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Our Four Day Summit Climb Teams led by Tyler Jones & Tyler Reid reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. Tyler Jones radioed in from Columbia Crest reporting beautiful calm weather and very warm temperatures. The teams enjoyed some time on the summit and are now en route to Camp Muir. Congratulations to today's teams!

A big aloha from 11 Camp! We woke to our first clear morning of the trip, with brightly colored lenticular clouds stacked over Mount Forraker. It was cold and clear in our neck of the woods and we traveled well on our way to our cache at 10,000 feet. With slightly lighter loads we dispatched the final hill into camp and moved right in to camp. Now we rest during the heat of the day and recover after a great, but tough day. Tomorrow, if the weather permits we will retrieve our cache and ready ourselves for life higher up. Take care everyone, RMI Guides Jake Beren, Elias de Andres Martos, Thomas Greene and Team

On The Map

Today the team succeeded in getting our cache all the way up to 17,200'. What an achievement! Another early start had us beating the madding crowds up the fixed ropes and allowing us to enjoy our climb on the Buttress with a peaceful solitude. At Washburn's Thumb everyone was climbing well, but we decided to send one team on up to high camp while the rest of us conserved our strength and descended back to camp from 16,600'. After all, we had reached the highest point many of us had ever climbed to and were doing well. Our team of go-getters who went on higher even carried some of our personal caches with them so that all our cache would be together at our next and final camp. I'm still so impressed by how this team pulls together and helps each other out in times like these. It should be noted that seldom do any teams make the effort or have the strength to carry all the way up to 17,200' camp. What we experience while climbing the terrain between the fixed ropes and 17,200' is nothing short of awesome. And for most of us this is the most exciting climbing we have ever done. Steep, exposed and beautiful. What more could we want. Back at camp now everyone is resting well and looking forward to a real rest day. We'll sleep in and dine on smoked salmon, bagels and cream cheese. And maybe after that we'll get into something else. It will be a well deserved day of rest! Until next time... RMI Guides Brent, Leon and Lindsay

On The Map

We had a great hike up here to Lobuche. Everyone's doing well and we're all excited to be here. Moving up to up to Gorak Shep tomorrow. Hope we will be able to send a dispatch out via iPad. So, sign off for now and wishing everybody the best. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

Now our team is safely in Puebla, getting cleaned up and reorganized after a valiant effort on Ixta. As we pulled into our high camp yesterday afternoon our fingers were crossed tightly for a break in the weather. By the time we sat up to fire stoves, a ferocious snow storm pelted the tents and kept us at bay. It came down hard for a few hours, then the wind started. Camp remained in a wet windy cloud and still we waited, hoping for a spell in the storm. It never came. After a mostly sleepless night, the sun finally turned our cloud light and we started packing up. The team handled the sub-ideal conditions like true climbers, realistic that safety trumps all and hunkering down in this case was by far the most prudent choice. Now we rest in Puebla and get ready to head to Orizaba for the next climb, just a little hungrier. RMI Guides Jake Beren & J.J. Justman

After a well deserved snooze in the Grajales Dome at base camp, the team started the day with our typical Grajales breakfast - cheesy bread, eggs, and a new edition, palta! We said our goodbyes to our incredible base camp staff, and began our trek down from the mountain.

Around noon, we bid farewell to Aconcagua proper and entered the Vacas Valley. Guide Jack stopped us for a lunch break at a small spring adjacent to our final river crossing.

Finally, after sixteen miles of undulating hills,  sticker plants, and rocks of all shapes and sizes, we arrived at our final camp of the trip. We were greeted by familiar Grajales staff faces, jugo, and apples! The team rallied for a delicious dinner in the Grajales dome, and is now setting up sleep systems for one last night in the mountains. Bittersweet feelings all around, yet we know this mountain has held so much for us and will be here for those of us yearning to return. 

Climber Anne Bradford 

Today we enjoyed an acclimitization hike on La Malinche. The trail was busy with other hikers and we made our first dog friends of the trip. Along the trail and through the trees we weaved our way up, spotting hummingbirds and rocky peaks surrounding us. 

We did not have the opportunity to summit due to weather and time but we still made it to 13,000 feet! 

After a well earned, delicious meal at our resort, we settle in at 10,000 feet to rest for our Izta adventure tomorrow. 

RMI Guide Abby Westling and team 

May 28 5:15pm PT

Checking in from Nuevos Hortizantes Refugio!

The entire team, 20 of us plus 5 local guides, are in place for a summit attempt on Iliniza Norte. This is an important part of our preparation for Cotopaxi. Today we climbed three hours and 2700 ft under cloudy skies to reach the hut. We'll set out at 6 AM to go toward the 16,818' summit. Hoping for clear skies and grand views. Perhaps we'll get some good exercise.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn and Team

Thursday, June 6, 2013 If our good luck holds out, this is our last night on Denali. It's just a little bitter sweet. This place has been on our thoughts and in our dreams for so long, and has given us an experience that will forever hold a special place in our hearts. But now our thoughts turn to home, family and loved ones. Oh, and perhaps to a great meal and beer too. To get to where we are now, back at our 11,200' camp, we've just descended 6000' feet of steep terrain with heavy loads. Everyone did well getting down the technical part of the Buttress and fixed ropes, then came time to tether the sleds and load up the stuff we cached at 14,200' camp. And now, finally, we're back at 11,200' camp. A hastily set up camp followed by a quick dinner and we're horizontal. The chores have all been done and even the guides are in bed by 10:00pm. And just as well because we'll be up at 1:30am to get on a night time schedule to travel on snow that's hard and frozen, thereby insuring us safe travels over the crevassed glacier of the lower Kahiltna that warm and melt incredibly fast in the Alaskan summer. But the best part of the trip is yet to come. Walking down the Kahiltna while the sun is just below the horizon has given me some of the most beautiful vistas I've ever witnessed, with the rosy tint of dawn hitting these hugely majestic Alaskan peaks all around us. We're hoping to get to the airstrip by mid morning, so with luck we'll be back in Takkeetna tomorrow. A little closer to you, but a world away from the mountain that has been our focus and challenge for the past couple of weeks. We'll miss her, but will carry with us a treasure of fond memories of our life spent here. Your guides, RMI Guides Brent, Logan and Leah

On The Map

RMI Guide Jake Beren called to check in from Mt. Shuksan. They are at high camp enjoying warm temperatures. With this team's later goals of Mt. McKinley, Jake is teaching them all the necessary skills that will help them attain this goal and will finish the week with a summit bid on Mt. Shuksan.