On this glorious morning, we awoke to partly sunny skies and light snow showers (for those who don't know, this means mostly cloudy.) As temperatures warmed, we all gathered in the posh for another round of pancake Hibachi. Yours truly went for broke and landed a double pancake flip (that is one pancake flipping twice). Unfortunately, the blast wave of this extreme maneuver broke our big strong Andy's fork.
To make the most of our relatively mild weather and rest day, we headed out of camp and practiced fixed line travel and clipping pickets. The team did great and is ready for whatever gloves the mountain throws at them.
Famished, we made our way back to camp to gorge on snacks, mainly cheese. This helped quell our toilet paper crisis for the near future.
After dinner and a sweet treat of Jack's cheesecake the team retired to hopefully sleep deep and oxygen rich.
After completing our first rotation on the mountain we are back here at Base Camp. It was a relatively warm day here at Base Camp, the clouds blew in early and snow came midday - big, wet flakes filled the air as we sat down to lunch today, covering everything with a thin but wet coating of snow. It has been another restful day here to relax and recover from our time spent higher on the mountain. With the whole team resting today, both our climbing team and our Sherpa team, we've taken advantage of the breaks in the snow to play a few games of horseshoes. Tshering Sherpa once again proved his ace skills, throwing a couple of impressive ringers, as did Dave (although his end of game review was tarnished by the errant shoe that managed to skip the pit and roll into the storage tent - the shoe emerged a few moments later by surprised but laughing Jaya, one of our Base Camp Assistants). RMI's chances in the Base Camp Horseshoes Tournament that Tuck organizes are looking good. Base Camp, which felt high and difficult a few weeks ago, is becoming more comfortable, and I'll venture to say that the air is even starting to feel a bit thicker here at 17,500' since we returned, a sure sign that we are acclimatizing well.
The time spent on our first rotation was a good introduction into the process of high altitude climbing. We navigated the Ice fall, established ourselves at Camp 1, and ascended the Western Cwm to Camp 2, also known as Advanced Base Camp (ABC). In doing so our familiarity with the route grew, ladder crossings became easier, and we anticipated the challenges of the Ice fall. We battled high winds, cold nights, and hot days. The rotation reminded me of the adjustment in perspective that takes place every time I head into the mountains. Visiting Camp 2 a few days ago, at 21,300', looking up the Lhotse Face towards the South Col and the summit of Everest far above, we discussed how standing in the same place in several weeks time we will only be days from the summit. But then the altitude was squeezing on the lungs, and simply walking across camp was a challenge in itself. I watched in awe as Yubaraj Rai, who climbed Island Peak with me several weeks ago and is our Camp 2 cook, grabbed a pick axe nearly as tall as he and started chipping away chunks of ice to melt for water. The thought of lifting the axe was tiring. It served as a reminder that despite making progress up the mountain, we have much preparation to do before a summit bid becomes a reality.
There is a notable, but sometimes difficult, mental shift that takes place when we begin climbing. Long expeditions like this require moving away from the hard charging objective-oriented mentality that predominates are training and preparation at home to a mentality that is focused on the process of the climb - as cliche as that sounds. With the ground that we covered between Base Camp and visiting Camp 2, we actually spent relatively few hours of the day climbing. The rest of our days were spent on the far less glamorous but equally important aspect of simply living up there. Resting, eating, drinking, sleeping, and dealing with the adversities that the environment throws at you. Because of this our first rotation was hugely important in learning to master the overlooked details of living above 20,000'. It is a trial in discovering what foods appeal up there, how challenging but important staying hydrated is, the awkwardness of pulling on a down suit in a tent, how to keep moral and drive strong during the hours of down time in the tents, the difficulties of packing up the pack in the early morning hours when temperatures hovered below zero degrees Fahrenheit, and how to readjust to the sky rocketing temperatures a few hours later when climbing up the Western Cwm. If these details are ignored the mountain and the altitude wears on the body to such an extent that the actual climbing becomes a challenge too great to overcome, the mountains just take too much of a toll. It's only after we've figured out how to manage these challenges that we can confidently strap on our crampons and climb upwards.
