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Thursday 5/25/2023 10:00pm PDT

Another good rest/ weather day for us today. The snow, clouds, and breeze were in and out and it was an obvious day to sit. 14,000’ Camp on Denali is turning into a small city as more and more teams move up and run into the same weather waiting game. When we first moved up there were only a handful of scattered camps. Now 14,000’ Camp is continuous, and you can meander around, walking down alleys between snow walls.The team took on a variety of tacks to stay entertained. One intrepid member measured the perimeter of camp to be a quarter mile and did a 5k, jogging some of it. A few members even joined in at points. Others wandered around and chatted with other RMI Expedition Teams. And one member has now read the ingredient list of all their snack food!

Tomorrow looks to be more of the same and already the team has made plans to build an igloo, and perhaps more - the site plan is still being finalized. The 14,000’ Camp hang continues

RMI Guides Pete, Henry, Tatum & Team

Last night, we were sitting in the dome at camp 2. Dinner was finished, and everyone was in their tents for bed. The steam of freshly boiled water was rising as we poured the last of it into the hot pot.

We sat as a guide team, looking at updated weather and coming up with a summit strategy when in popped one of our team members,

“Hey, Can I talk to you guys?”

“Sure, sure. Come on in.”

She stepped through the door.

“I’d like to help carry this teammate’s weight tomorrow. I want this for him so badly and he’s struggling.”

 

This morning, after a breezy night straight into a breezy morning, I sleepily walked from the guide tent to the dome tent. Jack immediately handed me my little 1/2 L Nalgene filled with warm coffee,

“Dom made it for you.”

Packing up our bags to carry a load to Camp 3,

“How is your morning, Reacher?”

“I didn’t sleep well. I woke up early to the wind and helped tie down other people’s tents.”

 

Climbing mountains is an inherently selfish sport. We work hard to get ourselves to the top. It benefits us, the climber, more than anyone else. And there’s no problem with that.

I found my own healing in the mountains, my own growth, the ability to drive and push myself further than I thought possible.

And I fell in love with guiding because I loved helping others do the same - get out of their comfort zone, try really hard, take a really big risk.

But if there’s one thing this team keeps teaching me, one tiny miracle at a time, is that there is more than just our own little dreams happening. Even though 14 days ago we were total strangers, we are now people who have built deep relationships, so much so that we’ll offer to help carry another’s weight because we already believe in that other so much. We’ll share our bag of banana chips at every break, even though instinct tells us to hold fast to those calories we hefted all the way to 18,000 feet. We’ll tie down tents in the lonely early morning just because we don’t want our friends to blow away after a windy night.

And today, when all of us felt a touch alone in our struggle to Camp 3 at 19,600 feet, I looked a little closer and saw the sort of miracle that was a team coming together. Climbing a mountain not just for ourselves but with and for those we are inspired by. I saw that whatever has happened between us is profound and no matter if we stand on top or not, we won’t leave here unchanged.

 

RMI Guide Jess Wedel

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir teams led by RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier and Avery Parrinello ascended to Camp Muir on Monday under beautiful blue skies.  The good weather continued for their training at Camp Muir the following day.  Wednesday morning, with an alpine start, the team left Camp Muir en route to the summit.  The team enjoyed nice weather and clear skies, allowing them to spend some time in the crater.  After their time on top, the teams returned to Camp Muir.  They will continue their training today and tomorrow morning.  Tomorrow afternoon they will re-pack their gear and descend to Paradise.

Congratulations to the climbers on reaching the summit of Mt. Rainier and being the first RMI Team to do so this season!

