The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Andres Marin and Shaun Sears reached the summit of Mt Rainier on this clear, sunny morning. They reported windy conditions with views all the way to Mt. Hood in Oregon. The teams spent about an hour on the summit before starting their descent to Camp Muir. After a short rest at Camp Muir, the teams will continue down to Paradise.
We look forward to seeing everyone at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations!
Just like that, we went from a high cold camp on Vinson to a low, warm (relatively) camp on the Union Glacier. It was hard work, as usual, knocking down tents, getting packed up, and getting in some breakfast this morning, but we did it. We started walking down the mountain at 10:30 AM. The fixed rope descent was a workout with the big packs, but it all went smoothly, as did repacking for sled travel at Low Camp. A few beautiful hours of glacier trudging brought us to Basecamp. We packed, repacked and enjoyed the sunshine and big views of Mount Vinson as we waited for our airplane. The Twin Otter swooped onto the strip and we loaded up. Our flight back to Union was even a little more spectacular than usual as our pilots wanted to check on a few climbers in a seldom visited cluster of steep mountains just south of the Vinson and Craddock Massifs. We landed at Union just in time for a delicious sit-down (in chairs, that is) meal in the grand dining tent. It was fun to see all of the other climbing teams again and to catch up with the ALE staff. Quite a change for my small team after these past few days of solitude. We are living in the lap of luxury now and are perfectly positioned to catch our flight north on Dec 29th, should conditions allow it.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Ama Dablam loomed right above us when we stepped out of the teahouse this morning, yesterday's afternoon clouds dissipating to reveal the mountains surrounding Pangboche. With the sun cresting over the ridges above and warming us up, we hit the trail bound for Namche Bazaar. Heading downhill we made great time down the trail, passing the dozens of rows of mani stones and chortens lining the trail below Pangboche. We paused outside of the monastery in Tengboche, sitting at the bakery for a bit, before continuing on down to Dudh Kosi raging below at the base of the ridge.
The trail was busy with travelers today as loads of gear for upcoming Everest Expeditions made their way up the valley and at times we felt a bit like fish swimming upstream as trains of yaks pushed their way up the trail. The change in scenery from the mountains above is marked: birds, blooming flowers, tall swaying trees surrounded us as we hiked down the trail, a far cry from the glaciers and rocks of just a few days ago.
By mid-afternoon we rounded the last turn on the trail and dropped back into Namche. With the height of trekking season quickly approaching Namche is buzzing with activity and it feels like we've stepped back into a bustling metropolis: small shops open up onto every available street space, people walking back and forth, dogs and yaks alike wandering amid it all. We didn't even break stride going through town, walking directly into our teahouse here, dropping our bags, and headed in for an eagerly anticipated hot shower. The little luxuries we enjoy routinely at home take on a whole new meaning after many days in the mountains.
We are very happy top be here and enjoying the scene in Namche. We covered a lot of ground in the past few days as we retrace our steps down the trail that took us the better part of two weeks to go up and the team is doing well, strongly climbing the many ups and downs of the trail. Tomorrow morning we continue heading down the valley, bound for Lukla where the trail ends and we catch our flight back to Kathmandu.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Know you are glad to be back in Namche and have a bathroom that is ATTACHED to your room- and free tp! Hope you all are well and keep up the caution- only a few more days until “normal” food. We all miss you and can’t wait to hear about the climb. Love the photos.
The Four Day Summit Climb August 19 - 22 led by RMI Guide Brent Okita reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today! Brent reported strong winds and a change in the weather as the team made their ascent today. They spent a little time on top before beginning their descent around 7:30 a.m. PT. The team will return to Camp Muir and then continue their descent to Paradise this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
A great day at 14,000 ft and above. In the pattern we've come to expect, it was all blue sky and sunshine to start the day and then cloudy and even a bit snowy to end the day. But we made excellent use of the sunny and calm morning to go for a hike about 1,200 ft up on the hills behind Pheriche. Right off the bat, we enjoyed views of the sixth, fifth and fourth highest mountains in the world. Everest is now hidden from our view by Nuptse, and that will continue until we are above our final tea house in Lobuche, but Cho Oyu, Makalu and Lhotse were trying their utmost to make us forget our central goal of the trip. They had to fight it out with closer giants like Ama Dablam, Towoche, and Cholatse. Giant eagle/vultures cruised overhead as we climbed, hoping we'd leave one or two climbers behind, but everybody kept up just fine and the birds went hungry. We took a bunch of hero shots at our high point and beat feet back down to our luxurious digs in Pheriche. In the afternoon, the team strolled next door to receive an excellent lecture on altitude illness given by one of the docs of the Himalayan Rescue Association. The dining room was not nearly as busy as it had been yesterday and the team enjoyed slightly better internet connectivity through the late afternoon and evening. And that is good, since we don't expect much web surfing in Lobuche for the next couple of nights. We'll try to get our progress out if possible, but of course -no news from us is good news.