These are the often overlooked aspects of climbing up here that we faced on our first rotation. Although the distance and the elevations to which we climbed seem small in regards to the scale of the mountain that stands above us, our days up there were immensely productive and successful. By the third night the altitude was becoming easier, the cold less harsh, and the living up there more manageable. Since returning to Base Camp the whole team is already feeling stronger and more prepared and are looking forward to heading back up on our second rotation in a couple of days.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Hello, Linden! We Wallaces are enjoying your blogs! We are thinking about you way up there in the wild, blue, yonder and wishing you and your team well, safe, strong. We send you lots of love! Mary and Roger
Posted by: mary wallace on 5/2/2011 at 7:18 pm
Another great post and love the pictures! Enjoy the “thick” air of base camp and know that we are thinking of you all! And Bro - Happy Anniversary to you and Lisa! You are both extraordinary people!! Stay strong!!
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
The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb, led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Grayson Swingle, turned at 13,000' due to an impasse on the route. The team reported light wind and precipitation earlier this morning. They are currently descending to Camp Muir where they will pack up their remaining gear and continue onto Paradise.
Mt. Rainier summit! The teams led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Jack Delaney reached the top at 7:13 a.m. They reported clear skies, a light breeze, and smoke to the East. After spending some time at the crater rim marveling in the sights from the highest point in Washington, the team began their descent.
RMI Guides JT Schmitt, Dustin Wittmier and Dominic Cifelli are in Nepal on an expedition with the main objective to climb Manaslu without supplemental oxygen. They departed the United States on September 1st and are able to check in from basecamp:
Hello,
We arrived at Manaslu basecamp on September 11th after four days of trekking through remote valleys in Nepal. Most days were spent shrouded in a cloudy veil, but we were treated to the occasional view of rugged glaciers clinging to high mountains. Staying in tea houses, we were immersed in Nepalese and Sherpa cultures through conversation and enjoying traditional foods together.
Six days after arriving in basecamp we are well established at 16000’ and have made our first rotation on the mountain. We spent three days moving to as high as Camp 2 at 21,000’, setting up our tent and caching gear. On that rotation we spent two nights at Camp 1, letting our bodies acclimatize to sleeping at 18900’.
Currently we are on our third rest day, waiting out torrential rains; and the report from higher on the mountain is that there is significant snow accumulation. It is beneficial that Wi-Fi is available in basecamp so we can continue to monitor weather forecasts, waiting for a window to make a second rotation.
We are hopeful we will be able to push through some marginal weather tomorrow to take advantage of a small, upcoming window. Our second rotation will hopefully allow us to reach Camp 4 at 24,300’, to cache some gear and set us up for a summit push.
RMI Guides JT Schmitt, Dustin Wittmier & Dominic Cifelli
Hey Dustin!!!
This is So Awesome!! You Are Strong!! You can do this!! After all you pulled my old farmer a$$ to the top of Cotopoxi!!!
All the best for Strength and Stamina Dustin!!!
Farmer Dave
“Do you train?” A climber recently asked me as we descended the Disappointment Cleaver on Mt. Rainier. My answer: “Well, to be honest, training to most guides is a way of life.” We don’t HAVE TO go for a run, lift weights, and bike all day; we GET TO. Training and performing are both mentally demanding to do and to motivate for. My remedy is to remove the need to motivate and intentionally make training part of who I am. There are two ways to view the 5 A.M. wake up to go to the gym: The first - it’s a choice you make every day and the second - it’s what you do. Consciously removing the decision to get out the door and train makes the process easier. I was suffering from decision making fatigue just the other day as I tried to decide which Tillamook ice cream to buy, but had no problem walking out the door to get in a jog because it wasn’t a choice. On days when it seems harder to get moving, I tell myself; “Well, there is no decision to make. Here we go.”
What do many of us guides do for training? You name it and guides are doing it: road biking, mountain biking, rock climbing, yoga, HITT, sprinting, jogging, swimming, skiing, weight lifting, sit-ups, bouldering, and on and on. The guiding lifestyle lends itself well to activity and a solid foundation of endurance, and as a result our training may be less structured. We all make choices around what’s important to us. If I am building fitness for a specific climb however, I will be more organized about my approach, dividing my training into specific categories and foci to more efficiently reach the gains that I’m depending on. This is probably more applicable to many of the climbers I work with, for whom their next climb likely is one of the largest athletic feats they have taken on in their life.
