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The Five Day
Summit Climb led by RMI
Zeb Blais and the Four Day Summit Climb led by
Solveig Waterfall reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. At 7:03 am the teams began their descent from the crater rim. Solveig reported a beautiful, calm and sunny day from the summit of Mt. Rainier.
Both teams will return to Camp Muir for a short break before continuing down to Paradise this afternoon. We look forward to seeing everyone at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's summit climb teams!
23,000 feet to the busy hustle bustle, and near 100 degree heat of Mendoza in three days. After two weeks of grinding our way higher and higher on
Aconcagua, the end of the trip is always a blur. Summit day on this trip has to be the most memorable part, not just for the elation of standing on the roof of South America, but because of how perfect the whole day was. Dead calm conditions, clear skies, and warm temps had us on the summit wearing just a couple layers, and no gloves! After the cold temps, snow, and winds that we had on our way up, it was an amazing shift that made the whole day so enjoyable.
Since that day, we grabbed all of our gear and endured the five hour descent to base camp, to be greeted by a wonderful steak dinner. The next morning we donned small packs and light shoes, and followed the fourteen miles of mule trails to Pompe de Leñas, our first camp on the way in. It's always a long day, and our feet were tired when we arrived, but we were revived by a delicious asado, fresh tomato salad, and Malbec wine cooked for us by the muleteers. Everyone ate until they were stuffed, watched the stars come out, and shared stories. Wednesday morning we were up early, motivated to get to the road and all the comforts that follow. A four hour hike and a quick shuttle delivered us to Penitentes, and then a few hours in the bus had us back in Mendoza last night for another great Mendoza feast.
It has been a blast for the guides to climb with this group. Everyone gelled into a cohesive climbing team well, and took the team work aspect seriously. We have a couple of days now to relax in town, soak up some sun by the pool, and let beat up feet heal, before we start the long plane flights back! Thanks for all the comments and support on the blog.
Over and out,
RMI Guides
Pete,
Leon,
Mike, and the whole climbing team
Shhhh everyone is sleeping... We're all back in Tlachichuca and everyone has retired after our final team dinner. Today we climbed to the summit of
Pico de Orizaba in fantastic weather, the best I've ever had on this mountain. Last night when I went to bed it looked like a storm front was moving towards us but when my alarm went off at 12:30am there wasn't a cloud in the sky and no wind to speak of either.
We made it from the hut at 13,990' to the 18,701' summit and back in twelve and a half hours which was a long enough day to ensure that after showers and dinner all the climbers headed for bed.
We all agreed that the last 8 days have gone by extremely quickly and that we've had some great climbs. Tomorrow we'll head back to Mexico City for our flights home.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Lacie Smith and Walt Hailes reached Ingraham Flats today. The team was unable to move further up on the mountain due to route conditions. The team was able to do some additional training as well as enjoy a beautiful sunrise from 11,200' on Mt. Rainier.
Good Morning!
Most of team opted for a full educational day over a difficult summit climb. Summit team woke up at 10pm and with high winds in camp we made the call to skip the walk and prepare for a full educational day today. We will finish our expedition skills training here at Camp Schurman before descending tomorrow.
RMI Guide Drew O'Brien and Team
We had a restful night here at the Chilcabamba Lodge last night. The Team woke to clear and sunny skies and a spectacular view of Cotopaxi. The Chilcabama Lodge is a rustic hacienda with thatch roofs, that has been given just enough of a facelift to maintain its charm and more then enough creature comforts to enjoy our time here. We set out for what ended up being a long walk to a waterfall that we could not access. However, along the way we enjoyed the beautiful rolling farms, lush vegetation and fun conversation for about four hours. We are all back enjoying some down time and anticipating afternoon rain showers. This group has really bonded well and the trip has flown by. We will refresh a few items for our climb and pack our bags for Cotopaxi this evening before dinner.
