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Denali Expedition: Bond & Team Land a Double Pancake Flip on Rest Day

June 17, 2023

Posted by: Andy Bond, Jack Delaney, Joey Manship

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 14,000'

June 16, 2023 11:38PM PT

On this glorious morning, we awoke to partly sunny skies and light snow showers (for those who don't know, this means mostly cloudy.) As temperatures warmed, we all gathered in the posh for another round of pancake Hibachi. Yours truly went for broke and landed a double pancake flip (that is one pancake flipping twice). Unfortunately, the blast wave of this extreme maneuver broke our big strong Andy's fork.

To make the most of our relatively mild weather and rest day, we headed out of camp and practiced fixed line travel and clipping pickets. The team did great and is ready for whatever gloves the mountain throws at them.

Famished, we made our way back to camp to gorge on snacks, mainly cheese. This helped quell our toilet paper crisis for the near future.

After dinner and a sweet treat of Jack's cheesecake the team retired to hopefully sleep deep and oxygen rich.

- Clown Fish/Joey

Kilimanjaro: Last Day on Safari

September 22, 2011

Posted by: Seth Waterfall

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro

This is Seth and the safari crew checking in from the Kikoti Camp at Tarangire National Park. This was our last full day of safari and it was a good one. We managed to see several big cats again including a leopard. That was the last one we needed to complete our finding of the 'Big Five'. The Big Five includes: lions, elephants, water buffalo, leopard and the rhino. The game viewing has been outstanding for us. Tomorrow we are heading back to town as several folks have an afternoon flight from Arusha heading home. Our trip has been awesome and we will enjoy this last day before we board planes tomorrow and head back to our friends and family. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

Mt. McKinley: Viesturs & Waterfall Team - Day 8

May 11, 2011

Posted by: Ed Viesturs, Seth Waterfall

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 14,200'

This is Ed and Seth checking in from 14,200 feet on Denali. Today we dropped 750 vertical feet back down the route to pick up our cache of food and fuel. It took us an hour and a half round trip. The weather has been great all day. We are now well positioned to begin climbing on the upper mountain. RMI Guides Ed Viesturs and Seth Waterfall

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Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Looks as though you are making great progress. Hoping and praying all goes well. Love to you, Mom

Posted by: Mom on 5/14/2011 at 1:16 pm

Just reaching out to my good buddy, Mark Duffy, hope all is well my friend and be safe. Have a great time and I’ll see you in a few weeks. Good Luck!

Posted by: Bob Petty on 5/14/2011 at 6:54 am

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Mt. McKinley: Nugent & Team Summit!

May 30, 2013

Posted by: Billy Nugent, Kel Rossiter

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 20,320'

Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 10:41 a.m. PT Hi, this is Billy checking in. We are back in camp safe and sound from our successful summit bid. We got 100% of our team to the summit of Mount McKinley today, aka Denali. We are back in camp. Everyone's hanging out, rehydrating, eating some delicious freeze-dried meals, and hopefully going to get a great night's sleep before we gear up to head down and head home. And that's all for now. We'll check in again as our descent continues. RMI Guide Billy Nugent

Billy Nugent calls in from High Camp after successful summit.

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Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Finally, boss!! Would you go ahead and come home now?!? - there’s work to be done… Oh yeah, and congrats!

-Dr. Harms’ snarky resident with abandonment issues

Posted by: Emily on 5/31/2013 at 7:52 pm

Congratulations, Craig and team! Absolutely fantastic!
Aloha
Ted

Posted by: Ted on 5/31/2013 at 8:11 am

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Aconcagua Expedition: Summit Day!

February 6, 2022

Posted by: Luke Wilhelm, David Price

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 22,841'

While not everybody reached the summit of Aconcagua today, we all soaked in the entire experience. It was a perfect day to simply be in the mountains. Stars illuminating the landscape this morning. A windless day with not a cloud in the sky. Shadows creeping across peaks far in the distance, helping gauge the time of day. It was very easy to be distracted from the strenuous climbing by the surrounding beauty.

Till next time,

RMI Guide Luke Wilhelm

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Tim,

Don’t know if you summited or not, but it doesn’t matter. It’s all about the journey and you have been on quite a journey over the last few years! We love you and can’t wait to see you and hear about your adventures. Now, get down and back home safely!

Love,

Dick and Irene

Posted by: Richard & Irene Simpson on 2/7/2022 at 6:51 pm

Congratulations! We’re so proud of all you! What a gorgeous day you must have had… and no matter what the outcome, we know this was a whole team effort. Way to go. Now get back down safely!

Posted by: T and B on 2/7/2022 at 4:07 am

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Mountaineering Training | The Motivation Factor

May 26, 2014

Posted by:

Categories: Mountaineering Fitness & Training

A crux for improvement in most any athlete lies in maintaining motivation; maintaining the drive to begin, practice, and persist at a task until you have reached your goals. In a 2009 piece in Psychology Today, Jim Taylor wrote that there are three factors that affect performance: Ability, Competition, and Motivation. Motivation is the only factor over which you have control. Ability (both physical, tactical, and mental) is something that you are born with. Other outside factors influence performance as well such as the away game crowd in sports, or temperature, weather, wind, and conditions in mountaineering. Again, these factors are all beyond our control, and can only be anticipated and dealt with as they appear. This leaves motivation as the key component to success. When we are motivated, we train and practice in order to maximize our given abilities. This probably isn’t news to anyone, but how do you maintain motivation day after day in a training process that can take well over a year to reach its culmination? How do you maintain your motivation in the face of cold and wet conditions in the winter, hot and muggy in the summer, or when other elements in your life are pressing in and tempting you to skip a day of training? This is the point that sports psychologists refer to as “the grind”, the point at which training and practice cease to be fun or pleasurable and begin to sap at your motivation. How you respond to the grind is what separates a top performance from a mediocre one. When you feel your training and motivation beginning to suffer, be willing to admit it and decide what direction you are going to take. You can continue on your current trajectory, or you can redirect yourself toward your goals and redouble your efforts. Once you decide on a path, dedicate yourself to it and recognize that your training needs to hold a place of priority in your daily schedule. At the same time, take a moment to evaluate your training and decide what is working and what isn’t. If running is hurting your knees and causing you to dread your workouts, reduce the number of running workouts in your training and shift those workouts to a lower impact activity such as cycling. When the gym becomes claustrophobic, take your core workouts outside to the local park or woods. It’s something of a cliché to say that the difference between athletes and great athletes is their dedication to the game. Pelé once said that, “I used to train very hard. When the other players went to the beach after training, I was there kicking the ball.” While most climbers don’t have the time to dedicate themselves singularly to climbing like Pelé did, try to practice that same mental dedication. Ask yourself in the morning what you can do that day to improve and give yourself the best chance on Rainier or any other peak. Before you head to bed, ask yourself if you did everything you could that day to achieve your goals. Finally, if you have a novel trick that you use to stay motivated, post it in the comments below. Your trick may be just the ticket for another climber! Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

First, I just want to say I am looking forward to meeting everyone on this climb! I hope we will be able to summit and the weather doesn’t stop us from achieving that goal.

Kevin M.-when do you and your brother fly in to Seattle? I live in Washington and might be willing to pick you both up at the airport if you arrive at a decent time. Let me know.

See you all in July. Safe travels to you all.

Steph

Posted by: Steph on 6/13/2014 at 2:53 pm

Hello all, My brother and I are coming from out of town for this climb but we are running into issues with getting out to Rainier. I’m curious, How are the rest of you reaching the park? and also, would any one be willing to carpool?

Posted by: Kevin M. on 6/9/2014 at 9:48 pm

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Everest Base Camp Trek & Island Peak Climb: Visiting the Tengboche Monastery

March 29, 2011

Posted by:

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek

Elevation: 11,300'

The low lying clouds lifted overnight and the landscape was a brilliant white this morning, yesterday's fresh snow reflecting the morning sun with such intensity we found ourselves squinting when merely sitting near the teahouse windows. Over breakfast we looked out up the valley, across the rhododendron trees and roofs of Deboche all covered in snow, to the summits of Everest, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam above. The winds continued to whip the summits of Everest and Lhotse, both peaks flying long white plumes from their tops. With a relaxed agenda for the day, we wandered through the trees of Deboche to the small convent here where two of the nuns happily showed us inside of their gompa, doing their best to answer our various questions about the paintings, relics, and scriptures inside. We then climbed back up the hill above our teahouse to the Tengboche Monastery, admiring the panorama around us, with views from Namche all the way up to Everest. Following a small path above the Monastery, we climbed further up the ridge, passing lines of chortens and strings of prayer flags strung by the monks, until we could look down on the buildings below. With the afternoon clouds already building, we spent a few hours in Tengboche visiting the small museum and outlying buildings of the Monastery, reading, sipping tea, and swapping humorous stories. At three in the afternoon several monks blew their horns from the front terraces of the Monastery, signaling the beginning of afternoon prayers. We quietly removed our shoes and found a seat around the edge of their prayer room, listening to the half dozen monks present recite their prayers, their deep voices rising and descending in unison, pausing occasionally - and all at the exact same instant - to sip their tea before continuing on. The chamber, incredibly decorated with murals, ornate paintings on every surface, and a two-story Buddha surveying the scene below is an overwhelming room, contrasting sharply with the muted colors of the Khumbu. It is also freezing cold and by the time we emerged into a lightly falling snow we were chilled to the bone. We hurried back to our teahouse as the clouds again settled in around us, grabbing our coats, filling our cups with tea, and settling in around the stove when we arrived. It has been a very relaxing day, offering us the chance for incredible views of the mountains around us, glimpses of the ongoing religious life here, and time for our bodies to continue to acclimatize and adapt to the new elevations before we move up the valley to over 14,000' tomorrow. RMI Guide Linden Mallory

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RMI Guides Katie Bono and Andres Marin Climb the West Face of the Kahiltna Queen

July 22, 2013

Posted by:

Categories: Guide News

RMI Guides Andres Marin and Katie Bono spent a week leading RMI's Alaska Alpine Skills Seminar this spring. After the seminar they returned to the Alaska Range for a personal climbing trip. Andres Marin: I guided the Alpine and Expedition seminars in Alaska, where our teams had an incredible time climbing and learning. When the seminars ended, I had a few days to spend climbing around Base Camp. Katie Bono: Both Andres and I had time at the end of our trip for some personal climbing. We bid adieu to our team in Talkeetna and the next morning flew back into Kahiltna Base Camp. Andres Marin leads a pitch on the Kahiltna Queen.

Andres Marin leads a pitch on the Kahiltna Queen.

Kahiltna Base Camp sits in the heart of the Alaska Range, surrounded on all sides by peaks such as Denali, Mt. Foraker, and Mt. Hunter. With the plethora of climbing options the pair decided to climb the Kahiltna Queen (12,380’). AM: Around Base Camp there are so many cool peaks to climb and one of those is the rarely climbed Kahiltna Queen. This peak is located at the end of the southeast fork of the Kahiltna glacier. It is the only peak in the range that divides three different glaciers: the Kahiltna, the Ruth and the Tokositna. KB: Andres and I spent a day skiing up the Southeast fork of the Kahiltna Glacier, stopping along the way to look at different climbing options and to do some ice climbing. Kahiltna Queen looked like a gorgeous peak to climb and both of us were stoked about trying an unclimbed route. A view from Katie and Andres’ recent climb on the Kahiltna Queen.

A view from Katie and Andres’ recent climb on the Kahiltna Queen.

Andres shows some enthusiasm at a belay station.

The following night Katie and Andres began their climb up the West side of the Kahiltna Queen. KB: The line we took followed a rib splitting the west face, starting from where the rib emerged from the glacier. The part of the climb was mostly steep snow climbing on some great and not-so-great neve (granular snow that accumulates near mountain tops from wind and precipitation). The route then transitions into ice climbing with some rock mixed in. AM: The mixed climbing was great all the way to the summit. The day was incredible and the views were just amazing. At the top we stopped to melt water and high five. Then it was time for us to start descending the West Couloir Route. The descent ended up being longer and more difficult than I expected as we had to do over fourteen rappels. Andres during his descent.

Following the successful climb, Katie and Andres, skied two hours back to Base Camp. After 25 hours of climbing they returned safely to Base Camp. KB: Seeing the moonrise while we were climbing was awesome! It came up for maybe an hour or so and just skimmed the edge of the horizon. For the whole way up we had splitter weather and were basking in the sun at the summit. After this trip I can definitely understand why my friends are excited about Alaska. It was great to be able to climb the Kahiltna Queen after guiding the Alaska Seminar since it enabled me to spend so much time in the Alaska Range. Andres has heaps of experience in the Alaska Range and I learned a lot from working and climbing with him. AM: All and all it was a great climb with a great partner. I am already looking forward to next year’s seminar and more personal climbs in the Alaska Range. Andres Marin is a senior guide at RMI leading programs in Washington, Alaska and Colorado. He is an off-width specialist and an accomplished ice and mixed climber. One of his recent achievements includes climbing the five hardest mixed lines in Ouray, Colorado, in a day. Andres is a fully certified alpine and rock guide sponsored by Millet, Blue Water Ropes, 5.10, Petzl, GU and Ice Holdz. Katie Bono is an RMI Guide and accomplished climber with impressive ascents in North America and Canada. A retired Nordic ski racer and Millet athlete, she currently holds the women’s speed record on Mt. Rainier. To see more of their climb check out Andres’ Kahiltna Queen video.

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Do you think the Kahiltna Queen can be solo’d in January? There is a climber in Talkeetna, Alaska right now who may attempt the first solo of the KQ in January 2019. He was going to solo Denali, but due to the government shut-down, that was a no-go. Alaska just had a big earthquake (7.0) on November 30, 2018, and the aftershooks are still plentiful even in Big Lake and Talkeetna, which are not that far from KQ. I wish this climber the best and would value your opinion.

Posted by: Annie G on 1/12/2019 at 4:13 am

Anyone looking into Andres’ background as a guide or a teammate can have confidence that he is capable of more than most and still patient with those less skilled. (thanks again, Andres)

Posted by: Creighton Miller on 8/15/2013 at 8:15 pm

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Vinson: Ed Viesturs and team waiting at Union Glacier

January 14, 2011

Posted by: Ed Viesturs

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif

Elevation: 2,600'

After the climb David, Cindy, Ben and I said goodbye to our climbing teammates and boarded the Twin Otter at Vinson Basecamp. We flew to Union Glacier, the hub of ALE's antarctic expeditions, we had only spent a few hours here on our way into Vinson Basecamp due to the great flying weather. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case on our return. The weather is good for flying but a strike in Punta Arenas, Chile, our next destination, is preventing the Ilyushin jet from making it's way to pick us up. We aren't alone.. several teams are sitting in Punta Arenas waiting to start their Antarctic adventures and just as many teams are here waiting to return. Hopefully we will be in the air soon. RMI Guide Ed Viesturs

June Training Tips

June 17, 2012

Posted by:

Categories: Guide News

It's June already. Do you have a Mount Rainier climb planned this summer? If so, you are probably at the peak of your training efforts and devoting a good amount of energy and time to preparing your body for the big climb. Many people ask, "What's the most important thing for training right now?" If you are less than a week away from your climb, you'll want to rest. By all means, do some activity — but just enough to keep you moving — not so much that you arrive fatigued. You'll want to maximize your sleep and relaxation this week. Also, be sure that you're eating plenty of carbohydrates to ensure you start the climb with a full tank. If your climb is still a few weeks or even months away, then you have a great opportunity to add to your endurance. I like to keep things simple. My recommendation to people training for mountaineering is to include at least one long hike each week. How long? Well, your summit day will start in the middle of the night and you may well be climbing and descending for upwards of 14 hours. So, it's important to condition yourself to be on your feet for that long. Practically, if you live near Mt. Rainier you can train on any number of long steep hikes in the area, or even hike up to Camp Muir for practice. One big weekly hike is my minimum, but if you can you'll benefit from back-to-back days of hiking, or maybe even sneak in a midweek hike as well. A man I know was out of shape with only two months to go before his Mt. Rainier climb. He realized he was behind on his training, took vacation time, and hiked Mt. Si, near Seattle, eighteen times in one month! I thought it was a bit extreme and advised him to pay attention to his knees and joints, but he did it — and he made it all the way to the summit and back. If you live in a flat city you can still get in good training. I've done urban hikes before to get in condition for a climb. Once, when I was getting ready for a big climb while I lived in London, UK, I would put a metal weight and some water-bottles in a pack and walk all day, stopping at restaurants to eat and visiting the occasional museum. It's fun and a great way to see a city. This winter in Seattle I set a goal of walking three miles each day. It's great for the feet, legs, and back and it's easy to plan to walk places instead of driving. Arrive at work or a friend's house and tell them you walked — you'll inspire them too! It might be tough to get elevation in flatter regions, but don't let that stop you from building endurance. If you can't hike or walk anywhere then bicycling is about as close as you can get to hiking as an alternative. It works the same energy-systems and many of the same muscle groups. If you do a lot of cycling, also do jumping exercises, perhaps even get a jump-rope and use it for a few minutes every day. That will help with the coming-down part of the climb. Cycling builds strength and endurance but doesn't replicate the impact of stepping down. The combination of both is very effective. Top three tips for June: 1. Make the main thing - the main thing: It's a long endurance climb with a 35lb pack. Go long in training and wear a pack when possible. 2. Back up your long hikes with shorter sessions: 60 - 90 minute efforts at a higher intensity. Stairs, stair-master, elliptical machine, cycling or spin class are good options. 3. Mix up your training: Some long and steady 'conversational' pace sessions; some hard and steady; some intervals of 1 minute of very hard effort followed by 1 minute of rest. A parting thought: I used to get close to a climb and worry that I hadn't done enough of this or of that. Right now you've done what you've done. Its best to take out a calendar, figure out how many long hikes you can fit in, block out those time and then use the other days for shorter sessions. Take a day or two of rest as well, you'll benefit from doing so. As the guides will tell you on the mountain, don't worry about tomorrow or next week, just focus on now. Focus on how you can complete — and enjoy — today's workout. You've trained hard and what you do now will make a difference on the mountain. Good luck. John Colver Author of Fit By Nature by Mountaineers Books. www.adventx.com For more information please see our resources for mountaineering fitness and training.

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Treadmills and stair machines only work your legs against the earth’s gravity, not your entire body’s weight or even the weight in the pack. They also don’t really do much for the downstroke of the leg, just the upstroke. It’s Newtonian mechanics, guys.

Posted by: borisjimski on 7/4/2012 at 1:30 am

Bodyworks, which partners with AAI, says that one needs to be able to go on a treadmill at 15 degrees for 45 minutes at 3.5 mph with a 40-pound pack in order to be in sufficient shape to climb Mt. Ranier. There is no way I can do that. Are they exaggerating? On a good day I can go at 15 degrees at 2.5 mph for 45 min with no weight.

Posted by: Larry on 6/19/2012 at 6:45 am

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Denali Expedition: Bond & Team Land a Double Pancake Flip on Rest Day

Kilimanjaro: Last Day on Safari

Mt. McKinley: Viesturs & Waterfall Team - Day 8

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Mt. McKinley: Nugent & Team Summit!

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Aconcagua Expedition: Summit Day!

Mountaineering Training | The Motivation Factor

Everest Base Camp Trek & Island Peak Climb: Visiting the Tengboche Monastery

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RMI Guides Katie Bono and Andres Marin Climb the West Face of the Kahiltna Queen

Vinson: Ed Viesturs and team waiting at Union Glacier

June Training Tips

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