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We enjoyed great weather on Cotopaxi this morning which enabled the team to go 2 for 2! To help describe the beauty of our surroundings today, I hope you enjoy the photos in our blog post... Our ascent took just under seven hours in nearly calm but frigid conditions. As the dawn began to break we were unfortunately climbing on the shaded side of the mountain and felt no relief from the cold until we were kissed by the sun on the summit. Despite the cold morning 6 of our 8 climbers persevered to enjoy the glorious sunrise from the top. A strong team on the way up doesn't always mean a strong team on the way down. Lucky for us, everyone descended exceptionally well and we found ourselves back at the Refugio drinking coffee by 10 am after a 2:30 descent! Anyway, the gang is back in Quito safe and sound, resting up for a celebratory dinner this evening before we all hustle back to our real lives. It's been tons of fun, thanks for following along! Godspeed. RMI Guide Billy Nugent

On The Map

Good things come to those who wait... At least that is what we must remind ourselves of. Another day of marginal weather had us scratching our heads about the possibility of a summit bid while other teams have had enough and are headed down. But with a fortified camp and a weeks worth of food and fuel, we plan to exercise patience and optimism. As storm days stack up, it is all too easy to let altitude and lethargy tear a person down. Exercise is the best remedy, and so this afternoon we climbed the first hour of the autobahn to stretch the legs and open the lungs. With new snow covering the route, we worked hard breaking new trail up to 17,700 feet, and the pickets that protect the steep slopes had to be dug out. To be sure when our time comes to go for the top, our team will be the most acclimated and best conditioned team at high camp. High and Mighty at 17K RMI Guides Okita, Davis & Mann

On The Map

Hello from Everest Base Camp, This is my first chance to take a breath here at Base Camp. If you can call it that. Breathing here is always a challenge. It is crazy to think that with all the hard work Jeff Martin put in here at base camp prior to my arrival, it was still non-stop this whole last week. However, the first big reward came today when RMI Guide Dave Hahn and company called down from Camp 1 reporting that all is well. We have the best of the best when it comes to a team of climbers. And the support we give them to make this climb a bit easier is very much a group effort from Kathmandu to the USA. We had a wild thunder storm this afternoon with a trace of snow but the clouds have cleared and it is pretty clear now. The RMI team left Everest Base Camp at 5 a.m. this morning and made it to Camp 1 in under four hours. That is a very respectable time for the climb of almost three thousand feet. It looks like all the training paid off. We had a nice dinner in the cook tent with the Sherpa team and I am looking forward to my favorite hot water bottle and a good night's rest. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

Our winds have been quite manageable today with occasional gusts, but overall very pleasant. We are resting here at Camp 1, getting used to the altitude before carrying up to Camp 2, the Guanacos Camp, to make a cache for our future move. The team took a short walk to stretch the legs and now are enjoying a siesta before dinner. Buenas Tardes, RMI Guide Jake Beren

The Five Day Climb July 13 - 17 opted to make their summit attempt today. RMI Guide Josh McDowell led their team to the summit of Mt. Rainier on a "fantastic day". Josh reported a light breeze, sunny and warm temps this morning. The team will return to Camp Muir for their final night on the mountain. Tomorrow they will descend to Paradise and conclude their trip with a celebration ceremony. Congratulations to the Five Day Climb team!

The team stood on top of Pico de Orizaba at 7:30 this morning. We had calm air and partly clear skies to begin our hike up the steep moraine trail. Once in the labyrinth the trail was covered in firm snow & ice, which was unexpected based on how dry the surrounding area was. The team was moving up the glacier around 5 am. Once on the summit the pyramid shadow cast by the rising sun greeted everyone and was a highlight of the trip. The descent is always hard on toes and knees but we got back to Piedra Grande hut and packed up for the bumpy ride down in the trucks. 

We are back in Sr. Reyes’ hostel and packed for flights tomorrow afternoon. This has been a great trip with a stellar group of climbers, especially since we had summits on Ixta via a forgotten route and a classic Orizaba summit day. Thanks for following along.  

RMI Guide Mike King

 

Photo credit: Mike Greene

Friday May 27, 2022 10:37pm PT

It was a beautiful day today at 14,000' camp. We slept in, ate breakfast burritos, then napped, read and ate some more.

After reviewing some more mountaineering skills, we ate more burritos for dinner. With the sunny skies, warm temperatures and the menu today, it almost felt like we were in Mexico.

Stay tuned for what we get up to tomorrow!

RMI Guide JT Schmitt and the Denali Team

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.

RMI Guide Adam Knoff

We've got an entire day on Mt Vinson under our belts now. By the time we turned in last night it seemed we'd been awake for days... Mostly because we had been -with the midnight to four a.m. Ilyushin 76 flight onto the Antarctic continent and then a day of waiting at Union Glacier basecamp. Our Twin Otter pilots came through nicely though and the entire team was on the Branscomb Glacier at 7,000' by early evening. Vinson Basecamp (VBC), but not until we built it. We all felt pretty lucky to have gotten in since visibility and contrast weren't great. It was calm at Vinson Basecamp though, which was nice. And cold, which was expected. We stayed in our warm sleeping bags until 9 a.m. and then wandered out to stare at our surroundings and to eat breakfast. It took several hours to sort ourselves out and to switch gears from hopping continents to hopping crevasses but finally we stretched our ropes and our legs and got busy doing a carry of food and fuel partway to Camp One. The weather wasn't spectacular and we wanted to be careful not to overdue things on this first day, so we covered about two and a half miles before caching the gear and returning to VBC. Weather was slightly nicer by then in basecamp and so having dinner in the strong, warm 9 PM sunshine was a treat. We have big plans for tomorrow. We'd love to move up the mountain but it will depend on how everybody is feeling and what we see for weather. In the tent now, at 12:45 AM with bright sunshine and a cool breeze blowing down glacier. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Today we visited the famous Ngorongoro Crater, and considered by many to be one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. The crater is what remains of a two million year old massive volcano that erupted and collapsed on itself, leaving behind a giant caldera that's roughly 100 square miles. The crater is home to some 25,000' animals because of the abundant food and water that flows from a spring.

We were able to see several lions, including two big males, but not nearly as close as yesterday. As we made our way around the crater where we saw tons of other wildlife, zebras, Cape buffalo, wildebeest, jackals, Giselles, hyenas, and four Black Rhinos in the distance. It was an enjoyable a day to say the least. 

We are wrapping up our trip with a final night here at the Plantation Lodge and are looking forward to what tomorrow may bring as we head to Lake Manyara National Park before catching late flights home tomorrow!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari crew