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Welcome to day one of the February, Expedition Skills Seminar - Ecuador. From this day forward, you as the blog follower will be stuck to the edge of your seat for the next two weeks, waiting with more anticipation than those waiting for the next episode of Yellowstone. You will hear harrowing tales of long bus rides, lots of food and drink and perhaps some occasional mountain climbing.
Today however, the excitement was kept to a minimum with a brief orientation in the hotel lobby with all team members present, followed by a four hour city tour covering the equator to the north then back to the old town of Quito in the south.
I would say our most adventurous moments came during our visit to the Mitad Del Mumdo, or center of the world, where eggs mysteriously balance on nails if one posses the proper mojo and strange gravitational forces affect raised arms if hailing the sun god. No one seamed possessed by evil spirits so my first impression is every one should climb well.
Beyond that the city blessed us with good weather, good views and nice people. After the tour our weary travelers retired for a quick nap before our first of many group dinners.
Tomorrow we will venture into the mountains for the first time stretching our legs and lungs while quickly breaking the 15,000 foot ceiling on the active volcano, Pichincha Rucu, 5 miles from our hotel. Stay tuned for that report.
Until then, watch some Yellowstone.
Posted by: Brent Okita, Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
Congratulations to Mike and everyone else in this group. Can’t wait to see pictures. What an accomplishment.
Posted by: DEBBIE on 8/21/2012 at 8:15 pm
Daniel, Awesome pics my love…the inter glacier is beautiful. I’m sure the pics don’t do it justice. Rendido ante ti mi amor! Eschchur yo eschando otra did mas had ta, Jennifer
Posted by: Jennifer Penn on 8/21/2012 at 7:01 pm
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
Posted by: Mike Haugen, Jenny Konway, Grayson Swingle
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 17,200'
On The Map
Hi Megan, thinking of you and so proud of your accomplishments!! Glad u missed the earthquake. I hope Vicky is ok. Xo Gayle
Posted by: Gayle C on 7/5/2019 at 1:18 pm
Welllllllllllll. Lying in my comfy bed reading this and not wishing I was you guys, but then again you are all my hero’s so I guess I totally am wishing I was one of you. That’s exactly who you all are….the people the rest of us imagine to be or aspire to be. So for us….go get that mountain for all of us! You got time, tenacity and tons of people cheering you on….Mother Nature will give you her window soon. You got this, side salad!
Posted by: Shannon Henn on 7/4/2019 at 11:32 pm
Posted by: Bryan Mazaika, Matias Francis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,080'
High winds kept the Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Bryan Mazaika and Matias Francis at Camp Muir overnight. The guides repoted an upper level cloud deck at 11,000' with a lower level cloud deck just above Paradise at 6,000'.
The team has started their descent and will be back at Rainier Basecamp in Ashford this afternoon.
On The Map
Good luck team!! Thinking of y’all from the U.S. Merry Christmas!
Posted by: Dan Judy on 12/26/2011 at 12:43 pm
mom/kim,
i love you thinking of you I’m proud of you
Sophi
Posted by: sophia on 12/26/2011 at 12:09 pm
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Kiira Antenucci, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
Wednesday June 22nd - 5:34pm PT
To the edge and back. Not a lot of excitement today, given it was a rest day.
Breakfast burritos started our day and led into a walk to the Edge of the World. The Edge of the World is a cool rock feature one can stand on, a lot like pride rock on Lion King but this one had a relief of 7,000 feet. The view will give you chills from the beauty and the sheer height of it. The walk is short but is nice to stretch the legs. Our legs are about to have a handful of large days coming their way. More napping and snacking have wrapped our day, along with a visit from another RMI team who did their carry to 14k camp.
Tomorrow we are hoping to move to 17k camp and be in position to summit this beast. It's all so close and yet, so far away. Send all the good weather vibes our way.
All the best,
Hannah and Team
Yvonne and Nathan, I hope you all stay safe and strong. When you summit make sure to take in the view an extra few seconds for Rainier. Good luck, I love you both and I can’t wait to see you home in two weeks
Posted by: Linda Radsmikham on 6/23/2022 at 8:21 pm
Nathan and Yvonne, Rainier is cheering you guys and the team on so make sure you all stay safe. Btw, Mom is obsessed with reading the updates
Posted by: Kyle on 6/23/2022 at 8:15 pm
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Seth Burns, Mike Bennett, Tom Skoog
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,080'
The first trip of the Mt. Rainier season is always a special one and just like that, it has come and gone. We spent the week learning skills like crevasse rescue, rappelling, glacier travel, the basics of snow safety, and even some fixed line travel. It was a busy week! We didn’t make the summit and in mountaineering, that’s part of the game. Sometimes the mountain, no matter how much we want it, just says no to going up high. It’s a tough pill, but a worthwhile one to take in stride and with conviction that the decision was the right one. We’ll take home the skills, the memories, and the bug to come back and try again another day.
The weather is becoming wetter and windier and looks to be trending that way for our descent tomorrow. The hot food, showers, and beds in town will be that much sweeter.
Cheers to a great week and a great start to the season, Team!
RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Abby Westling
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche
Elevation: 4,383'
Hello trusty readers,
We woke today in Lukla and gathered for breakfast. It would be our last teahouse breakfast as a team. Today we were flying out of Lukla back to Kathmandu. Flight times are not strict or on time or a for sure thing. After plenty of coffee and patience, we made our way to the heli pad and waited for Dawa to tell us to head for the chopper. We needed two helicopters to get the eight of us out and by 12:30pm we were all safely in Kathmandu. It's feels good to be back and almost like a dream that only a few days ago we were above 17,000'. After showers and shuffling gear we met for one last team dinner to celebrate the three weeks together. It's been an amazing adventure with amazing people. Thank you team from Abby and myself for a great time and to share the mountains with us. We hope to see you again on another mountain with RMI Expeditions!
Thank you for following along,
RMI Guides Hannah, Abby, and Team
Would like more info on basecamp trek!
Posted by: Haya H. on 4/12/2023 at 6:03 am
On The Map
Congratulations to Ben Liken, Pepper Dee and Team! Major accomplishment!
Posted by: David Clemmons on 2/14/2017 at 7:30 am
Following your posts and wishing all a great climbing trip.
Posted by: Jane on 2/12/2022 at 5:26 pm
Stalking you online with happy memories of 2016 in Ecuador with Adam and team.
Posted by: Lindsay Newell on 2/10/2022 at 4:44 pm
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