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Many miles of dusty roads brought us out of the mountains and back into civilization this afternoon. The small town of Olgii, population 30,000, which felt like a isolated outpost last week now feels like the big city with amenities such as hot showers and the occasional strip of pavement. For dinner we were treated to a traditional Khazak feast with a performance on the dombor, a two stringed instrument similar to a guitar. Despite a lack of physical activity today, everyone seems a bit tired and we are all headed to bed early to get ready for our flight back to Ulaanbataar tomorrow morning. RMI Guide Eric Frank

The Five Day Summit climb led by RMI Guides Walter Hailes and Josh McDowell took advantage of the weather and reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 9:30 am today. Josh reported warm temperature with winds of about 35 mph. The team will descend to Camp Muir where they will spend another day on the mountain and descend to Paradise tomorrow. Congratulations to today's team!

Flying into Quito you begin to grasp the magnitude and astounding beauty of the volcanoes surrounding the city. The dichotomy of the lush Amazonian rainforest and the high, snowy mountains leaves one with a sense of the diverse ecosystems of Ecuador. Our first day included trip introductions, getting to know each other and exploring the city. We spent the first half of the day at the equatorial line, learning about the indigenous people of the Amazon and their culture. The second half of the day we explored old Quito, checking out stunning architecture and discussing the current politics of Ecuador. Our second day we took a teleferico or gondola up to around 13,000ft to begin our acclimating hike up to the summit of Rucca Pichincha at 15,354ft. Everyone enjoyed snacks and laughs at the summit before heading back to Quito for a delicious Mediterranean dinner.

RMI Guide Emma Lyddan

The Five Day Climb August 25 - 29 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier on Wednesday evening. RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Josh McDowell reported a light breeze and clear skies. The weather at Camp Muir this morning is cloudy with a soaking rain. The team is hoping the rain dissipates for their departure and walk down the Muir Snowfield to Paradise. The team will celebrate their adventure in Ashford later today and conclude their program. Congratulations to the Five Day Climber!

Last night's unanticipated storm fizzled out a bit after midnight, but the high winds stayed around and buffeted our camp through the night. We woke up at 2:30 am to see if there was any chance of climbing, but heavy gusts made it clear that wasn't an option. Instead we stayed in bed until almost 8:00 am this morning, only climbing out to hear water for coffee. After a quick breakfast we decided to go on a walk and try for another peak. By 12:30 pm today we were standing on top of Naramdal Peak at 13,405'. The coolest part of Naramdal is that it is the convergence of Mongolia, China and Russia, so depending how you stand you can be in two or all three countries at once. We are back in camp now, relaxing and resting. If the weather is good in the morning, we will try to climb Khuiten, then descend to Basecamp. If the weather is not good we will probably get packed up and go down earlier in the morning to avoid the worst of the bad weather that is forecasted for Saturday evening and Sunday. RMI Guide Eric Frank

The Four Day Climb Led by RMI Guides Walter Hailes and Josh McDowell reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team reported clear skies above the heavy marine layer sitting at 7000'. and very calm winds. Congratulations to today's team!

I spent over a decade working as a mountain guide and many days I found myself working in very cold environments, often for weeks at a time. I carried my camera on all of these trips. One of the coldest places I worked was on Denali in Alaska while working for RMI. During those expeditions, climbers often had questions about using cameras in these cold environments. Here are a few tips that I shared with them: 1. Keep multiple batteries available. Keep them close to your body. Sleep with them. If you're not going to be using your camera for long periods of time take the battery out so that it stays warm and it's ready to go. 2. Remember that if you bring your cold camera into a warm room that condensation will rapidly fog the glass in your lens. I have found that if I bring my camera into my tent its usually not enough of a temperature gradient to cause condensation. 3. The solar kits these days are very affordable, compact, light and you would be surprised at how much charge they will provide even if it's snowing. Check out the Goal Zero kits, they will have whatever you could possibly need. 4. Camera technology changes rapidly. One major advantage of the new technology is the size of the cameras available these days offer very high performance while being slightly bigger than your iPhone. A couple of cameras that I have had success with for a pretty good dollar value are the Sony RX-100 and the Canon s100. They are sleek cameras that will fit in your pocket comfortably. Of course one thing to consider in the colder environments is that using the LCD screen will use more battery juice. Having a viewfinder like the Nikon Coolpix 7800 will provide longer battery life. 5. Keep your camera handy. The more accessible your camera is, the more images you will capture. I typically will carry my camera clipped to my backpack shoulder strap about chest height and tether it to a small locking carabiner. That way even if I drop it I will not lose it. 6. Safety first. Mountaineering is a team sport. You're tied in with other people. Just because you see a picture that you have to take right then don't forget that it's your responsibility to make sure its safe to capture that picture. Communicate with your teammates. 7. Shoot details. Shoot unique angles. Shoot to tell the story. Simply, just dropping to a knee for a different angle will improve your image. 8. IPhones make amazing images. I just recently picked up this iPhone case and modified it by drilling 2 small holes in the side of the case and installed a short tether. 9. My light and fast alpine style camera kit includes the Sony DSC-RX100, Joby Gorilla pod (be gentle with these in really cold environments as they can be fragile), a Hahnel Giga T Pro II Wireless Remote, Sandisk 32GB SD card x2, 1 ziplock bag, 1 dust cloth for the lens and the Lowpro Portland 30 case. This comes in at about just over 3lbs. _________ Jason Thompson is a Senior Guide at RMI Expeditions and a renowned photographer. He has traveled the world to places such as Alaska, Patagonia, and the Caucasus Mountains leading climbs and documenting mountain adventures through his camera lens. See his work on www.jthompsonphotography.com. Jason's recent videos include the 2013 Reel // Artist Statement and Wrangelled, which was nominated for a Coldsmoke Award. Follow Jason on Instagram at @_jt_photo.

Our Four Day Summit Climb teams led by Mike Walter and Elias de Andres Martos reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at about 8 o'clock this morning. The teams had clear skies with a cloud deck at about 8,000' and moderate winds. They got to spend some time on the summit and are now making their way back to Camp Muir. Congratulations to today's teams! Also, Nana says "hi" to Nora.

Our Four Day Summit Climb teams led by Peter Whittaker, Ed Viesturs and Jake Beren reached the top of Mt. Rainier today. Visibility was low and winds were strong, so their time on the top was short. The teams have started their descent and are on their way down to Camp Muir. Our Kautz Glacier Climb led by Mike Walter sent us a radio call at 1:59pm PST from the summit of Mt. Rainier. The entire team reached the summit via the Kautz route. Congratulations to today's teams!

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.