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Awakening early this morning we were surprised at just how warm and windless it was. At first our views were obscured by thick clouds, but moments later we could recognize the faint outlines of the ridges above us and realized that in fact we were at the top edge of a thick cloud bank enveloping the Kahiltna below us. Everyone was excited, and perhaps just a bit anxious about the climbing ahead. After all, we were to face our steepest terrain yet. Now, in our tent after a wonderful meal of pasta followed by blueberry cheese cake, all I can say is how proud I am of how this team climbed today! Everyone handled the loads and the climbing really well. About as well as I've seen. This sure bodes well for later. We really appreciated the early start being over an hour ahead of any other team. It felt like we had the mountain to ourselves, and we did. That is, until we descended and saw the throngs of humanity ascending the slopes we had passed long before. At dinner many in the group reflected on what they saw and asked, "Did we look like that?" referring to the hunched over postures of people battling altitude, steep terrain and a notable lack of technique and training. We were delighted to say, "no, you guys are climbers!" RMI Guides Brent Okita, Leon Davis & Lindsay Mann

On The Map

We made pretty good use out of today. The weather wasn't perfect, it still seems like the long, slow storm is lingering, but it wasn't all that bad either. There was still a ton of cloud hanging around when we got out of the tents at Low Camp this morning. We'd done the traditional sleep in until 11 AM so as to avoid the cold cold Vinson shadow that haunts Low Camp, but the surprise turned out to be that it really wasn't all that cold. The clouds had kept some heat in for us. Everybody was feeling good and well-rested, so we grabbed some supplies, shoved them in our packs and headed for high camp. The goal was to do a carry, to bring food up for our eventual move to high camp. But moving that food up wasn't nearly as important as getting everyone familiar with the climbing route and getting in some good exercise at altitude. We did all of that. The "meat" of the day was toiling for about three hours on the steep and continuous "fixed rope" section of the hill. By the top of the ropes, the weather had taken a slight turn for the worse, with a slight, but persistent breeze blowing new falling snow, We carried on the extra hour and a half to high camp anyway, since it seemed we were getting such good experience in and everyone was climbing strong. We were up to high camp by about 7:25 PM, meaning we were spot on the expected six hours. We just took a few minutes to cache the gear and food and then we were off down the hill. We got warmer as we descended and made pretty good time with light packs. It was 9 PM when we reached the base of the ropes and just another fifteen minutes or so brought us into camp. The sun came out while we were eating dinner and getting ready for bed, making all of that just a little bit easier. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

The American Lung Association Summit Climb reached the summit this morning with lead guides Gabriel Barral and Elias de Andres Martos. They endured wind gusts and cold temperatures on their ascent but the weather calmed down some as they began the descent from the summit. We expect the teams to be leaving Camp Muir early afternoon. Congratulations!

Last night we received another foot of snow, though it wasn't nearly as windy as the previous night. Although it was a significant storm, come morning something about it felt different causing me to check the weather regularly. Sure enough, by the time we got up at 9:30 the skies had cleared and it was beautiful. Except for the winds blowing the new snow around Denali Pass and the ridge above. It was yet just a little too windy for us, plus all the trail breaking of the previous days was gone, so we hung out at camp and enjoyed our nicest day at 17,200' yet. Another day for the snow to settle will help reduce any avalanche risk as well However, a report by another guide that poked his nose into the conditions affirms what we have been seeing already, and eases my mind considerably. After a breakfast of grits, Leon, Lindsay and I went down to 16,200' to help out our next group led by Tyler Jones by bringing their cache of food and fuel up to 17,200'. This eases their move day enormously, and gets some provisions up here in case our already less than stellar luck with the weather turns south even further. And now, for the first time all trip, I'm very optimistic about our chances for the summit. Things seem like they are finally falling info place. Of course, tomorrow is another day ... Right now it is warm and windless, and we are getting ready for dinner. Wish us luck!!! RMI Guide Brent Okita

On The Map

The Four Day Climb July 15 - 18 led by RMI Guides Drew O'Brien and Leif Bergstrom reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning around 7 am. The team reported a warm morning with low winds and cloud deck below near 6,000'. The teams spent a bit of time on the summit before starting their descent.  Once back at Camp Muir the climbers will repack and continue the remaining 4,500' to Paradise.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

PC: Drew O'Brien

The American Lung Association Climb for Clean Air team was unable to reach the summit due to route conditions. The team climbed to Ingraham Flats to watch the sunrise before starting their descent. This team spends the year raising funds and supports the mission of the American Lung Association to saving lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease.

Congratulations Team!

RMI Guides Shaun Sears and Billy Nugent led their Four Day Summit Climb July 30 - 2 August, 2012 to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams reported nice climbing conditions and clear skies with a cloud deck below them at around 8,000'. They were able to spend some time on the summit before beginning their descent at 8:30 a.m. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon. The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today led by RMI Guide Tyler Reid. The team spent two days training in Ashford and Paradise before driving to the White River Trail head and beginning their climb. They will descend to their camp and spend one final night on the mountain. Congratulations to today's teams!

June 1, 2023, 5:13 pm PDT

After a successful summit day we descended from high camp to 14k Camp for the night. After a hearty burrito breakfast we descended to base camp, a 10-hour trek. We had excellent weather and perfect snow conditions for our lengthy descent. Unfortunately, snow returned in the morning and we were unable to fly off the glacier. K2 Aviation has pilots and planes on standby to come pick us up when the weather breaks. Who knows when that will be, but until then our climbers are dreaming of hot showers, cold beers, real food, and flush toilets. Nothing is easy about climbing Denali, and this final hurdle is testing our climbers'mettle. Hopefully we'll see the skies soon and the dreams will come to fruition. Fingers crossed. 

RMI Guide Mike Walter and team
 

Friday, February 10, 2023 - 3:10 pm PT

Woke up today, packed up and headed out of Quito to start our travels throughout Ecuador's highlands. Our first stop is the town of Otavalo. To continue acclimatizing we drove up steep cobblestone roads to a peak Fuya fuya. We parked at a beautiful crater lake with the peak in the clouds above. Rain threatened throughout the day,  but after reaching the summit we returned to the bus without a drop. Looking forward to heading towards Cayambe tomorrow! 

RMI Guide Avery Parrinello

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