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Sunday, May 28, 2023 - 10:20 pm PT

It was a mellow rest day in our neck of the woods at 14,000ft. What started as a clear warm morning turned into a stormy, snowy whiteout by early afternoon. We began the day with another round of breakfast burritos, and finished the day off with mac and cheese. The weather doesn't look too favorable, so now we just sit and wait to see what we get.

RMI Guide Nikki Champion

The team enjoyed an evening kayak near the large icebergs on Lago Grey yesterday. Today we had a windy but scenic 6.5 miles through the 2013 wildfire scar. The terrain is a series of rocky bluffs and valleys covered in burned and sun bleached trees. While holding onto thier hats, some were able to get pictures of Glacier Grey. Some, decided to forge ahead and get out of the wind. This Refugio is located on Lago Pehoe pay way) which has a brilliant turquoise color. We got our first views of the Cuernos (horns) of the Paine Massif. A short stay here tonight and we’ll head up the French Valley tomorrow morning on our way to Francis Domes. 

RMI Guide Mike King

The clouds and fog took over Vinson basecamp again today. There was slight improvement by late afternoon, but not enough to get airplanes moving our way. Our team hasn't been particularly worked up or worried by the enforced downtime though. Naps are popular, reading and mathematical puzzles pass the time. We went for another glacier walk today. Meals together never fail to entertain. The forecast apparently calls for better weather tomorrow. Fingers Crossed. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Congratulations to the strong and determined team for reaching the summit of Lobuche this morning at 11:30am (Nepal Standard Time). They earned every step to 20,000 feet in the Himalayas! RMI Guide Christina Dale

Good things come to those who wait. We waited until 7 AM to start the stoves this morning. There were puffy clouds about, but no wind in the neighborhood. It seemed like we should go climbing. We left highcamp at 9:20 AM, loaded for bear... or more correctly, covered in goose feathers. The clouds came and went during our march up valley. When they came it was too cold, when they went it was too hot. But eventually, we got high enough that it was just plain cold anyway. But the wind never really developed and so we didn't feel the cold as intensely as we might have. True to the forecast we'd received, the day got cloudier, but we were still surprised to get some stunning views of the sharp peaks to our north. And when we reached the beautiful and fun summit ridge, we were treated to endless views to the South and East, so that we could see a hundred miles worth of the Ellsworth Mountains in that direction. The final ridge was magical today. There was new snow sparkling on all the rock and not a breath of wind, so it was quiet, calm and inviting as we pulled onto the top of Vinson at 5 minutes after 4 PM. We took a million pictures of each other, made a few important phone and radio connections and smiled a lot. We left the top at 4:45 and made good time down to high camp in a cool and gradually thickening cloud. We were home by 7:05 PM and happily eating dinner in our POSH tent not very long afterward. The day worked out well and we hope for one more good hard climbing day tomorrow, descending to Basecamp. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn Audio Transcription: Hey this is Dave Hahn calling from the summit of Vinson Massif, the highest point in Antarctica! I am up here with the whole crew - five of us on top today. It is a beautiful Day. We are in the strong sunshine. It is a little after 4:00 in the afternoon for us, and everybody is taking pictures on top and enjoying this place. We have a big view of the Ellsworth Mountains. It is a really enjoyable day up here, Boxing Day – the day after Christmas. Nicole, Bart, Brian, Joe and Dave all send you their best wishes from 16,067’. Bye for now! RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Hola Everyone, Today began much like yesterday. Breakfast in our newly remodeled hotel at 7:30 with the team preparing for the day's activities. But instead of taking a tour of Quito, we stayed close to home and headed ten minutes east of our hotel to the 15,500' Rucu Pinchincha volcano. This mountain gave Quito quite a scare in 1999 spewing large amounts of ash into the air which caused half of this enormous city to be evacuated. Nothing major came of the eruption. So today it is a prefect acclimatizing hike. Because it is only the team's second day in Ecuador, one might speculate that marching from 9,200' to 15,500' first thing might be a bit much. Not the case when a gondola zips you up the mountain side turning what should have been a two hour hike into a 10 minute cruise. We were a bit bummed to have thick cloud cover resting heavily in the valley but we lifted out of the mist at 13,000' and were allowed great summit views of both Cotopaxi and Cayambe, two of Ecuador's most impressive peaks. Once on the move our team showed their enthusiasm and readiness to climb. Led by RMI's local Ecuadorian Guide Fredy Tipan, we all headed 2.5 miles up a well traveled trail making good time to the mountain's summit. Several members of the group broke personal altitude records. We spent 20 cool and cloudy minutes on top before returning to the cable car. With a rather late arrival back in town, it was decided that a late lunch would set everyone up nicely for a leisurely evening and some much needed rest. We are all looking forward to leaving the city and seeing more of this beautiful country tomorrow. RMI Guide Adam Knoff

May 14, 2022 - 10:04 am PT

It was a bit breezy and chilly yesterday, but it made for great climbing weather.

