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The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Adam Knoff and Rob Montague reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The team spent about an hour on the summit before starting their descent back to Camp Muir. While on the summit, the team experienced a dense cloud cap, decreasing visibility to about 100ft. Summit winds were 20-30 mph and the temperature is warm. We look forward to seeing the teams at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams!

Today was our second day of sleeping in on the trip; it proved to be just as enjoyable as the first. Here in Ganet Basin at 14k, the looming upper mountain of Denali blocks the sun from hitting camp until mid morning. Our group stayed in sleeping bags until the sun's first rays hit our tents. This place is like a desert, when the sun is behind the mountain it's freezing and when the sun is out, it's miserably hot. Once we were up, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast that lasted nearly until lunch. Here at 14 camp, we are situated in the outskirts of a village of tents. While we are content resting in the shade, others are not. People can be seen and heard at nearly all hours of the day. We see snowball fights as well as people playing hacky-sack and making elaborate castles of snow blocks. High winds and low visibility have plagued the upper mountain for the last few days, keeping many teams from moving uphill. The result is a large group of restless people around camp. While others sit crossing their fingers and rationing food, we are sitting pretty. Because our team has moved efficiently thus far, we are simply enjoying the rest, acclimatizing and getting stronger every day. We are in a great position and look forward to carrying to 17k when we get a chance. We remain optimistic that the weather and wind on the upper mountain will subside. The team says hello to all our friends and family following along on the blog. RMI Guide Tyler Jones

On The Map

We rolled out of the tents at 11:30 AM to find another perfect day. Calm, sunny and clear, just the way we like things. This was our well-earned rest day and we took full advantage. A leisurely breakfast primed the team for a mid-day nap, which was followed by the mid-afternoon nap and the early evening nap. The goal of it all was to prepare for a few tough days to come up high on the mountain. Everybody did their best to catch up on hydration and calories. Billy Nugent and Seth Waterfall rested by spinning on down to basecamp and returning with fuel and other supplies in a tight five hour round trip. Thanksgiving dinner was held under our festive blue and white POSH tent. Chicken and noodles with all the trimmings. We'll be even more thankful if this fine weather continues. Best regards to all back at home. RMI Guide Dave Hahn and Team

The Four Day Climb led by Ben Ammon and Sam Hoffman reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 9:45 AM today. Despite some challenging walking on the route, the team made strong progress and arrived at the crater rim in just six hours. After a brief celebration on the summit, they began their descent.

Congratulations to today’s team on a successful climb!

Cache and carry was the theme of the day; or more appropriately the reverse. We carried loads up Ski Hill to the Kahiltna pass and buried them in a cache, to be dug up on a later day. We did this to acclimate and make moving camp easier. The weather was hot, cold and windy; so typical for the mountains. We then loaded our sleds in our backpacks and looking like characters in a Mardi Gras parade tromped back down hill to some of Jack’s spicy Jambalaya. Check back tomorrow to see what  kind of adventure or mischief we get into - same time, same channel. -

RMI Climber Scott Coffey

Monday, January 9, 2023 - 6:08 pm PT

Hello hello,

Well me made it out of Mendoza. We were patiently and anxiously awaiting two duffles. Thanks to using the apple air tags we knew they were in flight and confirmed to be at the Mendoa airport. A pit stop to grab the goods and we were on the road towards Aconcagua Provincial Park. Two hours following the Mendoza River brought us to Uspallata. Tummies were rumbling so we picked up some empanadas and checked into the hotel. Before we could lay down for a nap we had some work to do. Everyone sorted their gear into a day pack, a trekking duffle, and a basecamp duffle. The duffle shuffle is a big part of the game these first handful of days. With everything organized we are ready to get back in the van and begin our hike. Tomorrow will start Day 1 of our mountain days. Everyone is itching to hit the trail and get some miles behind us. It helps that tomorrow we get a delicious Carne asada dinner cooked over a fire...it is finger licking good. We did enjoy some thunderstorms this afternoon. The rumbles in the sky made for great background noise for the evening nap. Hopefully mother nature got it all out of her system and we have dry weather. 

Good night and talk to you from the trail!

RMI Guides Hannah, Ben, Dan and Team

The first plane got out over an hour ago with Leon, Clay, Steve, Hao and Sergey. Two other planes came in to take two other groups out then returned minutes later, unable to safely get out because of clouds that came in to obscure visibility out of the mountains. As I began this we were still hopeful that planes would fly, but since then we have put up tents as it has now started to snow. Could this be the front forecasted to come in? In many ways this has been the most difficult part of the trip for some. The dashed hopes, uncertainty, and expectanct waiting. People may get angry with pilots' decisions, or even guide services' decisions on what flight company to do business. But all that seems so trite and inconsequential when the realities of the situation are understood. These pilots work under such pressures to get people in and out under sometimes very adverse conditions, and i'd rather they be just a little conservative with my life, as well as those of my clients. Hearing stories of 'other' pilots ducking into and out of holes does not inspire me to any great degree. Besides, getting 'stuck' here on the Kahiltna Glacier, one of the most beautiful places in the world, with Mt Hunter towering over us just 10 minutes away, and Foraker just across the way, 10,000' above us, seems to me OK. Since composing the above we've spent a restful day in the tent. Some 'quality tent time.' A thing we've not had in abundance on this trip. And tonight we've joined with the half of Tyler Jones' group that got flown in for a fun and entertaining dinner in the Posh tent. Would I rather be in Talkeetna right now? Perhaps. But times like this evening remind why I love my job. Getting to know new folks, laughing at ourselves, and sharing with others. I guess I'm OK with being 'stuck on the mountain.' RMI Guides Brent and Maile

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Steve Gately and Sam Hoffman reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team climbed with clear skies, cold temperatures, and arrived on the summit at sunrise to enjoy the views. 

Congratulations Team! 

Friday 5/26/2023 3:15 PM PT

Clouds and light snow are making a perfect atmosphere for a lazy rest day here at 14k. 

Strong winds high on the mountain are occasionally visible through breaks in the clouds. The warmth of our tents is conducive to lazing, reading, listening to music, and occasionally drifting off into a dreamy state of consciousness. 

Meanwhile, we're hoping that favorable weather allows us an opportunity to climb higher and push for the summit soon. 

Until then, we're embracing the tranquility of the mountains. 

Mike
 

The Four Day Summit Climb team led by RMI Guide JJ Justman along with the All Women's Team led by Lindsay Mann reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams delayed their departure from Camp Muir due to rain but once the rain dissipated they began their summit attempt. They were rewarded with great route conditions, light winds and clear skies above. The teams will spend some time on the summit before starting their descent to Camp Muir and then continuing down to Paradise later this afternoon. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!