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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!

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

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
 

RMI Guides Brent Okita and Jenny Konway led the Four Day Climb September 2 - 5 teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Brent radioed the RMI office just after 7 AM that the teams were approaching Columbia Crest, they had reached the crater rim at 6:40 AM. It's another beautiful day on the mountain with clear skies and winds 15-20 mph. The team left the summit at 7:45 AM headed down hill. The program will conclude this afternoon with a cheers to their accomplishments.

We're all in our sleeping bags after a good day of climbing. We carried a cache of supplies to 16,800', just below Washburn's Thumb. Everyone did well on their first foray up the fixed lines, and then further climbing up the ridge of the West Buttress. We will be taking a rest day tomorrow, and hopefully be heading up to high camp soon thereafter. A weak weather system looks to be approaching for the next few days, which is fine with us; we'll be resting, acclimating, and getting strong for the (hopefully) good weather to follow. We are in position now, and ready to head up to higher ground whenever the weather allows. We will be in touch again tomorrow. RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

"Its a miracle, I lit the stoves!" Exclaimed Roberto as he woke up the team this morning. When we entered the cook tent Roberto and Brent had laid out a spread of bagels, cream cheese and smoked salmon. Roberto was quite the Italian gentlemen this morning running the stoves and serving hot water, while insisting everyone enjoy their morning coffee and cider, and even giving us a short Italian lesson. A big grazie to Roberto, our favorite Italian chef at 14,000 feet! After a leisurely breakfast we took a walk out to the edge of the world. The edge of the world got its name because it drops away 6,000 feet below you. Allowing us to see our previous camp at 7,800 feet and giving us fantastic views of the Alaskan range. That was our big event of the day, and now we are resting and preparing for our move to 17,000 foot camp. Other exciting news was that RMI Guide Gilbert Chase on the McKinley May 15th Expedition checked in this morning as RMI Guide Billy Nugent and team were making their summit bid. We expect to hear from them later on tonight. Sitting strong at 14, RMI Guides Lindsay, Brent and Leon and team

On The Map

Our rest day at Casa Ilayaku was just that, restful. For most people, reading was the main source of entertainment. We are also close enough to town that some folks made a trip into town to kill some time and do a little shopping. Avery and I went to a climbing gym and funny enough the only other two people there when we arrived were two of our local guides from Cayambe, Fatima and Fernando.

Casa Ilayaku is a wonderfully relaxing hacienda. It is modern, but built on what used to be the owner's grandfather's farmland. Due to this, much of the food served here is very local, sometimes even from the garden. Fresh avocados, tree tomatoes and a variety of other vegetables are grown right here on the property. The owner, Marco, comes from a family of farmers so even the coffee they serve is grown and roasted by his family, just outside of Cayambe. Mountaineering is hard, but the hacienda life is pretty easy. The contrast between the two activities really makes these trips special.

But hey, we can't just live at Marco's place forever. This morning we will head for Antisana basecamp, which is basically just us setting up tents in the paramo (the Spanish word for a high, treeless plateau). The camp is incredible, looking down there are long-reaching views through the grasslands and an about face reveals a huge, glaciated mountain. Antisana is broad, the glaciers are heavily crevassed and it is truly a wild place. For the last time on this trip, we hold out hope for one more night of good climbing weather!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

It took six attempts but finally the weather cooperated for a successful acclimatization hike to the top of La Malinche, 14,501’. A new high point for some of our Team. The ‘day hike’ is the equivalent of a Rainier summit day from Camp Muir in elevation gain. The Team did well despite having just arrived sea level more or less. This morning we are in route to Ixta, a quick stop for breakfast and coffee then a travel day to the Altzomani Hut. There, we will pack for our hike to high camp and enjoy a nice dinner and spectacular sunset. Thanks for following along. RMI Guide Mike King

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

Buenos Dias from Team Mexico, We are all tucked in safe and sound at La Malintzi resort a few hours down the road from this planet's second largest metropolis, Mexico City. Of course half the time getting here is spent literally getting the 20 kilometers out of town but witnessing the traffic of Mexico City is a great adventure in and of itself. Our morning started as most mornings do. Coffee, breakfast and lots of Europeans. Well the European thing probably more so in Europe but the hotel did feel very international. After food and packing it was off to our first mountain, La Malinche. At a height just higher than Mt. Rainier, reaching the summit was not our primary objective. Starting our at 10,000 feet and cranking out 4500 vertical feet on our first go seemed a touch ambitious. Although we did crest the 14k height, we left the summit in peace because of tired legs and threatening storm clouds. The hike was beautiful nonetheless. Everyone did great and are bonding well as a team. Now we are ready for bed and the move to bigger mountains tomorrow. Until Then, this is team Mexico saying good night. RMI Guide Adam Knoff & Team