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Today is a beautiful and sunny day in Pheriche, at 14,200 feet. So many of the tea houses look and feel the same along the trek, it is easy to forget exactly where we are, but as I walked down the narrow dirt path after breakfast, I could feel exactly where I was. My lungs started moving a little faster and I could feel my heart rate increase, even with my slow steps on the relatively flat trail. As my nostrils expanded to take in the available oxygen I remembered that I am now at high altitude. I know, some of you that live just above sea-level are thinking that we have been at high altitude all along, but it is here that my physiology now agrees with that. Between 8,000 and 14,000 feet our bodies are undergoing some major changes to compensate for the increasingly more obvious loss of atmospheric pressure. Today, my lungs have to work a little harder, and my heart is pumping a little faster to get all of the new red blood cells around my body. I am thankful for all of the things that my body is doing to adjust to living in a world with less atmospheric pressure to keep all of the oxygen molecules within my breaths grasp, but mostly I am thankful to the red blood cells. They are the porters of my blood, carrying around all of the oxygen my lungs will grab onto. If all things go well, my blood pH will alter, and that will increase my respiratory rate telling my lungs that they need to expand and contract more times to achieve the same effect that they had at my house in Idaho. My blood will produce more of those invaluable little porters (the red blood cells) so that every time my ventilation is effective (the simple mechanical act of air rushing into my lungs) respiration will be effective (the actual exchange of gases deep inside my lungs) and then perfusion can happen (the red blood cells delivering the oxygen to all of my tissues). It makes me feel a little tired just to write that, I can only imagine how my body is feeling repeating this cycle over multiple thousands of times per day. When put this way, it is easy to see why we need so many rest days. Our bodies need to get used to this exhaustive act at this elevation before being challenged by the next increase in elevation. Today, the team feels good. As I look around at Dave doing crosswords, Seth reading Rolling Stone and Erica sipping tea I can tell that they are all acclimatizing well. There are a variety of reasons that one might not acclimatize so well, and surprisingly, the reasons are not so easy to predict. Some people have a physiological make up that slows the adjustments inside of their body as they get higher in elevation. It is hard to find a correlation between this response and much of anything- especially fitness. There are of course some more obvious factors that will prevent your body from getting all that work done. If someone is sick already, maybe even just a head cold, the body is already working overtime and it decreases the resources that can be used for altitude acclimatization. The same is true if someone is dehydrated or under extreme physical exertion. That is certainly part of the reason that we take a nice even pace on our move days, we don't want our hearts and lungs fighting to keep up, because eventually they will not be able to catch up with us, and will let us know. Likely in the form of acute mountain sickness. Acute mountain sickness is usually the first sign from your body that you need to slow down and stay at the elevation you are currently acclimatized to. Basically, your physiology is saying 'hey, wait for me!'. Consider this a warning, because your body will be persistent if you do not listen, and give you a louder reminder, one that you cannot ignore. Acute mountain sickness (AMS) can start with a variety of symptoms, the most common being a headache. It can be hard to know if it is from dehydration or sun or actually the altitude. If I am at a new elevation and I do experience a headache, I will start by drinking 1/2 a liter of water and consciously taking a few extra deep breaths as I rest. That first altitude headache often sets in after a day of moving and then coming to rest. While moving, we are naturally breathing a bit harder than when at rest. Once that movement stops and our respirations drop the whole process slows, making your brain a little hungry for some more oxygen. I don't mind taking little Ibuprofen or Excedrin for this headache, but I am very aware that the medication is what is making the headache go away, not the fact that the problem is gone...I will keep alert for other signs of AMS. My dinner might look horrible (lack of appetite), I might feel a little more tired than normal (lassitude), the room may spin as I toss my cookies (nausea and vomiting). If I stand to walk and feel uncoordinated or dizzy (ataxia) I know that it is time to act. Actually, I might not know that it is time to act if my mental status is decreasing, that really is one of the great dangers of AMS. Fortunately, I am traveling with an amazing team and we are all looking out for the signs that someone isn't acclimatizing well. So, what to do if these symptoms appear? Well, the best thing would be to descend 2000-3000 feet. As you go down in elevation, the positive effects are almost instant. At just a few thousand feet lower, I can start to feel better. The key now is to rest at this elevation and let my body catch up before going higher again. It also helps to hike a few thousand feet during the day, but sleep at the same altitude for a few nights. That gives my body a chance to taste a higher altitude while still recovering at a lower one (you will notice this once we embark on our climbing schedule at 'extreme altitude'). High altitude illness will not likely go away without some action from you (DESCENT)! Conversely it often progresses and gets worse. You can get swelling and fluid accumulation in your brain that will cause further changes in your level of consciousness, possibly even causing you to go unconscious or stop breathing. That is called cerebral edema, a brain injury caused by increased intracranial pressure secondary to swelling in the brain. It can even look a lot like a stroke or traumatic brain injury, just with a different cause. This is a serious and life threatening emergency, and this person needs descent (which can be complicated if they aren't conscious), oxygen and steroids to decrease the swelling in the brain. Bad news bears. The other life threatening altitude emergency is pulmonary edema, which is fluid build up in the lungs. As the pressure outside decreases, the pressure inside of our pulmonary vessels increases and sometimes the leak into the spaces in our lungs that are vital for gas exchange. This is basically a pneumonia and will cause difficulty breathing, and difficulty absorbing the oxygen (which could precipitate cerebral edema). This is another one where we need immediate descent and oxygen as well as some medications that can reduce the causes of the fluid build up. Here in Pheriche there is a medical clinic staffed and run by the Himalayan Rescue Association. There are western trained doctors working there (often volunteering time away from their own medical practices). This clinic is open to climbers, trekkers and porters. They do an altitude talk each afternoon and they do an amazing job educating people on the above mentioned dangers and the importance of listening to your body and being conservative. As a medical professional, I am thankful that the clinic is here. So many people feel sick and assume they just needed to do more training when realistically, their bodies aren't adjusting to the altitude. The clinic helps to educate people and reduce the trepidation about descending if you aren't feeling well. Our group is experienced, yet that doesn't guarantee that we are safe from altitude illness. What it does do is ensure that we are paying attention, and we have created a schedule that will allow our bodies to physiologically adjust to the rigors we are presenting. So today, as I watch Dave complete crosswords with impressive speed, Seth is reading Rolling Stone and Erica excitedly orders and eats her second helping of food for the day, I can say we are looking pretty good physiologically, and it is a beautiful day at 14,200 feet in Pheriche.

Wednesday, May 25, 2022 - 10:13 pm PT

As the forecast promised, we watched evidence of wind evolve above us across the Alaska range today, but our home at 14,000' Camp was calm, warm, and quite pleasant. We made the most of it, repairing gear that's malfunctioned, visiting with friends across camp, and napping. Tomorrow is most likely more of the same, so we'll spend time organizing so that when the weather switch flips, we're ready. Yesterday as we headed up, another team that was taking a rest break told us that we "were a Porsche 911 turbo engine". We'll hope to fire that up on Friday.

RMI Guides Pete, Leif, Erika, and team

Well, despite Mother Nature's best efforts 100% of our team stood on the summit of Aconcagua, South America's highest point, at approximately 1:00 pm local time. We were accosted by moderate winds and cold temps most of the evening at Camp Colera so we decided to push back our departure to 5:30 a.m. We were hoping to avoid subjecting the team to too much cold. Well, despite our best efforts to mitigate the weather, we were thoroughly brutalized by wind and cold for the entire climb except for the last 2 stretches of the descent. Our climbers all did a terrific job taking care of themselves and preventing cold injuries. They climbed so efficiently that what is normally a 12 hour summit day we accomplished in 10! Maybe it was the short/lack of breaks, maybe they all possess mutant strength... Regardless, we're heading for Aconcagua Basecamp tomorrow! RMI Guide Billy Nugent

On The Map

The entire team arrived safely in Mendoza with all our gear (almost). One delayed bag should be arriving tomorrow in Mendoza. It is after midnight here and we just returned to the hotel after our first team dinner. We had a great meal enjoying the local flavors of Malbec and of course some Argentinian beef. We were busy all day with everyone's arrival and our first team meeting. We are now just finishing the day. Everyone is excited to start the trip and is looking forward to get closer to the big mountain. Cheers Gabi, Pete and Gilbert

Our team took a well-deserved rest day in Puebla, sleeping in, enjoying the warm weather and soaking in the colorful city. 

