Most Popular Entries

First, my condolences to both Green Bay and Seattle. For more uplifting news, the team moved to Camp Two at 18200 feet. As usual, everyone is feeling great. The sun is shining now, however, the clouds are moving in. I wouldn't doubt we get some more snow. Yesterday the mountain had a fresh blanket of snow, which made for beautiful climbing today. For now, we are all getting settled into our new home for the next couple of days. Stay tuned because we are literally a hop, skip and a jump from the summit. If we get the weather we will move to high camp in a few days! RMI Guide JJ Justman & Team

On The Map

There was a wind blowing in the night at high camp. It was just a few miles per hour, but it was steady and we'd been exceedingly lucky in not having any wind for four days up high, so it was a worry. But a needless worry, since by morning it was gone. We ate, we packed and by ten in the morning we were walking downhill with great big packs. Everybody was thinking about getting those big packs down the steep fixed ropes... the last real obstacle to our safety, but we caught those ropes and slopes in perfect condition. They were still in shadow and the tracks of teams that had descended several days earlier were still in perfect condition and useful as stairs. We made it to our old digs at low camp in just a few hours, packed and repacked there and then plodded down the Branscomb Glacier toward Basecamp. Cresting the final hill, we saw two Twin Otter airplanes sitting patiently and waiting to take us away. This was a pleasant surprise as we hadn't really discussed an exit strategy yet with ALE, our logistics company. At Basecamp by four in the afternoon, we shuffled duffels and boarded the planes. Some of us were treated to a magnificent scenic flight as the pilot performed a mountain reconnaissance for future climbs on our way back to Union Glacier. The Twin spiraled around one Matterhorn after another and dove through tight v-shaped passes. A smooth landing at Union got us in just in time for dinner. A wonderful dinner, whilst sitting in chairs, with backs. True luxury. We caught up with fellow climbers from the mountain (who we hadn't seen for days) and with the wonderful staff at ALE. Life is considerably warmer and easier at Union Glacier, and the team is excited about being a step closer to home, but we're all still buzzing over the mountain that we lived on for the last nine days. And climbed. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Woke up to clear blue skies (over the city anyway) psyched to get up into the hills and stretch the legs a bit. I met the gang down in the hotel restaurant and wasn't shocked to find they were also revved up for getting the trip started in earnest. After a quick bite to eat, we linked up with Jaime and jumped in some taxis headed for the Teleferico. This gondola took us up high above the city onto the slopes of Rucu Pichincha, one of two sister peaks on an active volcano. Quito's sprawl actually starts to climb up the flanks of the mountain and this proximity was bad news for the city in the 90's when the volcano belched a huge quantity of ash onto the metropolis. Well, with no signs of imminent eruption the team was able to climb from the top of the gondola at just above 13,000' to the summit at right around 15,400' in about 2.5 hours! Good stuff! Being able to move well on our first foray is a great indicator of the group's overall fitness. The climb was largely hiking on decent trail, but the last several hundred feet involved some really fun 4th class rock climbing. Everyone was feeling the elevation but moving and climbing incredibly well. The whole time we climbed we were followed by an awesome dog who even made the rock moves to the summit, my guess is that he was hoping to snag a few more of Jaime's chicharrones... The team managed a quick and efficient descent, downloaded the gondola, and hopped a van back to the hotel. After hustling around town to shag a few miscellaneous gear items, I took a nice siesta and met up with everyone for another team dinner. Good times. Tomorrow we head out of Quito and up for another training hike before starting our approach on Cotopaxi, more as it develops... RMI Guide Billy Nugent

On The Map

RMI Guide Adam Knoff called on June 10 at 5:50 pm (PST) to report the team was on the summit of Mt. McKinley! They made a great push starting at 9:00 am this morning and were celebrating at the top. The weather was warm and beautiful and it was the best day ever for their team. They were going to head down to 17,000' camp to spend the night. On Saturday they plan to head to 14,000' camp and spend another night. The whole crew made it to the top and were very excited that their second push paid off! Congratulations to the team!

