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Even the heavy packs of a full camp move could not dampen the team's spirits as we left Aconcagua Camp 1 for our new home at Camp 2 aka "Chopper Camp" aka "Guanocos 3." The team arrived in the grand style to which we have become accustomed, with plenty of gas in the tank and fashionably dressed. We are now starting to feel like all our hard work is paying off, only one more camp before our summit push. Tomorrow we'll have a rest day and then, weather permitting, initiate our launch sequence. Cross your fingers for a solid weather window for us amigos! RMI Guide Jake Beren

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Mark Tucker checking in from Tanzania here at our last camp on this trip of Kilimanjaro. We are all down safe and sound; good spirits and good health. What a day! Beautiful summit, chilly and windy. Hopefully you got that message from the top. We pushed our way down to 10,000', so a 9,000' descent. Everybody's feeling it. Ready to go to sleep. A great meal. Looking forward to getting up pretty early and getting out of here. Have a nice celebration and take care of our fabulous local staff that has been providing us with this great service. I'd love to think we could do it without them but we'd be here for a couple of months. Everybody back home, all your friends and family are in great shape. Everybody did a fantastic job of doing what they could on the mountain. We'll check in after a good night's rest. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

Off to a good start down here. Everyone is in, safe and sound and after a brief orientation we kept the good times rollin' with a solid meal at Cafe Tacuba and an early night of sleep. Tomorrow we start our acclimatization with our journey to La Malinche. More later from the mountains. RMI Guide Jake Beren

Hey RMI this is Linden Mallory calling with the Everest Base Camp Trek & Island Peak crew. I am calling from Chukung which is the last little town at the head of the Imja Khola Valley. The last village before we get to Island Peak. We left Pheriche this morning, again just another gorgeous day here. We are definitely in a pretty consistent weather pattern of clear skies in the morning. We walked up the valley, the team is well acclimatized so we made great time up here and got into Chukung about mid day. We spent the afternoon re-sorting our gear and basically transitioning from trekking to climbing. We’ve got all our duffle bags packed and looking forward to heading to Base Camp tomorrow. Again this afternoon the clouds rolled in and the same story right now, it’s snowing lightly here in Chukung. Thankfully, not a whole lot of new snow these last few days so we’re all quite pleased about that. The plan tomorrow is for the Island Peak team to head into Base Camp and start getting ready for the climb. Our Base Camp Trekkers are going to head back to Namche and enjoy some nice hot showers and thicker air and warm temperatures of the lower elevations. We all just had a great final dinner together. Everybody again is just thrilled to be here and we’re having a great time and looking forward to the next climbing adventure. We’ll check in tomorrow from Island Peak. Take care.

On The Map

It never seems like much until you have it on your back. I thought I had pared down my kit pretty well, bringing only what was essential to fill my belly, keep me warm, allow me to take pictures, edit them, and transmit them back home. It really didn't seem like a lot. But, when that "little bit" got on my back this morning, my body told me otherwise. I'm pretty sure everyone on our team was in the same boat. With heavy packs, we huffed up the fixed lines once more. Yesterday we had some nice cloud cover keeping us cool, and today, although the sun was back to its blazing self, the temperatures were significantly cooler. Overheating was not too much of an issue. We all moved uphill well today, keeping a plodding pace that was not too fast, not too slow, but would get us there in good time, with gas still in the proverbial tank. The old tortoise and the hare idea. It paid off, with everyone arriving under clear skies with a gentle wind at High Camp, 12,250 feet. It's one of the most stunning camps I've ever been to, with enchanting vistas in every direction. Shinn stands mightily off to the side, the jagged summit of Mount Epperly rising just behind it. Go just a bit out of camp, and the world drops off some 3000 feet to Low Camp, and the massive expanse of Antarctic white spreads like an ocean as far as the eye can see. And, of course, just above us looms the summit of Vinson, still some 4.5 miles off. It's off to bed early tonight to catch a few zzz's in between shivers - the forecast calls for temperatures around -30 Celsius tonight. Then, once the sunlight hits the tents and makes life bearable, we'll suit up and begin moving uphill. With luck, by midday tomorrow we'll be on top of the bottom of the world. It was 45 years ago that Eddie Bauer helped get the first people to the summit of Vinson, and it'll be quite a thrill to return there, with Eddie Bauer and the flag Bill Long unfurled so long ago. Send us good thoughts, and hope the weather gods are kind to us. Namaste, Jake Norton

Billy called at 9:00 a.m. PST, their entire team reached the summit of Cotopaxi this morning. They had good weather and a great climb. Currently they are enroute to Quito looking forward to a hot shower and a celebration dinner. The group will spend their last night in Ecuador tonight at the Hotel Mercure. Congratulations to James, Casey, Sarah, Mark, Jon, Dawn, Rick, Andy and Billy! Thanks to Dawn Kim for the photos in this post!

Saturday, May 21, 2022 - 11:02 pm PT

Things were perfect to move to 14,000' Camp today when we woke up, except that all of camp had the same idea too, and were up early as well. We decided it would make a lot of sense to enjoy a good smoked salmon breakfast and let the unbroken line of climbers that stretched from the top of Motorcycle Hill work things out. A few hours later, we were packed, no teams in sight, and we rolled out of camp heading uphill. A high, thin cloud layer and light breeze kept us happily cool through breezy turn. As we came out the other side though, the wind died and it got HOT!  We climbed the last bit of elevation and happily arrived at 14,000' Camp. We dug in a nice camp for the next several days next to the first RMI team and gathered for dinner and cherry cheesecake before the chill of our new, higher home drove us to our sleeping bags. Tomorrow is a rest day. We're psyched.

RMI Guides Pete, Leif, Erika, and team

At the end of a long season on Mt. Rainier I enter my off season; sleep deprived, constantly hungry around midnight (breakfast time at Camp Muir), fuzzy on what my role is at home after being away for 5 months and physically worn down. I am in great shape to walk uphill slowly with a heavy pack, but that’s about it. All of my attempts to continue my strength and conditioning during the Rainier season can’t override my body’s need for rest. Yet when my guiding season ends, training season begins. Personally, I hate the monotony of traditional gym training, which is why I use CrossFit. The workout is different everyday and the community is supportive and at the same time competitive. I am asked to improve my competency in the following fitness domains: cardiovascular and respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. I have coaches who hold me accountable to my goals and adapt the programming to my needs. It is a tricky balance though, since diving into this type of programming after being absent for five months exposes me to injury. I typically have two and a half months starting in October to train for the Aconcagua season. For the first week my schedule is 2 days on, followed by 1 active rest day. The 2 days involve attending a one-hour class, which incorporates a 15-minute warm up, 10 - 15 minute skill session followed by the 7 - 20 minute workout. The class finishes with mobility and recovery exercises. My active recovery day might be a long run, mountain bike, or climbing. My goals during this first week are to work on the ten fitness domains and get plenty of sleep. The active recovery days are designed to give me a break from the intense workouts, but are certainly not a day to sit on the couch. For weeks 2 - 6 I increase my training to 3 days on followed by 1 day off. My off day will usually be an active recovery day. During this phase I continue to build on the previously mentioned fitness domains. Increasing intensity and output allows me to embrace the suffering of the next set, mile, or hill climb. This helps me address the mental side of climbing mountains. During weeks 7 - 10 I continue with 3 days on followed by 1 rest day. On Monday and Wednesday I will complete a one-hour class in the morning and that evening o an additional hour of interval training; either running or rowing. My rest day is just that, a day to recover and prepare from the two-a-days. I program eight workouts per week to train my body and mind to work hard when I ask it and better utilize rest when available. Interval training provides the most direct correlation to how I exert myself in the mountains. When I arrive in Argentina I am confident that I am prepared physically and mentally for the expedition. I may still struggle with altitude or fatigue at times during the 20-day trip, however, I have trained my body and mind to work hard when needed and (as importantly) rest when opportunity arises. ________ Mike King guides around the world for RMI Expeditions, from Argentina to Alaska. He has climbed and guided across the country, thru hiked the Appalachian Trail, and ridden his bike across the country. Mike now lives with his wife in Bend, OR, where she owns and runs Fearless Baking. Mike will be guiding an Alaska Mountaineering Seminar next May, and is headed to Aconcagua on December 20th with Jake Beren. Follow them on the RMI Blog! Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!

We got together after a relaxing breakfast in our tropical garden of a lodge and we talked about going up amongst the glaciers of Kilimanjaro. It was a morning of going over the plan of attack and for discussing gear and best practices for staying healthy in this part of the world. The middle of the day was spent getting the gear and clothing sorted and by afternoon the team enjoyed a bit of free time to wander about or to nap. The wanderers didn't have to go far before they could see Kilimanjaro floating in the distance. The nappers surrendered for a short time to the jet lag we all feel. The team enjoyed seeing groups of monkeys swinging through the trees of our compound as well as listening to strange birds call out as they cruised overhead. We enjoyed a group dinner and some storytelling for the evening. It will be hard to leave this luxurious and laid back setting, but the thought of getting walking on the flanks of the largest freestanding mountain in the world is pretty enticing as well. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Hey everyone it is JJ Justman and Seth Waterfall and the ENTIRE Northside Elbrus team on the summit of the highest peak in Europe, Mt. Elbrus at 18,510'. We have a beautiful day- sun is shining, birds are chirping, butterflies are flying. And the team just did fantastic, 100% success. We're very proud of the team. We got a little bit of work to get down hill but tell you what, the team's just doing great and we're gonna get down to camp, have a little water and go from there. Thanks for following along. And thanks for all your wishes. We will touch base one more time, just letting you know that we got down safe and sound, but everything is great on the highest mountain in Europe. Ciao for now. Update 7:55 a.m. PST: JJ called to report the team is back at Camp 1, which is off the glacier. The team is doing great and they have a lot of packing to do before the continue their descent. The team will check in again from Kislovodsk.

On The Map