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Denali Expedition: Cifelli & Team Arrive at Basecamp

July 5, 2023

Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Seth Burns, Daniel May

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 7,300'

Wednesday, July 5, 2023 - 12:55 am PT

The team woke up to snow and wind distorting the shapes of the tents we call home for the last 21 days. We hit snooze and hoped for the best. While I wouldn’t say the best ever came the allure of Roestis, showers, and beds pulled us out of our sleeping bags and into the fray. From 11,000 ft to the base of Ski Hill was a near total whiteout. We persevered through the wind, moisture, and visibility to reach basecamp at about 6pm, but conditions didn’t allow planes to come and land. We’re hopeful that tomorrow we’ll be back in civilization.

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

North Cascades: Davis & Team Check In from Boston Basin

July 10, 2014

Posted by: Leon Davis

Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades

Elevation: 6,200'

Hi, this is Leon calling from Boston Basin Camp. We had a beautiful day getting here and just enjoying an evening after dinner. All is well. Tomorrow we are having a training day and planning to head up and climb Sharkfin Tower. Tomorrow's weather looks great so we are psyched. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow. Bye. RMI Guide Leon Davis

RMI Guide Leon Davis calls in from Boston Basin.

Expedition Skills Seminar - Winter: Team Gathers at Rainier BaseCamp

February 3, 2013

Posted by: Adam Knoff, JJ Justman

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 1,800'

RMI's Expedition Skill Seminar - Winter is a go! And the first thing we are doing is the 1st principal of Leave No Trace...plan and prepare. Adam Knoff and I are busy with the team organizing and packing gear, practicing knots and hitches, and teaching various self rescue techniques all in the comfort of RMI BaseCamp in Ashford. We have a decent forecast and our hope is to make a big push up to Camp Muir tomorrow. Will we summit? How high will we get in the frigid snows of Rainier? Stay tuned to find out. One thing is for sure, we will be having fun while going through advanced training for big mountain climbing. RMI Guide JJ Justman

Ecuador: Nugent & Team Waiting out Weather on Cotopaxi.

June 27, 2012

Posted by: Billy Nugent

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador

Elevation: 16,000'

6/26/2012 4:00 pm Hey Everybody it’s Billy calling to check in from the Jose Ribas Refugio here on Cotopaxi (16,000’ ft). We elected to head up the hut early so we could give ourselves a full night and a little bit better of a chance of getting to the top because the weather has been so poor. So we are going to get up in the middle of the night tonight and hopefully these winds will die down a bit and the lenticular clouds will clear. If the weather is not very good we will attempt a day climb. So we will check in again tomorrow and let you know how things played out. 6/27/2012 7:00 am Hey Gang, it's Billy again. I'm calling to let you know that we got up in the middle of the night last night and it was blowing pretty hard so we decided to wait until the morning to see if we could attempt a day climb. We got up around 6 and we had a big lenticular cloud and pretty steady wind of 40 mph here at the hut. It is blowing a pretty consistent 50 mph just above where we are at right now. We are back into a holding pattern. So tonight will be our last chance to go climbing. We will head out into it unless it is just absolutely insanely awful. So wish us luck. Hopefully the winds will have died down and we will have chance to get out and do some climbing. We will check in again to let you know how things went.

RMI Guide Billy Nugent checking in from Jose Ribas Refugio on Cotopaxi.

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Winding Down and Waiting to Fly

January 20, 2011

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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif

Elevation: 7,200'

Sometimes things work well, efficiently, smooth as silk. And, sometimes, well, one hits a few speed bumps. We're in the speed bump zone. Yesterday, we had high hopes that the weather would clear tomorrow, allowing the Ilyushin - with its new fuel pump - to cross the Drake Passage and drop onto the blue-ice runway to shuttle us all back to Punta. But, weather is indeed a fickle element, and generally prefers to surprise rather than be predictable. To the surprise of some 100 people here now at Union - clients and staff alike - the forecast today is for 4 more days of bad weather, unflyable. So, we're stuck. It snowed all day today, with a low, grey ceiling of cloud, and will most likely do it again tomorrow. Some people have been waiting for a flight out for 2 weeks. ALE is doing everything they can, but the weather is out of even their control. So, we sit. We wait. We play cards, we laugh, we go out for a climb, a ski, something to pass the time and keep our minds off loved ones and family far, far away. It could be worse, much worse, so there are no complaints. We all appreciate you're tuning in these last few weeks and following along with our little adventure. I thought I'd leave you now with one of my favorite quotes from a hero of mine, and a figure of Eddie Bauer history and lore: Dr. Charlie Houston. Leader of the 1953 American expedition to K2, Houston and team had an epic op the peak. The barely survived, and one member, Art Gilkey, sadly perished on the peak. Later, Houston reflected on the climb in his book, "K2: The Savage Mountain", and wrote thus of climbing: "Why climb mountains? The answer cannot be simple. It is compounded of such elements as the great beauty of clear, cold air, of colors beyond the ordinary, of the lure of unknown regions beyond the rim of experience. The pleasure of physical fitness, the pride of conquering a steep and difficult rock, the thrill of danger controlled by skill…How can I phrase what seems to me the most important reason of all? It is the chance to be briefly free of the small concerns of our common lives, to strip off non-essentials, to come down to the core of life itself. On great mountains, all purpose is concentrated on the single job at hand. Yet the summit is but a token of success. And the attempt is worthy in itself. It is for these reasons that we climb. And in climbing, we find something greater than accomplishment." Again, thank you all for following along. Happy adventures, and a deep Namaste from the far south.

