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We enjoyed great weather and snow conditions yesterday as we moved our camp from 11,200' to Genet Basin at 14,200'. We have a well-deserved rest day on tap today as we fortify camp, eat, drink, and lounge.
This afternoon we will practice some fixed rope travel techniques in preparation for our next task, establishing a cache up high on the West Buttress proper. The weather forecast is looking good, and we may head up the fixed ropes tomorrow to get that cache established. Our team is doing well, taking the challenging work in stride, and adjusting to the lack of oxygen and colder temps up here at our new home. We will keep you updated with our status as we work to get into position for a summit bid. There is still a lot of work to do, a lot of acclimating, and a lot of variables, but so far, we're very pleased with the progress of our expedition and we're not complaining about the beautiful views of the Alaska Range.
We'll be in touch again tomorrow with the latest. Until then, know we are enjoying the rare mountain air.
RMI Guides Mike, Abby, Henry & Team
Hi, this is
Mike Walter checking in from 14,000’. We have descended the
West Buttress and are back at the 14,000’ camp. Everyone is doing swell. Our plan is to continue the descent to 11,000’ and hunker down for a few hours. There we’ll ‘brew up’ hot drinks, grab something to eat and nap for a few hours. We’ll traverse the lower Kahiltna Glacier in the wee hours (when it’s coldest) headed for Base Camp. We hope to arrive at BC tomorrow morning, unless the Weather Gods have other plans in store. That’s all for now from our tired and happy crew.
On The Map
I am excited to announce that tomorrow I leave for Vail, Colorado, to represent
RMI in a mixed climbing competition put on by the Teva Mountain Games. Alongside my passion for guiding individuals up big snowy peaks, I for some reason find the odd sport of scratching up steep rock with ice tools to be downright irresistible. I am blessed to live twenty miles from Hyalite Canyon, Montana, where the art of “drytooling” can put your imagination to the test. No one in the mixed climbing world knows of me so when I sneak up and quietly take the number one spot on the Teva podium and everyone asks, “Who’s that guy?” I can say,” I climb
Mt. Rainier for a living”. Wish me luck while I compete with the big boys and take my game to their turf.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
Hi, this is Seth with a quick check-in from Arusha, Tanzania. All is well here at the Dik Dik Hotel. Everyone is getting ready to embark on our journey tomorrow. Today we had a great breakfast under mostly cloudy skies. Everyone had a great time getting to know each other and the group is meshing nicely. After reviewing the trip itinerary we moved on to a gear check and a talk about how to pack for the mountain. Those activities took up most of the morning. After lunch we took a ride into downtown Arusha where we visited the local market as well as the 'Cultural Heritage Center' curio shop. The clouds cleared off in the afternoon and the temps warmed up considerably. We are all psyched up to start the trek tomorrow and are looking forward to a great climb on Kilimanjaro.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Hi,
Since we did not use one of our weather days while on the mountain, we had the whole day today in
Kislovodsk. After our long push to get off the mountain yesterday, and the birthday celebration dinner that followed, most of us were happy to have a rest day of sorts.
We had to deal with drying and sorting gear one last time so it is ready for our flight tomorrow, and then it was time to get re-connected with the rest of the world since we had been out of touch for the last nine days.
The weather here was beautiful today in town, sunny skies and about 90 degrees. We decided to head down to the pedestrian mall in the center of town to do some shopping, find an ice cream store and stroll through the city park. Being the height of the summer season, there were many people just out enjoying the day. With a few souvenir purchases under our belt, we walked around admiring the different buildings, statues, fountains, and shops.
With our attention turning to dinner, we found a great restaurant right in the middle of the square. We luckily had a waiter who could help us decipher the menu and helped us order an incredible meal. He thought we were crazy with how much food we ordered, but we ate it all. There were three different meat dishes served in a huge bowl with charcoals underneath to keep it warm, fresh salads, and perfectly grilled vegetables. It was the hands-down winner for our best meal in
Russia.
Tomorrow we head to the airport to fly north to
St. Petersburg, the last leg of this journey. We'll check in once we get there.
All the best,
RMI Guides Jeff Martin, Pete Van Deventer, and the Elbrus Northside Team
After nearly 6,000 feet of walking downhill, our tired but happy team pulled into
Plaza Argentina. It was sunny and calm and perfect for setting up a relaxed camp before a big steak dinner. Everyone descended in style, putting a proud finish to a great climb. Tomorrow we will walk to Pampa de Llenas, a short hop from the road to Mendoza. Talk to you all in a few days.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
On The Map
Hello from Aconcagua Basecamp,
Today we are resting and recuperating at
Plaza Argentina preparing to move to Camp 1 tomorrow. The winds look a touch rowdy up high, so staying here is a great call. This morning we had a leisurely breakfast and excellent conversation before a short stroll to stretch the legs. Hopefully the winds will cooperate and tomorrow we will be checking in from Camp 1!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
7800' Kahiltna Glacier
We had high hopes this morning at 14 Camp. The sky was clear and although we could see signs of wind up high on Denali's South Peak, we believed we could finally get up to 17,200'. At least we felt that enthusiasm until just after breakfast when I used the satellite phone to track down the weather forecast. It called for snow. It actually called for lots of snow... Like 30 inches in the next 24 hours. This was difficult information to reconcile with the sparkling blue sky and brilliant sunshine we were then enjoying. And it was particularly hard to reconcile such a possibility of big snow with our diminished food supplies. I gathered the team and gave them the hard conclusion the four guides had reached: we could not go up with such a prediction on our 17th day of a 22 day trip. If the forecast were even half right, we'd be trapped at 17,000 ft waiting for avalanche conditions to stabilize and by the time we were on our way down the mountain we wouldn't have enough food to deal with any further setbacks to our progress. In mid-July with no Park Service personnel on the mountain and with no well-worn track in the snow and with plentiful crevasse puzzles to solve down low on the glacier, we needed to anticipate further challenges to our descent of the mountain. We could no longer look up the hill. In fact, we couldn't even sit at 14 Camp long enough to see if the dire snow predictions came true since such a snowfall would set up a significant avalanche hazard threatening our route down to 11,000'. It was a tough thing then to let go of our summit ambitions while the sun was shining and while we still had food and fuel and while the remaining teams on the mountain reached seemingly opposite conclusions as to how to deal with the storm. But we packed up anyway and started carefully down the mountain. Ever so slowly, the clouds moved in, but we still had great views from Windy Corner and excellent traveling conditions down through 11 camp. It got a bit murky and mushy as we pushed down onto the main Kahiltna Glacier and we needed to be careful of sagging snow bridges on the crevasses of Ski Hill, but that all worked out fine. In just over six hours we reached 7800' and called a halt to the day's march. Time for dinner and some rest in our tents. The glacier surface is soft, soggy and not terribly supportive and the light is flat... Not ideal conditions for taking on complicated crevasse fields. We ate dinner and got in our tents as the snow began to fall. Our focus is now on completing the final push to the airstrip, but on our terms -when conditions are favorable.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
The first plane got out over an hour ago with Leon, Clay, Steve, Hao and Sergey. Two other planes came in to take two other groups out then returned minutes later, unable to safely get out because of clouds that came in to obscure visibility out of the mountains. As I began this we were still hopeful that planes would fly, but since then we have put up tents as it has now started to snow. Could this be the front forecasted to come in?
In many ways this has been the most difficult part of the trip for some. The dashed hopes, uncertainty, and expectanct waiting. People may get angry with pilots' decisions, or even guide services' decisions on what flight company to do business. But all that seems so trite and inconsequential when the realities of the situation are understood. These pilots work under such pressures to get people in and out under sometimes very adverse conditions, and i'd rather they be just a little conservative with my life, as well as those of my clients. Hearing stories of 'other' pilots ducking into and out of holes does not inspire me to any great degree.
Besides, getting 'stuck' here on the Kahiltna Glacier, one of the most beautiful places in the world, with Mt Hunter towering over us just 10 minutes away, and Foraker just across the way, 10,000' above us, seems to me OK.
Since composing the above we've spent a restful day in the tent. Some 'quality tent time.' A thing we've not had in abundance on this trip. And tonight we've joined with the half of Tyler Jones' group that got flown in for a fun and entertaining dinner in the Posh tent. Would I rather be in Talkeetna right now? Perhaps. But times like this evening remind why I love my job. Getting to know new folks, laughing at ourselves, and sharing with others.
I guess I'm OK with being 'stuck on the mountain.'
RMI Guides Brent and Maile
RMI Guide Peter Whittaker and his entire climbing team stood on the summit of
Mt. Rainier early this morning. Peter reported an excellent climbing route and great conditions on the mountain. The team has started their descent and will be celebrating here at Ashford Basecamp this afternoon.
Congratulations Team!
Keep up the great work! There are a lot of people cheering on your team. Really making headway on the elevation climb. Good luck to all of you.
Posted by: Deb Beaudway on 5/19/2022 at 6:24 pm
Take care all! Great job so far!
Posted by: Tina on 5/19/2022 at 11:47 am
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