RMI Guide Mike King
It was a little tough waking up at 1 AM, since we hadn't been able to get to bed terribly early, but coffee and bagels got us going. Just as we'd hoped, it had been a clear night and the glacial surface had frozen up good and hard. Conditions were ideal for tackling the lower glacier. This section can be problematic since it is normally heavily crevassed in late season, but we found that the recent snowfall and overnight freeze had combined to bridge things nicely. We set out around 4:30 AM and made steady progress, first dropping a few hundred feet to reach the main glacier and then turning North while working up small hills and inclines. The packs were heavy and despite the fact that the fully loaded sleds were sliding easily along, we were all pretty thankful for the short rest breaks each hour. It was good hard work, but we didn't have much in the way of glitches or problems. The last two hours of our push were conducted in bright sunshine with a great view of
Denali's south face. The West Buttress stood out clearly in relief. We pulled into our intended camp at 7,800 ft at about 9:15 AM and got to work. In no time, we had tents, a kitchen, a dining area, a latrine and the start of several significant naps. It was a day for power lounging and for catching up on hydration.
We rallied for a group dinner since
Solveig Waterfall was serving up excellent burritos, but then the naps resumed.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
After several nights in tents high in the mountains here sleeping in the teahouse in Chukung last night was warm and comfortable. The morning broke mostly clear, although a large cloud cap hung over Lhotse and Island Peak. Packing up from Chukung, we headed back down the valley, retracing our steps through Dingboche, Shomare, Pangboche, Deboche, Tengboche, etc. Leaving the high mountains of the Himalaya is like watching the world being reborn around you: yesterday we were on the summit of Island Peak in a world of ice, rock, and snow; we returned to Chukung where small shrubs and grasses survive and a few hardy crows venture; today as we walked small bushes sprang up, then a few sparse trees, and then forests, then flowering rhododendron. The smell of the air changes too, the dirt, trees, and yaks all adding to the aromas of the lower elevations. As we descended the valley today it was as if life sprang up around us with every step and the little things that went on unnoticed suddenly attracted attention: the bark of a dog, a warm breeze, flower petals.
Despite all being immersed in the scenes around us, it was still a long day on the trail, taking the better part of the day for us to return to Namche. We arrived tired from the trail, but marvelling at the arrival of spring in the days since we've been gone. It feels like ages ago since we first arrived here, with snow blanketing the village and the thin air burning our lungs. Now the fields surrounding town are turning green and the stairways feel far less daunting. It is great to be back in Namche after so much time up high and we all enjoyed the hot showers and great food.
Tomorrow we return to Lukla, descending further down the valley. We are looking forward to the final leg of the trek and will check in tomorrow evening from Lukla.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Our
winter seminar awoke to pancakes and a view! We have a little break in the weather. So we are busy taking photos. It still is a little blustery but we plan on continuing big mountain training. On the agenda, building anchors, crevasse rescue and self rescue.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
We caught our first real views of the mountain this morning when we emerged from the Barrels. The clouds were low in the valley below us, and above
Mt. Elbrus rose clearly in the morning light. We could see the entire first portion of the route and high above, several teams were visible traversing into the saddle between the two summits of Mt. Elbrus.
We set out on our acclimatization hike shortly after breakfast. The cold night temperatures left the snow still frozen firmly, giving our crampons good purchase. We retraced our route from yesterday, quickly passing our high point and gaining elevation. By late morning the clouds returned and we climbed in a fog bank, occasional rock outcroppings appearing out of the mist ahead and gradually disappearing below us. By the time we reached around 14,400' - the same height as
Mt. Rainier - a cold breeze picked up and we climbed the remaining portion in our jackets with the hoods pulled closely to protect us from the wind.
We reached Pastuhkova Rocks, at 15,100', and dropped our packs, resting in the thin air of today's high point before returning to the hut for a late lunch. The team climbed well today, negotiating the altitude and varying weather conditions well. It was a long day on our feet and we are looking forward to a mellow day tomorrow to brush up on some of the final training we still need to cover and get in a restful afternoon before our planned summit bid on Saturday.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
On The Map
Eric, Wow! Congratulations! What a way to add to your life experience. I give you lots of credit.
Posted by: Diane Anderson on 8/6/2013 at 11:05 am
Congratulations Eric, surely something to be proud of. Next stop, Everest!
Posted by: John on 8/6/2013 at 7:46 am
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