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Posted by: Win Whittaker, Eric Frank
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,640'
On The Map
Brent, Malcolm and I are thinking of you. Can you believe your mother is following you by EMAIL? Come down safely.
Lots of love from us both.
Posted by: Marjorie Okita on 6/12/2012 at 1:19 pm
Our prayers and high hopes are with you and your team. Good luck, good karma, and good weather tomorrow. Bobcat
Posted by: Robert Bender on 6/12/2012 at 12:41 pm
Posted by: Brent Okita, Leon Davis, Lindsay Mann
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 17,200'
On The Map
Any day in the mountains builds wisdom and respect for the mountaineering experience. You guys are sure getting your share! Everything is crossed: fingers, toes, skis, ice axes, crampons,... Safe travels.
Posted by: Nate Ayer and family on 6/9/2012 at 5:35 pm
277 highpointers here at Timberline Lodge are sending you the patience and will power to hang tough.
Posted by: John Mitchler on 6/9/2012 at 1:43 pm
On The Map
Absolutely Awesome!! Good luck William, you’re getting close. Hope you all reach the summit and will have a moment to take it all in.
xoxo J,C & J
Posted by: judy on 2/13/2012 at 10:32 pm
Go Duncan’s!!! A big ole howdy from Central Oregon!!!
Posted by: Pete Slert on 2/13/2012 at 8:52 pm
Posted by: JT Schmitt, Alan Davis, Kiira Antenucci
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
Monday, June 7, 2021 - 5:38 am PT
We made it to 11,000' Camp last night! Even though our packs were lighter after our cache yesterday, the walk uphill wasn’t easy. The team put in the work to make it to camp before flurries of snow started to fall. Making it to camp was only half the work and we worked into the early hours of the morning setting up tents, melting snow for water, and cooking dinner. The team is settled into our new camp and we couldn’t be more excited to crawl into our sleeping bags!
RMI Guide Kiira Antenucci and the RMI team
Come on, sport! Let’s driiiiiink
Posted by: Craig on 6/8/2021 at 6:28 am
Neva send a threat on the internet just to prove a point
Posted by: NLE Choppa on 6/8/2021 at 4:47 am
RMI Guide Casey Grom checks in from the summit of Kilimanjaro.
On The Map
Congratulations Casey Groom and your group for your hike to the roof top of Africa. KARIBU TENA TANZANIA
Posted by: ELIAZA MMBAGA (ELLY) on 2/5/2013 at 7:42 am
Beautiful! Congrats to Holly and the whole team!
Posted by: Chris C. on 2/3/2013 at 8:19 pm
Hey Seth,
Thanks for the opportunity to summit. You made the right decision! We will see you soon for another attempt. BTW, can you e-mail that picture you took of us on your iPhone?
Thanks so much,
Jim
Posted by: Jim and Karin Block on 6/26/2012 at 1:23 pm
Thanks Gabby for a very special summit attempt. I hope soon to join you and shoot for the summit. Jake
Posted by: Jacob lehn on 6/25/2012 at 9:23 pm
RMI Guide Eric Frank checks in after the team's climb of Radio Tower Peak.
Dad, hope you are having a really awesome time. We are doing great here. Hope your knee is holding up well.
Love you - Raos in Denver.
Posted by: RAO FAMILY on 5/15/2011 at 7:47 pm
Posted by: Robby Young, Steve Gately
Categories: Guide News
Car rentals are notoriously expensive, but we found a deal on an old Toyota Rav4 with decent tires that seemed to be held together well enough for half the price, and we were off. We drove the length of the main highway on the south side of the island, also known as the Ring Road, passing by the active and massively glaciated volcanoes along the southern coastline. Finally reaching the Eastfjords, we were a bit discouraged by the high snow levels in these broad fjords, but found charm and beauty in the tiny and isolated fishing villages. We spent a couple days skiing spring “corn” snow as it slowly softened with the warmth of the low angled sun of the springtime. An experience of a lifetime, the clear nighttime skies lit up with the Northern Lights like we could have never imagined. Domes of vibrant green and purple rocketed over our heads while we camped in the empty Neskaupstadur town campground, taking in the show in awe.
Moving northward and then west, we drove across the volcanically active rift valley where the Earth’s crust was being created in real time, creating hundreds of miniature volcanoes, steam vents, and rugged lava fields. Eventually, we reached the Troll Peninsula, the skiing mecca of Iceland. In recent years, the “Troll” has increased in popularity with skiers through recent ski films and the presence of Arctic Heli Skiing. The popularity of this place was well justified; we found some of the best spring corn skiing we’d ever experienced, with the Arctic Ocean serving as our backdrop. The aesthetics and quality of skiing was only matched by the hospitality of the people we met in the small village of Dalvik. Our days here were spent skiing while evenings were filled mingling with locals and tourist skiers alike on the front steps of the local Kaffihaus (Coffeehouse), which doubled as a pub in the later hours of the evening. As with many of the small communities in Iceland, the owners of our hostel also ran this Kaffihaus, serving their own fish stew from their friends’ fishing boats, and serving beer brewed a couple doors down the street.
Traveling onward, we drove the barren and isolated roads from Dalvik to the northwest corner of the island: a series of peninsulas collectively referred to as the Westfjords. We hunkered down in the town of Isafjordur, surrounded by hundreds of steep ski runs that plummet to the ocean, as the snow began to fall. We spent the next six days drinking coffee, while the snow pounded down outside, immediately jumping in the car as soon as the sun made one of a few brief appearances. In a neighboring fjord near the village of Flateyri, we found the siren that had drawn us to Iceland: a beautiful fjord that held the deepest and driest powder of the trip; a long series of steep chutes looming above the ocean. After a winter of scraping and scratching by in Utah, this mythical run made our ski season whole!
During these rare moments of sun the formula looked something like: drive around the fjords looking for ski runs (the best were steep rock-lined couloirs), climb up, ski right back down to the car, manage to drive our manual transmission Rav4 in ski boots to another ski run, and repeat.
The snow in the Westfjords did not let up for days, even as our time to return to Reykjavik approached. The most hair-raising adventure of the trip was driving the fjords and passes back to civilization in southern Iceland. Over one particular pass, we had to put our rental to the test, busting through snowdrifts until we found a lineup of cars waiting to follow a supersized snowplow the rest of the way back to the main highway. Back in the capital, Steve and I celebrated the end of our trip just like we did at the start; enjoying the fresh fish and brews of Reykjavik, knowing that we had only scratched the surface of the skiing that this country has to offer.
_____Robby Young is a senior guide at RMI Expeditions, leading trips in Washington, Alaska, and Peru. Robby calls Park City, UT home, where he is a ski patroller at the Canyons Resort. When not guiding, Robby is found chasing splitter crack climbing and perfect powder around the globe. He is also a talented photographer: view his images at www.robbyyoungphotography.com.
RMI Guide Mike Walter and Team opted to climb Mt. Baker via the Coleman-Deming route after they had discovered rain deteriorated conditions on the North Ridge. The team climbed strong and were 100% to the top, making the best of their days on the mountain.
Congratulations Team!
Bravo for a heroic attempt!! Next time!!! Can’t wait to have you home Chip!!
Posted by: Kristy Cerovac on 6/29/2012 at 1:36 pm
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