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RMI Guide Henry Coppolillo checked in from camp around 11:45 am today.  The team reached the summit of Mt. Shuksan via the Fisher Chimney's route.  The entire team stood on top around 8 am.  The team was going to continue down to a lower elevation.

Nice work team!

Whether training, or on your next climb, your feet are your Achilles heel.  If you develop blisters, banged up toes, or pain in your feet or joints, the whole process of climbing comes to a grinding halt.  While training for your climb, you’ll put in countless days with heavy weight on your back, countless miles of trail and rough terrain, and many, many hours on your feet.  Taking good care of your feet and giving them proper support  through all of this training can help to minimize a lot of overuse injuries, and leave you feeling better for your upcoming climb.  Get yourself a good pair of orthotics or at least a good supportive footbed for your training footwear and climbing boots.   Our leg alignment can change dramatically throughout our life, often as a result of changes in the structure of the foot.  These changes in alignment, when you are in the midst of a heavy training load, can leave you with joint pain and a tendency towards persistent overuse injuries that can stick around and have a major impact on your training.  Orthotics are often the best solution for fixing your alignment and keeping those injuries from cropping up.  An orthotist can mold a footbed to help your alignment stay nearer the ideal.  This helps your knees track straighter, joints stack over each other better, and femurs rotate in the hip socket more smoothly.   Many climbers rent boots for their climb.  While rental boots are well made, high-end brands, they are not broken in to your foot.  A custom orthotic or an aftermarket footbed such as “superfeet” is the best way to make that boot feel as though it has always been on your foot.  With the long days climbing up and down Rainier, or weeks on the glaciers of Denali, that extra comfort and support can be a major boon to enjoying the experience.   In the last several years, there has been a lot of support for the idea of running in very low support shoes that mimic what it would be like to run barefoot.  While studies do support the idea that this is better for your body when running or walking, the heavy loads that we put on our backs and the stiff to nearly rigid soles of the boots that we wear when training and climbing all demand that we support our feet.  Look into your alignment and footbed needs and find your way to more comfortable climbing and training! Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!

Hey all! Our previous two day's waiting game turned to hustle and bustle yesterday as the skies opened and allowed the planes to fly. Our flights left right after breakfast, and we landed at basecamp, resplendent with a new layer of snow. It's still early in the season, and basecamp was quiet, with just a handful of climbers waiting to fly off, or start their climb uphill. After a couple hours spent packing, rigging sleds, and digging our cache, we were on our way, dropping down the SE fork of the Kahiltna Glacier to begin our ascent up the main fork. The skies quickly closed and it began to snow, obscuring the views and dropping the temperature significantly. We made camp in light snow last night, but this AM woke to sun and clear skies! The plan is to make a move to our next camp at 9,600' today. Happy birthday to team member Carl Devendorf, and everyone would like to wish their moms a Happy Mother's Day! We'll be in touch soon. RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer and the gang

On The Map

The team had an early start to the day, leaving Mexico City and driving to our acclimatization hike. 

We began our ascent at 10,000 feet, weaving our way through the forest until we were greeted with a view of the snowy North face of La Malinche. Despite the snow up high, it was a beautiful and warm day to stretch our legs. 

Our team had a successful summit of La Malinche (14,640 feet) that was made perfect by views of Ixta, Orizaba and even an erupting Popo. 

Spirits are high as we prepare for Ixta in the coming days!

-RMI Guide Abby Westling and Team

We had climbers circling the thunderclouds, climbers flying back and forth to Delhi, planes delayed back on the Great Plains... But ultimately, we had the entire RMI Mount Everest 2015 climbing team assembled on time and with all gear at the Yak and Yeti Hotel in Katmandu. Six climbers, two base camp trekkers, two guides, one base camp manager and one Sherpa Sirdar enjoyed a fine dinner together- without so much as one person falling asleep at the table. Quite a feat considering all the time zones and datelines crossed. We didn't discuss intricacies of Everest climbing just yet. Rather we caught up on each other's jobs, families, pets and hobbies. Finally, we sang Happy Birthday to Peter Rogers and devoured the cake commemorating the occasion. Tomorrow is for packing and prepping and perhaps a few naps. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

RMI Guide Win Whittaker and his team of climbers with the Climb for Clean Air in support of the American Lung Association of the Mountain Pacific reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The Four Day Summit Climb July 15 - 18 led by Elias de Andres Martos reached the summit also. The skies are clear above with warm temperatures. The teams enjoyed some time on the summit before starting their descent. The teams will stop at Camp Muir then continue their descent to Paradise this afternoon. The Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise has enjoyed several days training on the mountain. Yesterday, the team practice their crevasse rescue techniques (see photo below). Today they will ascend to Camp Muir for some additional training. They will make their summit attempt early tomorrow morning. Congratulations to today's summit climbers!

The Mount Rainier Summit Climb led by Pete Van Deventer and Casey Grom were unable to make a summit attempt due to continual lightning last night. The teams did venture over to Ingraham Flats this morning and are currently experiencing sunshine with the cloud deck between 7,000' - 8,000’ feet. After they spend some time on the upper mountain, the teams will descend back to Camp Muir and onto Paradise.

This is Mike checking in from high camp on Denali. The weather is playing games with us today, but the forecast remains excellent. We had contemplated a summit bid upon awakening, but a lenticular cloud cap kept alternately forming then dissipating throughout the morning, and we decided to hold off. It has been quite windy in camp, but high pressure is forecast to dominate the next several days. Our well rested team hopes to go for it tomorrow. All is well and we will be back in touch with an update tomorrow. Wish us luck!

We went to bed with clear skies and a forecast for 12-18" of snow overnight. The clear skies persisted overnight and we didn't get any new snow. There is a lenticular cloud on top of Denali today, indicating strong winds. We're also seeing snow blowing off of the West Buttress between the top of the fixed ropes and high camp. The current winds and the increased avalanche hazard from yesterday's foot of snow are keeping us at 14k for another day. The sunny weather at camp today is welcome, and is helping to keep our spirits high. It looks like some better weather is approaching for the weekend, and we're hoping we'll be able to take a crack at the summit then. With any luck, we'll be able to move to high camp tomorrow and be in position for the arrival of the more favorable weather. We'll keep you posted! RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

Great news everybody! We are back in Mendoza after an arduous 3 days walking off the dreaded beast that is Aconcagua. Sunburned, dehydrated, exhausted, all of the fun stuff about mountain climbing had finally caught up with us and the team was really feeling it by the time we hit the trailhead at Punta de Vacas. But all of that was nothing a cheeseburger couldn't fix... and after a great lunch with a few beers in Penitentes we shuttled back to Mendoza and checked in to our hotel. Showers and aggressive cleanup are definitely in order before we head out tonight for a celebratory steak dinner! Thanks to everyone who followed along for the duration of the expedition. We had tons of fun and appreciate all the support from back home. Until next time, RMI Guide Billy Nugent