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Mt. McKinley: Mike Walter & Team in Talkeetna

May 10, 2012

Posted by: Mike Walter, Pete Van Deventer

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 358'

Yesterday was the first full day of the 2012 RMI Denali season. After a great team breakfast at the historic Talkeetna Roadhouse, we headed to the National Park Service for our pre-climb orientation meeting, followed by a full day of packing and sorting our gear at the K2 Aviation hangar. We're all excited for this trip to start, and optimistic that we will be able to fly on to the Kahiltna Glacier today. There are some clouds in the sky, and a little precipitation in the forecast, so we'll see if the planes are able to fly or not. Hopefully our next dispatch is sent from the glacier...either way, we'll keep you posted. RMI Guide Mike Walter

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Good luck guys (and gal)! I hope the sooner you get on the glacier, the sooner you get off. :) Stay warm and stay safe.
Stephenie
(Kyle H’s girlfriend)

Posted by: Stephenie on 5/11/2012 at 9:26 am

Fingers crossed the weather cooperates today and you get on the glacier. Here’s to good flying conditions and getting this show on the road! Good luck to the team. XO
Christina D

Posted by: Christina Doren on 5/11/2012 at 9:01 am

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Mt. Everest Expedition: The Team Starts Their Day with a Hike Above Namche

March 30, 2013

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Seth Waterfall

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest

Elevation: 11,300'

Just ahead of the crack of dawn, we gathered for a pot of coffee and a walk up to the top of the town. From a hill above Namche we knew we'd have a chance at a million dollar view. Since the hills that form Namche are pretty much mountains by anybody else's measure, we were breathing good and hard when we reached our destination. It was all worth it though as Mount Everest was standing out big and beautiful at the head of the valley. A giant, violent and ragged plume of cloud was streaming from the summit. This was our first glimpse of our far off goal. We stood taking pictures in every direction as the mountains around us lit up with fiery first light. Finally, hunger and the need for more coffee got the best of us and we retreated to the Camp De Base dining room for breakfast. This was our full-on rest day... Meant to prepare us for a couple of days of travel to greater heights, and so the gang got to choose their own individual programs for how to spend the time. Most combined forays into town for shopping with naps and reading and a few games between meals. Tomorrow we'll move up to Deboche. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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Best of luck to Mark Wilkins and the entire team for a fun and safe adventure and summit attempt of Mt. Everest. Mark, hopefully you and your STL Cardinals wool hat will make it to the top, as they start their season tomorrow and home opener on April 8th.

I’ll follow the blog with keen interest, and prayers for you safe return.

All The Best,

Jim Gidcumb

Posted by: Jim Gidcumb on 3/31/2013 at 4:32 pm

I’ll be following your posts almost everyday. Sending greetings to your team from Florida! Wish I was there with you all have a great trip and be safe!!

safe

Posted by: julia begley on 3/31/2013 at 1:30 pm

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Everest Base Camp Trek: Tucker and Team Take a Diversified Approach to Lukla

March 21, 2013

Posted by: Mark Tucker

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek

Elevation: 9,350'

You have to work with mother nature. Not a good idea to push into poor weather conditions with any small airplane. No fixed wing flights into Lukla today. Once I spent almost a month at the southern tip of Chile waiting for a weather window to fly into the interior of the Antarctic. Should not be the case here. Problem is, there has been a couple days of limited flights and we were scheduled for today but it did not happen. So let's go for another plan. Let's charter one of the finest helicopter's in the world, the infamous B3. It was, after all, the first ship to touchdown on the summit of Mount Everest. And for us, we just want to get to Lukla. We didn't get all the way there but ended up below Lukla as the weather started to be an issue as we flew in. No sooner than landing, lightning and three inches of hail in less than an hour turned the green fields white. Two charters were needed and the second group had to stop even shorter for about ten minutes before meeting up with us. It was a tough dance at the airport, but we had some good fortune to pull this off. It was an awesome flight. The team did great with the shift of service and a wonderful job climbing over 2,000 vertical feet to get here.... LUKLA!!!! Let the climb begin, may the force be with us. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

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Vinson Massif: Team Back to Union Glacier

November 28, 2011

Posted by: Dave Hahn

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif

This is Dave Hahn calling from Union Glacier, we got in this morning about 4 AM. Twin Otter brought us from Vinson Base Camp and we waited a good part of the today with the hope of flying back to South America with the team. But the Illuyshin flight didn't come about for today and now we're putting our hopes on tomorrow. The weather is gone down a little bit here but waiting is pretty easy here at Union. It's considerably more comfortable, easier living than back out at Vinson, but everybody is doing well, and hoping to be moving around soon, bye. RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Dave Hahn and team at Union Glacier awaiting weather and flight back to South America.

