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Everest Base Camp Trek: Tucker and Team Visit Lama Geshe

March 27, 2012

Posted by: Mark Tucker

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek

Elevation: 13,950'

We woke to a bluebird day and enjoyed a view of Ama Dablam while we ate breakfast. But bluebird often comes at the cost of warmth, so after a breakfast of (oh, you already know what we ate) we bundled up and hit the trail. The first part of the trail lead us through a forest of evergreen and rhododendron and sloped downward to a bridge across the Imja Khola. Once across the bridge the forest gave way to scrub and the trail started up. It was easy to overlook the effort of climbing with stunning peaks vying with chortens and Buddhist memorials for our attention. Mid-morning found us in the village of Pangboche. Our plan was to visit the Lama Geshe for a blessing and we arrived just as he was finishing up his morning clean-up and relaxing in the sun. We spent the next hour with him. He performed the blessing ceremony and we shared a cup of yak butter tea with him. I would gladly experience the ceremony again; but once is enough for yak butter tea. I should have taken Mark's advice. Personal note: I have been accused of being a Buddhist shaman in another life and I swear the Lama Geshe and I had a connection. Leaving the Lama, we wound our way through the village with views of walled fields below us. The trail was punctuated by many memorials for climbers and Sherpa. It was a reminder that the mountains belong to no one and that we are here as their guests. It is with respect and caution that we must undertake this trek and climb. We stopped for lunch in Orso at a small place with a delightful sun room overlooking the valley. It was there that we met a man who was apparently suffering from AMS that was waiting for a helicopter to take him to a lower elevation. He said he had been waiting for about four hours already and his local guide was off trying to sort things out. It was impressive to see Mark assess the situation and take action. He had the guy drinking electrolytes, pressure breathing and forcing food down in no time. Within 20-30 minutes he was sitting up saying how much better he felt and talking to us. The helicopter showed up a couple minutes later which was impressive on a whole other level. In either case, both Kim and I feel lucky to have such a competent team leader. As has been the pattern in the afternoons, the weather rolled in so we beat feet out towards Pheriche. It was a short hike, but included an appropriate amount of up before we rolled down into town. Not long after we arrived the other RMI team rolled in. We're now one big happy RMI family - if only for the night. --John A big shout-out to Ms. Barnes 5th grade class today! We are taking a lot of photos of erosion for you.

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Kilimanjaro: Team Checks in from the Top of the Barranco Wall

September 16, 2011

Posted by: Seth Waterfall

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro

Elevation: 13, 600

Habari! This is the Kili team checking in from the top of the Barranco Wall. We've just ascended the steepest part of our trek. We started this morning at 12,600' and have climbed just over 1,000 vertical feet. The views of the Heim Glaciers on the upper mountain were awesome this morning. The clouds have come in now which will give us pleasant hiking conditions the rest of the way. Tomorrow we will ascend to high camp! RMI Guide Seth Waterfall & Team

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Mt. Rainier: Four Day Climb Teams Turned Back by Winds

August 10, 2023

Posted by: Andy Bond, Jess Wedel, Abby Westling, Josh Geiser, Bailey Servais, Calvin Jiricko

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 11,200'

The Four Day Climb August 7 - 10 led by RMI Guides Andy Bond & Jess Wedel did not reach the summit today due to gusty winds. The teams left Camp Muir on their alpine start but turned around at Ingraham Flats due to wind. The teams returned to Camp Muir and climbed Muir peak to enjoy the sunrise. Photos above are from RMI Guide Calvin Jiricko.

The teams plan to descend from Camp Muir after 9 am today. We expect them to return to Rainier BaseCamp in the early afternoon.

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Ecuador Seminar: Wittmier & Team Return from Chimborazo

January 22, 2023

Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Henry Coppolillo

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador

Well, a summit of Chimborazo was not in the cards this time. In Ecuador, we lack the same resources that are available to us in the United States for weather and avalanche forecasting. The team headed to the mountain physically and mentally prepared, but upon arrival it became apparent that we would not be climbing. Teams from the previous two nights reported deep snow above 5800 meters and the high camp staff gave us their snow report from the past several days. The guides ventured out to look at the structure of the snowpack and we determined that it did not even make sense to go to 5800 meters on a mountain known for avalanching. The team, being prepared for this possibility, was happy to sleep at a new sleeping altitude record for almost everyone and then practice avalanche rescue in the morning.

The morning was a touch lethargic, it's tough waking up at 17,400'. After a few pressure breaths, a handful of Ibuprofen and some pizza and eggs we were all feeling a touch better. Henry led the team in avalanche transceiver searches while we were also treated to views of the upper mountain. It was tough to look at the false summit on such a calm, sunny day and not be able to climb, but our decisions were confirmed when we looked up and saw some evidence of avalanche activity on the route this morning.

Despite our lack of a summit on Chimborazo, the team is happy, keeping in mind that we did summit two big mountains on this trip already (Cayambe and Antisana). It has been a great two weeks of hiking, climbing and learning expedition-related skills. We will have a celebration dinner tonight in Riobamba and be headed back to Quito tomorrow. If you have a loved one or friend on this trip, everyone has been challenged to learn ten more words in Spanish, so make sure to give them a pop quiz when you pick them up from the airport! This is as much a climbing trip as it is a cultural experience.

Thanks for following along.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

Mt. Rainier: Teams Brave the Cold to Come Out on Top

June 17, 2023

Posted by: Mike King, Mike Haugen, George Hedreen, Charlie Harrison, Cal Seeley, Bailey Servais

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 14,410'

RMI guides Mike King and Mike Haugen called from the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. They reported some chilly temperatures, moderate winds and beautiful weather for climbing this morning. Despite the cold temperatures, the team enjoyed a great climbing route. Congratulations climbers!

