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The Four Day Summit Climb Teams led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Caleb Ladue were forced to turn around today above the top of Disappointment Cleaver due to route conditions. The teams will descend from Camp Muir and return to Paradise this morning.

Our winter seminar awoke to pancakes and a view! We have a little break in the weather. So we are busy taking photos. It still is a little blustery but we plan on continuing big mountain training. On the agenda, building anchors, crevasse rescue and self rescue. RMI Guide JJ Justman

We had a busy day here in Kathmandu preparing for Everest Base Camp Trek and Island Peak adventures. We spent the better part of the morning discussing the plan, logistics, and gear needed for the trip, making the final preparations and sort of our gear before loading it all into our duffel bags in anticipation of tomorrow morning's departure. After weeks spent collecting all of the gear we need and thousands of miles of travel to get it here, it is exciting to have everything packed and ready to go. After lunch we plunged into Kathmandu to visit several of the city's renowned UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Stopping first at the Pashputinath Temple, we walked between the small shrines and many temples dotting the banks of the Baghmati River observing the activities of Nepal's most holy Hindu cremation site. Deep in the heart of this city of 4 million, the temple grounds were bustling with families and ceremonies. Moving across town a little ways, we then spent some time exploring the Boudhanath Stupa, the largest Buddhist Stupa (temple) in Nepal and the starting point for any pilgrimage the Nepalese Buddhist undertake. Spanning an area the size of a football field, the sprawling stupa's white washed walls are constantly circled by streams of visitors and worshipers. We then climbed the long set of stairways to Sawayambunath Stupa. Nicknamed the Monkey Temple by Kathmandu's hippie visitors in the '60s, the temple grounds sit atop a hill overlooking the city and true to its name, is home to a large number of monkeys that swing from the strings of prayer flags and scramble across the golden roofs of the shrines, all the while waiting patiently for the misattention of a visitor to grab their snacks or drinks. After the tour we headed into Thamel, the throbbing center of Kathmandu to get dinner. Navigating the narrow streets packed full of shops selling knock-off outdoor gear, taxis, visitors, and street vendors hawking local jewelry, we ate at one of my favorite restaurants in Kathmandu before turning in for the evening. We have an early ride to the airport tomorrow morning for our flight into the mountains to the village of Lukla. We will check in tomorrow from the Khumbu! RMI Guide Linden Mallory

On The Map

Our Climbing Team was up early again today with Camp 1 as the goal. It was still a little windy at Base Camp but not as much as yesterday so our climbing Sherpa headed out in front of the group again to set tents at Camp 1. We have a nice spotting scope here at Base Camp that allows me to follow the teams progress for the majority of the climb to Camp 1. It can be a beautiful dance the way you climb in the Khumbu Ice fall or an ugly representation of how not to do it. If I were a judge on Dancing with the Stars our team would be moving into next weeks competition. Dave and Sara were very fluid in there ascent working as the lead team with Linden and Bill right behind. As Expedition Leader Dave Hahn sets the highest standard and expectation possible of his team this making this hazardous endeavor the safest possible. Lots of challenges exist on this push to Camp 1 which we cannot eliminate, but moving with strong technique, knowing the smartest and safest places to take a break and when to push a bit harder and faster will get you to camp in reasonable shape. We want everyone arriving at Camp 1 feeling good and with enough reserve to help your body recover after such a work out. We received a radio call just minutes ago informing us that the climbing team is minutes away from Camp 1. Nice work team! Till next time RMI Guide Mark Tucker

Woo hoo! Today was a great day for our crew. Despite some rough weather and a windy lenticular cloud we were able to put seven of our ten teammates on the summit of Cayambe! Snow conditions on the ascent were perfect despite the high winds and generally squirrelly weather. The ascent took around eight hours from the refugio to the summit with a brief stay on top and was followed by a three hour descent. After driving for a while we then enjoyed a celebratory lunch at a typical Ecuadorian restaurant. After nearly four hours on the road, our weary team arrived at Chilcabamba, the beautiful Ecuadorian farmhouse that will be our home for the next two nights. A great dinner of local trout and fresh vegetables put a terrific finish on a long but satisfying day. That's all for now! We will check in tomorrow from Chilcabamba. Much love to all our friends and family back home in the states! Thanks to Dawn Kim for the photos in this post!

Our day started in the cloud layer we were hoping to escape, but clear weather seemed imminent. An hour later we finally found sunshine. What was really cool today was that Ken was able to rejoin our team at Shira Camp last night after his health improved following a major GI problem.

