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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

We had a calm night to begin our climb of Pico de Orizaba. The climb begins with a steep switch backing trail through an old moraine. After a few hours, we entered the labyrinth which was once covered by glacial ice about 25 years ago. Now, a polished slab rock that can be difficult to find your way through, hence its name. Once at the base of the Jamapa glacier, we put on our boots and crampons - 3.5 hours later and we were on top with a beautiful sunrise, summit pyramid shadow, and calm weather.

The whole group stood on top this morning, couldn’t have asked for more. It’s been a great week climbing here with an amazing group. Our local guide Alan and Servimont’s assistance always make these trips special for us. 

We are back in town getting cleaned up, listening to rockets explode, drinking cold drinks and sorting gear for flights home tomorrow morning.

Thanks,

Mike

Sunday, May 29, 2022 - 4:12 pm PT

We woke up with plans to pack up camp early and move towards the airstrip, but the heat beat us to our plans. We trained this morning and are now hiding from the sun once again we will pack up or camp this afternoon or evening and move towards the airstrip when the heat is not so blinding.

RMI Guide Alex Halliday

Well, some snoring happened last night.  Not light cute, cuddly snoring but the real deal.  It was coming directly from the top bunk next to mine so I now have a nice visual of what a grown man looks like when running a chainsaw with his throat.   Add to that the fun fuzzy feelings of our first night at real altitude and I think it is safe to say most of the team did not experience their best night.   

By 6 am most of us were beginning to put motion to our already awake bodies which is never easy at this height.  With a few throbbing headaches everyone was in some way experiencing a mild hangover.   This is not out of the ordinary.   

After a beautiful hike around the hut which was blessed with clear and stunning views of our summit, Antisana and Cotopaxi, the aftermath of snoring and altitude began to fade.  It is common for this mountain to sock in and get rainy by 1 pm so we all motivated in good style preparing for training session on the glacier 1,200 feet above the hut.   By 8:15 we were on the move enjoying beautiful weather and vistas.  One hour later we were putting on harnesses, crampons and helmets at 16,000 feet.  

It is clear everyone on this team has climbed in the past because going through self arrest, rope travel and cramponing on steep ice was akin to getting back on the bike.  Hannah, Jaime and I just gave a little shove and off they went, making it all look easy.  

Like clockwork the rain came in at 12:30 and we descended back to the rough accommodations of soup, cheese and crackers and hot tea.  I can certainly think of worse places to be.   After snacks we rested for a couple hours and then had dinner at 5 pm.  

As I finish this entry, the moon has begun shining through our window, the team is tucked away in bed and the Super Bowl just kicked off.  Our alarms go off at 11 pm tonight giving us a midnight departure on our first big mountain summit attempt.  Cayambe is 5 feet short of 19,000 feet so we have a big day ahead of us.  

We will give the report tomorrow after the climb.  Enjoy super bowl Sunday! 

RMI Guide Adam Knoff

The Four Day Climb September 6 - 9 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today with new snow and windy conditions led by RMI Guides Robby Young and Josh McDowell. The teams did not spend much time in the crater, just taking a short break to hydrate and snack before starting their descent to Camp Muir. The program will conclude this afternoon at Rainier BaseCamp with a celebration of today's accomplishments. Congratulations to today's climbers!

Sunday, May 21, 2023 - 9:47 pm PDT

Today was a big day! Our first official rest day of the trip. After a few long hard pushes, we decided to sleep in and take the entire day to recover, and prep for the big carry tomorrow. We woke with the sun, and had a few rounds of breakfast burritos. After a leisurely breakfast, the remainder of the day was spent resting, recovering, reading and napping. Just before dinner we reviewed a bit of cramponing and ice axe techniques to prepare for the terrain above 11k Camp, and then rolled into an early dinner. Tomorrow we'll make our way towards 14k Camp to cache some food, and gear before returning to 11k Camp. 

RMI Guide Nikki Champion and Team
 

Tuesday, June 21, 2022 - 8:49 pm PT

The weather couldn’t make up its mind today-  it was cold, it was hot, it was sunny, it was cloudy, it was clear, it was snowy, it was windy, and it was still. It literally couldn’t make up its mind from minute to minute. This of course necessitated putting on and taking off layers, putting on sunscreen, and opening and closing the vestibules. Our heads are still spinning.

Today was what we called a reverse carry day which means we headed down hill to retrieve our cache from 10,000' and hoofed it back up the hill to camp. Andy called this a rest day. His idea of a rest day is a little demented in my opinion. On the Appalachian trail, we would have called this a Nero day (translation- nearly a zero day). 

We also prepped for tomorrow by deciding what we are going to carry up to 14,000' Camp for caching. The strategy is to split our load so no one day is heavier than the other.

Camp life today involved consuming large volumes of food while we still have an appetite which also means we don’t have to carry it. Many of us are finding out that we packed way too much food and are excited when anybody is willing to eat some of it. We also tossed around some deep questions like -if you could go back in any period of history when would it be? My answer was the future, specifically the day we summit this massive mountain. You may have also heard that one member of our team is carrying a hula hoop up the mountain. After a little research project from our followers, we learned that if our team member is successful in hula hooping for 30 seconds on the summit, they will break the record for the highest hula hooping. The current record is on Kilimanjaro at 19,300'.  Stayed tuned.

RMI Climber Mary-Beth

We had a calm night at Perros with a 5am wake up. Quick coffee and breakfast and we headed up towards John Gardner Pass at 3,812’. The air was warm, high pressure moved in over the last 24 hours. The views of the Grey glacier and southern Patagonia ice field were outstanding. As we dropped into the trees the real fun begins….steep trail, contorted 2.5” plumbers pipe handrails and lots of sore toes. There might not be a more accessible trail that takes you from a dense forest to a large valley glacier at such low attitude in only 2.5 miles, this is what the “O” circuit  provides. It’s all worth the views and cold beverages once at Grey. The team is doing well, hanging out, showers and clean clothes with a buffet dinner to wrap up the biggest day thus far.

Thanks for following along,

RMI Guide Mike King

We awoke this morning early again, trying to take advantage of another windless day. With blue skies overhead we were optimistic of our chances of getting to camp at 14,100' The crew had breakfast and struck camp as quickly and well as I've seen. Obviously they were some pretty motivated climbers. A slight breeze kept us wrapped up in most of our layers, and we even put on face protection climbing through Windy Corner. But the team climbed even better today than yesterday. However, leaving our high point of yesterday and ascending the final 700' to camp reminded us all of the big jump in elevation we were making. Although everyone climbed really well, even the strongest of the team struggled a bit with the last bit of elevation gain. But all this is expected and a normal part of the acclimatization process. An easy day tomorrow will find the team feeling better as our bodies adjust to the altitude. We're looking forward to it. Getting into camp early today allowed us to establish a nice camp, dry out sleeping bags packed in haste this morning, and settle in to our new home before the sun disappeared behind the ridge. Our bags will be especially welcome tonight. Talk with you again tomorrow. RMI Guide Brent, Leon and Lindsay

On The Map

Despite a skiff of snow and some much cooler winds, the clouds lifted and we awoke to a peaceful sunrise.  We climbed above Camp Muir and enjoyed the sunrise from Ingraham Flats.

RMI Guide Alan Davis