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Posted by: Casey Grom, Grayson Swingle
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb of Mt. Rainier reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 5:30 am this morning. RMI Guide Casey Grom reported a great route and a beautiful morning of climbing. The team is on the descent en route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's team!
Posted by: Dave Hahn, JJ Justman, Billy Nugent
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest
Elevation: 17,575'
RMI Guide Dave Hahn calls in after arriving at Everest Base Camp.
On The Map
Nicole
You are our hero!
Patti and Ted
Posted by: Ted on 4/7/2014 at 7:10 am
Nicole Lobo!! Congrats on the arrival to Base Camp. Hope you are able to celebrate and rest. Stay safe and happy. Nikita
Posted by: Nicole Howard on 4/7/2014 at 6:20 am
On The Map
Hey Jake and Team #2. Merry X-Mas.I hope that crazy wind carms down for a good chance at your summit bid. Looking forward to our trek with Bill Nugent in Feb. Ken Young
Posted by: Ken Young on 12/26/2012 at 8:02 am
On The Map
everybody eat a lot
DG Chris and Michael U eat a lot
John, Tim and Mike R you eat a lot.
Nelson, Adam and Blais eat a lot
Be ready.
Posted by: shamu on 7/2/2012 at 7:59 pm
Nelson - So wonderful to hear your voice from nearly the top of North America! I will be thinking about you tomorrow as your group contemplates a summit bid. I know that it is a trade off between rest and good weather. Pulling for you from home.
Love, Mom
Posted by: Jennifer on 7/2/2012 at 6:56 pm
Congratulations! And Happy Birthday (although I am a day late)! I was glad to read your thoughts about seeing Sara and Bill at the top, another time, but Bill did ask his family and friends to talk him out of it next time! I did notice that Sara did not make that same request! I believe they were both with you in spirit. Thank you for sharing this amazing journey with us. Well done.
Maggie, friend of Sara’s Mom
Posted by: Maggie Tully on 5/21/2011 at 10:13 am
Congratulations on behalf of the millions who are with you all the way but never could do it themselves!!
So uplifting for all of us! Thank you, thank you.
Wolf
Posted by: Wolf Schmidt on 5/21/2011 at 7:58 am
Posted by: Zeb Blais
Categories: North Cascades
While Sahale Mountain is a good introduction to the North Cascades, it is still a physically demanding climb that requires climbers to show up prepared. The approach is arduous. With heavy packs full of food, fuel, tents, climbing gear and layers, the thin climbers' trail winds through the forest about 3 miles and around 3,500' vertical up to the lowest camp in Boston Basin. One of our team counted crossing over 300 downed trees on the approach (he claimed to be accurate, but my hunch is that he cooked the books a little on that number). Regardless of the actual number, this wasn’t a well-maintained city sidewalk!
Once we emerged from the thick forest, Boston Basin greeted us with spectacular views of granite peaks in all directions. North of camp Mount Torment and Forbidden Peak look as intimidating as their names imply. East of camp, Sharkfin, Boston Peak and Sahale fence in the Quien Sabe—Spanish for who knows—Glacier. Simply camping in this setting is worth the price of admission, but at this point the fun was just beginning.
After setting up camp, we rested for the remainder of the day to get an early start on a day of training for our summit bid. Much of the climbing on Sahale consists of moderate rock, so our team focused on rock movement for much of our training day. Between camp and the Quien Sabe Glacier lies 1,400' of low and moderate angle granite slab walking. Moving on this terrain requires skillful footwork and good balance. After practicing smearing, edging and route finding on rock we gained the glacier. Donning crampons, harnesses and ice axes we delved into efficient movement techniques for snow, ice and glacial travel. With our team's improved movement skills, we headed back to camp ready to tackle our objective the next day.
We rose early, in full darkness, to set ourselves up for a potentially long summit push. Due to light snow accumulations over the winter and a hot summer, the Quien Sabe had very little seasonal snow remaining. The route wound from the far north edge of the glacier to the south where the glacier bumps up against a rock arrete at 8,200'. The climbing was straightforward and there was only one section of glacier where we needed to walk with absolute focus on each step.
At the south end of the glacier, we moved onto rock for about 50' vertical feet and then climbed directly up a steep snow face. We had watched teams navigating the bergshrund (the largest, highest crevasse on a glacier) just north of this area the previous day while we were training. We decided the jumbled ice plugs and snow bridges they had crossed were not something we wanted to tangle with unnecessarily, and we believed that we had spotted a smoother route to the South that eliminated the hazard of walking through broken ice of the "direct" route.
