RMI Guide Joe Hoch reported beautiful views from their climb of Mt. Shuksan yesterday. Joe reported the following message from the summit: "Despite ominous smoke plumes all around us, we had a spectacular summit with a clear sky, warm temps, and views of so many mountains!"
The team has made it back to their cars and are headed home after their successful summit of Mt. Shuksan.
Looking back on this trip, I’m grateful to the team at RMI for their knowledge and approach to getting us to the top of Mt. Shuksan safely. Joe’s avalanche/snow experience combined with Abby’s big mountain and Evan’s rock knowledge were key to helping us make good decisions, learn and summit safely.
The Five Day Climb June 3 - 7, 2021 is completing their climb today. The teams did training at Paradise on Friday with instruction on cramponing, rope travel and ice axe arrest. On Saturday they made the ascent from Paradise to Camp Muir. Yesterday, they enjoyed some additional time walking in crampons and working as a rope team by walking to Ingraham Flats at 11,200'. This allowed them to see abit of the route in the day light hours. They planned their summit attempt for today but unfortuaty the team was unable to make a summit attempt due to high winds. According to the Camp Muir Telemetry wind averages were 34 - 53 mph with gusts up to 68 mph.
The teams will descend from Camp Muir to Paradise and make the drive back to Ashford. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later today.
RMI Guides Grayson Swingle and Ben Liken reported the Five-Day climbing teams enjoyed a beautiful sunrise this morning. The team spent two nights at Camp Muir and enjoyed lots of hands-on training and practice to enhance their glacier travel skills all while ascending to Camp Muir in wonderful spring conditions. The team will descend to Basecamp and celebrate their accomplishments before everyone begins their next adventure home.
Footwork and the ability to "read the terrain" to find the best footing is an important element of being able to climb safely and efficiently. During our Mountaineering Day School, our guides focus their efforts on teaching the "rest step". The rest step is an important efficiency technique where climbers take small steps, pausing between steps with their weight on their back leg. This is a technique that enables climbers to get a “rest” with each step since their bodyweight is resting on their skeletal system instead of their muscles, effectively giving the legs a quick break.
An important aspect to the rest step is paying attention to your footwork and deciding on your foot placement: finding the right place to set your foot so that you have full control while still benefiting from the small, efficient movements of the rest step. We commonly ask people to “climb with their eyes" by scanning the terrain and other climbers foot placements ahead to spot the best places to set their feet. Instead of getting fixated on only the next step, it is important to anticipate future terrain and foot placement. Thinking a few steps ahead allows you to see all of your options in front of you.
This is something that can be practiced before coming to climb Mt. Rainier or taking part in any of our climbs and expeditions. When going out on your training hikes, whether long or short, take the time to focus on your footwork. Ask yourself, "How big are my steps? Can I take a smaller step? Is there a better flat place for me to put my foot?" Constantly challenge yourself to find the easiest and most efficient foot placement with each step. Combining your focus on footwork with improvements to your balance and body awareness will give you an added measure of comfort, stability, and efficiency in the mountains, especially when you begin to tire. Remember that flexibility is an important part of footwork since you need to be comfortable in your foot placements even when the terrain is not perfectly flat or level.
The more comfortable you can become with foot placement, reading terrain and climbing in balance, the less energy you will exert on longer hikes and climbs. Often times we get fixated on the immediate step in front of us. Instead, look ahead and challenge yourself to take small quick steps. By being aware of these footwork techniques on your training hikes will enable you to dance your way up the mountain on your climb!
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Lindsay Mann is a Senior Guide at RMI Expeditions and a NCAA D1 Skiing Champion. She has climbed and guided around the world, from Peru to Alaska. Read about her recent sailing and ski mountaineering trip to Norway's Lofoten Islands on the here.
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Thankyou, For sharing such a useful information with us.
Posted by: Jen’s Get Fit Group on 8/13/2024 at 1:13 am
Truer words have never been spoken. Any time I bring new people to the mountains I always emphasize how important it is to step efficiently. The art of mountaineering-footwork deserves much more publicity than it gets!
Poor foot care on a climb can make a mountain out of a molehill and even the smallest blisters or foot pains can become a challenge over the course of a trip. Here are a few things to keep in mind about your feet as you head into the hills:
Fit: It's all about setting yourself up for success and that starts with choosing the right footwear. In addition to the technical specifications of a boot, make sure that the boot fits your foot well. See Whittaker Mountaineering’s Guide to Mountain Footwear for a helpful guide to picking the right boot.