Vinson: First Turns on the Branscomb

January 13, 2011

Posted by:

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif

Elevation: 7,200'

Skiing in Antarctica is not something I ever really thought I would do. I'm not sure anyone on our team thought they would get the opportunity for that matter. But, this morning, the sun popped out from behind Vinson, bringing the temps to a reasonable level (perhaps zero?) and dropping the wind. A quick breakfast, some coffee, and we geared up to begin the day. Our first foray was onto a small slope just above basecamp with some big crevasses and seracs. The team made some great turns in marginal snow, and had a lot of fun. By late afternoon, the sun had moved around, casting great shadows on some nice, big terrain across the valley from us. Splitting up, Peter, Caroline, and Seth went down to skin up a nice rib on the shoulder of the Branscomb, while Kent and I cruised up another hill to get in position to shoot. Having shot only a little skiing before, I turned to Kent to help choose the right place to shoot. A veteran of many big ski shoots, he's quite the expert...the only difference being here in Antarctica there are no helicopters or Ski-Doo's to move us from place to place - only our own power. So, we set up on a beautiful ridge, looking across an enormous valley with long shadows of the team skinning into position. Eventually, on cue, they dropped down some 1,000 feet, kicking up beautiful snow into the low, evening light. By then, it was 8:00 PM, and time to skin an hour back to camp and make dinner. Only a couple of runs for the day, but the scenery, conditions, locale, and team couldn't be beat. We're all excited for tomorrow.

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Denali Expedition: Smith & Team Waiting Game Options

June 27, 2021

Posted by: Hannah Smith, Dustin Wittmier, Devin Guffey

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 14,200'

Saturday, June 26, 2021 - 9:51 pm PT

Hello all,

Our waiting game is coming to an end. If we wake tomorrow and the winds look good we will head to 17K Camp to get in position for the summit. Camp has been very busy with teams carrying to 17K, moving into 14K Camp, and others getting ready for their move to 17K Camp. Lots of excitment and chatter roaming through the camp. We will see what happens. I know we are all ready to tackle the remaining six thousand feet of this mountain. We have been staring at it for over a week. Since tomorrow may be an early day, its early to bed for the team. We may have a big day ahead of us.

Goodnight,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

It’s all about the timing and you earned your window! May the stars align & let you enjoy the experience!
Anxious to hear and see what the view is like.
Beanie will not be letting you out the door!

Posted by: Judy collins on 6/27/2021 at 2:57 pm

Praying for great weather and your successful summit!!! Onwards and upwards you all go…
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.”
— T.S. Eliot

So crazy proud of my daughter Julia and the entire team!

DJ aka DeeDee

Posted by: Daysi Johansson on 6/27/2021 at 2:17 pm

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Aconcagua: RMI Team checks in from Camp 1

January 15, 2011

Posted by:

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 16,200'

This is Gabi and the RMI Aconcagua expedition checking in from Camp 1. This morning we left the comfort of Aconcagua Basecamp and started to head up at 10am. The team did a great job climbing today, it took us 4 1/2 hours to reach the camp. We enjoyed another sunny day. The cold winds on the Andes started to pick up, not too strong yet, but forecast is calling for 75 mph at the top for tomorrow. We will see how hard is blowing here tomorrow morning and we will decide if we do the carry to Camp 2. Our plans B and C for tomorrow are to carry just to the col between Aconcagua and Ameghino (half way to camp 2) or we'll use one of the weather days if winds are extremely strong. We'll be sending dispatches from the new comfort of Camp 1. I am passing the keyboard to Garrett, and he will give you the score of the stoke meter. Stokemeter

By popular request we are instituting a daily stoke meter, to share with the world the level of excitement the team is currently feeling. We'll be using a numeric scale that corresponds to a specific level of stoke, defined as follows: 0-2= no stoke. 3-5= semi-stoke. 6-8= stoked. 9-10= TOTALLY STOKED! Today's stoke meter is a healthy 6, which is pretty nice after the climb. Stay tuned for more updates from the team! RMI Guides Gabriel Barral and Garrett Stevens

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Kilimanjaro: Team Treks to Barafu Camp Ready for Summit Bid

January 29, 2022

Posted by: Casey Grom

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro

Elevation: 15,000'

Hello again everyone,

The team had a good night’s rest last night and today was just a short 3hr hike up to 15’000 ft to our high camp. It started out sunny, but then quickly clouded up thankfully for great hiking temperatures. The Equatorial sun at this elevation is quite intense, a little break was needed.