Training takes time in what is often a busy schedule. What if we took 5 to 10 minutes from different ways we spend our time each day (time on our computers, socializing, food preparation, tv watching, house cleaning, shopping, sleeping, social media) and put that into fitness? There is no way I can navigate your personal time management, but it is all a compromise and we can do almost anything but not everything.
There are lots of good blogs here on types of workout and training preparation routines so I’m not going to outline specific workouts here but instead link to some of my favorite references:
Christina Dale has led climbing expeditions all over the world - from Everest Base Camp to the Mexican volcanoes to the summit of Denali. She’s skied from the top of Chilean volcanoes, peaks in Patagonia, and across Mount Cook. During the summer, she’s a regular on Rainier. She spends her winters ski patrolling at Crystal Mountain, with her avalanche search and rescue dog in tow.
Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!
RMI Guide Gilbert Chase has been guiding for RMI since 2010. An accomplished rock and alpine climber, Gilbert’s winter is busy travelling the world on climbing and skiing adventures. We caught up with Gilbert after her recent Aconcagua Expedition to hear about the climb.
RMI: It’s been a busy start to the year for you with an Aconcagua Expedition and a Rainier Expeditions Skills Seminar - Winter. Tell us about it!
It has been a very busy start to 2012 for me. I flew down to Mendoza, Argentina at the start of January for my first Aconcagua Expedition. It was a great trip overall. Working with such a great group of folks as well as guides made the trip a very memorable experience. I had spent time in Argentina many years ago, so I was very excited to get back down there and check things out again. Both the mountain and the culture are beautiful and I highly recommend this trip for anyone who wants a challenging but wonderful mountain adventure mixed with great local flavor.
I flew back to the states around the 1st of February and within a couple of days I was driving out to WA for a Winter Expedition Skills Seminar on Mt. Rainier. We had high hopes of a winter summit with a high-pressure system in the forecast. However, the reality of winter on Mt. Rainier with high winds and lots of precipitation kept our team at Camp Muir. Despite the bad weather, spirits were still high and we had a great week on the mountain teaching and learning skills to prepare us for future trips. Trying to do crevasse rescue in 40 mph winds with no visibility proved very challenging and very fun for most.
RMI: Aconcagua marked your first International Expedition for RMI, what were you’re initial impressions of Aconcagua?
Overall, I thought Aconcagua was a beautiful mountain. At 22,840’, it rises out of a colorful river valley to sit high above the surrounding mountains. I am a rock climber at heart, so for me all of the rock on the mountain, although not very good, was amazing. I was constantly looking for different cracks or faces that I could come back and climb. While we were on the mountain, it snowed almost every other day so there was a fresh coat of paint making the mountain look even more striking. I think even more than the mountain itself, I loved the local culture that surrounds every inch. Plaza Argentina, which is our Base Camp, is filled with local porters and cooks making a living by way of the mountain. It is such a unique and cool place to experience.
RMI: How do you think Aconcagua compares to Denali?
I think Aconcagua and Denali are very similar in many ways. I think Aconcagua is a good first step if people want a little more experience before Denali. Aconcagua is a big expedition but still with a few luxuries, such as great dinners at Base Camp and mules carrying our gear into Base Camp. Summit day on Aconcagua is a long and tiring day that requires not only physical but mental endurance. For me, the weather on my Aconcagua Expedition was way better than Denali, so that made life much easier. We had a pretty warm summit day, although still wearing down pants and down parka, but it is all relative when climbing in the mountains.
RMI: Did you find any big difference between guiding an international expedition and guiding here in the U.S.?
For the most part, guiding internationally and guiding stateside are very similar. The principles of guiding are the same no matter where you go. I think logistics can be the hardest part of an international expedition, especially when speaking a foreign language. On our expedition, we had an issue with delayed luggage and many phone calls with the local airlines that made our lives much more difficult. However, once on the mountain, I felt at home and comfortable working with clients.
RMI: What recommendations do you have for climbers looking to head to Aconcagua?