Even the most carefully chosen boots often require a little adjustment. Take them out and walk around. Sometimes you'll need to adjust the lacing tightness in certain spots or change the footbed to get that perfect fit for you.
If you're renting a boot for the climb take plenty of time to find the right fit. Bring the socks you plan on climbing in to try on with your boots and walk around a bit to make sure they feel comfortable.
Foot Care & Prevention: The easiest way to deal with blisters on a climb is to never get them in the first place. Use your training hikes to find the best lacing and tightness of your boot and the best sock combination for you. Remember not to lace your boots too tightly - blisters are created by friction and a very tightly laced boot, especially a rigid mountaineering boot, can create extra friction on your feet.
Keep an eye on your feet and treat hot spots immediately. It's easy to stop for a few minutes and make quick adjustments or fixes instead of letting them develop into blisters. Stick some moleskin or second skin over the affected area to reduce the friction. Duct tape works pretty well in a pinch too. If possible, try and identify the issue and fix it so it doesn't reoccur: is your boot laced too tightly? Did a fold develop on your sock?
When you reach camp, give your feet a break. Change out of your socks and put on a fresh pair. If you have camp shoes, slip those on. Your feet will appreciate it.
Treatment: If you do develop blisters, treat them as soon as possible so that they do not become worse. This means draining the blister, applying some antibiotic ointment to prevent infection, then covering it with a sterile dressing. Depending on where the blister is on your foot and how big it is, you may need to add a foam "donut" to create some space above the blistered area and give it a better chance of recovering.
If you are prone to foot problems, be proactive and use your training hikes to identify the best way to take care of your feet. The book Fixing Your Feet is a great resource for climbers and athletes and provides some excellent advice for a range of foot problems.
Foot care is a subtle art: it's certainly not the most exciting topic but if you’ve taken the time to address it, it can make a big difference on the climb.
Strong winds overnight kept the teams at Camp Muir. Telemetry shows wind gusts in the 50-60 mph range. RMI Guide Henry Coppolillo reported a nice morning at Camp Muir as the wind continued to decrease. Around 7 am, the teams were going to ascend to Ingraham Flats to explore the terrain above Camp Muir and enjoy the sunshine. The teams will return to Camp Muir, pack their gear and descend to Paradise later this morning.
I’ve been climbing Rainier for a long time – 40 years to be exact! I first climbed with Wilderness Ventures, through RMI, in 1982 when I was 16. Since then, I’ve climbed 4 additional times – in ’96 with my late wife Mary Elisa on a cross-country trip right after we got married, in ’97 on a 5-day Muir skills seminar, in 2012 with Casey Grom, and in 2017 with a group of seven friends on a team led by Jess Matthews! This time around, I brought my daughter, Charlotte, who has wanted to climb ever since she was little, but had to wait until she was old enough! She’s heading into her senior year in high school, which is exactly when I first climbed. So this is a really cool full circle experience for us. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to have some awesome experiences with RMI, led by some amazing guides: John Day and Craig Van Hoy back in the 80s, George Dunn and Phursumba in ’96, Jeff Witherspoon in ’97, Casey in 2012, and Jess Matthews in 2017.
Charlotte and I had an AWESOME climb with Nikki. The summit wasn’t in the cards this time around, but we did get to the top of the DC and had an incredible experience – and got back down safe and sound, which is always key! It was the first time I haven’t summitted, and my joke at the post-climb celebration was that it took me forty years and 6 tries to finally get a “Certificate of Accomplishment”! In all seriousness, I really am proud of this climb. Charlotte absolutely crushed it and was super strong – she would’ve continued on if I had – and I think the fire has been lit in her to make this a part of her life now, too. We’ll absolutely be back again, and my other two kids, Elena (20) and Clay (15) were very envious of Charlotte and are wanting to climb now too – so mission accomplished!
It has been such an amazing 40-year history, and having my daughter climb with me this time brought things full circle. She reminded me of myself when I climbed at her age – no fear whatsoever!
Good morning, this is Alex Van Steen from the Carstensz Expedition. And my oh my, what a day we had yesterday. And here is the great word: RMI has summitted Carstensz Pyramid! We had a long day but everybody, despite being exhausted, did, really, really well. We all have a little bit of an altitude hack and the desire to head the other direction, but we are just loving this experience. I wish I could send photos via this dispatch, but they will be posted later. We've got lots of photos, and lots more stories. Stay tuned. Thanks, good-bye.
RMI Guide Alex Van Steen with the Carstensz summit news.
