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The team has arrived at La Joya, our Basecamp for our climb of Ixta. We had a busy day of traveling, leaving Malinche to do some last minute shopping in Amecameca. Enjoying the warm Mexican sun, we walked around the markets and ate delicious street food before shipping off to our destination. It was right back to work though as we tuned up, packed and sorted our gear for the coming days. It's cool, breezy and cloudy here at Basecamp, but no rain so we are thankful!

The team is in high spirits and we are excited for the climb.  Good night to everyone at home.

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

Hello! We are at C1. A long day brought us here under clear skies. We're alone here and we presume it will be the same at C2 when we arrive later today. Not much to report other than we had an incredible sunset last night, perched here on Ama Dablam's ridge. Let's keep hoping for the winds to die in the next day or two! RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos

On March 21, RMI Trekker Susan R left her home in Florida en route to Kathmandu, Nepal. Susan would be joining RMI Guide Mark Tucker and their team on a 21 day adventure through the Khumbu Valley. From Kathmandu the team would fly to Lukla and begin their trek to Everest Base Camp at 17,575'. Along with the jackets, hiking boots, sleeping bags and other items needed along the trail, Susan brought with her a special Courage Quilt. This quilt was given to her by Mrs. Hixon's 4th Grade class from Oakton Elementary School in Oakton, Virginia. Mrs. Hixon and her class did a project on Nepal and the Himalaya. " It certainly helped me and I think it helped the other team members as well." said Susan. The students were asked the following questions: What is courage? What does it look like? What do you think about when you need to be courageous? The photo below is of the Courage Quilt given to Susan which she brought with her to Nepal.

Mark Tucker checking in from the Shira Plateau Camp at 12,500’ on Kilimanjaro. The high today was about 80 degrees and mostly clear skies. There were some cloud layers below but it has mostly cleared out and there are beautiful views of the mountain most of the day. This evening the crescent moon was illuminating the southern and northern ice fields. It’s been a fabulous night and we had a great dinner. The team is doing well and having so much fun. Wishing you were all here. We are in the area of one of the three principal volcanoes that make up Kilimanjaro. The Shira Plateau has a bunch of parasitic cones that we are all staring at and getting some great pictures of. We are looking forward to a big day tomorrow to hit a high point of over 15,500’ feet and then we’ll drop back down to the Barranco Camp which will be situated at about 15,000’. So, we have our work cut out for us but it will be good. We’ll be just fine and will check in tomorrow when possible. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

This day had auspicious written all over it. Our Sirdar Lam Babu consulted the Tibetan calendar and made a few calls. This was the day for our Puja ceremony. A lama was brought up from Pangboche and our Puja alter was made ready. Today was the day for the entire team to get together for a Buddhist ceremony asking the gods to look favorably on our expedition. The Pangboche lama was actually pretty busy as several other teams were similarly in need of blessing. The drums started beating and the cymbals started clashing for ours just after lunch on another big blue sky day. A number of Sherpas from neighboring teams joined us in our celebration. There were chants and prayers and various offerings of juniper smoke, food and drink. There were a number of things tossed into the sky and onto each other, principally rice and tsampa (barley flour) and a little chiang -a lightly fermented homemade rice wine with bits of orange. The climax of the ceremony begins with the Puja mast going up with strings of brightly colored prayer flags going out in all directions from it. Finally we all stand and toast each other, shake hands and ask each other to be careful on this climbing trip. The birds certainly enjoy the day as a whole flock of black Himalayan Chuffs (a little smaller than a crow) descend to get the spare offerings. We also enjoyed watching smaller sparrow and finch types joining in the festivities. Most retired to the tents for a post puja nap for the remainder of the afternoon. Tomorrow we will put the spikes on and go for a walk on the glacier. Slowly but surely, out bodies are catching up to this altitude and soon we'll be ready for some hard climbing. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Wednesday, May 26, 2021 - 10:05 pm PT

Today we mastered the classic mountaineering skills of reading, napping and making breakfast last three hours. All part of a well rounded rest day.

It was sunny, but windy for most of the day so we spent our day hanging out in the tents and letting our bodies recover from the toil of the last few days.

Tomorrow we plan to move up to 14,000' Camp and get in position for the upper mountain.

RMI Guide Eric Frank

The Five Day Climb June 22 - 26 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning led by RMI Guides Walter Hailes and Josh McDowell. The teams made a short stop on the crater due to cold temperatures and a cloud cap. The teams will return to Camp Muir and continue their descent to Paradise. Congratulations to today's climbers!

Greetings again from the Caucasus! Here’s a quick recap of our last couple days on the mountain: Yesterday we ascended to the top of Pastukhova Rocks at over 15,000’ and enjoyed a nice 3,000’ descent. The best snow conditions were up high where the colder temperatures have kept things preserved - smooth and flowy. Everyone got a sense of the reality of high altitude skiing: ski a few turns, stop to pressure breathe, ski a few turns, stop to pressure breathe... on down the mountain. For a little extra acclimatization this morning, our group hopped on a snow cat and enjoyed a free ride up to our high point yesterday, this time arriving in about 25 minutes. With pleasant weather, we took the opportunity for some mountaineering skills training and review. We then skinned up to 16,000’, a new altitude record for a few members of our group. It’s a been a productive couple days of acclimatization and rest here on Mt. Elbrus. If the weather looks good in the morning, we’ll see if we can sneak our way to the top. RMI Guide Tyler Reid

On The Map

We awoke inside a thick cloud engulfing basecamp on Antisana. Optimistically we ate a quick breakfast, packed up and started the hike to the base of the glacier. After an hour we ascended through the thick cloud deck and emerged into a beautifully calm, starlight night. As we ascended, we quickly encountered complex and technical glacier travel. Many crevasses emerged that were not present two weeks ago on the last RMI climb. Also, we found many steep, firm slopes that had hardened to trap crust from recent snowfall. The team climbed excellently, overcoming one obstacle after another. Unfortunately, with the summit insight, we realized we had used up too much time to reach the top and defend safely. We were also concerned with snow and crevasse bridge conditions on the very unusually warm evening. We reached 18,100 feet on Antisana, a high point for many on the team. At sunrise we watched Cotopaxi erupting before descending.

We're now safely off the mountain and looking towards our final objective of our program, Chimborazo--the tallest volcano in Ecuador. We'll keep you posted as we continue to train and discover all that Ecuador has to offer.

RMI Guide Avery Parrinello and team

The American Lung Association Climb for Clean Air team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 7:00 am today. RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier reported warm temperatures, clear skies, and calm winds. 

The ALA Climb for Clean Air has been available to people of all levels who are ready to take on the challenge of summiting a mountain since 1987. Funds raised by participants support the mission of the American Lung Association to saving lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease. Over the last 30 year there have been 1,500 ALA Climbers. They have dedicated their time not only to training to climb Mt. Rainier and other peaks in the Pacific Northwest, but these teams have also raised over $5 Million for the American Lung Association! 

Congratulations team for your success and efforts climbing for this great cause!