Folks explored, some finding fresh fruit stands, massages and local shops for souvenirs. Others relaxed and connected with loved ones back home, letting them know about the adventures so far. Tonight we filled up on traditional mole, discussed other climbing trips and swapped many stories. 

Tomorrow we head off for our final objective. Orizaba!

RMI Guide Abby Westling

Hey everybody, this is Casey Grom checking in from the Kilimanjaro Climb. Just want to let everybody know that we're doing great here on Kilimanjaro. We've had some technology difficulties with our satellite modem, but luckily today I've got a little bit of cell service. So calling to let you guys know that the last couple of days have been great. We had a nice hike from the park entrance, on day one up to the forest. And yesterday we made it up to Shira Camp, up on the top of the Shira plateau. Today, Day 3, we made our way up to Lava Tower which was about 15,000', sort of a high point for a number of folks on the trip.  I am hoping to get that satellite modem going here at some point and will try to get a few pictures out  to everybody. Currently the team is doing really well and the weather's been pretty nice for the most part. We just wrapped up dinner here and we're going to head to bed shortly. Our game plan for the next couple days, in they off chance that we can't get a message out, tomorrow we're going to climb the Barranco wall and make our way over to Karanga Valley which will be our last camp before we move up to our High Camp and make our Summit attempt from there. Our goal is going to be to try to get to the summit around 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning on Sunday morning for us. So that'll be Saturday evening for a lot of folks back home.

Just checking in all is good, and we look forward to getting some pictures to everybody as soon as we get an opportunity. So keep your fingers crossed we have good weather for the climb and we'll check in as soon as we can.

Thanks for following,

RMI Guide Casey Grom

Hey there Mark Tucker here with the Carstensz climb. I am not quite sure what of the amazing sites in front of me I should speak of when it comes to leading a Jungle tour. We round a corner here in this neck of the woods, I guess jungle. A gentleman appears with a big spear, a large bow, something sticking through his nose, and wearing only a gourd tends to get my attention. A wondrous place it is. It is like jungle gym, thank goodness for roots, I have a new a respect for them as a whole. We had an ascent on some very steep terrain. The team is climbing so strong and so well and the support we are getting from our local staff is wonderful. We are now in Putigapa which is just a meadow swamp land at about 11,000’ and it is still very forested and we have yet to find the tree line. Mother Nature was kind to us again today we were able to get all of our gear, tents and dining area set up before the rains started. Right now it is raining pretty hard, we are all dry, but pretty happy. We are tired, but that just comes with the territory. We wish you were all here and we will check in later. RMI Guide Mark Tucker & Team

On The Map

Tuesday, June 13, 2023 - 11:11 pm PT

All present and accounted for in Talkeetna, Alaska.  Most of us came together in the Anchorage airport this afternoon.  Some traveled today, others in the proceeding days. We joined forces for the van ride up to Talkeetna under overcast and sometimes rainy skies.  We busted up the three hour drive with a pause in Wasilla to round out provisions.  All of this got us in to Talkeetna by about 7 PM.  We did an easy evening of pizza downtown and came back for a rest at the Swiss Alaska Inn.  The real business of the expedition starts tomorrow morning. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Saturday, January 29, 2022 8:22 PM PT

Quick update from the summit!
100% on top!

Sunday, January 30, 2022 12:02 AM PT

Team is all safely back at high camp, a little tired but full of smiles.

It was pretty cloudy when we left camp and stayed that way most of the night. The wind and weather were quite nice despite the clouds. The team did an amazing job climbing and stayed positive even though it was a tough climb.

We spent about about 20 minutes on the summit taking photos and even made a few phone calls to loved ones back home.

We are headed down the mountain to our final camp in the thick warm air at 10’000ft, where we’ll have dinner then head off to bed for some well deserved sleep.

RMI Guide Casey and a Happy Kilimanjaro Summit Crew!

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Mike Haugen and Bryan Mazaika reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning on a clear but windy day. The teams did not spend much time at the summit due to the winds. Once they return to Camp Muir the groups will continue their descent to Paradise. Congratulations to today's climbers!