Peter Whittaker wraps up the RMI Vinson Expedition

Rest Day in Puebla

December 21, 2009

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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico

Today our crew took a "rest day," exploring Puebla's Sunday Markets and antiques shops. We didn't do too much up and downhill walking, but no doubt still covered a lot of this colorful colonial market. It was a great day to recuperate after Ixta and restage for Pico de Orizaba. Eating well is an important part of recovery and we also explored the great food and famous Mole sauce that hails from this town. Tomorrow we'll head out to Tlachichuca and get ready for the big one.

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Denali Expedition: Cifelli & Team Enjoy Well Earned Rest Day

June 26, 2023

Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Seth Burns, Daniel May

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 14,000'

Sunday, June 25, 2023 - 8:00 pm PT

After three consecutive days of carrying load up the mountain our sore limbs couldn't have been more grateful for the well earned rest day. We started the day late with eggs hash browns and bacon which could easily give local diners a run for their money. Most of the group relaxed in their tents enjoying their digital and analog ways of entertainment as we waited for dinner as we all know rest days come with a feast. We had pasta.

The chess pieces have been moved by us and mother nature and we have reached a stalemate. We have the three musketeers to help us reach the top in style. With Dom leading the wolf pack who would happily fall in the crevasse to save the rest of us; Seth always doing the needful without expecting anything in return and Dan lightening the mood of the group after a hard day with his cheeky one liners. All we need now is the good karma of 10 souls to give us a 72 hour window to summit the mountain. No matter what the future holds, our place will never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

Marching to the summit, One step at a time.

Onwards and Upwards��

RMI Climber Saurabh Sharma

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Mt. Shuksan: Smith & Team Reach Summit via Sulphide Glacier

August 4, 2021

Posted by: Hannah Smith, Henry Coppolillo, Seth Burns

Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades

Elevation: 9,131'

The Mt. Shuksan - Sulphide Glacier August 2 - 5 team reached the summit of Mt. Shuksan today led by RMI Guides Hannah Smith, Henry Coppolillo and Seth Burns.

Hannah reported that the team was having a great day on the mountain with very few climbers on the route and fairly clear skies. The team will return to camp for their final night on the mountain and walk out to the trailhead tomorrow to conclude their programs.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

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Mt. McKinley: Jones & Team Rest at 14,000’

June 9, 2013

Posted by: Tyler Jones

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 14,200'

After yesterday's carry up into the thin air of 16,000', the team is enjoying the sun and leisurely pace of a rest day here in Genet Basin. The morning started when the sun came around the ridge, thawing the tents and prying open our closed eyes from a well-earned night of sleep. We headed over to our posh house and spent the better part of two hours making and eating blueberry pancakes with peanut butter and bacon. Movie quotes bubbled up from the crew like water from a fountain, followed by a discussion of other vacation ideas (mostly tropical). We drank hot coffee and generally continued to bond together, enjoying the calm morning. This afternoon, we're planning to head over to a zone known as "the edge of the world," which lies about 20 minutes southwest of camp. The basin in which we're camped drops precipitously away about 5,000 vertical feet at this location, providing outlandish views of the Kahiltna Glacier, Mt Hunter, Mt Foraker, and the vast Alaskan wilderness. This light acclimatization hike will let us flush the lactic acid we accumulated yesterday, stretch sore legs, and soak up more of the beauty that surrounds us. At day 11 on the mountain, thoughts can easily turn to the little things you miss from the lowlands - trees, birdsong, bacon cheeseburgers. But our team is still focused on the ascent, and remains mentally strong and poised to move higher yet. We'll check back in tomorrow, so don't change that channel! RMI Guides Tyler Jones, Garrett Stevens and the team

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Mt. Rainier: Muir Seminar Starts Their Week at Rainier Basecamp

May 19, 2013

Posted by: Casey Grom, Adam Knoff

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 1,762'

RMI Guides Casey Grom and Adam Knoff are leading our first Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir of the 2013 season. Today they are spending the day at Rainier Basecamp preparing for their next five days on Mt. Rainier. Team introductions, gear organizing, and technical training is on their agenda. While the team was testing out their boots on a hike from Basecamp, they ran into Lou Whittaker, the man who started RMI 44 years ago! Some stories were told and photos were taken, then it was back to training. The team is anxious to head up on the mountain tomorrow!

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Most Popular Entries

Denali Expedition: Cifelli & Team Arrive at Basecamp

North Cascades: Davis & Team Check In from Boston Basin

Expedition Skills Seminar - Winter: Team Gathers at Rainier BaseCamp

Ecuador: Nugent & Team Waiting out Weather on Cotopaxi.

On The Map

Winding Down and Waiting to Fly

Rest Day in Puebla

Denali Expedition: Cifelli & Team Enjoy Well Earned Rest Day

Mt. Shuksan: Smith & Team Reach Summit via Sulphide Glacier

Mt. McKinley: Jones & Team Rest at 14,000’

On The Map

Mt. Rainier: Muir Seminar Starts Their Week at Rainier Basecamp

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