We packed up camp and headed up Ski Hill, continuing up around Kahiltna Pass and into the 11k camp. Glacier conditions were perfect, and the winds abated as we climbed higher. Everyone is climbing strong and doing well. The plan for today is to go back downhill to retrieve our cache at ~9600'. We're sitting in a good position to start pushing higher on the upper mountain. So far, the weather is cooperating with us and allowing for steady progress. We'll definitely spend a few nights here at 11k to acclimate before moving camp higher, but we may try to get a cache in around Windy Corner tomorrow, as the weather is forecast to be pretty nice.

We'll keep you posted on our progress.

RMI Guide Mike Walter

It is tough to realize just how hard Everest is on the human body until one comes back down to "normal" altitudes like 17,500 ft Basecamp. The first night of deep sleep convinces you that whatever you thought you were doing for twelve hours a night at 21,300 ft was not actually sleep. A plate of breakfast that you actually want seconds on makes you think of how easy the mountain would be to climb if you could have had your normal appetite up at ABC. Life is easy for us today at Basecamp. Chairs with backs to lean against. Oxygen and air pressure in abundance. Cellphone connectivity. Showers and mostly clean clothes. And very little risk for a change... Unlike looking forward to a day on the Lhotse Face or a morning in the Khumbu Icefall. Not so much can fall on us on our rest day and we aren't likely to step on anything that collapses without warning. Lots of good things about life at Basecamp... once the morning flurry of helicopter flights is finished, there is peace and quiet and a billion dollar set of views out every tent door. Today the views included jet stream winds raking the upper Lhotse Face, driving snow a thousand feet higher than the mountain itself. We are catching up on the news and trying to beat Mark Tucker at a game or two, but he has all of the advantages while our brains are still fuzzy and our bodies are tired. Tomorrow. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Saturday, July 2, 2022 - 8:56 pm PT

It was a rest day, although slightly less restful for taking place at 17,200'.  Everything is a little harder up here.  We were lucky to have a nice sunny day (again) which made it easier to relax.  It was breezy from time to time, which was forecast.  We’re hoping the winds quiet down, in keeping with those forecasts, for our summit day tomorrow.  We ate and drank water and stared out at the amazing views.  We made last minute adjustments to our packs and the gear we’ll rely on tomorrow.  We talked strategy.  We looked up at the “autobahn” -the route from 17,000' to Denali Pass and tried to judge its difficulty.  After weeks of hard work to get in position, we are ready. 

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

The storm that seemed to be coming in yesterday afternoon got here. The morning wasn't actually all that bad. Just a bit breezy and overcast, but it was obvious that up high it was hitting a lot harder. For all of that, though, it didn't hold our team back. Lam Babu and the Sherpa team (Cherring, Kaji, Gyaljen, and Uberaj) were out in the dark, walking just after 4 AM bound for Camp One. The first carry went well and the boys established camp at close to 20,000 ft, reporting not much in the way of difficulties with the Khumbu Icefall (in truth though, our guys rarely report much in the way of difficulties). Not willing to be totally sedentary while the Sherpas were setting such a fine example, the rest of us set off on a hike to Pumori Camp One. We figure that camp sits at about 18,600 ft, so it is perfect for getting in a workout and getting a little time up high without exposing ourselves to hazard. We even got some great views of the black pyramid-top of Mount Everest fighting it out with monster storm clouds. The West Ridge was taking on its ten millionth storm, splitting wind and clouds with its jagged rock prow. As we got a bit higher, scrambling our way up a rocky trail, we were treated to views of both the North Col (23,000 ft in Tibet) and the South Col (26,000 ft in Nepal). We were able to see all the mountains we'd trekked through to get to Everest, and closer to home it was humbling to look at the giant hanging glaciers of Pumori and Nuptse, up close and personal. We didn't spend too long at Camp One, before dropping back down and joining the trekker traffic again on the main trail to Basecamp. We were well motivated by Chef Kumar's lunch scheduled for 1:30 PM. As we got in the tent for lunch, it began snowing outside and so we mostly just huddled up and slept, read and played games for the afternoon. Such is expedition life at the moment. We are getting stronger each day now... We hope. Several days ago a tragedy occurred as one of the "Icefall Doctors" suffered a crevasse fall and died close to Camp One on Everest. We were very much aware of this sad circumstance at the time, but chose not to break such news on the blog. Obviously it wasn't our news to break and we didn't want to get ahead of word reaching family and loved ones through proper channels. But it is time to acknowledge the loss of one devoted climber and of the selflessness of our own Sherpa team, who played a key role in the rescue effort. Chherring Dorje flew by helicopter to the scene and managed the retrieval while Lam Babu conducted things from the heli-pad at Everest Basecamp. Although there was a sad outcome, I was extremely proud that our partners were able to offer help to the Icefall Docs, whom we admire very much. This small team of about a half dozen men are hired by the National Park to establish and maintain the route through the Khumbu Icefall. It is physically demanding and dangerous work. The docs do an incredible job each year, and the same men come out year after year. They never boast or seek recognition... They aren't rewarded by being able to tag the summit and run up their "count" on the mountain, and they are paid modestly. Mingma was from the village of Dingboche and leaves a wife and several daughters. Of course many of us will try to help out with donations... Mingma was working on our behalf... but there is no getting around the reality: this dangerous work has once again taken the ultimate toll. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map