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RMI Guides Christina Dale and Jess Matthews and led the Four Day Climb to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Jess reported steady 25 - 30 mph winds from the summit. The teams are making their descent to Camp Muir where they will rest, refuel, and repack before continuing their descent to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp in Ashford this afternoon. Nice work teams!

The Five Day Climb May 19 - 23 led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and James Bealer reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning around 8 am.  The team reported windy conditions and don't intend to stay too long on the summit.  This is the first RMI Team this season to reach the summit.  The group will return to Camp Muir for a short break and to re-pack their gear.  Then they will continue their descent to Paradise and return to Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

RMI Guides JT Schmitt and Alex Halliday led their Four Day Climb June 20 - 23 teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier today.  JT reported good conditions on the ascent with occasional wind gusts.  The teams reached the summit around 8 am.  As of noon, all climbers had returned to Camp Muir from the summit.  The teams will pack up and continue their descent to Paradise and return to Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

On an expedition someone once announced to our group, “It’s not the altitude that’s hard, it’s the lassitude”! I’ve also heard it called Lazy-tude and I’ll admit to suffering from this once in a while ... even at sea-level and especially after holidays!    At high altitude, lassitude is a real factor. The work is hard and on a rest-day it’s easy to dig down a little into a minus-20 sleeping bag and remain as motionless as possible, conserving energy and restoring ourselves. And yet, after a while it’s easy to get into a funk, start feeling restless and then begin over-thinking the rest of the climb. At least this is my experience and there’s only one solution; find socks, boots, gloves, hats and any other required gear before suiting up and going for a walk. It’s great because it activates the body, stretches the legs and boosts your overall energy.    The same is true for training. It’s easy to sit inside in during the Holidays and, in much of the country, look outside at the rain or snow. At that moment in time the positive feelings of imagining climbing, being out in beautiful surroundings and experiencing new heights, can all seem distant.    At times like this I find that the simplest workout is all that is needed to feel great and most importantly, to move in the direction of our training goals. In my case, I find that mood follows action - rarely the other way around. So, I have a few ‘go-to’ work outs that are so simple or enjoyable that it only takes me a small effort to start: 1. 10-minute walk, 20-minute run, 10-minute walk.  2. 30 minutes of stairs, elliptical or stair-master machine. 3. The Daily Dozen with a 100-yard run between each exercise.  If you have eaten a few small feasts over the Holidays, it’s raining outside and the couch looks awfully inviting but you know you want to do something because the expedition date is coming up, just do a short and simple workout! Enjoy the feeling of activity, maybe even leave your watch or heart rate monitor behind and listen to some good music as you go.    It doesn’t take much and you will feel great!    It also doesn’t hurt to have a reminder what spectacular views await on the mountain!  - John Colver John Colver is a longtime climber, former mountain guide, and certified personal trainer with the American Council of Exercise. Colver introduced outdoor fitness classes to athletic clubs throughout the greater Puget Sound region before creating his adventX brand. Currently, adventX leads training programs in Seattle and Colver presents clinics on outdoor fitness at companies such as Microsoft, Boeing, the American Lung Association, and REI. Colver lives in Seattle. Questions? Comments? Leave a comment to share your thoughts with John and other readers!

The team is excited for tonight! Summit time. We had an early morning training session to prep us for tomorrow by reviewing a few climbing techniques with our crampons and ice axe. Dasha has done a great job of keep us healthy and satisfied with plenty of good old home cooked Russian food, which includes borsch and plenty of soups and salads. This afternoon the team had a through discussion about tonight's upcoming climb and everyone is packed up and ready. The game plan is to be up at 1am and after a quick breakfast hop on the snowcat to give us a bump a little further up the mountain. This will shorten our climb a little and increase our chance of reaching the highest point in Europe. The weather continues to be erratic, the forecast looks good for tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed for us! RMI Guide Casey Grom and team

On The Map

The Five Day Climb led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Matias Francis reached the summit of Mt. Rainier earlier this morning! The team reported a nice day for this 4th of July holiday. The team on their descent and we expect them back in Ashford this afternoon.

Congratulations climbers!

