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The RMI Glacier Peak Climb, led by James Bealer, started at the trailhead on July 5th in high spirits. They hiked through beautiful old growth forest and crossed cold glacial streams.  As the team gained altitude, they could see more and more peaks all around them.  Finally they reached the top of White Pass and made camp for the night. 

Today, July 7th, the team was on the summit!  They plan to move their camp back down the mountain a bit today and hike out tomorrow.

Congratulations team!

Buenos Dias! Today we loaded up our gear and left Quito, driving North on the Pan-American Highway to our next acclimatization hike on Cerro Fuya Fuya. Again in the clouds, we had openings on our way up that provided great views of Lago Fuya Fuya and Cerro Negra. Hiking through the mountain grasses, we ascended quickly as we followed a little steeper trail than yesterday. Again the team did well, standing on top of the volcanic remnants in a few hours, feeling strong at 14,000 feet above sea level. After walking down the mountain and reloading the vehicles we rejoined the highway and made our way to the Hacienda San Luis, a beautiful hacienda to relax and prepare for our trip to the hut on Cayambe, our first big objective. Let's keep our fingers crossed for continued luck here in the Mountains of Ecuador. RMI Guide Jake Beren

The Five Day Climb August 23 - 27 led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer & George Hedreen reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning.  The teams enjoyed clear skies, a funky cloud and a light breeze for their climb and were able to enjoy some time this morning in the summit crater.  The team began their descent from the crater rim around 9:30 am.  They will return to Camp Muir and enjoy another night on the mountain.  Tomorrow the teams will pack their gear and descend the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise.

Congratulations team!

PC: George Hedreen

Tuesday, June 1, 2021 - 12:03 pm PT

Happy June 1st! It doesn't feel like it much here at 17K. We missed sending a dispatch last night because of some electronic technical difficulties that are resolved, but you should have heard via RMI Alaska Team led by Mike Walter that we all moved to 17K yesterday on a perfect day. It was relatively warm, calm, sunny, and as we were the first few teams out of camp, were able to move smoothly up the fixed lines and along the West Buttress.

We had hopes of going for the summit today, but the chance of snow that often only brings precip to the lower mountain defied that hope overnight and into today. We've got 3 to 4 inches of new snow in camp, still snowing, low vis, and just enough wind to move it around at maximum efficiency. It was a pretty easy call to stay in the tents today and ride it out, hoping that tomorrow brings clearer conditions.

RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Matias Francis, Chase Halbert, and team

RMI Guides Adam Knoff and Dave Hanning with Mark Icuss at Camp Protection on Mt. Rainier. Photo: Courtesy Mark Icuss. ---- 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 Mark Icuss' story of his first climb: Mt. Rainier. Twenty-one years ago, Mark's life changed forever when a friend asked him to climb Mt. Rainier. Would you like to have the story of your first climb featured on our blog? Find out more! ---- Twenty-one years ago a friend posed a question to me after a session at the rock gym. "Dude, you want to climb Mt. Rainier?" Without thinking twice, I immediately said “YES!” Up until this point I had zero mountain experience, I had never winter camped, never carried a heavy pack, and never walked in crampons. I did however, read “Into Thin Air” and was infatuated with the adventures these climbers were having. Being a kid from Chicago, climbing anything, let alone a big mountain like Rainier, or Everest for that matter, was a ridiculous thought. "City people don't climb mountains," “You have no idea what you’re doing," and “You can get hurt or killed" were some of the things I was told by friends and family. All I knew was I wanted to experience what it felt like to go on a grand adventure in the "big mountains." We booked the 5-day expedition seminar with RMI and commenced "training" which in Chicago meant walking on a stair machine with a weighted pack for a couple hours at time a couple days per week. Flash forward a few months and our departure date of June 1st was a few days away. My buddy who arranged the trip called in a panic and said his "medical condition" had flared up and he was going to have to bail! We were devastated, he was the only guy with any experience and the defacto "leader" of the group. Myself and my other buddy had a decision to make...bail with him or just do it. We chose the latter. A couple days later we landed in Seattle as wide eyed 24-year olds with ridiculously heavy packs not knowing what we were in for. Upon arriving at Paradise, surrounded by seasoned guides who looked way stronger and much tougher than us we realized we were possibly in waaay over our heads. We met our guides (Dave Hanning and Adam Knoff, who was just starting out his guide career) along with the rest of the team for a quick meeting and instructions on what was expected of us and what to pack. We were leaving the next morning. Shouldering a poorly fitted 60 lb. pack felt like absolute hell and we hadn't taken a step! We started moving up hill, learning this technique called "pressure breathing," guides pace, and the "French step." A couple hours into the hump and we were all wasted and questioning what we had gotten ourselves into. After a quick break we continued upward and Dave stopped us and said to turn around. We all did and realized we were above the clouds; I had never been in such awe in my life and at that point knew the mountains would be a part of my life forever. We arrived at a camp below Muir and set up our tents in a snowstorm, it was crazy, scary, and incredible all at the same time. Summit day came after the typical crevasse rescue training a couple days later. We lost a few team members along the way due to fatigue and altitude issues, I kept going with four other guys on my rope team. We climbed through the bitter cold but clear night up to the "point of no return" at 13,000’ just as the sun was rising...I had never seen anything so beautiful. Mark Icuss on the summit of Mt. Rainier. We pushed ahead and before I knew it Dave said, "Congrats team, you've just climbed Mt Rainier! I've never been happier in my life and once again knew that the mountains would be a part of my life forever. Flash forward to today, 46 years old and I've been on a trip every year since. Aconcagua, 14'ers in Colorado, all of the Tetons multiple times from multiple routes, multi-pitch routes, ice climbing, two trips to the Himalayas, and so many more. 2018: Moving up to Camp 1 on Ama Dablam. My life was so deeply shaped by that first climb of Rainier; I have no idea what would have happened if I would have bailed. Being forced to stay in "alpine shape” for 25 years, the friendships, the epics, the close calls, and the successes have all shaped my life for the better. None of it would have been possible if I hadn’t said “YES” to that original question of..."Dude, you want to climb Mt. Rainier?" I owe my life of adventure to you guys, thank you for doing what you do.

