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The day had its ups and downs. We left Dhole (at 13,250ft) just after breakfast and continued our trip down the magnificent gorge. There were waterfalls everywhere and we enjoyed being back among trees, shrubs, and grasses. After a little more than an hour, we had bottomed out below 12,000 ft and needed to start climbing again. The team are old hands at going uphill in the Himalaya by now, and so we cruised the switchbacks and crushed any and all competition. 

It was delightful to take tea sitting outside where we crested at 13,000 ft. Once again, we were looking directly out at Ama Dablam (to say nothing of Kangtega and Thamserku) just across the valley.  For a time, we were back in the “traffic” of tourists, porters, and yaks on the main route to and from Everest Basecamp, but we ventured into much quieter terrain by taking a turn up toward Khumjung, a beautiful village just over the hill from Namche. We ate lunch there, next to the famed Hillary School, and then walked a final hour in swirling clouds to reach Namche Bazaar once again. 

The gang is happy to be back in the lap of relative luxury. Camp De Base seems like the Ritz to us now. Showers and shopping were in order, along with comfortable beds. 

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

The Expedition Skills Seminar on the Kautz Glacier has been training on the mountain all week in warm temperatures.  This morning was their summit attempt.  Due to a significant amount of icefall on the route, the team had to abort their summit bid.  The team is safely working their way back to camp and are descending from the mountain today.

RMI Guide Casey Grom checked in via satellite phone on Saturday night, September 22 at 10:01 p.m. PT from the summit of Kilimanjaro, The Roof of Africa. Casey was very happy to report that all team members had reached the summit it was a perfect day, sunny and beautiful. "It is a fantastic day up here" Casey said. After spending some time enjoying the views the team will descend to the 10,000' Mweka Camp for their last night on the mountain. Congratulations to Casey Grom and all of the Kilimanjaro September 15th team members!

On The Map

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer led the Four Day Summit Climb July 27 - 30 to the summit of Mt. Rainier today. The Five Day Summit Climb July 26 - 30 led by Solveig Waterfall also topped out this morning. The teams reached the crater rim around 6:30 a.m. They reported clear skies, light wind and chilly temperatures. They were able to enjoy the view from the summit for 1 hour before beginning their descent. The teams will return to Camp Muir and then continue their descent to Paradise later this afternoon. Congratulations to today's teams!

Tuesday, May 30, 2023 - 8:26 am PT

We finally got everything to come together. It was calm and quiet in the morning and we got out of camp early, ahead of everyone else. The Autobahn had filled in and took some work and time to put a track in, across to Denali Pass. It was shady and cold, but the team worked well. At Denali Pass, we stepped into the sun and also a touch of wind - just a light breeze. It kept things cold and we continued to work up. At points we would lose the wind and it would suddenly turn so hot, then back to cold. We played that game to the Football Field, and then up the summit ridge. By midafternoon we were standing on the summit of Denali! The summit was pretty warm and we got some photos before turning against traffic and the rest of the mountain. We retraced our steps to camp and fell into bed, happy to have the first part of the mission accomplished. Now we will set our sights lower on getting to thicker air and the airstrip.

Congrats to all the climbers!

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

Hi RMI family. Our Kilimanjaro team has landed in Tanzania. It is always a long day flying so we have settled into our luxurious hotel. On the agenda is having a great meal, resting and relaxing. Stay tuned for more... RMI Guide JJ Justman

This place just keeps getting better and better. Today we climbed Radio Tower!!! The weather was incredible and the views just fantastic. We climbed this peak via the southside and gained the east ridge to the top. The entire group had the chance to learn a lot and had a great time while climbing our first summit. After a long day we are eating dinner and planning a day of ice climbing and crevasse rescue that we have in front of us. All best, RMI Guide Andres Marin and the Alaska Alpine Seminar

Despite being a rest day, today has flown by for the group. We were able to sleep in a bit, but most were woken at 7:30 to the park helicopter hovering low over camp, picking up barrels in a sling to be flown off the mountain. We took a leisurely breakfast of burritos with fresh veggies, bacon, cheese, and eggs, and then headed to the medical building for our obligatory check-up. Everyone passed with flying colors. Then it was time for gear sorting for our carry to Camp 1 tomorrow. This often takes longer than expected as everyone hemmed and hawed over how much lunch food and other items to bring up. To this point, we have been spoiled with the mules carrying most of our kit. From here up though, anything we bring up, we will carry down. Sorting finished, everyone took a siesta, eating lunch, taking naps, playing cards, and reciting Chuck Norris jokes. Despite a forecast of clear weather for the foreseeable future, the clouds built this afternoon, and as we sit, it is snowing gently at Basecamp. We'll have more news tomorrow when we are back from our carry. Ciao. RMI Guides Mike King, Pete Van Deventer, Leon Davis, and the team

The last push is always the worst. We woke up at midnight to see the sun almost set. The alpenglow on Denali was spectacular. After a quick breakfast we headed down glacier for a pickup at the airstrip, which had moved even further up the southeast fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. We are forced to travel at night on the glacier because we need the natural snow bridges that provide the path over and around the cravasses to be as frozen and firm as possible. We made the trip in a little over five hours with each team member silently cursing their sleds that usually have a mind of their own on what direction to go and how often they tip over. I have been so impressed by how well this group of guys works together and has meshed as a great team. It is so easy to get overly frustrated with the mountain, your sled, and your rope-mates. Our group managed to take out these frustrations with positive humor, which is a huge reason for our success on the mountain! Within an hour of arriving at the snow airstrip, we heard the growl of the planes coming to pick us up. Thank God for modern communication. We used our satellite phone to make sure that the planes were coming for us. The person from K2 Aviation was concerned that since it was socked in with clouds in Talkeetna, the airstrip would be too socked in to land. She was almost as relieved as we were that there was not a cloud in the sky where we were! As soon as we landed in Talkeetna, we tossed or packs and duffles in the hanger and went for a monster breakfast to power us up for the task of sorting through the heavily used gear and clothing that we had been carrying for the past 21 days. After our post climb chores were completed and some napping took place we enjoyed our celebration of a truly great accomplishment. Summitting the mountain aside, we had a highly successful expedition by all the measures of fun, learning, and camaraderie! RMI Guide Mike Haugen

RMI Guide Casey Grom & the Four Day Climb June 19 - 22 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. The weather is beautiful with blue skies and a few broken clouds.  The team was able to spend about an hour on the summit before starting their descent.  The teams left the crater rim around 8:30 am to return to Camp Muir.  After a brief stop to repack and refuel they will continue to descend the remaining 4,500' to Paradise.  We look forward to their return to Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon.

Nice work team!