Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 5:00 PM PT
Hey all this is the Denali Expedition with RMI Steve Gately. The team and I are on the summit! 100% of the team made it so everybody's up. Everybody's doing well. We had a wonderful morning- blue skies, warm weather. We picked up a little bit of wind towards the summit. We had to work for it at the end there. We're all here safe and sound. We'll give a shout via email to the blog when we are back safe and sound at [17K] Camp. That's all.
RMI Guide Steve Gately
RMI Guide Steve Gately calls in from the Denali summit!
Steve! I’m so proud and happy for you for making the summit! I’ll give you a call when you’re on the bottom so I can tell you about the light indoor rock climbing I’ve been doing. Can’t wait to hear all about it.
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Mike Uchal and Five Day Summit Climb reached the summit of Mt. Rainier after a 6 1/2 hour ascent. Mike Uchal reports sunny, beautiful weather and a busy route. The teams are en route back to Camp Muir, and will be back at RMI Basecamp later today.
Congratulations to today's teams!
That mountain looks soooo big from my easy chair on the patio where I lounge thinking about all of you, up on top. I can only imagine the sense of accomplishment. You guys are amazing! Welcome back, and can’t wait to hear stories.
Posted by: maryann on 7/21/2013 at 8:17 pm
I am so excited that you all made it! Each of you has been constantly on my mind the last several days! I am envious, but so proud of what you all have accomplished! Welcome home when you get there! Your admirer, Mr. T
No. I'm afraid there were no royal celebrations of summit success for us today as we began the morning getting up with guarded optimism that the clouds and wind above us would dissipate just enough to allow us to get in a summit bid. But that did not happen, and instead we retreated back to our tents after prolonging our time over breakfast in the Posh.
Unfortunately the clouds descended and eventually we were enveloped in wind and snow that just took some of the energy and motivation we needed to work on camp. So, instead we spent a restful morning in our tents, snug and warm from the elements just beyond the thin nylon fabric we rely so vitally on for our comfort and survival.
What do we actually do during these times while waiting for the weather to improve? Of course, reading, listening to music, playing games all come to mind, but simply catching up on sleep is huge. With winds buffeting our tents during the night, coupled with the excitement and anxiety that affects us all before a possible summit day, we can all use the downtime. In fact, it's the climber that deals with this forced inactivity well that tends to be the better climber. A capacity for patience is a hallmark of good expedition climbers.
But, I never thought that spending an entire day in the old fart sack helped you out much in terms of adjusting to the altitude, so when we got a nice break in the weather we went out and built the nicest bathroom on the mountain, walled and roofed, and ready for whatever the mountain throws at us. At least we'll take comfort knowing that, when that inevitable time comes, we'll be able to answer that call without sheets of wind blown snow covering our clothes and all too vulnerably exposed parts of our anatomy.
As for tomorrow, though the forecast calls for high winds what I'm seeing right now makes me think we have a chance. The winds have calmed and it's sunny and beautiful, with simply gorgeous views of the Alaska Range from our perch here just below the summit of the tallest peak in North America.
And now, some closing words from the poet laureate of the arctic, our own Lindsay Mann:
At 17 we stay
Wishing the wind away
Cutting blocks and sawing snow
People see out camp and say wow!
A ceiling for our bathroom was done
To give us privacy from everyone
Stories over dinner we share
cause team morale is still there
Hoping to get the summit
As soon as these winds plummet
But for now we sit tight
And wish for a beautiful night
Good night from Brent Okita, Leon and Lindsay
Please ensure this marvelous structure remains intact for the next two weeks. I hope to get the chance to witness such a fine piece of engineering with my own eyes.
Hey there, this is Adam Knoff and JJ Justman- Team Mexico. We're happy to say that we had a successful climb of Pico de Orizaba today with beautiful weather. But we did it the old-fashioned way, we earned it. It was not an easy climb. Seven hours just climbing up the mountain and four hours coming down so eleven hours round trip of constant movement. We're all very relieved to be back at Senor Reyes' compound where we will be having dinner and relaxing for the evening before flying out tomorrow. All is well and we're happy to be coming home to our loved ones. This is Adam and JJ signing off. Adios.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
RMI Guide Adam Knoff checks in after the team's Orizaba summit.
Greetings from Punta Arenas,
Our second Vinson trip of the season is officially underway. Our small but adventurous group arrived yesterday in the beautiful port city of Punta Arenas. This small southern Chilean town sits right on the Straight of Magellan and is the jumping off point for our flight to Antarctica.
Today, we had our pre-trip briefing with our outfitter ALE to go over all the details about our flight and to review some of the protocols for visiting Antarctica. "Vast, large, and remote" is how Peter McDowell, one of the owners of ALE and the person giving today's orientation, described it. He then showed a slide with the US (the lower 48) overlaid on top of Antarctica. Even with the US, there was still a whole lot of land mass showing.
After the team meeting we began to unpack and then re-pack everything for the flight to Union Glacier. With the final equipment check complete, the bags were weighed and transported to the airport to be loaded on the plane. It is now a waiting game. The forecast is showing an improving trend and with any luck, the team will be able to fly out tomorrow as planned and meet RMI Guide Dave Hahn who is waiting for them at Union Glacier.
Today is beautiful here and we are now off to do a little exploring and then on to dinner. We'll check in tomorrow to let you know about the flight status.
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
Hello!
Mark Tucker checking in from the Barranco Camp, situated at 12,992’ on Mt. Kilimanjaro. We had great conditions for our hike today. Sunny and a little bit of clouds down in the low lands. Our conditions were just perfect. Everyone on the team, except for myself, had record breaking altitudes. We got up to 15,272’ was our high point and then descended back to his camp at 12,900’.
It is a wonderful night out. A little breezy, clear and lots of stars. A half moon is illuminating quite a bit of snow cover up there on the summit, not the true summit but up to about 18,500’. A really pretty night tonight, that we are all enjoying.
We had a birthday celebration, one of our team members Carlos, turned 50 today. So, we had a cake, candles and the local staff did a sing-song and a beautiful red-rose covered card all signed by the team. He had quite a day.
We are staring at the Barranco Wall which is our challenge in the morning. It is more intimidating than the actual effort it takes to climb it. It is usually one of the more fun parts of the whole climb. [Call connection lost]
Well, checking back in had a dropped call there. On a satellite phone here so sometimes it does that.
The team wanted to give a shout out a big “hello” to everyone back home. Everyone is doing just fine. Rumor has it there have been some comments made to the Blog site which we are unable to check. But we look forward to taking a look at them when we get back to some computer access. Much appreciated by everybody sending their best wishes. Thanks for following. We will be in touch.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
RMI Guide Mark Tucker checks in from Barranco Camp on Kilimanjaro.
Who knew climbing Denali had so much resting involved in it. We all train for the heavy packs, long days, thousands of feet of elevation gained. What we don't train for is all the tent time. Time in the tent is important for our bodies to adjust to the altitude but it can be a challenge for the mind. Boredom can sink in very quickly. One must be good at self entertainment and comfortable with you, yourself, and I. It's a crucial skill of the mountain life and the team is currently learning it. Even with all the down time, today went fast. Per usual for our trip so far we had sun, we had clouds and we had snow flurries. A mixture of weather keeps it interesting. Now that we are rested we are ready to move onward and upward. Hopefully tomorrow the weather holds and we are able to move to 14k camp. It will be a welcomed move with new views, a new camp, and likely new neighbors.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014 4:53 PDT
The morning came with no wind and optimal cool temps for our travels. After an oatmeal breakfast, the team packed for our quickest departure from camp yet. Our crew is strong and made great time during our climb, stopping at our cache to retrieve a handful of items from the surface, adding just a microscopic load for the final push into our new home for the next few days.
We plan to continue to fortify our camp by adding wind walls to our million dollar Posh house! The Posh house will serve as our kitchen,living, and dining room, bringing some comfort from the chill of the evening and protection from the blasting solar energy of the sun.
Currently, we are hiding from the sun's torture and looking forward to a big dinner of tortellini with bacon and sun dried tomatoes. Tonight we will get a long night's rest, and a leisurely breakfast tomorrow will lead us into a short back carry to retrieve the rest of our equipment!