Mark Tucker, our soon-to-be basecamp manager, brought his basecamp trekking team back down to Pheriche as planned today. Nice to see him and his gang. We'll say goodbye to him in the morning as he continues guiding his folks back down to Lukla before sprinting back up to be with us.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Hola from Puebla, Mexico. I am writing this from the comforts of Hotel Colonial which sits near the center of one of Mexico's most beautiful city. It will still be a few hours or so before we go sight seeing because the team is a bit tired after our long but successful summit of North America's seventh highest mountain.
At camp while in our tents waiting for the alarm to rattle us out of our fitful sleeps, the wind was doing that work already. It was one of the most amazing shut offs I have ever seen. At 11:30 the wind was blowing 20 mph and by midnight the skies were clear and the night was as calm as our bedrooms. Taking full advantage of this great gift we rallied out of camp at 3:30 and pushed strongly upward to where the steep rock section of the route meets the long, winding ridge towards the summit. The beautiful lights of Mexico City shown down to our left and the same amazing view of Puebla shown down to our right. As the sun came up, we could see Orizaba poking through the haze to the south. All around it was a glorious morning. When the entire team arrived at the summit, we were all relieved to have the uphill finished.
Two and a half hours later we were at camp packing up and getting ready for the long walk back to the van where beers and snacks were waiting. We were lucky to have two porters there to help carry down tents and stoves, lightening our loads. Three hours later we were celebrating with margaritas and world-class Mexican dishes. A great day all around.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Hey everyone, this is Billy. I'm checking in here with our group. We are at 11,000' part way through our descent. After our big summit day yesterday, we packed up our camp at 17,000' and then moved on down. Brent Okita's crew was kind enough to cook us up some dinner at the 14K Camp, and we continued on down to 11,000', where the crew is all, actually snug as a bug, in their sleeping bags out in the open because it is so warm compared to where we've been living. We plan on getting up in the middle the night tonight and making a run for the airstrip hoping to get a flight off tomorrow sometime before the weather takes a turn for the worst. We'll give a shout when we reach Basecamp. That's all for now.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Hello to all from the June 19 Denali expedition. If the saying "make hay while the sun shines" applies to mountaineering, this team could feed a lot of cows.
I am thrilled with our team dynamic and progress. Yesterday we ate breakfast, got ready and were blessed with clear conditions at base camp. K2 Aviation worked hard to get us all on the glacier which allowed us to pack up and move out. We arrived at the base of Ski Hill by dinner.
Today we woke to perfect weather and the team again showed great enthusiasm to get moving. By 6:45 a.m. we were marching up Ski Hill with full loads. We arrived at 9,800 feet by 11:30 and are now enjoying a steamy afternoon sun bathing. Stay tuned for tomorrow's next episode. This is Adam Knoff signing off.
Hello everybody this is Jake and crew at the start of the Kahiltna Glacier at 11,000’. Today we descended from 17,000’ down to 11,000’ where we are making a camp for a few hours before trying to walk on the lower Kahiltna while it’s still frozen in the early morning. With any luck we will be at the runway in time to catch a flight back to Talkeetna.
We hope everyone is doing very well there and trust that we are doing well here. With what may be our last night on the mountain. Hopefully, I didn’t jinx us and that we will be heading home soon.
So see you all then.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
RMI Guide Jake Beren checks in from 11,000 ft on their descent.
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz June 23 - 28, 2023 checked in this morning from the summit crater. After two days of training at Rainier BaseCamp and Paradise the team headed onto the mountain. With several days to train and ascend, the team launched their summit attempt this morning, reaching the crater before 7 am. After enjoying some time on top, the team is now on their descent. RMI Guide Mike Haugen reported a beautiful day with light winds. The team will return to Paradise later this afternoon and be transferred back to Rainier BaseCamp to complete their program.
I think my family might be in this group. Congratulations!!
Posted by: Diane Pinney on 6/10/2013 at 3:21 pm
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