Above the bergshrund, we found smooth climbing onto the ridge. Often a moat can form between the glacier and the rock, which can make the transition from glacier to rock difficult, but this wasn’t the case for us. A small step off the glacier onto the solid rock of Sahale's summit ridge was all it took. 50' of 3rd class scrambling put us on the ridge headed for the summit pyramid.
Robby and I short roped our teams along the narrow rocky ridge until we arrived at the last steep pitch leading to Sahale's pointy summit. This pitch presents a 4th or low 5th class move or two to get to the highest block of granite on top. We pitched out this section, running our rope out to the top and belaying our climbers up the short step. What a great way to top out! Without a breath of wind on the summit, our team enjoyed the high perch for a full half hour before starting the descent.
Our team moved well across the softened the surface of the glacier, and soon we were back on the rock slabs above camp stripping crampons. We just had a couple of short stretches of slab to down climb to get back to our tents. The team pulled it off in great style and we finished the climb telling stories and watching a beautiful sunset.
With gravity and the motivation of a meal in town helping us, we descended the climbers’ trail back to our cars. Soon we were enjoying cold beer and Marblemount's best barbecue, Que Car BBQ!
Whether you've done a pile of 14ers or this is your first mountaineering trip, Sahale is a great trip.
_____Zeb Blais is a senior guide at RMI Expeditions. He has climbed and skied mountains across the globe. In the spring of 2014, he set out to traverse Tajikistan's Fedchenko Glacier on skis. Find Zeb on Instagram at @zebblais.
Posted by: Brent Okita, Leah Fisher
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
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On The Map
Monica, Im in sunny fla, dad and i are following your adventure and know you and the team are doing great!all our thoughts are positive and confident in your skill And strength. We toast you with a glass of wine out on the dock each night! Cheers!
Posted by: meredith on 6/3/2013 at 4:51 pm
Monica and team, I’m betting by the time you get this message you will be in high camp ready for your summit day. Be strong..it is such an amazing view from the top of North America…soak it all in and then get down safely… Good luck team…
Posted by: Fletch on 6/3/2013 at 4:29 am
Dave Hahn checks in from Everest Basecamp
On The Map
Posted by: Alan Davis, Jack Delaney, Michael Murray, Charlie Harrison, Mitch Valaitis, Will Ambler
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 14,410'
After a few days of unsettled weather on the mountain, the Four Day Climb August 5 - 8 was able to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier led by RMI Guides Alan Davis and Jack Delaney. The teams reached the crater rim around 6:30 am PT and enjoyed an hour in the crater. They will return to Camp Muir for a quick stop before continuing down to Paradise this afternoon. We look forward to seeing the teams back at BaseCamp later today.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Congratulations Peter and thanks to RMI guides & staff for a safe and successful climb
Posted by: Chuck Lorenz on 8/9/2023 at 8:34 pm
Congratulations Brett! Glad to read of the team success. You’re awesome
Posted by: Olga Walker on 8/9/2023 at 6:51 am
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche
Elevation: 9,350'
Namaste!
We woke to a little new snow on the ground today, but thankfully it was clear and sunny for our final hike to Lukla. There were endless loads headed for basecamp as always, because much of the needed supplies arrive via plane or from a few days away by mules and the only transport options are porters or pack animals.
It was our third consecutive day of eight hours on the trail to cover the nearly 40 miles that took us nine days to ascend on the way in. The team is more than happy to finally be here!
Also to note. The current FKT (fastest known time) to hike from Everest Base Camp to Lukla is currently held by one of RMI’s amazing guides, Jess Wedel. Somehow she ran this rugged trail in just under 11 hours. Just so happens that she’s back here to climb Mount Everest and raise funds for the prevention, early detection research and awareness to combat Ovarian cancer.
If you’re interested in following her climb of Mount Everest, you can find her here at
instagram.com or anymountainsong.com
With a little luck we hope to be back in Kathmandu tomorrow morning!
Keep your fingers crossed for us.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Congrats RMI team. I’m coming Aug 20
Posted by: Erick on 7/3/2021 at 10:21 am
Awesome! Congratulations to the entire team!
Posted by: Mark and Cindy on 7/3/2021 at 9:34 am
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