Alex, I’m so proud of you!!! Good job. Love, your cousin-in-law!!! ;-)
Posted by: Lynnette Rutledge on 7/6/2012 at 7:53 pm
Hey guys!! So incredibly proud of all of you! To celebrate your achievements today, Sophie and Kasey slept til noon!!!!You guys are all amazing. Can’t wait to see the pics and hear the stories. Get home safe!
Good morning, good morning. It is January 9th, and this is Peter checking in, we're just finishing up a great breakfast of Cream-of-Wheat and a hot drink. The sun just hit our camp, and we’re packing up and getting ready to make the move up to high camp. It was cold last night, cold this morning, but we have a little bit of sun right now. Weather looks good. And I'm gonna walk out and let my tentmate say a few words, Ed Viesturs.
Morning everybody, it’s beautiful day. We are loading up the camp here and we’re gonna make that ascent back up to high camp another 3,500 feet higher, and weather looks good and the forecast is pretty descent and we hope to go to the summit of Vinson tomorrow, Monday the 10th so be sure to check in tomorrow, follow the progress and we hope to be hootin’ and hollerin’ from the top of the bottom of the world. Ed Viesturs and Peter Whittaker signing out.
Peter Whittaker and Ed Viesturs talk about their move to high camp
A crux for improvement in most any athlete lies in maintaining motivation; maintaining the drive to begin, practice, and persist at a task until you have reached your goals. In a 2009 piece in Psychology Today, Jim Taylor wrote that there are three factors that affect performance: Ability, Competition, and Motivation. Motivation is the only factor over which you have control. Ability (both physical, tactical, and mental) is something that you are born with. Other outside factors influence performance as well such as the away game crowd in sports, or temperature, weather, wind, and conditions in mountaineering. Again, these factors are all beyond our control, and can only be anticipated and dealt with as they appear.
This leaves motivation as the key component to success. When we are motivated, we train and practice in order to maximize our given abilities. This probably isn’t news to anyone, but how do you maintain motivation day after day in a training process that can take well over a year to reach its culmination? How do you maintain your motivation in the face of cold and wet conditions in the winter, hot and muggy in the summer, or when other elements in your life are pressing in and tempting you to skip a day of training? This is the point that sports psychologists refer to as “the grind”, the point at which training and practice cease to be fun or pleasurable and begin to sap at your motivation. How you respond to the grind is what separates a top performance from a mediocre one.
When you feel your training and motivation beginning to suffer, be willing to admit it and decide what direction you are going to take. You can continue on your current trajectory, or you can redirect yourself toward your goals and redouble your efforts. Once you decide on a path, dedicate yourself to it and recognize that your training needs to hold a place of priority in your daily schedule. At the same time, take a moment to evaluate your training and decide what is working and what isn’t. If running is hurting your knees and causing you to dread your workouts, reduce the number of running workouts in your training and shift those workouts to a lower impact activity such as cycling. When the gym becomes claustrophobic, take your core workouts outside to the local park or woods.
It’s something of a cliché to say that the difference between athletes and great athletes is their dedication to the game. Pelé once said that, “I used to train very hard. When the other players went to the beach after training, I was there kicking the ball.” While most climbers don’t have the time to dedicate themselves singularly to climbing like Pelé did, try to practice that same mental dedication. Ask yourself in the morning what you can do that day to improve and give yourself the best chance on Rainier or any other peak. Before you head to bed, ask yourself if you did everything you could that day to achieve your goals. Finally, if you have a novel trick that you use to stay motivated, post it in the comments below. Your trick may be just the ticket for another climber!
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First, I just want to say I am looking forward to meeting everyone on this climb! I hope we will be able to summit and the weather doesn’t stop us from achieving that goal.
Kevin M.-when do you and your brother fly in to Seattle? I live in Washington and might be willing to pick you both up at the airport if you arrive at a decent time. Let me know.
See you all in July. Safe travels to you all.
Steph
Posted by: Steph on 6/13/2014 at 2:53 pm
Hello all, My brother and I are coming from out of town for this climb but we are running into issues with getting out to Rainier. I’m curious, How are the rest of you reaching the park? and also, would any one be willing to carpool?
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Looking back on this trip, I’m grateful to the team at RMI for their knowledge and approach to getting us to the top of Mt. Shuksan safely. Joe’s avalanche/snow experience combined with Abby’s big mountain and Evan’s rock knowledge were key to helping us make good decisions, learn and summit safely.
Posted by: Tyler Welch on 2/1/2023 at 7:07 pm
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