Well, it's our last night up high here in Ecuador. Today we awoke to relatively clear skies and enjoyed a great breakfast with views of Cotopaxi. After a short hike up to the refugio we've settled in and dined on a great meal of chicken breast burritos with sauteed vegetables. Tomorrow calls for another rugged alpine start (midnight or so), and a long day of climbing. There's lots of new snow so the mountain is especially beautuful. Hopefully conditions and the weather will cooperate and the beast will let us up to the top! Other teams have been summiting so that is good news. I'll check in again from Quito tomorrow evening and let everyone know how it went!
Thanks to Dawn Kim for the photos in this post!
It's a sunny day at 14,000' Camp with thick clouds below and strong winds above. We'll be resting again today, continuing to get stronger for our summit push. Weather models seem to be in agreement that improving conditions this weekend will usher in the first big wave of summit attempts of the season. We're in position to take advantage when we get our shot. We'll keep you posted.
We awoke to a chilly morning and more clear skies. After enjoying blueberry pancakes we geared up in camp for a dry run through of crevasse rescue. After nailing the flat ground rescue we roped up and headed towards the saddle between Mt. Dickey and Barrill. We headed into the maze of lateral crevasses looking for one that would be ideal for practicing our new skills and trying out some ice climbing. We ended up finding a bottomless abyss surrounded by a beautiful cathedral of ice formations. We finished up climbing just as clouds rolled in a snow began to drift down.
A hearty meal of andouille sausages was had, some stories were swapped and then it was off to bed.
Tomorrow we plan to move camp to 747 pass to begin our summit cycle up Mt. Dickey!
Our Four Day Summit Climb September 14 - 17 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning led by RMI Guides Eric Frank and Elias de Andres Martos. The teams reported calm winds and warm temperatures. The sky is hazy due to the wildfires in eastern Washington. They were able to spend some time on the summit before starting their descent around 9 am PT. The teams will return to Camp Muir to repack and then continue their descent to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's summit climb teams!
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guide Leif Bergstrom reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 6:45am this morning. The team climbed above the clouds and had light winds and clear skies. After about and hour on the summit enjoying the views, the team started their descent and are in route to Camp Muir!
RMI Guide Hannah Smith reported very few other climbers and good weather for their climb to the summit of Mt. Rainier today. Hannah led the Four Day Climb August 8 - 11, the team completed Mountaineering School on Monday and ascended to Camp Muir on Tuesday. Once at Camp Muir, they had a few hours of rest before getting an alpine start for their summit climb today. They reached the crater rim around 6 am this morning under blue skies and cool temps. After enjoying some times on the summit they started their descent from summit just after 7 am. Once back at Camp Muir the team will repack and continue another 4,500' descent to Paradise.
Yesterday morning at 1 AM there were unfamiliar voices outside our tents at 7,800' on the Kahiltna Glacier. Someone was calling my name and so I poked my head out into the gloom and falling snow. I was a little surprised to see several of the guides from the teams we'd assumed were still up high on the mountain. The guides pointed to their combined teams taking a restbreak a few hundred feet away and in the poor light I could make out about 40 climbers. They were making a break for the airstrip and they wanted to know if I'd join in with my team. I looked down-glacier through the snow and murk to see... not a whole lot actually, but I quickly warmed to the idea of joining what would be a very strong effort in the route-finding and crevasse detection department. The other teams very graciously waited the hour-and-a-half that it took for us to fire our stoves, eat breakfast and break camp. And then, just as we were roping up, the super team got their packs on and other guides began the process of breaking trail and finding a way. This was a very sweet deal for our team as we merely hopped in at the back of the line and followed along, neatly sidestepping any holes that those near the front of the column had discovered the hard way. I'd somehow assumed that they'd woken me because they wanted me to find the way, but that wasn't the case at all and several very capable guides took turns themselves over the next six hours of working through cloud and murk and snow. It was quite a procession as fifty climbers on about 14 different ropes wound their way down the glacier. These numbers represented every climber left on the mountain... It would be a clean sweep to end the season. My own team's spirits were lightened considerably as we learned that none of the other climbers had summited either and that in fact the storms we'd largely avoided by dropping lower on the mountain were indeed big and mean and real on the upper mountain. Most of all though, my climbers were just happy to be climbing again after two long days sitting around waiting for conditions to improve. By the time we reached basecamp... Or more correctly, the place where Basecamp had been (since there was now nothing but an empty and beautiful glacier) the weather was getting better and some blue sky was developing. We built our tents though and tried not to get our hopes up for an immediate flight. The super group of fifty had one mission in common remaining as we all got out with our snowshoes on to stomp down a strip of snow to give planes an easier takeoff. Sure enough, we'd barely begun to nap when engines were heard and a mad scramble began. K2 Aviation had two big red DeHaviland Otters on skis in for us in no time at all and we were whisked off the glacier and back to Talkeetna by 5 PM. That left enough time for a quick gear sort and a long shower for each climber before dinner. Over burgers and salads at the West Rib, we had a blast toasting and laughing at ourselves and each other as we replayed the high and low points of a fine adventure in the mountains. The nightcap was at the Fairview Inn and then finally we were each in real beds again and sleeping in comfort and safety back in civilization.
Much thanks to guides Lindsay Mann and Geoff Schellens and Zeb Blais for their hard work and to the entire team for being such good sports. And of course thanks to Denali for keeping it all interesting.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Hi this is the Alaskan Mountaineering Seminar checking in for the day. This morning after we got an early start and breakfast we headed up the South East Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. After three hours of challenging technical climbing we were rewarded with a chance to stand on top of Radio Control Tower under blue skies and perfect condition. After our time on the summit we came back to our base camp and spent some time working on building snow anchors. The weather has turned to a cloudy outlook with a little bit of snow. Everyone is tucked in for the night resting for our training day tomorrow. Take care and send your thoughts to keep us warm on the Kahiltna.
RMI Guide Eric Frank checks in after the team's climb of Radio Tower Peak.
If you’ve been following the blog posts, you’ve been doing some rigorous training - and it will pay off. I’m always looking for a little extra motivation or meaning in my routines and I’m often thinking about how to maintain the momentum that will carry me up the hill!
As humans, we dedicate art, buildings, books and many other things. Often to loved ones, sometimes to causes. We can dedicate any effort. A mountain climb for example - to someone or something we care for. It can even be anonymous. Perhaps the person isn’t with us anymore, a team you once were part of, it could be your next-door neighbor!
Personally, I’ll do it when I’m taking on something that will test my limits, or something that I’ve not had success with in the past. This process feels very tangible, “I’m grateful for what you did for me, I’m going to do this thing for you”.
And it goes both ways. Someone once told me they found the stamina to go to the top of a mountain as a token of gratitude for the encouragement I gave them ... I’ll never forget that.
When I start dedicating that next mile, thousand feet, workout or climb to someone who has helped me, all of a sudden I’m no longer going solo. I have a supporter, a team or my family behind me. It improves the quality of what I’m doing.
Credit for this idea to Seth Godin, an inspirational out-of-the-box thinker whom I respect.
- John Colver
John Colver is a longtime climber, former mountain guide, and certified personal trainer with the American Council of Exercise. Colver introduced outdoor fitness classes to athletic clubs throughout the greater Puget Sound region before creating his adventX brand. Currently, adventX leads training programs in Seattle and Colver presents clinics on outdoor fitness at companies such as Microsoft, Boeing, the American Lung Association, and REI. Colver lives in Seattle.
Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts with John and other readers on the RMI Blog!
We’re cheering you all on!
Posted by: Sharon Spaulding on 5/24/2024 at 4:32 pm
We are so excited for the team! I hope all goes well in our prayers are with you!
Posted by: Kathie Roberts on 5/23/2024 at 5:39 pm
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