The Shira Plateau we were ascending was far gentler on our legs and lungs than yesterday's climb. This was nice since we had a long way to go today. Our destination: Barranco Camp. But first we had to get past Lava Tower, 15,200'. The team climbed well on this terrain and by noon we were feasting on the sack lunches prepared by our kitchen staff. The descent into the Barranco Valley proved just as beautiful as I recall. We're hoping this cold mist at camp goes away with the coming evening so we can enjoy this beautiful camp. This might be my favorite.

Goodnight from Barranco Camp. The dinner bell is about to sound.

 

RMI Guide Brent Okita and Team

We came down from the highlands of Karatu.  Down from the rich farmland surrounding the Plantation Lodge and out South and West into drier and hotter terrain.  But on the way we stopped at a great tourist shop and found a few things to remind us of our journey.  We then set out for Tarangire.  We entered the park at about midday and immediately started seeing animals.  We also saw about a thousand giant baobab trees.   Tarangire is an interesting contrast to our last two “parks” because both of those are confined in geographical terms by mountains or water.  There is no sense of confinement at Tarangire.  It is a huge expanse, and one eventually looks out at zebras and elephants and giraffes as far as the eye can see.  We were lucky enough to see two big lions passed out over tree branches.  We saw hundreds of elephants, mostly in family groups with little duffel bag sized babies stumbling along next to their moms.  We saw Eland and water bucks and impala and wildebeest.  We saw dry riverbeds and acacia trees and palms and grasslands.  As the afternoon went on, we got farther and farther away from other visitors and deeper into the wilderness.  In the early evening we pulled into a tent camp with no fences… zebra and giraffes were wandering a few hundred feet from the lodging- but with extremely friendly and helpful staff who made us feel at home.  We sat around an outdoor fire pit and watched the sun go down and the trees sway and the clouds flow… they call it “bush television”.   Then we ate an incredible dinner and shared mountain stories for one last evening. 

We’ll still be looking for animals tomorrow… but at the end of the day the team will be boarding jetliners.  Tonight though, that can all wait.  We’ll sleep to the sounds of wilderness tonight with perhaps a lion’s roar or an elephant’s trumpet to “disturb” us. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

Yesterday we got to the air strip nice and early. We arrived at the Kahiltna Glacier air strip at 7 am after a long trip down from 17,000' Camp. Unfortunately the weather was not conducive to flying until 6:30 pm, but we made it off! The team was excited to get back to Talkeetna and enjoy hot showers and food. Now everyone is working their way back home. It’s been a successful Denali expedition and thanks so much for following along!

RMI Guide JT Schmitt and the Denali team 

"Tashi Dele" from Namche Bazaar! What a lucky team we are! Scheduled to fly yesterday into Lukla, the morning greeted us in Kathmandu with cloudy skies, grounding the little aircrafts that are meant to bring climbers and trekkers alike to the Khumbu. After a long hour of uncertainty, (and with the news that Lukla was also shutting down,) we relied on our trustworthy outfitter personnel at the airport; Sagar and Shangkar pulled some magic and about an hour and a half later, we were boarding... a helicopter! This safer vehicle under such conditions, provided us with awesome views of Everest and Nuptse as we approached Lukla above the clouds and we continued to give high fives in disbelief of what we were experiencing. Soon after we met our Sherpa Nawang and porters at Lukla, we headed for Phakding, where we'd spend our first night at a Sherpa lodge. Continuing today with astonishing views along the lower valleys, we proceeded towards Namche, from where we are writing now as we enjoy a cup of milk tea. The biggest excitement of the day was provided by the many hanging bridges, the last of which is a new addition to the trail since last season and sits some 300 feett above the river! As the mystique of the Buddhist populated land embraced us, we enjoyed the great hiking trails ornamented with centennial Mani stones and prayer flags. Upon arrival, we enjoyed a hardy dinner at "Camp de Base Lodge" and we're now ready for a well earned rest. Tomorrow we'll meander in Namche optimizing our acclimating process with hopes of taking some sunrise pictures over Ama Dablam, weather permitting. Best regards from Nepal, RMI Guide Elías de Andrés Martos

On The Map

Well it's another beautiful day in Basecamp. We're enjoying another rest day before heading back up the mountain. The teams have all joined forces to equip the Lhotse Face with fixed rope for the next series of acclimatization rounds. As a small team we will do our part by bringing gear up to Camp 2. If the weather holds then the 'fixing' will start on the 26th. That will clear the path to the South Col and then teams will begin establishing camps there. The Col is a long way off for us though as we have quite a bit more acclimatization to go before we'll be ready for heading to 8000 meters (26,000 feet). It's all part of the long process of climbing Mount Everest. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

On The Map