RMI Guides Tyler Jones and Jake Beren led their Four Day Summit Climb July 17 - 20 to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Tyler reported windy and cold temperatures but good climbing conditions. The teams were starting their descent from the crater rim just before 9 am.
Congratulations to today' Summit Climb team!
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Adam Knoff and Rob Montague reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The team spent about an hour on the summit before starting their descent back to Camp Muir. While on the summit, the team experienced a dense cloud cap, decreasing visibility to about 100ft. Summit winds were 20-30 mph and the temperature is warm.
We look forward to seeing the teams at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams!
Lucky us! We had a near windless evening to celebrate the coming New Year. New Year's Day found us resolving to make it to Camp 3 in good style and we certainly did. We are slowly finishing up camp building in this rarified air and plan to rest for the remainder of the afternoon. If this weather holds for another day, we will have a great chance of making the summit mañana. Wish us some buenas suerte amigos.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Keep going Dawn and team!
I am so proud of you. keep warm!
Posted by: hye kim on 1/2/2013 at 9:42 am
Happy 2013 to Beren and Team from Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who encourages you to stay “strong in will/To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.” If the stars are aligned, power on to the summit.
RMI Guides Win Whittaker and Seth Waterfall topped Mt. Rainier in very calm winds and beautiful skies. The teams checked in at 7:15 a.m. and had already began their descent from the crater rim. With the cloud layer just below Paradise, they have been enjoying the view since sunrise and the weather should stay in their favor as the sun continues to shine upon them.
Congratulations to today's teams!
Greetings from 17,000’. Our team is at camp doing great and tucked into their sleeping bags with an absolutely beautiful evening here on Denali.
We are going to cross our fingers for good weather tomorrow and with any luck, we’re gonna give it a shot. So, wish us the best weather. Our team is doing great, very strong. Hopefully we will go take a shot at it tomorrow. So that is all from 17,000’. We are ready to launch…
RMI Guide Jake Beren
RMI Guide Jake Beren checks in from 17000 feet on Mt. McKinley
WHOOOHOOOO im so excited! I’ve been thinking about you everyday and I can not imagine how lucky I am to have such a badass dad.
Your so close to your pie! :)
Go for it!!.. and dont whimp out hah. Sleep well!
Love
Sarina.
Posted by: Sarina on 6/20/2012 at 11:10 pm
Good luck guys. Maybe you already hit the top or at the top now?? The suspense grows…..
Drum roll please.
We fared well on our first night at 17,200'. Any little headaches of the day before vanished come morning and everyone was in good spirits by the time I 'woke' them up at 10:30. Needless to say we didn't go for the summit this morning. It was somewhat windy and cloudy all day with snow falling occasionally. Just another day at 17,200' camp.
After rather prolonged brunch we got after building some respectable walls for our tents and Posh House. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to build a nice boudoir to house our CMC (clean mountain can). But, there's always tomorrow should we not get a chance for the summit.
The weather forecast is not promising for the next couple of days, but considering that they are as often wrong as right up here, that doesn't bother me. I'll be getting up in the cold morning hours regardless to see for myself.
Everyone is feeling good and doing well up here in this rather inhospitable world of cold and high elevation. And when it came time to crank out the block cutting and wall building this team went after it. That said, we all sure appreciated getting out of the gusty winds and snow when the time came to finish for the day. Lunch in the Posh and some horizontal time in the tents never felt better.
Finally, we all want to shout out a big Happy Birthday to Phil. Phil. we miss you dearly and wish you were up here with us, cutting blocks and eating dehydrated meals. Now tell me, can you beat that down there? I didn't think so.
Let's hope for a change in the weather. It doesn't seem quite so windy right now, so ...
Goodnight from 17,200'
RMI Guides Brent, Leon and Lindsay
We had a busy day here in Kathmandu preparing for Everest Base Camp Trek and Island Peak adventures. We spent the better part of the morning discussing the plan, logistics, and gear needed for the trip, making the final preparations and sort of our gear before loading it all into our duffel bags in anticipation of tomorrow morning's departure. After weeks spent collecting all of the gear we need and thousands of miles of travel to get it here, it is exciting to have everything packed and ready to go.
After lunch we plunged into Kathmandu to visit several of the city's renowned UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Stopping first at the Pashputinath Temple, we walked between the small shrines and many temples dotting the banks of the Baghmati River observing the activities of Nepal's most holy Hindu cremation site. Deep in the heart of this city of 4 million, the temple grounds were bustling with families and ceremonies.
Moving across town a little ways, we then spent some time exploring the Boudhanath Stupa, the largest Buddhist Stupa (temple) in Nepal and the starting point for any pilgrimage the Nepalese Buddhist undertake.
Spanning an area the size of a football field, the sprawling stupa's white washed walls are constantly circled by streams of visitors and worshipers.
We then climbed the long set of stairways to Sawayambunath Stupa.
