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Sunday, October 10, 2021 - 5:46 pm PT
Greetings from La Malinche! Today the team moved away from the busy streets of Mexico City to the mountains that surround it. We got great views of our future objectives, Ixta and Orizaba on our drive today across the Mexican country side.
Everyone did great hiking up to 13,700ft on La Malinche, a dormant volcano. We had sunny skies today and no wind.
Tonight we are going to feast on some authentic Mexican food and stay in cabanas at 10,000ft. The cabanas we are staying in were once used by the Mexican Olympic team for their training. The stars are out and it is a beautiful night up here.
That’s all for now, tomorrow we move to the base of Ixta.
Posted by: Robby Young, Sean Collon, Steve Gately
Categories: Guide News
Sean Collon: Rock climbing and mountaineering have a large number of common skills, techniques and physical requirements. Approaching rock climbs with heavy packs full of gear builds stamina, and the climbing itself requires total body strength; all of which contributes to success in the big mountains. When guiding, or on personal mountaineering trips, I rely heavily on the rope skills I have developed largely in the vertical world of rock climbing. But more than all of this, rock climbing, in and of itself, is fun. Like any type of climbing, it is physically and mentally demanding. It can be pure enjoyment, often scary and painful, but always tremendously rewarding.
Steve Gately: After a busy Rainier season, trips like this provide us with some welcomed vacation time, while also allowing us a great opportunity for continued training. With back-to-back trips to Aconcagua coming up this winter, keeping my skills sharp is important to me. One aspect that goes consistently overlooked is not only the mental capacity but also the situational awareness needed for such long expeditions. For me, rock climbing is a way to keep my assessment skills sharp. There is some inherent risk in rock climbing, similarly to anytime that we step out into the mountains. This requires you to be constantly assessing situations, risk, hazards, terrain etc. This level of awareness is invaluable. You can be as strong as the best climbers out there, but without that ability to constantly assess your surroundings and problem solve when needed, well, you won't last very long in the mountains. For me, as a guide, this is one of the most important contributions I can bring to my trips and rock climbing provides an excellent way to stay strong, keep my skills sharp, and have a ton of fun while doing it!
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Robby Young is as talented on rock as he is on glaciers and skis. He is spending the winter ski patrolling and teaching several avalanche courses in Utah and planning on a ski trip to Iceland this spring before his Denali expedition. See more of Robby's photography at www.robbyyoungphotography.com.
Sean Collon is an RMI guide, originally from Michigan, spending this winter season in Utah ski instructing at Canyons Resort and training for the AMGA Rock and Ski Instructor Courses. He has climbed rock and alpine routes all around the Pacific Northwest and throughout the country, and guiding with Dave Hahn next summer on Mt. McKinley.
Steve Gately is heading to the southern hemisphere this winter to guide on Aconcagua. Returning to Park City, UT, he will be found skiing, ice climbing and working on another short film about backcountry skiing in Utah's Wasatch Range before heading north to Alaska next summer.
Great clip! I had the honor of attending a fundraiser last night (Golden,CO) for Jeff Lowe’s “Metanoia” movie. One of the items they were auctioning off was a 3 day climb at “The Creek” with Jim Donini! Jim was there and personally offered the trip. As you can imagine, it went for a nice high bid!!
Posted by: Lori Stewart on 12/18/2013 at 7:30 pm
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Joe Hoch, Axel Ryd, Daniel May, Leif Bergstrom, Seth Burns
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
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!
Joe, Dan and Seth - You three were amazing guides, very compassionate and set achievable expectations. You stuck to your words and engaged with everyone and made this a memorable and successful climb. I had Fun and you made feel like i was Doing a regular training hike up Mt Si or Mailbox Peak beyond DC.
Thanks again!
AsvinMandadi
Posted by: Asvin Mandadi on 8/1/2021 at 10:56 am
Nice work!!
Posted by: Andre on 7/12/2021 at 7:23 pm
On The Map
Posted by:
Categories: Mountaineering Fitness & Training
Posted by: Alex Van Steen
Categories: Guide News Carstensz Pyramid Responsible Climbing
| The Moni name for Carstensz is Mbai Ngela. It means "Forbidden Egg." The story is that in years gone by when the mountain was snow covered, it resembled an egg, and the fore-fathers forbade their people from going there because it was the hunting grounds of evil spirits and those spirits always killed those who ventured there. Even today, villagers have a very difficult time understanding the science of hypothermia and often will point to and tell of places along the way where the spirits have killed a poor wayfarer! |
Hi Alex, Glad to see you are still at it and your spine is still in good enough
shape to climb the big ones! Not sure if you remember me, but I was your
chiropractor in Federal Way, and we ran into each other on Rainier in ‘95.
Hope all is well with you and yours. Drop me an e-mail if you have a chance.
Chris
P.S. gourds on the unit are the custom in Papau!
Posted by: Chris Mallory on 7/28/2013 at 7:59 pm
Posted by: Win Whittaker, Avery Parrinello, Matias Francis, Jackson Breen, Erika Birkeland, Axel Ryd
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The American Lung Association (ALA) Climb for Clean Air Teams were on the Mt. Rainier summit early this morning….100% success! RMI Guide Win Whittaker called from 13,500’ on the descent back to Camp Muir.
THANKS, RMI! What an incredible team of guides (special shout to Erika!). Already pondering the next move…:)
Posted by: John on 6/28/2021 at 2:19 pm
Way to go climbers! And such a gorgeous day!
Posted by: Stephanie on 6/26/2021 at 12:14 pm
Posted by: JT Schmitt, Alex Halliday, Augi Fleer, Bo Torrey, Trevor Katz, Tyler Meyers
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
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!
Awesome news! What route was taken? DC or Ingraham Direct?
Posted by: Nick Arbogast on 6/23/2022 at 12:28 pm
Posted by: Brent Okita, Matias Francis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
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!
Congratulations Sarah, Nicole, and Jake on reaching the summit. This is a great accomplishment. We are proud of you! Be safe! Felly, Sam, and Kevin.
Posted by: Sam on 7/5/2022 at 6:33 pm
Congrats David & Stephanie! Epic! You two are beasts. Thankfully no 90mph winds this time. Denali is next. Love ya and happy for your success. Mom & Dad
Posted by: Richard on 7/5/2022 at 5:19 pm
Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Sounds like a pretty perfect start to your adventure! Here’s to tomorrow and more great memories!
Posted by: Constance Roth on 10/10/2021 at 8:35 pm
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