Hello RMI family. The team had a great flight from Moscow to Mineralyne Vody. We met Vladimir who will be with us on the mountain. Judging from his light heartedness, I am predicting we are going to have a few laughs. We drove to Cheget, which is a destination for skiers. Our hotel is situated in the foothills of Mount Elbrus. I do have to admit my surprise. The last time I was on the south side of Elbrus I didn't remember such a beautiful and charming hotel. I am glad we are staying two nights here to acclimatize and prepare gear. After all, there's nothing wrong with First Class, even if it's in the mountains. RMI Guide J.J. Justman

On The Map

Breakfast was early this morning as the night was fairly warm and if we were to make a carry we wanted to not be caught up in the sometimes crowded scene that happens on the fixed ropes later in the day. But a quick survey of how everyone was doing at breakfast confirmed our suspicion that the day would be better spent resting and fortifying our camp from windy, nasty weather that can happen at any time. After all, we'd been going strong for six days straight. So, we enjoyed a leisurely meal of western omelette, bacon and bagels, followed by some warm pop tarts. And the best part of the morning was when Roberto Pellegrino took over and started turning out some killer pancakes leftover from another days breakfast. The morning amounted to a relaxed time just enjoying each others company. But of course my mind is always spinning and after my third hot drink I thought it might be worthwhile to at least get some food up to our high camp, and perhaps even see our friends Billy, Geoff and Gilbert. So, off Lindsay and I went. It was her first time actually on the Buttress itself, and it made for a fun trip. And visiting with our other team at 17,200' was great too. Tomorrow we plan on all climbing up the fixed ropes and on to the Buttress. How far we just don't know. But, we'll be sporting nice light packs, a very welcome change for us all. We'll be in touch tomorrow night as long as we get back early enough. Brent, Leon and Lindsay

On The Map

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons led by RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 8:15 am today. Utilizing a less traveled route on the northeastern side of Mt. Rainier, our Expedition Skills Seminar – Emmons captures the best aspects of summer climbing on Mt. Rainier's far-flung glaciers. The Emmons Glacier route is truly an endurance climb, beginning on the forested Glacier Basin Trail and ending on the glacier-capped summit of Mt. Rainier.

The team has one more night on the mountain and a full day of skills training before descending tomorrow. Congratulations Team! 

Monday, July 5, 2021 - 9:50 pm PT

Score one for the weathermen.  They weren’t kidding about this storm.  It is real.  Came in during the night and by morning it was snowing and blowing and we couldn’t see much.  There wasn’t any question of moving camp up to 17,000 ft.  In fact, we retreated somewhat.  Just after breakfast, RMI Guides Dominic and Matt geared up for the toughest of missions.  They trudged out into the teeth of the storm to climb up to retrieve our food cache on the West Buttress.  Yes, we were proud to have just placed it there two days ago, but now we can’t afford to be separated from those supplies should avalanche conditions set up in the coming days… which seems likely.  The guys had hard going, breaking trail in rapidly accumulating snow.  At the 16,000 ft ridge crest they were dealing with winds easily in the 50 mph range, the kind that sound like jet engines even from way down here at 14k.  We had plenty strong winds in camp, but of course we were in shelter and comfy, warm and dry.  Dom and Matt grabbed the cache and bolted safely back to camp in a total of four very difficult hours.  But their work significantly eased our ability to meet our new primary goal: riding out the storm. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Sunday, June 30, 2019 - 5:16 PM PT We're enjoying the thick air at Camp 4, at 14,200' in Genet Basin. We got a good night's sleep last night, slept in this morning and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of bagels, cream cheese, and bacon. An ample coffee. Today we are resting and waiting for colder temps by which to travel. There is a weather front affecting Denali right now, bringing winds up high and clouds and precipitation down low. We're sitting in between in the sun and happy at 14k. Our hope is that we can travel through the night down the Kahiltna Glacier to the Basecamp Airstrip and that cloud and precip will dissipate tomorrow so that we can fly back to Talkeetna. We'll let you know how it goes. RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

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!

Today we left the hustle of Mexico City and drove to the high altitude training facility of La Malintzi for our first taste of the thin air. We hiked through the forest, climbing until we broke above treeline and gained our high point on the ridge of La Malinche at around 13,000 feet. We were strong today and after a little siesta and dinner are bedding down to rest up for tomorrows journey to the Altzimoni hut, our jump off for Ixta. Buenas Noches and happy birthday to Christian and a big Valentine's Day hug to all the sweeties up North.