Most Popular Entries

Iliniza Norte summit!

Our team reached the summit of Iliniza Norte at 6 pm yesterday evening. It was a beautiful afternoon, so upon arrival at the hut we decided to just go for it. We were rewarded with a lovely sunset at the summit, one of the nicer ones most of us have ever seen.

Back at the hut, we sat down for a hot meal and although it was quite tasty, Emma and I spent some time forcing people to eat. A long few days of acclimatizing is catching up with everyone, but you have to eat! The main objective lies ahead.

We are now in route to Antisana Basecamp, where we will spend two nights and hopefully be standing on top of the fourth highest peak in Ecuador less than 48 hours from now!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

Hold onto your hats it's windy,

The wind started last night and persisted through the day. The frost in the tents showered down onto our sleeping bags as the tent made a crinkle noise. The snow that had fallen got picked up and tossed into the air creating a snow tornado. It looked magical in a way but our sleeping bags looked better. Its easy to hunker in the tents when outside isn't too pleasant. You can hear the wind up high. It sounds like a waterfall. Luckily at our camp it's only blowing in the 20mph range. As dinner wrapped up the wind and snow caused quite a scene. A scene not too fun to go to the bathroom in. All around the snow whips around. We all waited for a lull in the wind to hustle to our tents and the bathroom.  The discomfort is comical and creates some good laughs. If you can't find the funny in the misery than you are in the wrong place out here. Tomorrow is also suppose to be windy so we will hunker in again. We are optimistic that this weekend will be our move date to High Camp. For now, we lay in our tents listening to the snow pitter patter and the tent crinkle in the wind.

Mother nature calm yourself,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Hello everyone! It is Team Elbrus reporting from St. Petersburg. Last evening we had a great celebration in Cheget. I cannot fully explain how thrilled I am to have climbed with such a great team. We had a diverse group. Our youngest member, Charlotte, is 16 and tough as nails! I had to apologize on summit day because Elbrus wasn't high enough for her as she casually strolled to the summit. Our oldest team member makes me hope that I will be as strong at that age, especially since I will most likely be guiding into my late 80's. We made it into St. Petersburg and we are resting and relaxing in our beautiful hotel near one of the city's canals. We have a full day of touring this beautiful city. Stay tuned for some great videos and photos of our final day in this fantastic country. RMI Guide JJ Justman

Hello everyone, RMI’s Kilimanjaro expedition is underway. The team members arrived late last night after some very long flights, two back to back 9 hour legs to be precise. Needless to say we didn’t do much other than check into our hotel and head to bed. We started today off with a team meeting/orientation to the program and gear check. After getting to know one another a bit we explored the beautiful grounds of the Dik Dik Hotel, which was teaming with monkeys and exotic birds and some views of the surrounding mountains. The team had a nice lunch then headed off to visit the nearest town of Arusha, a bustling city of about 1.2 million people. Its a diverse culture made up of Christians, Muslims and local tribes people from the Chagga and Masai. We had a quick stop off at the local grocery store called Shop Rite to pick up a few last snacks, then visited the local cultural museum. We also picked up a few umbrellas to protect us from any rain that might try and dampen our spirits on tomorrows trek. Last but not least we finished up the night with a delicious five course meal that left everyone with a smile on their face. Just a few last minute touches on packing and its off to bed. Everyone is doing great and we are very excited for tomorrow's start to this grand adventure. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

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

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

Another day at 14,200 ft on Denali... waiting for the sun. For as ominous as things appeared when we turned in last night, things stayed relatively calm through morning. We enjoyed a few hours of sunshine and the team made good use by cutting snow blocks and fortifying our dining tent. Meanwhile, a couple of guides from each of three different teams (and three different guide companies) made forays onto the first hill en route to the fixed ropes. Each made assessments of the snowpack independently, but then we compared notes and found all were in agreement... there were positive signs that stabilizing processes were ongoing, but these were still definitely outweighed by the signs that unstable conditions prevailed. Too much chance of avalanche. No climbing the West Buttress today. Back together at 14 camp, Tim Hardin gave our assembled team a great lesson in snow science, explaining how a pit dug in suspect snow could reveal plenty about the layers within the pack and their ability to hold to one another... or slide. The day turned cloudy as usual and light snow fell again. There was some letup at dinner and we enjoyed views of the wind-sculpted cloud caps on Denali, Foraker and Hunter. We were each challenged again to stay tough, patient and focused as we said goodbye to three more of the guided groups we've shared the hill with. This once bustling and eager climbing camp is down to three guided teams and one small independent team. We're still getting good forecasts for the days ahead- of cloud and snow and more cloud, we are just hoping they turn out to be wrong. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

With 80 mph winds and a blinding snowstorm at Camp Muir, it is a perfect day to conduct training inside. Our bunkhouse serves a cozy atmosphere in the storm allowing us to learn essential expedition skills. If we were in tents all we would be doing is hanging on! Our team is in great spirits and we are waiting out the storm until we venture outside. In the meantime, we're going to continue to sip coffee, lecture and do some rope work. Stay tuned! RMI Guide JJ Justman

This is Adam calling in from 17,000’ on Denali. We woke this morning to continued snow and wind, with a major low pressure system forecast to dominate the region over the next several days. We have endured this weather at high camp since Monday and have decided to descend back to 14K camp. Even the approach route, between 14,000’ and basecamp, can be a bear to navigate in foul weather, and we need to stay strong and focused. We’ll begin our descent of the West Buttress and the infamous fixed lines to reach Advanced Base at 14,200’ where Dave Hahn’s RMI party is encamped. We’ll check in tomorrow and advise everyone of our plans and progress. RMI Guide Adam Knoff

On The Map

Hey RMI, this is Linden Mallory calling from Island Peak High Camp. Just over 17,600' or so. We moved up here this morning and got settled in. Our weather this morning is a little breezy but not clouds. This afternoon some clouds rolled in. A little bit of new snow but it appears to be letting up. We are just about to have dinner and headed off to bed. Planning on going for the summit tomorrow. It appears that the new snow should not be much of an issue. We are looking forward to it. Everyone's feeling great. The altitude is treating us well. We're just keeping our fingers crossed and keeping warm and dry. We'll check in tomorrow and let you know how the climb goes. Take care. RMI Guide Linden Mallory

On The Map