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The Five Day Climb July 27 - 31 led by RMI Guides Steve Gately, Nick Sinapius and Mike Bennett, reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning at 5:15 am. The team is currently around 13,000' on their descent. The weather is clear and calm. The teams will return to Camp Muir, then take a bit of time before continuing the remaining 4.5 miles down to Camp Muir. They will conclude their program this afternoonw with a celebration at Rainier BaseCamp.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

May 21 - 10:36am

Yesterday we woke up to blue skies and no wind, perfect for our carry to high camp. After a quick breakfast we roped up and headed out of camp. We ascended the fixed lines in the sun and traversed the stunning West Buttress in incredible weather. Arriving at 17,000 feet in high spirits we cached our gear for a summit push and descended the way we came. After an 11-hour day we enjoyed a well-deserved meal of Mac and cheese with bacon and tucked ourselves into our sleeping bags to rest. Today, we will continue resting at 14k camp with warm weather, enjoying listening to Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me over brunch and coffee!

RMI Guides Mike, Abby, and Henry

Happy Easter! The Everest Base Camp bunny somehow found his way through falling snow last night and left chocolate for each climber and trekker to find this morning. In the night, we couldn't hear the the rabbit over the noise of storm winds aloft and a handful of thunderous ice avalanches off the mountains around us. Morning wasn't so bad though, the sun eventually made it through the clouds and Kumar's great breakfast had us all feeling comfortable and content. This was a holiday for our team... 17,500 feet takes a little bit of getting used to and so we hadn't planned anything more strenuous than a series of naps and a walk out to "Icy Cyber" -the spot out in the Khumbu Glacier where we dependably get 3G cell service. A few helicopters came through on flight seeing tours and we watched the Icefall Doctors working their way up and down this year's route through the jumbled glacier. Our Sherpa team labored at building the stone altar for our Puja, which ought to take place in several days. Tonight's dinner will be special as it will be our last chance to hang with Erin and Bonny. They'll start working back toward Kathmandu tomorrow morning, as planned, and we'll begin to focus on the mountain. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

We all thought it was a little colder than predictions called for last night. It might have been as low as 10 below zero Fahrenheit, but that is just a guess. But that would have been because the sky finally cleared. It was clear through much of the morning and early afternoon, but nobody went climbing. There are perhaps eight or ten groups here at 14,200 ft, between guided and smaller non-guided teams, but all of us shared a great respect for the new fallen snow and its need to settle. Neither the teams that are throwing in the towel and looking to go down, nor those of us that are looking to go up, want to get impatient and get avalanched. So we took it easy today and hoped that the sun would shine hard enough to heat up the snow and settle the hazard. We watched the last National Park Service Ranger Patrol of the season work with their B3 helicopter for a good chunk of the day to sling load all of their equipment and personnel out of camp and off the hill. My gang practiced the techniques we plan to employ for getting up the "fixed ropes" on the steep terrain between 15,000 and 16,200 ft. We also built a new walled latrine with all of the modern conveniences. And we waited. Patiently. We received a bunch more great messages from the blog (they were relayed to us as we don't actually surf the web up here) and those produced plenty of smiles and laughter. Thank You. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

