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Following a restless night of not sleeping at 17,400’, our team stood on top of Chimborazo this morning.  It was a clear morning with calm winds and the route is in excellent condition.

Interestingly, the summit of Chimborazo is the furthest point from the center of the earth, due to it’s position near the equator.  It is the only 6000 meter peak in Ecuador and it was an honor to visit the summit with this team.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

The Mt. Rainier Four Day Climb teams led by RMI Guides Josh McDowell and Bryan Mazaika reached the summit of Mt. Rainier shortly after 7:00am. The teams spent about an hour on the summit enjoying the beautiful weather. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.

On The Map

We opted to go for the summit today ahead of expected precip tomorrow. We called our high point a bit above the saddle. There is a large cornice along the summit ridge and loose, wet snow that was unstable. There is a lot of snow in Boston basin still, no rock to be seen along the summit ridge.

Our plan is to descend tomorrow am, one day early.

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

Saturday, May 21, 2022 - 9:49 pm PT

Today we poked our heads out of our bags just as the sun was doing the same above the eastern horizon. Believe it or not it can be incredibly hot on Denali, and today was one of those days.

We got out and up to 11,000' Camp in great form, just as the inferno hit. We set up camp while the glaciers around us reflected the long wave radiation, making it feel as if we were in a microwave. But regardless we got camp set up and got some time to relax.

It’s been a grueling few days and now we get to enjoy the relative comfort of 11,000' Camp.

That’s all for now.

RMI Guide JT Schmitt and the RMI team

Everyone was sad to say goodbye to the Chilcabamba Eco Lodge this morning as we had really enjoyed our stay and were getting used to the comforts of hacienda life, not to mention the friendly, cute puppy that accompanied us nearly everywhere we went. However, Cotopaxi was on display again for us this morning against a clear blue sky to the south, so we packed our things and drove through Cotopaxi National Park to the trailhead as clouds began to build and encircle the mountain. It was a quick 45 minutes of hiking with full packs through thick clouds, but we stayed dry! The hut is luxurious for accommodations at almost 16,000’. It’s decorated with climbing memorabilia, photos of Cotopaxi and other peaks around the world, and they even recently installed a small bouldering wall. After a light lunch, we’re now tucked into our sleeping bags for an afternoon siesta before dinner and listening to waves of hail and sleet outside. It won’t be long before we get up later tonight to make our summit attempt of Cotopaxi. Our hope is to wake to clear skies above, as has been the trend in recent mornings, and work our way to 19,347’ on this beautiful volcano. Everyone is feeling good and fired up to get to some thinner air! We’ll check in tomorrow with an update. Thanks for following along!

RMI Guides Mike King, Jess Matthews and Team

On The Map

The Four Day Climb August 7 - 10 led by RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier and Avery Parrinello reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning around 6:30 am PT.  The team enjoyed a light breeze and good visibility under an overcast sky. They spent time crossing the crater to reach Columbia Crest, the highest point on Mt. Rainier and in Washington.  After taking all the photos and enjoying the views, the team left the crater rim just after 8 am PT.  They will travel 4.5 miles and 4,500' retracing their steps from early this morning to return to Camp Muir.  Once they have removed their glacier travel gear and repacked their backpacks, they will continue another 4.5 miles and 4,500' back to Paradise.

Nice work today team!  Congratulations!

The dry weather held out for us and we summitted Antisana at 6:30am yesterday. Clouds threatened in the distance, with a fantastic lightning show in the direction of the Pichincha Volcano. However, it was mostly calm and clear at Antisana, until the summit where wind and rime ice conditions convinced us to not hang too long.

Antisana is well-liked by climbers for it's challenge and aesthetic beauty. The mountain is heavily-crevassed with numerous seracs. The largest snow bridge we crossed yesterday stretched nearly 20 meters! The use of steep snow climbing techniques and running belays are required, especially in the final 1500 vertical feet of the ascent.

Climbers on this trip have now summitted the fourth (Antisana) and third (Cayambe) highest peaks in Ecuador. If future trips bring them back here, they have Cotopaxi and Chimborazo to round out the top four. But for now, Cotopaxi continues to erupt, so those plans will need to be on hold.

After the 11-hour day of climbing, we descended to camp, ate one final Locro de Papas (potato soup), packed up camp and made one last trip in 4x4s down to the bus. We said our goodbyes to the Ecuadorian guides who have taken care of us along the way and we rejoined Victor on his bus for the two-hour ride back to Quito. The afternoon was spent relaxing in the hotel and I'll say the cold plunge felt better than ever. Today, most folks head back to the United States to regale their families with stories from another successful climbing trip.

Thank you all for following along and consider joining us next year!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier