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We went to bed with rain and clouds and were hopeful when the stars and upper mountain were out at 11pm when we woke up. After a quick bite to eat and coffee we finished packing our gear and headed up the rocky trail to access the glacier. Our first hour was warm and there was some lighting in the distance. With clear skies above we continued towards the Hermosa glacier and slowly were overtaken by clouds, the lighting was now flashing in all directions. The electrical storm was not the violent ground strikes accompanied by thunder that most people would associate with but rather lighting that was spread throughout the clouds. The visibility decreased and we made the decision to descend back to the hut rather then see if the system would move out. After we returned to the hut wet snow began falling and the upper mountain didn’t not give us another window to climb higher.

We are currently down safe and headed for Chilcabamba for the next 2 nights. While we all would have liked to climb Cayambe, the weather window didn’t cooperate. We are all eager for a different outcome on Cotopaxi in 3 nights. 

RMI Guide Mike King & Team

Saturday, June 1, 2013 Just knowing that today we had absolutely nothing to get accomplished gave us all that sense of ease and happiness often felt on the first day of a great vacation. Breakfast (yes, smoked salmon, bacon, fried bagels and cream cheese) didn't even start until the sun had warmed up camp, and lingered almost to lunch. We relaxed outside in the sun and inside away from its strong rays. Some got horizontal and read or napped, while others of us hung out in the Posh talking about everything from music and movies to food, wine and other delicacies. Those of us with FM radios gave a brief news summary, and like many discussions of any depth, eventually the tide of our conversation turned to politics. But with such a nice group of folks who are fast becoming good friends, the talk was of a healthy sort and not the ugly type seen all too often elsewhere. I don't know if it was the Indian cuisine we had for dinner or what, but dessert was accompanied by song, poetry, comedy and a lot of good natured ribbing. The day has ended all to quickly, we all agree. We ended our day by listening to the evening weather forecast, which has been calling for an end to the incredible high pressure we have been enjoying and calling for clouds and some snow, but all with fairly light winds. I've certainly heard of worse forecasts, so we'll just wake up in the morning and see what we see. If the skies are anything like they have been, we'll break camp and retrace our tracks back up the fixed lines and West Buttress, having the added confidence that comes with having climbed it once before. But we'll need good weather to tackle that climb again. Otherwise, another day or two here will only make us stronger for the summit later. Wish us luck! RMI Guides Brent, Logan and Leah

On The Map

Mark Tucker checking in from Mt. Kilimanjaro 12,826’ at Karanga Camp. We had an ascent of the Barranco Wall today. More fun than fear. We have some great photos, that I can’t wait to see. The Karanga Camp is situation a bit on a hillside so we had to get creative with our extra clothing to buffer up some of the slope. Hopefully, it is not going to take away from a good night’s rest. Everybody is pretty fired up for, really the start of the ascent, tomorrow morning. We will move up to our high camp, spend a few hours of rest and then begin our climb tomorrow evening, early, early morning. We experienced intermittent clouds and a high of about 65 degrees today, cool, but not bad, reasonable weather. We have a good view of the upper mountain from our camp here right now. At times in the clouds, but a bright half moon above us and the team is doing well. Wishing you were all here. Maybe next time. We’ll check in tomorrow. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

With packs lightened down after leaving a cache at 9500', the team made easy work on the climb to 11,200' camp today. Our three and a half hour jaunt was made all the nicer by bluebird skies and sunny warm temperatures. To top things off we moved into a nice campsite that required minimal work. Although its snowing lightly again, we are looking forward to another easier day tomorrow, where we will retrieve our cache from 9500'. That's all from 11,200 feet. RMI Guides Lindsay Mann, Leon Davis and Brent Okita

On The Map

Greetings from Arusha Tanzania, Our adventure has begun! The team arrived last night at Kilimanjaro International Airport and we headed directly to the Dik Dik Hotel. It's a welcome relief to go from our long flights to a delicious meal and a soft bed. No early risers in this crew, so it was a nice relaxing start to our day. After breakfast we started talking about the details of the days ahead and to sort through our gear to get ready for our departure. With our gear packed and weighed, we took a nice walk down to a nearby town to stretch our legs and to check out the area. Tomorrow we have an early departure for the Machame Gate where we will begin our trek. With our travel days behind us, it is time to start walking! We'll check in tomorrow from the mountain. Till then .... RMI Guide Jeff Martin and The Simba Sita (The Simba Six)

The Four Day Climb August 11 - 14 led by RMI Guides Andy Bond and Jess Wedel reached the summit of Mt. Rainier just before 5 am today.  Andy reported a beautiful morning climbing in base layers with no winds and meteors filling the sky as they climbed toward the summit. 

Congratulations to the team!

 

Hey, RMI this is Dave Hahn with the Everest climb. We got to base camp today. The trek is over, the climb begins. We left Lobuche at about 8:30 this morning and reached Everest Base Camp at 17,500 feet by noon. Our base camp team, along with Jeff Martin, has done an incredible job building camp. It was great to catch up with Jeff Martin from RMI. He has been up here working away getting our camp organized before our arrival. A little bit of a reunion today. All is well at Everest Base Camp. RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

The longest day of the year is a little redundant in a place where the sun doesn't set... we'll take it anyway. Summer has come to Antarctica. But that doesn't mean the living is easy. We still have the tail end of that storm to contend with. At least we hope it is the tail end. There is still a lot of cloud stuck on Mount Vinson, but it did seem a bit better than yesterday, on the whole. So we packed up the camp and moved up the mountain. We left Vinson Basecamp at 2:10 PM, which is not too late to be starting out (in case you are wondering). Our plan revolved around using the late evening sunshine that Low Camp is famous for. It only took us until 6:40 PM to pull in to the camp at 9,000 ft. Conditions on the route were calm, cloudy, and not exactly cold. We each did a bit of sweating, which can get problematic in a place that is perhaps -10 F but everyone took good care and we sailed through without difficulty. On the way, we picked up our cache of supplies where the Branscomb makes the big ninety degree turn from South to West, and that pretty much completed the sled hauling "approach" portion of this climb. Camp went up fast as we ran stoves for dinner and melted snow for drinking water. It is just after midnight now, and all are in bed. There is a thin layer of cloud still blocking our sun... but it isn't like it is the end of the world or anything. RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

When trekking into Everest Base Camp (BC) two weeks ago, it felt high, rugged, and hostile. Man, what a different perspective this morning, as Viesturs and I returned to BC after 5 days at Camp 1 (19,000') and Camp 2 (21,200'). What fun to enjoy the creature comforts that we did without for the last few days...thick air (yes, 17,500' feels thick compared to 21,000'), a shower, a shave, and a Coke. It never ceases to amaze me how much I appreciate the little things that we typically take for granted. A bit of suffering and "doing without" gives great contrast to our relative comforts of BC, where living on a pile of rocks and ice can seem quite luxurious. Our 5 days on the mountain went well and we accomplished all we set out to do on this rotation. Our night at Camp 1 was uneventful though light on sleep, as we listened to icefall and rockfall crash down from Everest's west shoulder and Nuptse. Camp 1 is in a good place but you never know "if" or "when" the big one might decide to come down. At daybreak the next day, fueled by high-octane caffeine, we blasted out of there and 2 1/2 hours later arrived at Camp 2. Camp 2 is in a much nicer place on the lateral moraine of the Khumbu glacier and is free from objective dangers...icefall, rockfall, etc. We still slept poorly, though not from worrying about things falling from above, but from the significant altitude jump we had made from BC to here...about a 3,500' increase over the last 36 hours. Altitude symptoms affect everyone, even Ed Viesturs, and I was happy to know I had a partner to share my mild discomfort with. The next two days we made forays up to 22,000' on the southwest face of Everest and to the base of the Lhotse face. These two morning climbs were not only great for acclimatization, but let us soak in the amazing beauty of the world's highest peaks. We would start walking by 8 a.m. before the sun crested Lhotse, when the entire Khumbu is arctic blue and silent...and COLD. Then, within the hour, the brilliant sunlight would ignite the snow, rock, and ice around us and our world not only brightened but warmed up considerably. Up here there are two sources of heat...what your body generates and the sun, and you quickly learn how to maximize both. At the end of our stay at Camp 2, we were feeling pretty good. Our bodies had adjusted to the altitude and we were falling into the pace and cadence of high-mountain living. Ed and I are now back here at BC for 2-3 days of rest. Melissa stayed at Camp 2 for another day of acclimatization, and Dave Hahn and his team just headed up to Camp 1 for their first rotation on the mountain. I'm really pleased that all team members are on track and making steady progress. Next we will head up for another rotation up high, which will include spending a night at Camp 3 (23,500'), climbing above to about 25,000' and then descending all the way to BC for more rest prior to our final push. We are one month into this expedition and so far, so good. Each day is its own challenge. My mantra is "short-term focus on a long-term goal." One step at a time, literally. But hey, I'm down here at BC resting my body and my mind, so I'm going for another Coke.

The Five Day Climb led by RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli and Nick Sinapius reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team is in route to Camp Muir where they will spend another night on the mountain before starting their descent.

Congratulations Team!