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The objective for the day was Kahiltna Dome. We woke up early and quickly prepared. An hour's walk took us across the glacier to the first hill, and warm morning sun. Unfortunately several stretches into the climb we encountered challenging conditions and decided to head back to our camp at 9,500 ft. The team broke camp in an impressive hour and a half and then made the 9-mile trip back to basecamp. Throughout the walk back, we saw lenticular clouds forming hanging over peaks in the area. Despite the sunny weather, they let us know that keeping our Gore-tex in the top of our packs was a good idea. RMI Guide Jason Thompson

On The Map

The Four Day Climb with Brent Okita and Henry Coppolillo reached the Summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Brent reported a clear, calm, and beautiful day on top.

The team spent time on the summit signing the summit registry, taking pictures, and celebrating before starting their descent back to Camp Muir.

Congratulations Team!

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons July 7 - 12 team led by RMI Guides Leif Bergstrom, Erika Birkeland, Thomas Skoog and Claire Pennell, reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning around 6 am. The team will descend to Camp Schurman for their final night on the mountain.  They have completed additional training during their days together including rope travel, cramponing, ice axe arrest, crevasse rescue, and expedition camping skills. Tomorrow they will return to the trailhead and make the drive back to Rainier BaseCamp in Ashford.

Nice work team!

The Kautz Seminar June 23 - 28 made their summit attempt today, they climbed the crux of the route and reached 14,000' between Point Success and the true summit before weather turned them around. RMI Guide Tyler Jones reported a thick cloud cap with snow and cold temperatures. The team will descend to camp and continue their training on the mountain for the next few days.

Thursday, May 30, 2013 Tyler and Garrett checking in from RMI Denali Expedition Number 4. Yesterday afternoon found us in the ranger station getting some good details about the route, our responsibilities on the mountain, and what we can expect to see as we climb higher. Interestingly, we also were reminded that this year is the 100-year anniversary of the first ascent. While we have the benefit of fancy new gear and a century of knowledge, the actual climb of Denali remains as challenging as it was in 1913, and our team is ready to tackle that challenge. We landed on the glacier today, and we're currently camped out in Basecamp. The mostly clear skies and warm temperatures make it hard to believe we're almost at the Arctic Circle! Because it's so warm here, we won't be heading out for our first camp until later tonight (more like early in the morning) so that the snow will freeze up and make our walking a little smoother. Everyone is excited to have gotten a smooth start to the trip, and we're hoping the weather continues to hold. We'll check back in tomorrow, keep it dialed in for more! RMI Guides Tyler Jones and Garrett Stevens

On The Map

Welcome to another installment of the Ecuador Volcanoes 2013 blog. After an early rise and a quick breakfast the team checked out of the hotel, loaded up the wagons, and headed north out of Quito for another acclimatization hike. A good bit of driving brought us through the town of Otovalo where we turned off the highway and headed up into the mountains on a cobblestone road. We were climbing towards the crater of Cerro Fuya Fuya; a large, extinct volcano whose crater is filled with an impressive and beautiful lake. We were able to drive into the crater and alongside the like. Starting from the shore, our hike took us up to the summit of the highest point of the surrounding crater. The team moved well and was in great spirits - we all thoroughly enjoyed the spectacular surroundings and wish it didn't have to end so soon. Alas, we found ourselves piling back into the van headed for a local hacienda to spend the night. The rooms and grounds here at Hacienda San Luis are a bit more rustic than the Hotel Mercure in Quito but are still quite charming. I will say the setting and the views out here in the countryside beat Quito by a landslide. The crew is currently hanging out before dinner and hoping for some hot water so we can take a last shower before heading into the big mountains tomorrow afternoon. Until tomorrow, RMI Guide Billy Nugent

On The Map

We had higher hopes for today. But no, we didn't go anywhere. It was stormy with a forecast for more, so we sat at Basecamp. The mountain was partially visible from time to time, but mostly it was socked in with a thick layer of cloud covering all but the bottom of the western face. As the afternoon wore on there was even a little wind right here in Basecamp (which is rare) but mostly it was just calm cool and cloudy. The team rode it out in the tents; reading, writing, talking, eating and sleeping. By evening the sun had broken free of the clouds that were piled up against the mountain and things got downright pleasant for a while. Fingers crossed for more pleasantries tomorrow. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Jason Thompson was forced to turn around this morning due to deteriorating weather conditions. The teams reached a height of 10,500’ before making the decision to turn back. The team is expected to arrive back at Ashford Base Camp by early afternoon for hot coffee and a slide show presentation about RMI’s Alaska Seminar. There is an open invitation for the slide show if you happen to be in town!

The biggest day of the trip was enormous.  We were up at 11 last night and walking uphill from our 15,200 ft camp just after midnight.  Conditions were perfect.  It was cold but dead calm.  And we had most of the moon shining, so headlights were helpful but not essential.  We targeted an ascent lasting about seven hours but as it turned out we were a little faster than that -unintentionally.  We stopped for rest a few times, naturally, but the cold and the traffic on the route (all teams were basically on the same schedule) meant our breaks needed to be darn quick.  The team was up to the task.  Our guides threaded us through the “crowds” and helped us in a million ways, singing to entertain us as we trudged up endless, steep paths through the rock and scree.  It was still dark when we hit the crater rim at Stella Point but a cold wind with a wisp of cloud made us skip the normal rest break there.  We just marched along the rim -the roof of Africa- as the light and colors came up in a magical display.  The entire team hit Uhuru -the summit- at 6:50 AM.  19,341 ft never felt so good.  We loved it… and we loved that the sun was starting to warm things up.  Our descent to high camp was completed at 10 AM and we tried to wrap our heads around the idea that we still had to climb all the way down to 10,000 ft to finish the day.  Tosha and Michael, our world class chefs made it all possible by serving us pizza for brunch and fortifying us for the four hour journey.  Clouds had come in to Barafu Camp and at noon, we were eager to get walking as it had gotten quite cold.  We ducked out of those clouds in the first hour and by the time we reached Mweka Camp it was sunshine and blue sky again.  We’re breathing thick air again and relaxing… and still a little amazed that we reached the highest point in Africa this morning. 

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Today, we feel loved, extra loved, some might say. In honor of Valentine's Day and our loved ones, who let us choose to be climbing Aconcagua rather than be at home, we want to say thank you and we love you. Our climb early this morning was no easy feat. We battled high winds and cold temperatures; so much so that we were covered head to toe in every layer we brought on this trip. Our loved ones would have barely recognized us. We did, however, accomplish our goal of standing on top of the Stone Sentinel. We are back at high camp safely, but also looking forward to some much deserved rest before making our full descent home over the next 5 days. Some people might ask, "Why do you put yourself through such grueling tribulations?" It's because of love; our love for the mountains, our love for the people we get to share these experiences with, and our love for the memories we get to obtain and cherish. But this post is for our loved ones back home. We love you, we miss you, we are safe, and we look forward to seeing you soon when we return home. 

 

RMI Guides Ben Luedtke, Hannah Blum & Team