We survived the first night without a roof over our heads. Quite comfortably, by all accounts. There were no dogs barking in the night, no heavy boots clunking down wooden hallways to latrines, none of the endless coughing fits coming through the thin walls of trekking houses. Instead, we had easy breezes, the quiet rustle of comfy down sleeping bags and moonlight coming through our tent ceilings. Oh yeah, and occasionally the violent thunder of avalanches... but that didn't truly bother us. We know we've picked a safe place for basecamp far enough from the vertical walls of this enclosed valley. The day has been spent sorting gear, talking over plans, napping, reading, eating and getting to know our Sherpa teammates. We've got great strength and experience in our Sherpa team, and we'll depend mightily on them during this trip. I'm not aware of any team attempting the mountain this season that won't be reliant on Sherpa help. Some may claim to be going with minimal support, but they will still be heavily dependent on the Sherpas who fix the route through the Khumbu Icefall, to say nothing of the route above. This is not to say that, of the many talented non-Nepalese climbers assembled here at the foot of the hill, none would be capable of climbing the mountain without Sherpa aid, but the simple fact is that such climbs are not attempted in this day and age on this route on this mountain. There is often confusion among those not versed in Himalayan climbing as to who Sherpas are and what their various jobs may be. I'm often unnerved back home to hear people say, while hiking or working hard, that they'd sure like to have a Sherpa along to carry their pack or to do their digging. Such comments are usually made in jest and are probably for my benefit when folks know that I have spent time in Nepal and Tibet. Nevertheless, they tend to sell the real Sherpa people short. Referring to someone as "Sherpa" is to say that they are from a tribe of mountain people in a specific region of Nepal. It is not a job designation. It doesn't simply mean "porter" and it definitely doesn't mean "servant." Early on, when the pioneering Himalayan expeditions were discovering the amazing work ethic common to the Sherpa culture, these men were trained as high-altitude load carriers. But almost from the start, there were plenty of individuals -notably Tenzing Norgay who excelled at the art of climbing, who eagerly grasped its strategies, and who exhibited just as much ambition to reach summits as any Westerner. By this 2009 Everest season, one cannot correctly make more than a few broad generalizations about who the Sherpas are on this mountain. Many may still be farmers the rest of the year... many may still fulfill the simple yet essential role of high-altitude porter... but then there will also be a fair number of excellent mountain climbers with superior strength and skill on rock and ice who are being counted on to guide individuals and lead expeditions. Some will struggle with English, but will then surprise the heck out of you when they turn out to speak French, Korean and Japanese just fine. Some will never have been out of these valleys, but increasingly others will turn out to have traveled the world; to be putting their kids through college in Canada, India or the U.S., to be web-savvy, literate and politically astute. Away from the Himalaya, the assertion is often made (by people who, I feel sure, mean to honor this group of climbers) that Sherpas are universally strong and across-the-board gifted with a physiology that makes high-altitude climbing a snap. True, many Sherpas have less trouble acclimatizing than those who visit these mountains from elsewhere, but it probably does Sherpas more honor to recognize their limitations than any perceived inherent advantages. They don't live on Mount Everest. The highest commonly inhabited villages are usually only around 12,000 ft to 14,000 ft in elevation. They don't have three lungs and two hearts... or any other crazy adaptation that makes climbing easy. The really humbling thing for me is to realize that my Sherpa partners are working just as hard as I am when we are clawing our way up some slope in difficult conditions with heavy packs. That climbing is difficult for them -not easy- and that they go out to do it anyway, day after day without whining, indeed while smiling and laughing. It isn't just what we see on the mountain either. For a bunch of days we walked through rough farmland where every single rock was neatly in place, where fields were endlessly being tended to, where houses were simple but always in good repair. The work ethic was obvious, uncommon and admirable. Don't get me wrong. I'm not implying that the First Ascent team will be on holiday here. When the Sherpas we're partnering with cook and carry water and hack out tent platforms from the Lhotse Face and fix rope and get hard work done in dangerous conditions, sometimes we'll be right alongside them. And sometimes they'll be doing it while we rest or get other jobs done. And obviously the Sherpas won't be doing it for free. Money is a huge motivator in this part of the world, and expedition work turns out to produce some of the best opportunities in all of Nepal. But money doesn't adequately explain the smiles and the warmth and the friendship that our Sherpa partners will share with us on this trip. We'll try to be worthy of that friendship.

Swinging into full climbing mode, our team made a giant foray onto the upper slopes of Mount Elbrus. Hey everyone, this is JJ Justman with RMI and the first Elbrus team of the season. Of course proper acclimatization is key and everyone is doing very, very well. 15,200 feet was our max altitude that we reached today. Donning sharp crampons on our boots allowed us some good practice for our summit day. Now back at camp here feels a little thicker and once again, our cooks are pampering us with some of the best authentic Russian cuisine. After all I have a good saying that a well-fed climber is a strong climber and I do believe the one reason why Russian climbers are so strong, is a secret ingredient they put in the borscht, which is Russian homemade soup here. It's really delicious, our cooks are doing a great job. We're loving life up here on Mount Elbrus. But it is relax time to fully recover. As I mentioned, our team is doing really, really well. We are going to do a rest day tomorrow in preparation for our summit day, which as of right now, is looking like it is going to be Monday, so stay tuned. RMI Guide JJ Justman

On The Map

Jambo! Mark Tucker here calling from the Kikoti Camp, outside of the Tarangire National Park, Tanzania. We had a wonderful game drive today, many, many animals, lots of elephant, lots of leopards. I could go on and on and make you all so jealous. So we are having a real fun time at this beautiful property we are at here tonight. We will have coffee in the morning on our lanai. Then we will be making our way back to the Dik Dik Hotel for an evening flight tomorrow. If all works out we will be back in your neck of the woods sooner than later. We’ll drop you a note tomorrow. All the best, RMI Guide Mark Tucker

Our Mt. Baker - Easton Glacier Climb August 30 - 1 September led by RMI Guides Mike Bennett, Sam Marjerison and Bailey Servais reached the summit yesterday in beautiful conditions.  The team returned to camp an enjoyed some rest after their alpine start.  Today the team descended to the trailhead and completed their program.

Nice work team!

PC: Mike Bennett

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

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