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We got a 5 am start today so that we could get some of the clearer weather that had been forecasted. This also put us out in front of the day hiking crowd that arrives daily from Puerto Natales.

We enjoyed a near windless and warm morning on the 10k hike to the base of the Torres del Paine. With the sunrise groups heading down the steep rocky trail we were greeted with some clouds up high on the Torre Central and the impressive lake created from the glaciers. 

After a good break to take in the beautiful rock and reflect on 9 days in Torres del Paine National Park we took some pictures and began our 10k hike down to our tents. We passed the crowds, got to camp and had a scenic ride out of the national park. The team is back at the hotel in Puerto Natales, showers are first on the list followed by dinner.

This trek has featured a great group of people and decent weather, both of which lead to fun times down here in Patagonia. Thanks for following along on our trek through Torres Del Paine and Chilean Patagonia!

RMI Guide Mike King and team

Friday, May 27, 2022 6:55pm PT

We attempted to reach 17,000’camp today but were thwarted by high winds just above the top of the fixed lines. After several days waiting for favorable weather, we were all antsy to get moving, but the risk of frostbite made descending an easy call. We are currently back at 14,000’ camp and are going to assess our options for the coming days.

RMI Guide Henry Coppolillo and Team

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir September 15 - 19 led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and JJ Justman reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. Brent reported a beautiful day with no winds and blue skies all around. The team will conclude their week on the mountain tomorrow. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp tomorrow afternoon.

The RMI Denali Expedition May 5th led by RMI Guides Mike Walter, Jess Wedel and Michael Murray reached the summit of Denali on Sunday, May 26th.  The team safely returned to High Camp, 17,000', after a 12 hour round trip climb.  After some much deserved rest they will begin the descent, returning to Kahiltna Base Camp and then onto Talkeetna.

Congratulations team!

In Lukla, roughly eight thousand vertical feet below our Everest Basecamp home of the past three weeks, we were pretty comfortable. But just for one night. The team was awake by five am yesterday, eating by 5:30 and walking over to the airport check-in at six. We watched -partly in awe, partly in horror- as Twin Otters, Dorniers and A-Stars roared in and out of the compact one acre loading and unloading zone, pirouetting into place, revving engines, disgorging trekkers, cases of beer and heavy bags of rice at a frenetic pace. When summoned by frantic hand gestures, we shouldered our packs, walked out onto the tarmac and took over the seats in a Twin. A few minutes later, we were in the air, over a few craggy passes and cruising toward Kathmandu. Upon landing, we were no-longer climbers, or even would-be climbers, we were happily transformed to overdressed tourists. As such we took off a few layers and began showering, shaving and eating eating eating. Although we are still far from home, the program is finished. We continue to enjoy each other's company, we still rely on one another to make sense of the sad events and unexpected turns our trip has taken. The team is grateful that so many have followed our journey on the blog and offered up kind words and support. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Hey RMI, this is Linden Mallory calling from Chukung in the Imja Khola Valley, it’s a side valley off of the main Khumbu Valley. In the last days before Island Peak, part of the group headed off back down to Namche today and four of us are headed up towards Island Peak. We’ll be heading into Base Camp tomorrow to begin the climb. Everybody is doing well; the weather has been nice so far and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that it stays that way. We’ll check in with you again at Base Camp. Take care.

On The Map

Hi there, We woke up this morning at Camp 1 with high winds, and big plumes of spin drift on the saddle above us, so we decided to stay here for one more day. Our current plan, based on the short good weather window that the forecast has given us, is to move to camp 2 tomorrow, the next day move to Camp 3 and the next day go for the summit! The group is very excited about the new plan after having been inside the tents for the last 48 hours. The winds at this moment have started to slow down, so it looks like the forecast is right. We will check in tomorrow from Camp 2. Gabi, Pete, Gilbert and the Aconcagua team

On The Map

Hello everyone,

Right out of camp we were faced with the only significant technical obstacle for this climb. This hurdle is the great Barranco Wall, which rises about 1000ft and looks as intimidating as it sounds. Thankfully, there is a nice narrow trail that weaves its way up and through the wall and all the way to the top. Most of it feels more like steep hiking, but there are a few places that require the use of our hands to help us climb up.

The team did an excellent job of moving steady and allowing a few porters through with their loads precariously balanced on their heads. Which was astonishing to see!

After reaching the top we took a nice break and enjoyed the amazing views of the ice ladened south face and valleys below. The team continued our hike for a few more hours up and down through a few valleys before reaching today endpoint.

All in all, it took only about 4 hours for us to reach our next camp called Karanga, named for the big and beautiful valley which it overlooks.


RMI Guide Casey Grom and Crew

Today our Ecuador Volcanoes team set out on the first of many uphill travels planned for the next ten days.  We like to think that our strategic planning plays a big role in our future success, which is why I ordered up some nice weather and arranged for a cable car to whisk us from 10,000 feet to 13,000 as to not over stress many sea level lungs.  

Our goal today was to ascend the 15,400 foot Pichincha Rucu volcano, a stone's throw outside the city in order acclimate for bigger objectives down the road.  With a starting zone of 13,000 feet, this hike is usually very manageable from the top of the cable car in five hours, give or take.  Upon arriving at the upper station the weather, unsettled for the last two days, showed signs of grumpiness but played nice as we prepared go.  A wild hitchhiker latched onto Jerome’s shirt and hand, quietly calling daddy, daddy, but after five minutes of hiking changed his mind, flying to Willie thinking his orange pack looked more suiting than Jerome’s yellow shirt.  Both would make fine fathers.  

Once on the trail we could not have asked for better walking conditions.  Thick clouds kept the temps down which was nice but obscured our view of the upper mountain.  The steep parts weren’t too slick so the entire team made good and steady progress upwards until there was no more up to be had.  After a cloudy 20 minutes on top we descended down with no issues and still no rain which landed us back at the hotel around 4:00.  

We ate a great meal and then prepared for the upcoming climb tomorrow.  Stay tuned for more sports action.  

RMI Guide Adam Knoff

RMI Guides Peter Whittaker and Mike Haugen led the Four Day Summit Climb teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams reached the summit about 8 a.m. and reported blustery conditions on the summit. The teams are making their descent and will return to Ashford this afternoon. Congratulations to today's climbers!