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The Expedition Skills Seminar – Muir led by Casey Grom and Adam Knoff made the prudent decision to remain at Camp Muir last night. A foot of new snow fell at Camp Muir overnight in addition to 10 inches yesterday. Casey also reports the temperature is hovering around 10 degrees which is keeping everyone busy staying warm. The Seminar is planning to head up to the Ingraham Flats this morning. The team wraps up their training and time at Muir tomorrow.

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.

Jambo! This is the Kilimanjaro team checking in from 9,800' on Kilimanjaro. Today we completed our first day on the mountain and arrived at the Machame Camp in good style. It was a great day for walking with overcast skies which kept the temperature very comfortable. The trail was a bit muddy for a bit today but our camp is nice and dry. We're hanging out in our kitchen tent now having popcorn and tea. After that we'll have dinner and then it will be time to crawl into our tents for our first night on the mountain. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

RMI Guides Casey Grom & Leif Bergstrom led their Five Day Climb teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Leif reported great conditions, not too hot and not too windy.  The teams will return to Camp Muir to rest and relax this afternoon.  They will spend their second night on the mountain tonight, and descend the remaining 4,500' to Paradise tomorrow.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

Saturday, August 23, 2024 - 6:52 pm PT

“Good morning my friend!” Elbin says every morning as he wakes us up with hot tea and coffee at our tents with a big huge smile. Today was no different. We woke up looking into a valley of moving clouds, packed all our stuff, had a quick breakfast and hit the trail. One last big day was ahead.

We stopped at archeological sites, went up and down two more passes and finally arrived at Winay Wayna - our final camp before Machu Picchu. We were on the trail for over eight hours walking the 600-year old stone path.  Tonight, we celebrated all the people that helped make this trek possible - our porters, cooks, and local guides! Complete with a freshly baked cake. We can’t say enough about how incredible they have made this experience.

Tomorrow we have just two hours to walk until we arrive at Machu Picchu and we are all looking forward to it.

Woo hoo!!

RMI Guide Jess and the team

Monday, May 24, 2021 - 11:13 pm PT

We made it in to base camp last night. We landed at our new home in the Alaska range around 7pm and got to work building camp. It took us about two hours to get settled in, and then we had a late dinner consisting of Talkeetna’s finest Mountain High Pizza Pie. It’s hardly ever a bad call to fly on to the glacier with four large pizzas.

This morning we had a leisurely start, waiting until the sun hit our tents around 8am. We drank some coffee and ate some toasty bagels, and then we got to work. Today was a skills focused day. We worked on footwork, rope travel, knots, and anchors. We didn’t venture too far out of camp, but we did do a little tour of the new neighborhood. Along the way we scoped out some crevasses that should work nicely for practicing rescue in the next few days.

We’re turning in now, tomorrow we’re going to get up a little earlier and put our newly practiced skills to use on a smaller climb close to camp. We’ll let you know how it goes.

RMI Guides JM Gorum

It just never let up today. Huge herds of zebras, wildebeest, gazelle and other critters surrounded us throughout the day. Ostriches, hyenas, jackals, hippos, birds and other animals also showed up. However, the lions are what really took the cake. Fifteen individual lions graced our day, some just a few feet away from our rigs. It was just crazy how many we saw. We saw some big males following a female in heat. The biggest male actually walked around and in front of our Landcruiser in slow pursuit of the girl of his dreams. We observed an older female, said to be the best hunter in the pack, sizing up her opportunities for a kill as the herd of hundreds nervously milled around her in the 'safe zone' just out of reach. We also witnessed three females as they cautiously sized up their opportunity for a kill while following a small group of unaware zebras. And on the road towards the park entrance, when we thought the day done, two exciting events took place. First, we encountered a pride of four cats walking down the road. Although we made them a little nervous, they didn't bolt until our excitement got the best of us and they slipped away into the thick brush off the side of the road. The last lion actually hung in the brush just 6-7' away watching us watch her. And to top off the day was a call to action when our group came upon a safari vehicle that had rolled off the side of the road and down a steep, 45-55 degree embankment. Caught with just my flip flops on I quickly donned my shoes, but not before our drivers and four of the team hopped out to the rescue. Normally I'd keep well intended but untrained folks away from a scene like this until we came up with a plan, but three of the four were medical professionals and one just darned strong. By the time I scrambled down the brushy, vine covered slope the 'walking wounded' were climbing up to safety and the first people on scene had extricated a young boy trapped under the vehicle and were starting the process of hauling him up this very steep slope. Following that difficult extrication a quick assessment found no life threatening injuries and we transported him in another tour vehicle to a hospital 20 kilometers away. Huge kudos go out to Shavran, Liz, Craig and Joe for their selfless and heroic actions. A doctor, nurse, ski patroller and hard man, respectively. This kid was in good hands. Even our driver was instrumental in lifting the vehicle enough to pull the young boy from beneath the wreckage. Shavran and Liz didn't think twice about jumping into the Landcruiser with our patient to maintain C- spine precautions and monitor his airway during transport. I later found out that both Shavran and Liz did this in their sandals and flip flops. Wow! Good news, we think the kid is going to be OK, thanks to the efforts of some incredible individuals. (By the way, in general, let the medical and rescue professionals handle this kind of situation. If you want to be prepared to help in an emergency, get training). Now, on to our last full day of our safari. Tarangire National Park. What are we going to encounter next ... RMI Guide Brent Okita

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!

Back in Internet range today. We spent the last two days in Lobuche at a little over 16,000 ft. We had an easy day yesterday, taking a short but scenic walk along the moraine of the Khumbu Glacier and touring the Italian research pyramid a few minutes from Lobuche. Today we are moving to Everest Base Camp. It is a stunningly beautiful day as we sit at our halfway point in Gorak Shep. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Lulled to sleep by rock and icefall, what a night at Everest Base Camp. A few comments that it was the best dinner since arriving in country. Short lived this time, we are already back in Pheriche gearing up for Island Peak. Should be deep sleep tonight here in the thick air of 14,000 ft. We'll bid farewell to the Trek team in the morning. As usual a whirlwind tour for the group. Lots of firsts for all. Once again the mountains provided fantastic views with perfect weather. Times like these are what bring you back to challenge the physical and mental. In time the photos will overshadow the tough conditions you are subjected to on trips like these. Maybe Hawaii next time, but I bet down the road another adventure of this type just can't be avoided. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map