up to Camp 2 to check out conditions and see whether it makes sense for them to get on the wall to establish our Camp 3 and Camp 4. There is supposed to be, the next few days, supposed to be calm with continued light snow each day and we are seeing that is a good thing. Then the winds are supposed to come back, the jet stream is supposed to move into the mountains, but briefly, and then we are hoping for a break in conditions after the middle of the month. So it is going to be a little bit of a down time for the climbing team and we are keeping ourselves busy, like I say, with hiking and eating and resting and games. So far so good. Things seemed to have calmed down on Mt. Everest. Bye for now. RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

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

We are checking in from the village of Wayllabamba, the intersection of the Salkantay trek and the Inca Trail. Our hike descended from 12,598’ to 9840’. The warm temperature is what was most notable, along with cactus and pine trees that dominate this lush farming community when compared to the high-altitude substance farms of the last 2 days. The team enjoyed the roaring Rio Kusichaka as it carved out a deep canyon that paralleled our trail. We visited our first Incan site on the trek and got to see how the Incas set up citadels to observe 2 massive Andean valleys. The shorter day sets us up for 2 long days into Machu Picchu via the Inca Trail. Apparently new regulations kept us from camping at Llulluchapampa, our normal day 3 camp. Regardless, we have tents set up on some nice grass, warm showers, cold drinks and good company.

Thanks for following along,

RMI Guides Mike King, Jack Delaney & Team

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Ben Ammon and Alex Halliday reached the summit of Mt. Rainier Early this morning. Ben reported steady winds of 15 - 20 mph with a cap forming. The team spent a short amount of time on the top before starting their descent. Congratulations to Today's Team!

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!

Back to civilization and freshly showered! We have returned from the mountain and are doing great. It's been a long day but we smell clean and our bellies are full after another wonderful meal from the Dik Dik staff. Everyone is looking forward to the safari tomorrow. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew