Last night dropped over a foot of new snow and the morning dumped close to six more inches. As we hide in the midday heat of the tents, the wind blows 50+mph in gusts. One minute it is calm, the next minute we brace against the walls of the tent as the wind tries to push them flat. After a few rounds of shoveling, we break for a toasted bagel breakfast, then more shoveling, building snow walls and hiding from the gusts. The sky has cleared as we watch enormous plumes blow off the Buttress above us as well as enormous avalanches coming down from the upper slopes. Other climbers and our team our able to enjoy the show, knowing that we are a safe distance from the action. The snow currently continues to patter our tents. We are hopeful that better weather is coming on the horizon.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
From the beautiful island of Zakynthos,and a girl that knows what it means to fulfil a dream. May god watch over you and your team and bring you to the summit safely.On your next trip to Zakynthos CHRIS I want to hear all about this climb. May god be with you.
Love & hugs & kisses xx Janet
Posted by: Janet Mastromauro on 6/15/2012 at 12:51 pm
Hi Chris !!!
Hope the weather is cooperating for you and your team.
Take care and keep safe.
Posted by: Debbie Gaudette on 6/14/2012 at 7:47 pm
Hey everyone out there in blog land, this is Eric checking in from base camp in the Condoriri Group. Most of the team is snuggled into their sleeping bags for an afternoon siesta, because we already put in a full day of work by summiting Pequeño Alpamayo!
After a 3am wake up call, we rolled out of camp in the darkness and made short work of the broad, rolling glacier that occupies the basin above our camp. By 7:30 we were at 17,500ft and the morning alpenglow turned all the peaks around us to a fiery orange. Words can't describe the immensity of the range. In every direction snow capped peaks roll out. The remainder of the route took us up steep snow ridges, over rocky towers and to a final summit that was smaller then a dinner table. The team crowded onto the small precipice and snapped a few photos before walking over the ridge to start the first lower. We are happy to report that everyone in the group made it.
All for now. We head to La Paz tomorrow for a well deserved shower and respite before heading on to our next objective.
RMI Guide Eric Frank
Hey RMI, this is Dave Hahn, Seth Waterfall and Dan Johnson. We're up at Camp 1, and we came up this morning through the Ice Fall in about five hours time. Good moving and great conditions today, just a beautiful morning. And coming into Camp 1, it seemed like we were on a different planet than when we were last here and it was snowing so hard and so cloudy and cold. So today we just had a nice calm, sunny day at Camp 1. Rested and relaxed, drank a bunch of water. And we're a little bit excited because we're moving up to Camp 2 tomorrow. Our Sherpa team established Camp 2 yesterday and built it up. Yubaraj and Lam Babu spent the night up there. It's about dinner time now. The clouds were starting to creep in. Late afternoon clouds, not bad weather. Later this evening we expect them to roll right back out again. So everything is going well on our second rotation. We're hoping to be up here for about a week this time. A little bit longer. But we've been in touch with Mark Tucker down at Basecamp and everything seems to be going well. All for now, bye.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
The days since our last dispatch were packed full of activity as we headed out to climb Island Peak. After saying goodbye to the trekking group, we walked up the Imja Khola Valley to the village of Chukung, a small collection of teahouses sitting between Lhotse, Ama Dablam, and Island Peak. Our teahouse is run by a Sherpani woman and her two daughters and they welcomed us warmly, feeding us a hearty dal bhat (Nepali rice and lentils) which we unanimously agreed is the best to be found in the Khumbu. Before going to sleep we pared down our gear in anticipation of the climb, taking with us just the gear we needed for the climb.
In the morning we left Chukung and made the final walk to the base of Island Peak. A sharp wind blew as we walked, making the morning feel much colder than it was, and we made our way through the dusty and rocky terrain bundled up to stay warm. We reached Base Camp by midday and settled into our tents there, enjoying the warmth of the sun through the tent walls. The wind died off by mid afternoon and we spent a comfortable evening in the tents at Base Camp.
The following morning broke clear but again with a cold wind blowing through camp. We packed up our gear and headed up to High Camp. The trail climbs steeply out of camp, making tight switchbacks up the hillside. The thin alpine grasses covering the ground soon gave away to rocks and boulders as we left the last sparse vegetation behind. High Camp is tucked into the rocks on the mountain side just below 18,000' and the walking between tents required full attention, especially at those altitudes. We spent the rest of the afternoon resting and preparing for the climb. In the early evening the clouds descended over the mountain and left a thin layer of snow covering everything and we went to bed concerned that more snow could abort our summit attempt.
Thankfully the night sky full of stars greeted us when we woke up just before 2am, the climb was on! We forced down a quick breakfast, no easy task at that hour or that elevation, and set off. The first few hours of climbing took us up a series of steep rocky gullies and occasional ledges. The normally tricky walking was magnified by the layer of freshly fallen snow but we made good progress, reaching the toe of the glacier just after sunrise. We strapped on our crampons and climbed up and across the glacier to the base of the headwall below Island Peak's summit. Clipping into the fixed lines there, we climbed our way up the headwall, crossing the bergshcrund and working our way up the steep icy face. The headwall was a mix of smooth ice and ledges several feet apart and it was difficult climbing, especially with no place to pause and catch our breaths. Nevertheless, the team climbed steadily and before long we stood on the ridge leading up the summit. The final hundred feet of climbing took us up a narrow snow ridge, with thousands of feet of exposure on each side, until we reached the top, a small flat area no bigger than the size of a pool table.
The views from the summit were incredible, the ridge between Lhotse and Nuptse rising directly behind us, Makalu visible in the distance, Ama Dablam off to the side, and the entire upper portion of the Khumbu Valley running out below us. After a brief moment to celebrate, we turned our attention to the descent, carefully picking our way down the ridge to the top of the headwall. As we clipped into the ropes to rappel down the headwall the snow once again began to fall and the temperatures dropped, making the rope changes at the end of each rappel section difficult with cold hands. We slowly made our way down the series of five rappels to the foot of the headwall, and then recrossed the glacier back to the rocks. The final portion of the descent was very challenging with the added snow and tired legs but everyone traveled remarkably well, crossing the slick rock slabs and descending the rock steps with sure feet.
We returned back to High Camp in the late afternoon and after a delicious dinner, collapsed into a deep night's sleep. This morning we descended from High Camp back to Chukung where we paused for a lunch of Sherpa Stew (thick vegetable soup) and then continued down the valley to Pangboche, at 12,700'. The change of scenery from the rocks and snow on Island Peak to the fields and juniper trees here in Pangboche is remarkable, we have spent many days up high and being back down at these (relatively) low altitudes feels great. And the warm fire burning here in the teahouse is a true treat. The team climbed incredibly well on Island Peak, doing a great job of navigating the terrain and challenging conditions. We are all feeling good and happy to be heading downhill. We descend to Namche tomorrow and will check in from there.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Great report and wonderful pictures. Those are some mighty happy, pretty and tired looking faces!
Posted by: Thurston on 4/2/2012 at 8:28 am
Congrats ALL! I’m sitting here in Cannon Beach, OR watching the Pacific crash into the beach, enjoying my 2nd cup of coffee Linden (I know you have your pot!) & just got caught up on the blog.
I still literally dream (and its been almost a year now) about my summit experience with Linden, Kala Sherpa & team on ImJa Tse—thank goodness for the Sherpa who smoked that cigarette at 20k’ as we were resting in the saddle at the top of the wall—it revived me (don’t smoke, but it was kinda like smelling salts for me & cleared the cobwebs).
Nice touch in staying at High Camp one nite after Summit Day too, as that walk all the way back to ChuKung was tough last year—I vaguely remember stumbling in by the stove & almost falling asleep sitting in my plastic chair.
Enough of me—you all will forever remember this experience & it will be something you continually look back on as a source of inspiration & strength—I PROMSE!
It is truly an amazing Big Blue Ball we all get to live on & experience.
Enjoy the walk out “Into Thick Air!”
BTW—Training going well for Denali Linden—hopefully I’ll be ready. :)
Tim
As we suspected, it was blowing snow off the ridges above us this morning. There isn't much snow available to move, so when you see snow plumes you know the wind is ripping. It sounds like the pattern will change tomorrow so we weren't too bothered. We put some energy into organizing for our move to 17,000', took naps, and didn't mind staring up at the snow plumes above with like minded guides and climbers. Pretty standard activities whe you are at 14,000' Camp.
We'll wake up and hope Denali welcomes us higher tomorrow.
Hard day of mountain climbing. We got up at five minutes to six this morning, excited that the sun was shining and the wind wasn't blowing. As we ate breakfast, we could see cloud moving in from the Northeast, but our hope was that we could climb before anything serious moved in. We set out from high camp at 8:15 and made good and steady progress. It was a tough day to dress for as everyone continually cycled from too hot to too cold and rarely spent any time being just right. We watched cloud caps forming and dissipating on the peaks as we gained altitude, but eventually the clouds just kept building on Vinson. We'd reached 15,340' with 700' to go... roughly two more hours to the top. But we couldn't do it. The winds had picked up and snow was flying and people were tired, so it was a lousy combination for tackling the exposed summit ridge in cold conditions. Down we went and into a cold headwind. As expected, life was a lot easier when we got out from under the cloud cap, and by the time we'd reached high camp we were back in blue skies and sunshine. Hard to come so close and come away without the summit... But we'll keep trying. We have more food, more fuel, more muscles and more ambition.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Sterling, Tough Luck! But then that’s what all that training was about. You could probably do this a few more times. Hopefully the second try will be successful.
Good Luck!
Posted by: Dave & Shirley on 12/13/2012 at 3:21 pm
Hi, Jules!
Good luck on summit bid #2 and Seven Summits #7! You rock!
Lily
Hello this is Jake Beren with the RMI Mexico's Volcanoes Team. We are down in La Malintze which is just to the east of Mexico City where we did our first acclimatization hike on La Malinche today. Everyone did very well and we got up to just under 14,000' with good weather and came back down to a big meal and tomorrow we will head in the way of Ixta by way of Amecameca and a big breakfast.
So, all is well here and we will check in tomorrow.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
RMI Guide Jake Beren checks in after the team's first acclimatization hike.
Jambo from Barafu Camp,
The team did great today on our move up to high camp. The hard work over the last five days has paid off and we are now ready for our summit attempt. Today was our shortest day of hiking so far, and we made it to Barafu Camp in just under 3 hours. Now we have the whole afternoon to rest up and sort through our gear one last time, just to make sure we have everything we need for tomorrow.
You would not be able guess we are at 15,000' right now. The sun is finally winning out over the clouds and it is warm, especially inside the tents. It won't last long, but we'll take it while it does.
An early dinner is the plan for tonight and hopefully we will be horizontal by 6:30 pm. The alarm is already set for 11:45 pm, and hope to be walking by 1:00 am. We should be arriving at the crater rim around sunrise and then one final stretch up to Uhuru Peak, the Roof of Africa.
Our group is really strong and up for the challenge of tomorrow. Thanks the positive comments on the blog.
Will try and check-in from the summit tomorrow, or when we get down to Mweka Camp.
RMI Guide Jeff Martin and Team Simba Sita
Heidi and David. Excited to follow your daily progress.
Look forward to hearing that you have reached the summit
and accomplished your objective! All the best! Stay safe and
be strong. XOXO Dad
Posted by: Craig Berkman on 2/18/2012 at 8:53 pm
Great to follow your amazing advendure through the blog and photos! Hope today’s ascent exceeds your expectations and that the Roof Of Africa was as phenomenal as it sounds. See you when you return home. Safe travels and have fun!
The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb team, led by RMI Guides Mike King and Josh McDowell, called in from Camp Muir. There are six inches of new snow and winds that drifted the snow to knee deep at Camp Muir. The team is doing fine and will ascend up to Ingraham Flats before they begin their descent back to Paradise.
Our Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz June 30 - 5 July has enjoyed sunshine and clear skies during their time on Mt. Rainier. Today they made their summit attempt via the Kautz Glacier and stood on the summit of Mt. Rainier around 7:30 am. RMI Guide Jake Beren reported good conditions and light winds. The team will return to their High Camp today and spend a final night on the mountain. Tomorrow they will pack up camp and descend to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's Kautz Seminar Team!
From the beautiful island of Zakynthos,and a girl that knows what it means to fulfil a dream. May god watch over you and your team and bring you to the summit safely.On your next trip to Zakynthos CHRIS I want to hear all about this climb. May god be with you.
Love & hugs & kisses xx Janet
Posted by: Janet Mastromauro on 6/15/2012 at 12:51 pm
Hi Chris !!!
Hope the weather is cooperating for you and your team.
Take care and keep safe.
Posted by: Debbie Gaudette on 6/14/2012 at 7:47 pm
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