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Peter Whittaker from High Camp
On The Map
Posted by: JJ Justman, Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
Elevation: 18,510'
RMI Guide JJ Justman calls from the Mt. Elbrus summit!
On The Map
Congrats on summitting, team! Looking forward to your feet being at sea level!
Posted by: Molly Mathis on 9/3/2012 at 8:02 pm
CONGRATULATIONS to everyone on the team! So proud of you Ryan!! Have a safe trip down the mountain:-)
Posted by: Cheryl Kirwan on 9/3/2012 at 12:51 pm
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Mark Tucker and Team Checking from Safari
Hi Steve! We miss you, but it sounds like the adventure is going well. Looking forward to seeing you soon. Love, Shari
Posted by: Shari Fox on 8/15/2012 at 5:23 pm
Steve, there must be a reason for the white rings
around their necks, and they look really warm.
Mom
Posted by: Darlene Fox on 8/15/2012 at 4:18 pm
Sunday, January 16, 2022
After a quick breakfast in the Hotel Geneve, we said goodbye to the bustling streets of La Zona Rosa at 07:40 to get some much needed time to acclimatize in preparation for the objectives that lie ahead. We were greeted with sunny skies and mild morning weather on our hike of La Malinche which tops out at 14,640. The trail was in good shape and feral dogs were good company at times. After moving into our Cabana and just missing the evening thunder and rain, we are on our way to enjoy an nice family-style meal of carne asada, complimented with hot sizzling veggies and queso to end a great first day.
The pictures are amazing. What an incredible experience. Stay safe!
Posted by: Tracie Bush on 1/17/2022 at 12:41 pm
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Dustin Wittmier, Devin Guffey
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Wednesday, June 23, 2021 - 9:54 pm PT
Hello hello,
There isnt a lot to report today. It was another chill day, hanging around our camp. We watched other teams do their carries or move into camp. More teams have arrived at 14,000' Camp. Everyone is trying to get in a good position for the next snow storm. During dinner the winds picked up and snow began to fall. The sound of the snow on the tents is a nice lull to fall asleep too. More snow is expected for tomorrow, so we will be hanging around camp again. Still patient. Still waiting. But our time will come. For now we are all snuggled into our sleeping bags, warming up our sleeping space.
Goodnight all,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Kiira Antenucci, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Monday, June 20, 2022 - 8:39 pm PT
Hello all,
Well today is a low reporting day. It was a rest day. We rested. We ate. We napped. We reviewed skills. And we ate dinner. Rest days can be hard. Hard to not think about home. Hard to not think about the summit, on whether you have what it takes or not. Just hard to not get inside your head too much. That's where napping comes into play. One can simply dream of something else. These rest days are important though for our bodies to recover. Recover so we can have a good carry day and later a good move and summit. Tomorrow, as long as the weather holds, we will carry our gear higher so that we are in position to move to High Camp. Snow flurries have danced all day, so hopefully they take a rest from their twirling, dancing fall from the sky and allow us to have a good day.
Talk tomorrow,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
Sending Strong thoughts for a Strong Team and and make sure you tell your Team they have an Awesome Guide Hannah!!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 6/22/2022 at 4:55 am
Enjoy your well deserved day of rest! Sending positive thoughts your way - you are all going to make it!!!
Love from IngaLisa’s Mom
Posted by: Irene Wickstrom on 6/21/2022 at 9:52 pm
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Mike King, Dominic Cifelli
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 19,348'
Tuesday, May 31, 2022 - 6:39 pm PT
This day won’t be forgotten soon by our team. It was longer than most, to begin with. We were drinking coffee at 10:30 PM and loading the buses at 11. The rough road took us plenty high, but then we were out and trudging uphill by headlight for hours. It was cold and a little breezy, but we were looking at stars… and Jupiter and Neptune. We stopped in a hut long enough to put on helmets and harnesses and then marched up to the snow, where we donned crampons and ropes. The walking got easier on the snow, except it was all getting to the kind of heights that are just plain hard to climb and breathe in. We transitioned onto a glacier, still in pitch darkness. By daybreak the team had reached above 18,000 ft. All of the magnificent volcanoes of Ecuador were lined up for our viewing pleasure. There were plenty of clouds at different levels but it was evident that we were going to get lucky. Things steepened for the final 800 ft to make the team dig down deep for energy. But by 8:40 the gang was on the summit of Cotopaxi at 19,347 ft. 13 of our 18 climbers made the top, along with 6 of our excellent Ecuadorian guiding staff. The team was back at the lodge by midday and packing for departure. By 2 PM we were in our buses and headed for the jets. Now -at 6:30 PM- we’re high over Cuba, pointed toward Miami and a celebration on the water. A big day indeed, much of our team shattered personal altitude records and found inner strength they hadn’t imagined.
Best Regards
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Leif Bergstrom, Erika Birkeland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
Thursday, May 18, 2022 - 12:46 am PT
We took our time over coffee and breakfast burritos this morning, enjoying the slow start and the warming sun that doesn't hit camp until 9 am. Satiated, we left camp and moved quickly downhill to our cache at 9600', relishing the opportunity to stride it out and cover ground. We passed a lot of teams headed towards 11,000' Camp, slowly trudging under the loads of big packs and full sleds. With our cache retrieved, we worked out way back uphill to our cozy camp. Overall, 11,000' Camp felt like it doubled in size today and lots of folks were strolling around, enjoying a warm afternoon. We'll look to continue our momentum tomorrow caching a load of fuel and food up high near Windy Corner.
RMI Guides Pete, Leif, Erika, and team
Wonderful reading the news. We are with you in spirit. Enjoy. Love, Barbara
Posted by: Barbara Corona on 5/20/2022 at 6:11 am
Thanks for the video. Cute dogs. Do they live up there or someone bring them with?
Posted by: Kris on 3/4/2013 at 6:03 pm
Hey team Orizaba! Bill’s wife here. Glad to hear it’s going well. Good luck on Ixta! I teach 4th graders and am showing my class your blogs.
Posted by: Kris Westberg on 3/4/2013 at 10:19 am
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