Nicknamed the Monkey Temple by Kathmandu's hippie visitors in the '60s, the temple grounds sit atop a hill overlooking the city and true to its name, is home to a large number of monkeys that swing from the strings of prayer flags and scramble across the golden roofs of the shrines, all the while waiting patiently for the misattention of a visitor to grab their snacks or drinks.
After the tour we headed into Thamel, the throbbing center of Kathmandu to get dinner. Navigating the narrow streets packed full of shops selling knock-off outdoor gear, taxis, visitors, and street vendors hawking local jewelry, we ate at one of my favorite restaurants in Kathmandu before turning in for the evening. We have an early ride to the airport tomorrow morning for our flight into the mountains to the village of Lukla.
We will check in tomorrow from the Khumbu!
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
The June 26 - 29 Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer & Josh McDowell reached the summit of Mt. Rainier just before 6 am today. Pete reported a very nice morning on the mountain. The teams enjoyed an hour in the summit crater before starting their descent from the crater rim. The teams will return to Camp Muir for a quick break and then continue the final 4,500' to Paradise. They will celebrate their achievement at Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon.
1984: RMI climber Mele Mason filming a rope team on the upper slopes of Mt. Rainier with a Sony Betacam prototype.
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In honor of our 50th Anniversary, we are featuring stories of first climbs. Stories from guides and stories from climbers. Today we are excited to share Mele Mason’s story of her first climb: Mt. Rainier in 1984 for her work at KIRO-TV in Seattle, WA. Find out more about having your first climb featured on our blog!
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I was a video photo-journalist at KIRO-TV in 1984. I had moved to Seattle, WA from my hometown of Omaha, NE. Although I frequently visited cousins in Colorado and participated in some mountain hikes, my experience with altitude and glacial climbing was next to nothing.
1984: Former RMI Guide Phil Ershler (center) talks to climbers as Mele Mason (far left) watches.
While working in Seattle, I would marvel at the sight of Mt. Rainier whenever the “Mountain was Out!” I dreamed of climbing and documenting the climb. Reporter Karen O’Leary and I contacted Lou Whittaker of RMI to find out how we could arrange to shoot a story of a typical RMI climb. Lou was very helpful, and set up a date for us to climb with an RMI group, let by Phil Ershler, George Dunn, Gary Talcott, and Phursumba Sherpa.
1984: Mele Mason with the crew on Mt. Rainier.
In 1984, most news stations were still using tube video cameras, which were tethered to a separate ¾ inch tape recorder deck. The gear was heavy and cumbersome. Sony had recently come out with a new Betacam, which incorporated the camera and deck into one shoulder mounted camera weighing in at about 25 pounds with battery. Sony was excited about being a part of the first Betacam shot story on climbing Mt. Rainier, so they lent me a prototype camera for the climb.
I spent two months training on Mount Si and other peaks close to Seattle, read up on all the ways one could die on the mountain (HAPE, avalanche, rock slide, lightning strike, etc.). For my training day, Lou Whittaker and Phursumba Sherpa took me up to the Muir Snowfield to teach our group how to use crampons, ice axes, ropes and harnesses. They proceeded to throw us down the snowy hill feet first, head first, on belly, on back, to make sure we were able to self-arrest before sliding down the entire hill.
1984: Former RMI Guide Gary Talcott watches as Mele Mason films on Mt. Rainier.
The actual climb was actually a life changer for me. Not only was it the most difficult thing I had ever accomplished, but the people I met and the video I produced opened many doors for me, including more climbs in the Himalaya, Karakoram and Mount Kilimanjaro. My video piece won a NATAS (National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences) Emmy for best produced feature short in 1984. We were blessed with fine weather. Gary Talcott packed my enormous camera, I carried batteries and tripod, and Jeanine Wieholt Moore brought along extra gear. I had not acclimated properly coming straight from Seattle, so as we got above Camp Muir, the nausea started in. Fortunately every time I stopped to set up the tripod and camera, the sickness would abate. We were not allowed to slow up the other climbers, so Gary, Jeanine and I would have to start out earlier than the other climbers, set up, shoot the climbers, and then pack up and go on ahead.
I have climbed Mt. Rainier twice more, and each time I proclaim that it is the most difficult thing I’ve ever done, but each time the joy and satisfaction and camaraderie that I feel as I walk into the bar at the Paradise Inn, sit my filthy self down and enjoy a frothy cold beer are some of my favorite memories to this day.
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Steve Gately and Ben Liken reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 7 am today. Steve reported light winds, warm temperatures, and the smoke haze is starting to clear. The team spent about an hour on the summit enjoying the views before starting their descent.
Congratulations to today's team!
What an accomplishment! Great stuff. You make us proud!
Posted by: David Caudle on 7/1/2013 at 10:59 am
Congratulations Markus!!! On the way down, be on the lookout for any angry birds, even the ones that look only slightly irritated.
Posted by: Moira Street on 7/1/2013 at 10:14 am
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