It was such a treat to again be able to enjoy the bustling coastal grandeur of Lima and watching surf for a night before the next long travel leg. As we arrived by bus two nights ago, we were greeted with our first views of the Cordillera Blanca and the towering giant that is Huascaran. We were welcomed back by the always friendly staff at the Andino Club Hotel. A true climbers hotel with some Swiss roots. It was so great to catch up with our local partner and guide Peter Alvarado as well as some of the other support staff with whom we hadn't seen in a couple years. Tired from multiple days of travel via busses and planes we quickly enjoyed dinner and got settled into our rooms for a full nights rest 10,000’.

Acclimatization has been going well thus far here in Huaraz. Not only have we been sleeping at 10,000', but yesterday, we went for a hike a few hours round-trip walk from our hotel to the "Puca Ventana" or "Red Window" which overlooks the city. Today, we went up to 14,700' on another hike to the beautiful turquoise Laguna which sits in front of the 18,000' "Nevado Churup." Early to bed for some rest and last minute gear shuffling before we begin our trek into the the Lllaca Valley where we will set up our basecamp at around 14,500’ for the next few days as we prepare for our first objective of Vallunaraju.

RMI Guide Alan Davis

We got a nice wake up call from the park helicopter flying in cool and calm air. Sun hits the tents around 7:30. Our team was anxiously awaiting coffee & breakfast, which is a good sign that they are acclimating well, good appetites are what the guides want to see. 

Some took naps, showers and did crosswords. The Grajales team here at Plaza Argentina has been incredibly helpful and supportive. The blue skies with scattered clouds continue to dominate the horizon, new snow from earlier in the week is melting and the warm tents make for some excellent downtime. 

We will head out for a walk towards the base of Ibanez in the broad and flat drainage that once held a massive glacier. Tomorrow we’ll move to Camp 1 and begin our 8-10 days up high. Fingers crossed for clear skie when we want to move and snow when we have rest days. High camp has been dry so the possibility of carrying water to 19,600’ for 13 people weighs heavy on the guides….especially their lumbago, pun intended.

Thanks for following along.

RMI Guide Mike King

The Four Day Summit Climb Team led by Win Whittaker and Kel Rossiter climbed to Ingraham Flats this morning (11,200'), but due to snow, high winds, and poor visibility they were unable to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier. The entire team is safely back at Camp Muir and will be starting their descent back to RMI BaseCamp shortly. Congratulations to today's Team!

Dave Hahn calling in from Mount Everest. All is well. We had a pretty nice weather day here. Not terribly cold and pretty clear for most of the day. The whole group is doing fine. Everybody is healthy, everybody had a good first night at 17 and a half thousand feet, and to help with that acclimatization today, was just an easy day. Catching up, resting, drinking water and taking it easy. Neat to be up here at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall, with giant mountains towering all around us. So far we have pretty much got base camp to ourselves. There's not a whole lot of other groups yet. They will be coming in in the next few days or in the next week or so. Things are good here, and we'll let you know what's going on tomorrow. Bye now. RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Update 1:45 pm PST: Our team has safely returned back to high camp. The snow has returned. We are nestled in our tents drinking and eating. We are tired. [Summit phone call transcribed] Hey everyone, this is JJ Justman with the Aconcagua Team. We're happy to announce that we are on the summit of South America's highest peak, Aconcagua! It was an interesting day. It started out cold and windy. It was a hard day to get started but at the end of the day, the sun is shining. The clouds are now starting to build a little bit, but it turned out to be a fairly decent day. Definitely a tough day to get on top of South America's highest speak. Everyone says hello. Big thing now is to head on down. We had a good, safe climb. We're gonna have a safe descent. But again, everyone says hello and thanks again for following along and giving us your best wishes for a safe and successful climb. That's exactly what we had today was a really decent weather day, a safe climb. Thanks again everyone. We'll touch base when we get further down the mountain, but everyone is doing real well. Take care, good-bye for now from the the top of the Western Hemisphere. RMI Guide JJ Justman

On The Map

We had teams summit via three different routes on Mt. Rainier this morning: Dave Hahn and Jason Thompson led teams via the Disappointment Cleaver Route, Pete Van Deventer via the Kautz Glacier Route, and Garrett Stevens on the Emmons Glacier Route. They reported chilly conditions, winds about 15 mph and sunny skies. All teams had left the crater rim by 7:50 a.m. Congratulations to today's teams!