Hey RMI, this is Linden Mallory calling from the Everest Base Camp Trek. I am calling from Everest Base Camp. We weren't able to push out photos and a written dispatch today so I'm calling from the SAT phone instead. Just to let you all know that we are all doing well and made it to Base Camp and everyone is so happy to be here. Keep your eye out for the dispatch tomorrow. We'll do our best to get it out if conditions allow. Besides that the weather's gorgeous and we are looking for to spending some time up here. Take care.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Linden Mallory and team arrive at Everest Base Camp.
Wow!!! What an accomplishment! I am proud just to know all of you. It’s great to see all the hard work and planning pay off.
Posted by: Carter Sr. on 3/26/2012 at 7:33 am
Way to go girls!! Following your trip through the blogs has been amazing. Just got back from a walk in the pollen soaked air - tried to imagine I was breathing the clear air you all are, no matter how thin, and seeing your gorgeous views. Enjoy every moment, you all are truly blessed. We are all cheering for you back home!
Hey RMI, this is Linden Mallory calling from high camp on Mt. McKinley, 17,200'. We just got back a little bit ago from our successful summit of Denali. We had a relatively easy descent, the winds picked up after we left the summit so it definitely got quite cold. We were bundled up in goggles and down jackets and neck gaiters and all that fun stuff, but the team did well. We motored back to camp and right now we are changing into dry socks and brewing up some hot drinks and dinner and crash out and get some rest. It's been a long day. Everybody's doing well. We had a great climb today. I'll try to get a written dispatch off tomorrow.
Our plan is to head downhill. Try to make it down to at least down to 14 Camp or possibly further depending on the conditions that present themselves. Hope everyone is doing well at home. The team is very excited. Tired but excited. And we'll check in tomorrow.
Take care,
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
We had a great sunny day today and we took advantage of it by carrying a cache of gear to approximately 16,700' on the West Buttress proper, just below a prominent rock called Washburn's Thumb.
In order to get there we climbed up the head wall on the north side of camp and ascended approximately 800' of steep, 50 degree ice with the help of fixed ropes and mechanical ascenders. The views were phenomenal. And everyone did very well with their first experience on the fixed ropes.
We were out for eight hours today (ascending, descending, digging a hole for our cache, and relaxing up high on the ridge), and everyone is a little tuckered out from the long day and high altitude. That's to be expected, though. We'll take at least a full rest day to recover. Now we're in position to wait for a good weather window to move to high camp and go for the summit. It looks like the next few days will be pretty windy up high, so we'll be in a holding pattern until the weather improves. In the meantime we will be resting, eating, and mentally preparing for the strenuous climbing ahead of us.
Also, I spoke with RMI Guide Billy Nugent via radio tonight. Apparently they are having technical difficulties and are unable to send email dispatches (their sat phone still works for communication though). They are camped at 9600' and doing well. They plan to move to to Camp 3 (11,200') tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Kenny, God speed and wish you well to the summitt. take care.
Your brother brian, jeannie, matt, and tasha
Posted by: brian young on 5/16/2011 at 2:06 pm
Hi Jeff! Glad to hear things are going well and you are feeling great. Stay focused and I can’t wait to see you. I miss and love you lots! Good news the Bulls beat the heat tonight 103-82, you would have loved it!
-Erica
Hey, it is Billy here just checking in after a safe and successful summit bid. We got up, kind of stalled a little bit because it was a cold morning. We left around 10 pm, it took us about 12 1/2 hours round trip. We were super psyched. So we're back in camp, and like I said before everyone is safe and sound. Now we're just hoping for good weather to beat feet for the airport. That's all I have for now. We are going to eat dinner and get some sleep.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
RMI Guide Billy Nugent calls from High Camp on Denali after a successful summit bid.
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!
When we woke early this morning we weren't sure what the day had in store for us. The cloud deck dropped during breakfast and no one could really tell if it was raining or snowing. We returned to the tents to wait for a trend to emerge and in about an hour made the call to try to leave basecamp for higher pastures. We had perfect conditions to make our way to the base of Ski Hill and set up camp at the confluence of the Main and Northeast Forks of the Kahiltna Glaciers. As soon as camp was buffed out, it started to snow and we are enjoying a little siesta before dinner.
If the weather is cooperative we will move higher tomorrow to get within striking distance of 11 Camp and the upper mountain.
Hope all is well down South!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Great to have the opportunity to virtually follow your tour. To Christel: Aunt ever I am so proud you are doing this, one day we might tackle the Matterhorn together ;)
Posted by: Wenke Stalling on 6/10/2012 at 2:07 am
Bob~Kristi made it to Rwanda, after 27 hours!! Now you have to make it to the top!
Kathy
The Four Day Climb, September 27 - 30, enjoyed a beautiful sunrise this morning on Mt. Rainier. Weather conditions and new snow on the route prevented them from reaching the summit today, however, they did ascend to Ingraham Flats to check out the views. The group has descended from Camp Muir and will return to Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
This is our final program for the 2019 Mt. Rainier season. Thank you for following along with our climbs!
This is Dave Hahn, calling from Mt. Everest. A great day for us today, our Sherpa team set up what we call a Jungle Gym, out in the glacier not far from Base Camp, a network of ladders and fixed ropes for us to practice on. We made good use of that, we went out this morning for a session for a couple hours and then this afternoon as well.
It was a pretty nice day here at Base Camp. We are excited because Mark Tucker made his return, our Base Camp Manager is home.
Everybody is doing really well we still basically have Base Camp to ourselves. Most of the teams will be rolling in in the next few days, next week but today it was still pretty quiet and we were enjoying it. All is good here and we will let you know what goes on tomorrow.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
RMI Guide Dave Hahn checks in from Everest Base Camp.
Spencer Uncle Larry and Aunt Dianne wishing you and your climb team all the luck in the world we follow you each day on the blog get home safe.
Posted by: Larry on 4/9/2014 at 10:46 am
Spencer!!
Hope you are destroying that little hill you call everest! Big Dan misses you. Good vibes are sent to you from all your family and friends back home. I know we all miss you! LA has been a tad bit quiet w/out you causing ruckus. I cannot believe I have 2 more months of growing this disgusting beard. You owe me!! My family says hi and they love/miss you and to come back home safe. Every step counts!!
Hello all. We moved our camp up to about 9,600 ft. Temperatures were perfect for us during the walk. It just started to get hot as we pulled into camp. Everyone did great today. We built a fortress of a camp constructed with cohesive blocks of snow. We used them for walls around our camp to shield us from the wind.
Light snow began falling this afternoon but we are hoping to wake up to blue skies and stable weather for our climb on Kahiltna Dome tomorrow.
That's all for now.
RMI Guide Jason Thompson
The winds trailed off during the night -at our level, at least- but we got steady snow for most of the day. We sat in place at 14,200 ft. With the continued poor forecast, we are now just looking for a reasonable break in the storms to start moving downward. While it is a tough thing to give up our summit dreams for 2021, it is at least something of an easy call… the mountain simply has not given us an opening. We are still in an amazingly beautiful place, which we remember each time the clouds thin. And we have still got plenty of mountain climbing -albeit of the downward variety- to do before we’re done.
Wow!!! What an accomplishment! I am proud just to know all of you. It’s great to see all the hard work and planning pay off.
Posted by: Carter Sr. on 3/26/2012 at 7:33 am
Way to go girls!! Following your trip through the blogs has been amazing. Just got back from a walk in the pollen soaked air - tried to imagine I was breathing the clear air you all are, no matter how thin, and seeing your gorgeous views. Enjoy every moment, you all are truly blessed. We are all cheering for you back home!
Posted by: Michelle on 3/26/2012 at 5:52 am
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