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Ecuador Seminar: Wittmier and Team Practice Technical Skills

January 18, 2022

Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Avery Parrinello

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador

Following a leisurely breakfast in the courtyard at Guachala, we made our way south towards Cotopaxi. We are staying in the Tambopaxi Lodge who's playground served as an excellent location for learning crevasse rescue techniques against the backdrop of multiple volcanoes: Sincholagua, Ruminahui and most importantly, Cotopaxi. It was an excellent day to give the body some rest while also learning some mountain skills. Seeing the mountain got us all psyched for the next couple of days, especially because you can clearly see the hut and the route from Tambopaxi. One member of the team even snapped a great night photo of Cotopaxi, that's not a stock photo!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier & Team

Ama Dablam: Elias & Team Return to Base Camp, Unable to Summit

November 17, 2018

Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ama Dablam

Elevation: 14,993'

Hello from Ama Dablam Base Camp! Are you unsuccessful when you don't reach the summit of one of your objectives? Well, I think that if you have carefully prepared for it and put yourself in the best position for it, despite little odds in our favor according to the forecast, and you make the decision to head down because the one thing you can't control is totally out of control, then yes, you're successful. It was windy when we arrived at our High Camp, it was windy throughout our short stay, and it was like a freight train when it was time to go. There's no way we could fight on the steep, cold and dangerous slopes of Ama's southeast ridge what "Eolus" had in store for us. So the only thing we could do, knowing that we had waited until the very last day, was to be smart and head down. Undefeated, because in the mountains what counts is telling the story. But sure disappointed to not to have been able to climb just a bit more. But oh well, we're now back to the safety of our lodge at Base Camp, and we'll stay our descent tomorrow, eager for thicker air and why not, to start closing up our Himalayan adventure. RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos

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Mt. Rainier: August 11th Summit!

August 11, 2013

Posted by: Mike Walter

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 14,410'

The Four Day Summit Climb and the Five Day Summit Climb reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The guides reported moderate winds and cloudy conditions. The teams were departing the summit around 7:30 a.m. and are returning to Camp Muir to refuel before continuing downhill to Paradise. We’ll see them back in Ashford this afternoon. Congratulations to today's teams!

Elbrus Northside Team waits at Camp 1 for weather

September 3, 2010

Posted by:

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside

Elevation: 12,300'

The winds picked up again after dinner yesterday and continued to blow all night, not letting up until the early hours of the morning today. When we emerged from the tents they had died to a whisper around camp but they continued to rage higher up on the mountain. We could see gusts of wind carrying giant waves of spindrifted snow through the rocks at Camp 2 from down below as we ate breakfast. With the weather still poor up high we opted not to push up to Camp 2 today to cache gear, choosing instead to climb part of the way, focusing on reviewing climbing skills and acclimatizing a bit. Thankfully the winds seemed to stay above 14,000' today, making for great climbing conditions below. We left camp and set out onto the glacier, gradually ascending the lower slopes to a bench at ~12,600'. After so many days of travel and approach on the lower mountain, it felt great to at last be using our climbing gear on Elbrus. Above the bench the pitch steepens a bit and a sizable system of crevasses cuts across the slope, forcing us to carefully pick our way amongst them to gain the smoother slopes above. At ~13,500' we reached a false plateau where the winds from above began to hit us. With our training and acclimatization accomplished for the day, we headed back down our route to camp. Returning to camp by midafternoon, we spent a leisurely couple of hours lounging amid the rocks soaking in the sun. After 36 hours of intense winds and precipitation it felt nice to sit outside in short sleeves. We have just wrapped up dinner and are finishing sorting our gear for tomorrow. If our improving weather pattern holds we will move to Camp 2 tomorrow and be in position for a summit bid.

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Aconcagua: RMI Team Moves to Camp 3

January 21, 2011

Posted by:

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 19,600'

This is Gabi and the RMI Aconcagua expedition checking in from Camp 3 (19600'). This morning we started at Camp 2 with an early breakfast. We started our ascent at 10:20 am and after 3 hours and 20 minutes of hard work we arrived at our high camp. The weather this morning was awesome, no wind and warm temperatures (well, as warm as it could get at 18,000'). During the ascent clouds moved in and a cold breeze cooled us. At our arrival to Camp 3 a little bit of weather added some spice to our day. It snowed half a inch, but for a good 15 minutes it looked like it was going to keep snowing all night. Current conditions are better. It is still cloudy, but it has stopped snowing and it looks like we are going to have a clear night. Our plan is to wake up early tomorrow morning (sometime between 3 and 5 am) and we will check the weather. If the weather is as the forecast is calling, we'll have breakfast and start our summit attempt !

Everybody is very excited for tomorrow and the stokemeter is very high (8) at Camp 3! We'll be in touch tomorrow. Cheers, RMI Guide Gabriel Barral and the Aconcagua expedition

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Most Popular Entries

Everest Base Camp Trek: Tucker and Team Visit Lama Geshe

On The Map

Kilimanjaro: Team Checks in from the Top of the Barranco Wall

On The Map

Mt. Rainier: Four Day Climb Teams Turned Back by Winds

Ecuador Seminar: Wittmier & Team Return from Chimborazo

Mt. Rainier: Teams Brave the Cold to Come Out on Top

Ecuador Seminar: Wittmier and Team Practice Technical Skills

Ama Dablam: Elias & Team Return to Base Camp, Unable to Summit

Mt. Rainier: August 11th Summit!

Elbrus Northside Team waits at Camp 1 for weather

Aconcagua: RMI Team Moves to Camp 3

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