Our last night at Mt. Everest Base Camp was made more pleasant by a visit from Meagan and Rachel, the two doctors from the Himalayan Rescue Association. We'd lured them to our dining tent with high praise for Kumar's farewell pizza dinner. The two were homeless, as the HRA clinic tent was wiped out by the Avalanche air blast. We are in absolute awe of the performance of these two in managing the medical response to the Base Camp tragedy. They were hurt themselves in the blast and lost virtually all of their personal property, but went on to care for at least 80 patients over the following day -many with critical injuries. We all enjoyed the pizza, but felt terrible that the two docs were still prone to violent coughing from having taken in the super cooled, ice laden air of the powder cloud that accompanied the air blast. Kumar kept his final night tradition by baking cakes (with and without gluten) for the team. Alas, these didn't say "congratulations Everest summiteers" but nobody complained. This morning, we enjoyed a little sunshine for a change, which made it a little easier to put final touches on our packing. We were on the trail by 10 AM. A very different trail than we'd become accustomed to... No Trekkers, no porters, no traffic. Of course, the reason for the empty trails is sobering, but the effect is wonderful. Nobody has put the dire national situation out of their minds, but the value of a day spent walking peaceful trails through beautiful mountains can't be overestimated. We stopped in both Gorak Shep and Lobuche without seeing too much damage from the quake, but things in Pheriche are obviously worse. Many of what had seemed to be the more substantial structures in town are badly damaged. None-the-less, we've found comfortable and safe lodging. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Coming off of a big climb or expedition often leads to the question, “What’s next?” The first priority is to take time to rest and recover. Any adventure in the mountains is a big physical and mental effort, and recovery time is valuable. Some light activity to stretch the legs can be a good idea but it's not always beneficial to jump back into intense workouts right away. In order to come back stronger, you need to recover first. Recovery time not only helps you physically recuperate but also gives you a mental break. When you do return to your training, you can do so with renewed motivation and excitement.    After a few good nights of sleep, take a moment to reflect on your past training and the climb itself: what worked in your training? What didn’t? What were you surprised about in the climb and how can you prepare better in the future? Take the extra minute to dig into this a bit, identify some key takeaways, and note these down.    For example, a few weeks after coming home with my tail between my legs from my first expedition to a remote peak in the Andes, I realized that while I felt aerobically strong throughout the climb, it took only a slight increase in pace or pack weight to send my exertion level through the roof. Additionally, the loose rocks of the lower mountain, fields of penitentes, and hard ice of the route were challenging to move across in a fluid manner, constantly testing my balance and ultimately wearing me out after a long day. In my training following the expedition, I focused on incorporating more interval training to increase my anaerobic threshold and to give me a larger aerobic capacity. I also incorporated more balance exercises into my gym routines, aimed at improving my ability to climb comfortably and efficiently despite the uncertainties of the terrain. On my next expedition, I was amazed at how much I gained by focusing on my weaknesses in my training.    With these area of focus noted, consider what you want to do next. If you’re eager to get back in the mountains, where do you want to go and what are the appropriate steps to get you there? Maybe it's to climb Mt. Rainier by way of another route? Are your sights set on 18,000’ or 19,000’ peaks like those in Mexico or Ecuador? Perhaps it’s the goal of climbing one of the Seven Summits like Aconcagua or McKinley?    After identifying your goal, do a little digging into what that climb looks like and what physical efforts are needed. What are the defining characteristics of the climb in terms of altitude, length, weight of pack, and technical skills? What kind of training do you need to focus on in order to tackle those challenges? Multi-week expeditions like Aconcagua or Denali require different preparation than a climb of several days like the North Cascades, Mexico, or Ecuador.     Take a look at your takeaways from your last climb and compare them with the challenges of your next climb. If it's a long expedition with heavy packs, maybe you need to build your aerobic strength and endurance to handle the extended exertion of the climb. If it's a shorter trip, perhaps it's improving your overall aerobic capacity while also increasing your strength and flexibility to meet the needs of the climb.    Completing these mental exercises helps bring your training path into focus. Continue to be strategic in your training, and it's not a bad idea to build benchmarks along the way to keep track of your progress.    Most of all, keep having fun. As climbers, it’s not just the summit day that generates the passion and excitement for us (although that’s often the most recognizable aspect to others), it’s the entire process of dreaming of a climb, working hard to plan and prepare for it, realizing it as you set foot on the mountain, and relishing in the memories afterwards.    ________ Linden Mallory is a senior guide at RMI Expeditions. Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!

RMI Four Day Climb teams reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 6 am PT today.  The climb took slightly longer than it has been due to many climbers on the route this morning. RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer & Joe Hoch reported great conditions with clear skies, light breeze and nice cool temperatures.  The teams were able to spend about an hour on the summit enjoying the views and taking photos.  They began their descent from the crater rim shortly after 7 am.  Once back at Camp Muir the teams will take a short break and repack their gear for the final 4.5 mile hike down to Paradise.

Congratulations to today's climbers!