Most Popular Entries

Today was unexpectedly a big move day. After climbing yesterday, the team was planning to take a rest day and recoup, but the forecast had different plans for us. After looking at upcoming weather and counting the days available to us we decided to move up to High Camp and try to utilize the current high pressure window. Walking up the glacier was rather uneventful and we made it to our camp at 12,000ft in 5.5 hours. When we arrived the wind picked up and clouds started to build. As we eat dinner it is currently hailing outside and we can hear thunder in the distance. So much for utilizing the good weather!! We're not sure what to expect tomorrow and the forecast doesn't seem reliable, so we're just going to wake up and see how things look. RMI Guide Eric Frank

After a week of skills training, glacier travel, and expedition-style living, the Expedition Skills Seminar – Emmons team stood on the summit of Mt. Rainier! Led by RMI Guide James Bealer, the team made their summit push in good conditions, capping off a challenging and rewarding week on the mountain’s remote east side.

The Emmons Glacier route offers a more secluded and wilderness-based experience compared to the more-traveled routes on Rainier. Over the course of the program, climbers practiced essential mountaineering techniques including ice axe arrest, crampon use, rope travel, crevasse rescue, and glacier navigation—all while camping on the mountain and gradually acclimating.

The team's summit push began in the early hours, moving steadily under clear skies and calm winds. They reached the summit crater with views stretching across the Cascades—proof of their perseverance, preparation, and teamwork throughout the week. After taking time to enjoy the moment and snap some summit photos, they began their descent back toward camp.

Congratulations to the team!

Buenas noches señors y señoritas! 

We awoke early to begin our first day on the official Inca trail! We had 4,000 feet to climb and the majority of it was on 600+ year old Inca stone steps.

The day started out along a babbling stream wandering up through a lush and wild jungle. We were even lucky enough to spot a sapphire hummingbird along our trek. Halfway through our grueling climb, we popped out above the tree line to enjoy a tasty lunch and beautiful views of the valley below. The final climb uphill was done slowly, since the top of Warmiwañusca pass was at 13,779 feet! Here, we enjoyed a well-deserved break before beginning our 2,000’ descent to camp at Pacaymayo. Thankfully, the views were spectacular and there were many colorful wildflowers along the trail to help distract us from the large and steep steps. We slowly and safely made our way down to camp where we enjoyed popcorn, chips, and guacamole for our afternoon snack! The guides claim dinner was “puma meat” but no matter what it was, it was delicious!

We’re headed to bed early tonight because we have another big day full of Inca stone steps ahead of us tomorrow!

Mike, Jack and the team

Friday, June 25, 2021 - 9:51 pm PT

Good evening,

Winds continued today with the first half being rather cloudy. Camp remained quiet with very little climbers out and about. As the clouds faded and the wind lessened, camp came alive. With a bit of nicer weather for the second half of the day, everyone was excited to get out of their tents and enjoy the sunshine but most of all not to be horizontal. All our tent platforms are no longer flat and smooth but now have troughs, bumps, and tilts from the warmth of our bodies melting away at the snow. This is a sign we need to move to a new camp. We are still monitoring the weather for our moment to move to 17K Camp. Once the winds calm down we will take our chance at the summit. We are getting antsy and ready for a change of scenery but we are also committed to being patient. Our patience will pay off.

Patiently waiting,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

The American Lung Association's Climb for Clean Air led by RMI Guide Win Whittaker and the Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Mike Uchal were unable to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams decided to call 12,500 ft. their high point today due to high winds and low visibility. The teams descended back to Camp Muir for some extra rest. Later this morning the teams will pack up and make their descent back to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them back in Ashford later today.

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise Reached the Summit of Mt. Rainier after a week of training on the Paradise Glacier. RMI Guide Jack Delaney and Team spend three days on the Paradise glacier learning various alpine mountaineering techniques before making their way to Camp Muir for their summit attempt via the Disappointment Cleaver Route. The team had clear skies, calm winds, and beautiful views on the upper mountain.

Congratulations Team! 

Gearing up for the Camp 2 move. I took some time with Kumar and Lam to check electrical equipment including a base-type radio communication station. All is in good order now, we will see how it goes over the next while. Cold and altitude are always tough on that equipment let alone the moving from camp to camp always has takes some toll. Our Sherpa team is hard at work at Camp 2 and a couple will stay the night to get it ready for Dave and crew to move up soon. Where is the mocha? Photos from my Internet location out in the middle of the glacier. It's not Starbucks but the view can't be beat. A bit of a hassle to get there but compared to what we had as cell service in the past, this is great. We still use the satellite communication for many things, but the price is a lot more. Back in 1990 the sat phone was a good size suite case. The price per minute was 20 to 30 dollars. At least some things have gotten cheaper. The cell towers in Gorak Shep have been pretty reliable as of late and it is so nice to be able to stay in touch with all of you on a consistent basis. With that in mind, fret not if we miss a dispatch here and there, just blame it on tough circumstances that prevail now and again. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

Monday, May 23, 2022 - 6:10 pm PT

Today we awoke to a world of synchronized visual perception, everything was the same milky white, the sky, the ground and the thin cover of frost draped over all the man made intrusions on this arctic alpine environment. Quite a stark contrast from the last few days of around the clock blue skies.

Despite the lack of visibility we still prepared to carry our gear as if the weather wasn’t part of the equation, hoping the eternal Alaskan summer sun would penetrate the trillions of suspended water molecules, and provide us with the conditions so desired to continue the task of climbing this mountain.

Unfortunately that didn’t happen soon enough, so we decided to use our time in the next most productive way, resting. The team enjoyed letting our bodies recuperate and help red blood cell counts climb after four days of work.

Tomorrow we will see what the mountain sends our way and keep you all posted!

RMI Guides JT, Matias, Jackson and the RMI team

Sunday, May 23, 2021 - 7:10 pm PT

The Kahiltna Seminar team all arrived in Talkeetna last night. We got to town, ate some dinner, settled in to our rooms and called it an early night. The real work began this morning. An early breakfast set us up for a full day of prepping and organizing gear, packing everything up, weighing it all, and loading the mountain of equipment onto planes. 

With some unsettled weather around base camp, we played hurry up and wait around Talkeetna for a few hours. That allowed us to catch up on a bit of napping and a bit of extra snacking before heading on to the glacier. Now everything is loaded up, and it sounds like the weather is good at base camp, so we’re going to get on the planes and fly in. It’s looking like weather is going to hold for us this evening, so my guess is we will be setting up camp on the Kahiltna glacier about an hour from now. Wish us luck, and we’ll check in again tomorrow! 

RMI Guide JM Gorum

Howdy all,

One of the most important traits to have in expedition style climbing is patience. Patience to wait for a window that will give you the best odds to reach your goal: to safely summit the mountain. We are currently testing our patience waiting for the best opportunity for the team to move to 17,000' Camp and go for the summit. Rest days or waiting days can get long and can be quite boring but they are necessary. The down time can be hard and your mind can drift to family and friends and your life back home, but its important to keep your head here and in the game. Lots of tent time, snacking, reading, and Netflix occupy our time. We did get to greet a RMI team who came down from 17,000' Camp after a successful summit. It was fun seeing friendly faces and hearing about the route. It makes us that more excited to get up there. In due time it will be our turn. Till then we wait.

Till tomorrow,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team