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February 10th, Vail, Colorado. The day had finally arrived. The Teva Mountain Games were on and I was ready for my first real climbing competition in years which included a wild race format and bar-none the highest caliber field of competitors I have ever faced. The competition was set up so two competing climbers would scale a 55-foot artificial wall plastered with regular plastic climbing holds like those found in the gym and a new experimental high density foam that was made to mimic real ice. The structure hosted two identical routes, a right one and left one that mirrored each other with every hold being exactly the same on each climb. When the bell went off, both climbers had six minutes to reach the top of the climb but with fast competitors taking less than three minutes per route the winner was decided by whomever climbed the top anchor first. Both climbers were then lowered to the ground and a three minute rest was issued. Then a swapping of sides ensued and a second race began. The combined winner of both races moved on to the next heat.
I almost did really well! Winning my first heat, I went into the second feeling unbeatable. All the fear and intimidation I felt by the big guns waiting to eliminate me vanished. I knew for certain I could hang. This all evaporated when on my first climb of the second heat I placed both tools in a foam hold and while trying to remove the upper one, the lower one blew out and I came whipping off the climb with an audible groan from the crowd. I had been leading the race when I fell and on my second climb of that heat posted the fasted time of the day out of any competitor. And so the hope of an unknown underdog sliding in and cleaning up at the first ever Teva Mountain Games was dashed. Not to worry, I will be back.
I owe
RMI a huge thanks for supporting my trip to Vail and giving me the chance to represent them. It is gratifying knowing such a worthy company has my back.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
The
Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides
Elias de Andres Martos and
Leon Davis were unable to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams returned to Camp Muir at 7:45 am from their high point of 12,700'. While at Camp Muir the teams will gear up for their descent to Paradise; we look forward to greeting them when they arrive back at Rainier Basecamp later today.
It's quite a bit different than my last climb three days ago. Instead of bitter cold walking up to
Camp Muir it was scorching hot!!
The team did great and we are rehydrating and getting ready for our summit bid. Stay tuned and see how well our climb goes!!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Day of R&R, with a short hike to 14,600' - higher than Mount Whitney, but nothing by Nepalese standards. Most are feeling much better, with the hope that a new day will bring much-needed strength to those still recovering from the Khumbu stomach bug. Of particular interest, see attached photo:
Nepalese use of biofuels. Cribbage is the bomb, hope to master it soon! Hi to Yuki, Karis, and Rianna, don't wish you were here :) yet, missing all of you. The yak cheese was really good!
RMI Climber Keith L.
On The Map
Our
Four Day Summit Climb Teams led by Casey Grom and Eric Frank reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 7:40 a.m. PST. RMI Guide
Thomas Greene reported clear and cold conditions on the top with winds of 20 - 25 mph and the cloud deck at 7500'. The teams spent some time in the crater and have started their descent back to Camp Muir.
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons led by Billy Nugent also reached the summit of Mt. Rainier. The team will spend the remainder of their time on the mountain training and plan to arrive back at Ashford Basecamp in the early afternoon on Friday.
Congratulations to today's teams!
The evenings clouds lifted over night and morning broke with clear skies above Namche. The Kongde massif, sitting directly across the valley shimmered with freshly fallen snow. As we emerged from our sleeping bags the sounds of the waking village seeped in through the thin teahouse walls. Chickens, dogs, and the bells of yaks and dzopkyos combined with the cries of children preparing for school and the faint tinking of stone masons beginning their day's work laboriously carving the stone into finely crafted blocks for the growing number of lodges being built in Namche.
Built in a horse shoe shaped bowl tucked into the hillside above the confluence of the Bhote Valley and the main Khumbu Valley, Namche is the largest village in the Khumbu and a cultural and trade center for the region. Vegetables and fresh goods are brought up from further down the valley while every summer Tibetan traders bring goods on yak over the passes further up to trade here. The town is built into a steep hillside and the tiny streets that criss-cross throughout are built of stone and plied by locals, trekkers, traders, yaks, and dogs alike. It is a bust, vibrant, and exciting place. This morning was Namche weekly market when locals from the nearby village come to purchase goods and after breakfast we wandered among the blankets of goods laid out on a series of terraces on the edges of town. Everything from fresh grapes and tangerines to chickens, peanuts, batteries, and cases of Red Bull were for sale there, offering a fascinating and often amusing scene.
After exploring the market we climbed to a shallow saddle to the east of Namche where the National Park headquarters, army post, and museum of the Park are located. From the knoll where they sit we caught our first view of the Everest panorama further up the valley. Already starting to hide among the clouds by midmorning, we caught occasional views of the recognizable summit pyramid, flying it's trademark plume of snow as the jet winds whipped across its summit. Lhotse, Nuptse, and Ama Dablam were also visible, standing tall above the valley floor further up.
Visiting a few more museums in the area, we passed the rest of the morning looking at collections of Sherpa mountaineering history, photographs, and visiting a traditional Sherpa home. The rest of the day was spent relaxing in Namche, exploring the towns narrow streets of hand laid stone, browsing the stalls of shops selling traditional jewelry and shawls along with knock off brand name down coats and climbing gear both new and old.
Tomorrow we will take a day hike above Namche to several villages nearby, stretching our legs and hopefully catching more views of the mountains up the valley.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
The winds continued to blow through high camp last night, not breaking until early morning. With the winds gradually dying down we got up at 6:00 to make our summit push. Leaving camp we still were experiencing sporadic gusts but they were becoming less frequent and weakening. From our high camp we started a long gradual traverse on the glacier, cutting below the East Summit and eventually gaining the saddle between Elbrus' twin summits. The days of wind had scoured the slopes, leaving a firm surface of snow that made for smooth sailing - we rarely encountered drifts of new snow to break trail through and we made excellent time.
By midday we reached the Saddle at ~17,500'. The winds were stronger here as they were funneled between the two peaks so we took only a short break before tackling the final push up the steeper slopes to the Western Summit. About halfway up the slope we joined the main route from the South Side, falling into stride on the substantial trail kicked in by the climbers coming from that side. The Western Summit is a broad plateau with the high point on the far side from where we gain it. When we reached the plateau the winds really picked up, making the final steps to the summit especially tough. But by 1:00pm the entire group stood on the summit of Mt. Elbrus, the highest point in Europe. Below us Russia stretched out to the north while to the south the jagged peaks of the Caucasus marked the border with Georgia.
We spent just about ten minutes on the summit, snapping photos and exchanging high fives before the winds chased us away. We later estimated the wind chill to be about -15F up there. Needless to say, it was cold. We turned our sights back towards camp, making a quick descent off of the summit. We stopped at about 15,800' on our descent at a little plateau amongst the rocks where about two weeks ago a Russian military helicopter crashed trying to land during a training routine. It was bizzare to stand next to this hulking mass of metal, electronics, and hydraulics all twisted and lying on its side in such an environment of rock, ice, and snow.
Back at high camp we took a short break before packing our gear and continuing our descent to Camp 1 where we are more protected and conditions are far more hospitable. It has been a long but exciting day. We are all tired and ready for a good night's sleep, but still energized by our climb today. After such an unstable weather pattern we feel very lucky to have made the summit - thanks to everyone who kept their fingers crossed for us! Tomorrow we will descend back to Base Camp and are hoping to check out some of the nearby hot springs.
We made it to Gorekshep — our last stop until Base Camp. Wahoo!!
We started the day with some affirmations sent from home (shout out to Heather! We are LOVING all the little surprises) and decided our motto for the day was “Be Happy. Shine bright. Dream big.”
After days on the trail and as our bodies are working hard to adapt to these altitudes, little reminders to keep a positive attitude and hold fast to our dreams is so important. We walked slow and steady today focusing on each breath. Deep breath in, out, pressure breath, pressure breath, deep breath and repeat. After all this time at high altitude we have learned how much this helps as we go into thinner air. This team is STRONG and after a few hours we made it to Gorekshep.
We warmed up with lemon ginger honey tea and RaRa soup before some of us ventured to the top of Kala Patthar, a climb just outside of Gorekshep, reaching over 18,500 feet. The rest of us stayed warm in the teahouse dining room while playing cards and telling stories. The daily afternoon clouds moved in but the Kala Patthar crew still got some epic Everest views.
We’re off to sleep and can’t wait for what tomorrow holds!
RMI Guides Jess, Sam and team
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Everest Base Camp Trek & Lobuche, March 16, 2024
Hi,
Today we fully immersed ourselves in the culture and history of
St. Petersburg. After an incredible breakfast at our hotel, we hit the streets to begin our city tour. Our city guide, Olga, led us through the maze of streets and canals to all the best churches, museums and cathedrals in the city. We tried our best to keep up with all the dates and facts that she knew by heart, but after several hours, we had to concede that it was a losing proposition. There is simply just way too much to see and learn.
By the time we toured Saint Isaac's Cathedral, the fourth largest cathedral in the world, we were ready to take a break. We met up for an early dinner and then with a second wind, we finished the day with a boat tour of the canals and Neva River. The city is even more beautiful from the water and the perfect view in which to remember this city.
Sadly, this adventure comes to an end tomorrow as we go our separate ways and travel back home. We have had a great time and hope you have enjoyed following along as we traveled and climbed our way through
Russia.
Best regards,
RMI Guides
Jeff Martin,
Pete Van Deventer, and team
We're on the way to high camp on
Kilimanjaro! The sun is out and it's a beautiful day. We'll be on the trail for about three hours today and then we'll begin our final prep for the summit push. If all goes well we should be on top of Kilimanjaro within 24 hours!
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
Mom and Aunt Kathy congratulations on a wonderful adventure! You worked so hard and I can’t wait to hear about the beautiful climb.
Posted by: Camilla on 9/3/2013 at 3:56 pm
Mom and Aunt Kathy—
Congrats!!! So proud of you both. Sorry the weather didn’t collaborate but I’m sure it was beautiful and so fun!
Posted by: katie on 9/3/2013 at 9:08 am
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