The route we climb on Aconcagua is not a technical route so I do not feel people need a lot of climbing experience before heading on this expedition. Obviously the more time spent in the mountains makes any expedition easier, but everything can be learned while on this mountain. I think being in the best shape of your life is a necessity, as we are carrying heavy loads most days and climbing at high altitude. Being in great shape makes life easier while climbing a mountain, because it is one less thing to think about and allows you to enjoy the experience that much more. I think everyone who is interested in climbing big mountains should head down south to Aconcagua. Not only is it a beautiful, big mountain, but the local Argentine people and culture make this trip very rewarding. Eating amazing beef while drinking a glass of tasty Malbec at 14,000’ after a day of climbing…what more can you ask for?
RMI: What will you definitely bring next time you return to Aconcagua?
My thermos goes with me on every expedition. It is great to have a hot drink whenever I want and not have to wait for the stoves to boil water at 19,000’. Also I bring my approach shoes on the mountain with me so I can get out of my boots after a long day of climbing. A good book and iPod go a long way as well especially when you are tired of talking with your tentmate about the weather. I pack pretty light so I can’t say there was anything extra I brought.
RMI: Do you have a favorite memory or moment from the Expedition?
On the long two day walk out from Base Camp, we got some local beta from the Arrieros [local muleteers] about a short cut that would save us a few miles. Although the short cut was a lot more beautiful and exciting it was definitely not shorter - in fact I think it was probably longer. We had to cross a river at some point on our trek out and our “short cut” took us through a very swift thigh deep section of the river. Most of the folks in our group stripped down to their skivvies to wade through the ice cold water. It was a hilarious scene that provided us with a good amount of comic relief for the day.
RMI: What does the rest of your winter look like?
In two weeks, fellow RMI Guide Jason Thompson and I are flying over to France to ski and climb for a few weeks. We are going to meet up with RMI Guide Tyler Jones who is ski guiding over in La Grave for the winter. We will be skiing and climbing in La Grave as well as Chamonix. They are having an amazing winter so far over in that area so I am super excited to ski some super good powder and climb some sticky ice. We fly back to Montana at the end of March and I will be ready to hang the skis up and dust off the rock climbing shoes. Hopefully, I will head down to the desert for a few weeks of rock scrambling and warm sunshine.
RMI: What are your spring and summer climbing plans?
Even though spring seems so far away at this point, I am really looking forward to rock climbing for the month of April around the desert towers of Utah and the volcanic tuft of central Oregon. On May 1st I fly up to Alaska to start my guiding season in the Alaskan Range. First I will be working the Alaska Mountaineering Seminar from May 1st through May 11th. This will be my first time working this program so I am super excited to be hanging around Base Camp for ten days and climbing some of the amazing peaks in that zone. After the seminar, I start a McKinley West Buttress Climb on May 15. I have not worked a trip this early on Denali before, so I am looking forward to the cold temps and easy walking on the lower Kahiltna Glacier.
I hope the spring and summer finds all of you getting outside and climbing some mountains whether big or small. Enjoy every day and keep a smile on your face.
The Four Day Climb July 4 - 7 led by RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier and Josh McDowell led their teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier today. The guides reported windy conditions on the mountain but an overall clear and sunny day. They are currently at Camp Muir and will pack and ready for the remainder of their descent to Paradise.
The Four Day Climb for August 1 - 4 led by RMI Guides Hannah Smith and Joe Hoch were unable to summit today due to a descending cloud and gusty winds. The teams reached the top of Disappointment Cleaver but were unable to continue due to weather. As of 7 am the teams were safely back at Camp Muir. They plan leave Camp Muir around 9 am to make the remaining 4,500' descent to Paradise. We look forward to seeing the teams at Rainier Basecamp this afternoon.
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Hello, Linden! We Wallaces are enjoying your blogs! We are thinking about you way up there in the wild, blue, yonder and wishing you and your team well, safe, strong. We send you lots of love! Mary and Roger
Posted by: mary wallace on 5/2/2011 at 7:18 pm
Another great post and love the pictures! Enjoy the “thick” air of base camp and know that we are thinking of you all! And Bro - Happy Anniversary to you and Lisa! You are both extraordinary people!! Stay strong!!
Posted by: Martin on 4/26/2011 at 6:30 pm
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