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Winter reached Camp Muir this afternoon. They started from Paradise at 9:45 this morning and pulled into Camp Muir at 4:45. The weather was fantastic! It was like a summer day for much of the hike. The snowfield was in great shape. As they gained some elevation, some high clouds came in and they entered into a cloud cap. Presently it is fairly nice and a little windy but they are enjoying Camp Muir at just over 10,000'. The team looks forward to doing a bunch of training tomorrow. RMI Guide Brent Okita

The weather could not have been better last night and early today. Right now it is snowing lightly. It can sure help to have stable weather conditions for any night at 21,300' and a major bonus to have calm weather for the first night of many at that altitude. The word from above is that the team did well during the night. So well in fact, that Dave was able to rally the team early this morning for a 7:30 a.m. departure and climb to just below the Lhotse Face. That section took about an hour and forty-five minutes. We would call that part of the day, the approach to the climb. Above where they stopped is a continuous steep climb to get up to Camp 3, which sits at 23,900' more or less. Dave reports that since we have been having daily snow, the conditions on the face have improved. What we saw in the earlier part of the month was blue ice on most of the face. The previous dry winter has created a big gap between the lower angle slopes and the steep face, which is referred to as a bergshrund. If it were a wet winter with lots of snowfall, that gap could be filled in with snow making crossing much easier. At the last meeting of the teams, we decided to send up a ladder to be placed in that area if it seemed like it would help the climbers get on to the steep section. More progress was made by the fixing team above Camp 3. Sounds like the ropes are set to Camp 4, which is the South Col (26,000'), our final camp before the summit push. More work will be needed to improve the ropes from Camp 2 to the South Col but that is huge to have the initial set in place. Dave, Sara, Bill, and Linden plan on getting on the face tomorrow. This will be a taste of steep climbing at extreme altitude. The team is right on track and fired up! Till next time, RMI Guide Mark Tucker

Low Clouds and Grounded Planes We all awoke this morning to a strange thing: warmth. All of us were sweating in our sleeping bags, and a quick unzip of the tent door explained the phenomenon. During the night, low clouds had marched across the continent, swamping the Sentinel Range in a mire of moisture, and bringing the temperature up noticeably. After some coffee to get us moving, Peter set off to check in on flight possibilities with the ALE staff nearby. A quick radio call confirmed what we all suspected: No flights today. We'd be spending at least one more day at Vinson Basecamp. There are certainly worse things to have happen; Vinson Basecamp is not a bad place to be stuck in a fog-bank. But, we all are a bit bummed as it would be nice to be moving to a new location and prepping for a new climb. Climbing, however, is often an exercise in patience, dealing with forces which are not only uncontrollable, but also tend to punish the impatient. So, today, we sit, Kent and I shoot, and wrap up production loose-ends. We also took some time to pore over our map of the Sentinel Range, looking for potential peaks to check out via Twin Otter when the weather clears. Again, there are worse things; soon, the weather will again clear, and we'll be off to the next step of the journey. Patience, as the saying goes, is a virtue. -Jake Norton

Monday, August 12, 2024 - 3:57 AM PT

We are on the summit of Huayna Potosi, it's a calm, beautiful, sunny day.  Summited right at sunrise. We’ll send a longer dispatch tonight or tomorrow when we are back in La Paz when we have internet and can load photos. Everyone is doing well.

RMI Guide Andy Bond

Day two is coming to a close. Last night we were sleeping at 10,000 feet and tonight is a whopping 2,500 feet above that. For you math buffs that means the comfy Altzomoni Hut sits at 12,500 feet above the sea. It is amazing the power of acclimating. Last night some of us felt a bit tired and short of breath. Right now after a fantastic homemade dinner by a team of local guides, drivers and porters doubling as gourmet chefs, we all feel strong, relaxed and ready for our big push to Ixta's high camp sitting higher than any mountain in the lower 48. We also feel prepared. Today we had a mellow morning which transitioned wonderfully into Mexico's best breakfast at a hotel 25 minutes down the road from the resort of La Malinche. Breakfast is the day's most important meal you know! Afterwards the soothing 1.5 hour van ride helped digest the massive buffet in our guts and landed us in Amecameca where we finalized our food list and met out local staff. By 2:30 we were running through our gear and getting squared away packing and tomorrow's program at the Altzomoni Hut. A nice hour walk brought us to the trail head and back where our chef crew was waiting. The locals really know how to treat their guests. We are very lucky to have them. In closing the team has reminded me to mention that they all miss their loved ones. I reminded them it is only day two. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. We will touch base from high camp tomorrow. RMI Guide Adam Knoff

On The Map