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Hi There, This is Adam Knoff calling. We the entire team and our local guide Fozzie as in “Fozzie” the Muppet from the great Muppet Show are established here at High Camp just over 15,000’ feet. Everyone is definitely noticing the altitude, but did great coming up here. We feel strong, healthy and psyched to be heading towards the top of our first big mountain. The clouds are closing in at the moment and things are pretty windy and chilly, so we are crawling into our bags for a quick nap. We will have an early dinner and then hopefully at 2 o’clock or 3 o’clock a wakeup call. Everyone is doing great, we’re happy and will call tomorrow when the summit is under our belt. Alright? We look forward to talking to you tomorrow. Adios, RMI Guide Adam Knoff and Team

The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Billy Nugent reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Billy reported clear and beautiful skies, but cold temperatures with winds of about 10 - 15 mph form the northwest. The team has started their descent and are en route back to Camp Muir. Congratulations to today's team!

Greetings from 13,150 ft in Karanga Camp on Kilimanjaro.  The team started the day in the garden-like Barranco Camp below the great rock wall of the same name.  It was a perfect weather day right from the outset.  There were no winds and no upper level clouds although the lower sea of clouds continued to hide the rest of the world from our view.  We got moving toward the Barranco Wall just aft 8:30 AM.  The lower third of the lava wall is a set of ledges that tend to get one’s attention.  Both hands are needed on the rock holds and the feet need to be carefully placed as we move from ledge to ledge.  It all gets a little more exciting as several hundred porters (from our own team as well as from the numerous surrounding teams) attempt to politely squeeze by with awkward and heavy loads balanced on their heads.  The wall relents in its middle sections and turns into steep switchbacks with occasional odd steps.  At the top, we were back to hands on rock to get over the final escarpments.  All told it took us about two hours to get on top of the wall.  It was a great feeling to pull onto the flat and have unimpeded views of Kibo’s cliffs and ice fields above.  We then moved down and East across several shallow valleys before we crossed a deep and steep sided one -the Karanga Valley- to reach our camp on the opposite rim.  It took roughly four hours to reach Karanga.  We were just in time for lunch and an afternoon snooze.  After dinner we stared up at the Milky Way and the southern cross and Kibo glowing in the moonlight. 

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Sunday, June 26, 2022 - 10:37 pm PT

It’s been another great day on Denali. We had a hearty breakfast of granola, oatmeal and lots of coffee. The conversation in the posh was lively as it meandered from Halloween traditions to serial killers’ preference for smooth peanut butter to octopus reproduction.

Then we got to the work of the day - caching our summit gear at 16,200'.  After an “easy” hike, we stowed our trekking poles, broke out the ascenders and hauled ourselves and our gear up the fixed lines to just below Washburn’s Thumb.

There were many teachable moments going both up and down the fixed lines, but we managed to move efficiently and safely. Our readers will have to wait for their loved ones to return to explain the arm wrap descent technique. We gained 2,200 vertical feet over three hours and then another hour and a half to get down. Team Euro once again led the charge and showed Team America how to walk up a hill.

We’ll dine early tonight on soup and tortellini and head for the tents so our bodies can recover. Then one more rest day tomorrow and, with a bit of luck, we launch for High Camp on Tuesday.

RMI Climber Hyde

June 1, 2014 11:47 pm PT It has been a perfect rest day for us. Not perfect climbing weather, but plenty nice at camp to enjoy the day. Although many climbers took advantage of the relatively good weather to go for 17,200' camp, many others were suspicious of the cloud cap over the summit that threatened winds on the Buttress. In fact, no guided groups went to 17,200' today. But we had no such decisions to make. Instead, we slept in until 9:00 then, as we've done before, and feasted on a sumptuous brunch of smoked salmon, bagels and cream cheese. What decadence! The guides had some chores and logistics to sort out, then we took the short tour east to the Edge of the World to take in the view from 14,000' overlooking the Northeast fork of the Kahiltna Glacier, and affording views way down the glacier to where our very first camp of the expedition was. We've done a lot of climbing since then, and have developed as a strong team caring for the well being of each other as much as ourselves. It's nice seeing the kind of support these guys give each other. Tomorrow brings us our biggest challenge of the trip, and everyone shares the mixed emotions of excitement and nervousness. We got through the headwall and fixed lines yesterday, but the Buttress itself is another beast. As is ascending the 3000' to 17,200', a new altitude record for many of us. That this part of the route is the guides' favorite part attests to the aesthetics of the climbing, and I think the team will get excited when they get on it. We're looking forward to a good, hard day. Because it will be a long day for us, which may even be followed by another even harder day (the summit?), this may be the last post of any length for a while. Wish us luck! RMI Guides Brent Okita, Leah Fisher, and Nick Hunt

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!

RMI Guide Andres Marin radioed from Camp Muir this morning. The Four Day Summit Climb teams were tucked safely in the bunks at Camp Muir after a windy night. The cold temperatures, new snow and wind prevented the groups from making a summit attempt this morning. At 8:30 a.m. they began their descent from Camp Muir to Paradise. They will return to Ashford in the early afternoon.

This morning (or night, depending on your point of view), the intrepid Team Blackberry/iPhone, awoke to darn near perfect climbing conditions and decided to give the old lady a shot. Our high camp had positioned us perfectly for a good shot at topping out on the first of our big volcanoes for this trip. We left under dark skies, high above the town lights of Amecameca and Chalco far below us. We walked steadily through the rocky glacial debris at the base of the Ayoloco Glacier, skirting the previous night's accumulated hail and gaining the ridge just before first light. Once on the ridge we bundled up because even though in Mexico it can still get cold in the wind at 17,000 feet. From the ridge we handled our new challenge of cold temps until gaining the true summit of Ixtaccihuatl as the sun broke over the horizon, illuminating our next adventure, Pico de Orizaba. After a few photos and some summit celebrations, we steeled ourselves for the descent back to our high camp and the homemade soup of Rogelio's (our trusted driver) wife, waiting for us at the trailhead. Easing our way back into wheeled transport, we stuck to the backroads, avoiding the weekend traffic and checking in to our hotel in the zona historica of the colonial city of Puebla. Tonight we will feast and enjoy a good night's sleep at relatively low elevations, using tomorrow to explore the city and recuperate for Pico de Orizaba, the highest mountain in Mexico.

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

On The Map

Hello from Mweka Camp, We did it! The entire team made it to Uhuru Peak, the Roof of Africa, this morning at 7:30 am. But there were no gimmes today, we fought hard for every step. What started out as fairly decent weather when we woke up, quickly changed as we were about two hours into our climb. At first, it began snowing lightly, but the higher we climbed, the harder the snow fell. The trail was completely covered by the time we reached 18,000'. By Stella Point, the crater rim, it was blowing about 30 mph and 4-6 inches of snow had fallen. Definitely not your typical summit day. Despite the challenges of the weather, the team did great today. We left camp at 12:50 am and were on top at 7:30 am. We only spent about 10 minutes at the summit sign, and then it was time to get back down. The fresh snow made for an interesting descent, and new snow had fallen all the way back to high camp. After changing out of our summit gear, we re-packed our duffels and headed down to Mweka Camp, 5000' below us. We arrived in camp just before 5:00 PM, and our 17-hour day is now over. We are all tried, but in great spirits and looking forward to a good night's rest. Best regards, RMI Guide Jeff Martin

On The Map