We're keeping our fingers crossed for RMI Guide Brent Okita and his team above us - as of last night's radio check-in, they were planning to go for the top today. If the weather up high is anything like it is at our new camp, they stand a good shot. But for us, the name of the game is rest, recover, and prepare for the work ahead.
Cheers for now,
RMI Guides Tyler Jones, Garrett Stevens, Bryan Hendrick, and team
We are following your progress. Good Weather & Good Luck! Going to Raleigh to see & hear Oz.
Posted by: Fred & Donna on 6/5/2014 at 5:46 pm
Hi Paul! We didn’t want you to be the only “camper” (haha) not getting “mail” from home this trip. So enjoy your adventure and safe travels! Love Ronda, Alex, Meeka and Max (the toad catcher!!!)
From Expedition Dispatches, to interviews, to new records set by RMI Guides, see what the this year's top 10 most popular posts on the RMI Blog!
10. RMI GUIDE SETH WATERFALL RECEIVES VALUABLE AVY 3 TRAINING
I’ve just returned to Washington after taking part in a six day Avalanche Level 3 course in Jackson, WY. ‘Avy 3’ is the highest level of formal avalanche training in the US. It is a professional level course designed for Guides, Ski Patrollers and other avalanche forecasters. Read more...9. MOUNTAINEERING TRAINING | NUTRITION FOR MOUNTAINEERING TRAINING
Mountain Climbing has a high requirement for energy. Quality nutrition is a key component of training success. In this conversation with Registered Dietician Sally Hara of Kirkland, Washington, I had a chance to ask some of the questions which often come up in training for mountaineering. Read More...8. MT. EVEREST EXPEDITION: RMI TEAM REACHES SUMMIT!
On Saturday, May 26th at 9:31 a.m. Nepali time the RMI 2012 Mt. Everest Expedition reached the summit! RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Melissa Arnot led the team of climbers to the summit of Mt. Everest at 29,035’. Read More...7. MT. EVEREST EXPEDITION: REST DAY AT ABC
Our team enjoyed a rest day at Camp 2 (ABC) today. Their plan is to head for Camp 3 tomorrow.
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Hello from Everest Base Camp,
I spoke with Dave and Melissa at Camp 3 and WOW did they sound great!
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I first thought of doing a speed ascent on Rainier late in the summer of 2011. I started guiding with RMI that summer and spent plenty of time that year carrying heavy loads up the Muir snowfield as quickly as possible. I come from a cross-country ski racing background and I raced professionally for the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation, the Rossignol Factory Team, and Dartmouth College before that. Read More...4. MOUNTAINEERING TRAINING | SETTING A BASELINE: EVALUATING YOUR CURRENT FITNESS
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Interval Training is a training technique employed in many endurance sports. It refers to a training session where periods of high intensity effort, followed by rest, are repeated during a training session. Read More...1. RMI GUIDE KATIE BONO MAKES SPEED ASCENT
Katie Bono climbs Mount Rainier in 4 hours, 58 minutes on July 24, 2012.
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Wanting to make the best of our closing weather window, I managed to convince our team to forego our rest day today and go for our third summit in three days, Villarrica. Our alpine start began with a three-hour drive, arriving at a socked-in trailhead. Was this a good idea? It didn’t seem like it until the early afternoon when we popped above the clouds. The mental fatigue of skinning in a whiteout gave way to nice views and general alpine enjoyment, even as the wind increased. We tagged the top, peered into the active crater, and 5,500 feet later were drinking beer in the parking lot. Tomorrow the storm arrives, and we rest.
RMI Guide Tyler Reid
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Steve! I’m so proud and happy for you for making the summit! I’ll give you a call when you’re on the bottom so I can tell you about the light indoor rock climbing I’ve been doing. Can’t wait to hear all about it.
Posted by: Robbie Snow on 5/31/2019 at 1:55 pm
Congrats! Keeping you in prayer.
Posted by: Molly Bealer on 5/31/2019 at 9:06 am
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