The team has just wrapped up lunch and discussed in detail the plan for tomorrow’s climb. Everyone knows what we will be wearing, what will be in the pack, as well as the schedule.
Our game plan will be to wake at 11pm and have a quick breakfast at 11:30, then hopefully hit the trail right at midnight. The team has been doing great thus far and I’m expecting us to reach the summit in 7 to 8hrs if things go according to plan.

As per usual on a Casey climb, one lucky trivia winner will get a phone call from the summit.
So, everyone back home please keep your phones handy and if you receive a call from a strange number please answer. We are 8+hrs ahead of the east coast time zone.

Wish us luck!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Summit Bound Crew

Mt. Elbrus: Grom & Team Acclimatization Hike To Over 15,000’

July 18, 2019

Posted by: Casey Grom

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside

Elevation: 15,000'

Hello again everyone! Today the team started the day a little earlier with a nice breakfast prepared by Dasha, then set out on our last acclimatizing hike just after 8:00 to make use of the better (firmer) snow conditions and beat the forecasted afternoon storms. The team did a great job hiking as we made our way up to about 15,000ft in just over three hours, setting a new record for some. We stopped along the way to take a few breaks and enjoy the intermittent views as the weather flipped between sun breaks and small snow squalls. After reaching our high point we made our way back to camp just in time for another enjoyable lunch. The afternoon was spent around camp just relaxing in our little huts after our big day. RMI Guide Casey Grom and team

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Denali Expedition: Haugen and Team Move to 17k Camp

June 30, 2019

Posted by: Mike Haugen, Jenny Konway, Grayson Swingle

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 17,200'

Saturday, June 29, 2019 - 9:29 PM PT We woke up to a beautiful morning with a tiny breeze and a clear sky. We spoke with RMI Guide Mike Walter's team over the radio and they let us know that the weather was also nice at 17k. We rallied the troops and made quick work of breakfast and tearing down our camp at 14k. Although 14k is a nice camp, we want to be in position when our summit opportunity arises. We made our way back up the fixed lines and climbed the beautiful ridge up to 17k Camp. This camp definitely does not have all of the charm that 14k does. In fact, it is quite a bit more harsh up here. Nevertheless, the group is all happy and healthy tucked into our safe little tents. The forecast does not look great for a summit for tomorrow, but we will wake up and get the "now cast" and see what our day will bring. We brought plenty of food and fuel in case we have to do some camping for a couple of days to get our perfect weather! RMI Guide Mike Haugen and Team Siete

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Meghan and team, wishing you all good vibes for a safe and memorable summit. Keep your spirits high and your wine glasses even higher! Cheers, love and hugs!!!! Love you!!!!!

Posted by: Kathy Pearson on 7/2/2019 at 7:15 pm

This one’s for you meg…

One day a blonde is hiking in the woods. She follows the trail until she comes upon a river. As she is thinking how she can get across the river; another blonde appears on the opposite side.
The blonde yells to the other blonde “How do I get to the other side?”
The other blonde looks up and then down the river and yells back:
“You are on the other side!”

Posted by: Shannon Henn on 6/30/2019 at 10:41 pm

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Most Popular Entries

Mt. McKinley: Mike Walter & Team in Talkeetna

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Mt. Everest Expedition: The Team Starts Their Day with a Hike Above Namche

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Everest Base Camp Trek: Tucker and Team Take a Diversified Approach to Lukla

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Vinson Massif: Team Back to Union Glacier

Vinson: First Turns on the Branscomb

Denali Expedition: Smith & Team Waiting Game Options

Aconcagua: RMI Team checks in from Camp 1

Kilimanjaro: Team Treks to Barafu Camp Ready for Summit Bid

Mt. Elbrus: Grom & Team Acclimatization Hike To Over 15,000’

Denali Expedition: Haugen and Team Move to 17k Camp

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