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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

We woke early this morning, had breakfast, and packed up camp, ready to move to 14,200' before the sun had hit our tents. But the winds up high were too strong for my liking. We repitched our tents to seek shelter from the wind and waited for a few hours for the winds to abate. Unfortunately, the winds up high continued and a mean looking lenticular cloud had formed over Windy Corner, where we were headed. By noon we made the decision to stay in camp another day and avoid the risks of getting caught in a windstorm high in the mountains of Alaska. So we wait another day. Such is expedition climbing. The weather forecast looks good for the next few days, and we're confident that tomorrow will be the day to move camp. We'll let you know how it goes. RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

RMI Guides Tyler Reid, Sean Collon and a team of clients spent the last five days learning the art of Ski Mountaineering. The team explored Mount Rainier's incredible winter snowpack and accessible but challenging technical terrain. The team spent the days on the mountain learning and practicing a variety of ski specific technical skills. The trip culminated with an ascent to Camp Muir (10,060') and the team will enjoy an exciting 5,000' ski descent today.

Orizaba summit! After yesterday I didn't know what to think. We had driven through a forest fire on the way to the mountain and the forecast was for a snow storm to move in during our planned summit bid. Things were getting interesting to say the least. But as it turned out our luck was impeccable. The forecasted storm actually did roll in, as a low level drizzle that put down the small fire whilst we climbed to the summit in perfectly clear conditions. We had a long and tough day for sure but everyone gave it their all. It was a great final climb on what's been a fantastic trip. RMI Guides Seth Waterfall & Solveig Waterfall

Good morning, this is Jake Beren and the RMI Ecuador team standing on top of Cayambe. Everybody did super well today. We had a beautiful day to climb and now we are perched pretty high above the clouds surrounded by some pretty large volcanoes. It was just about as good today as I have ever seen out here. It was a real pleasure to be here with such a good team. So, I guess that’s it. I'll be in touch when we get further down. RMI Guide Jake Beren

Hello from Mweka Camp, We did it! We had an absolutely perfect summit day today on Kilimanjaro. Leaving camp at 12:45 am, we made it to Stella Point (the crater rim) by 6:30 am, just in time to watch a very colorful sunrise. At 7:30 am, the entire team was standing on top of Uhuru Peak, the Roof of Africa. The group did an excellent job of climbing the 4,000' from Barafu Camp to the summit. The weather continued to cooperate today and we had clear skies all day long. It is always nice to be rewarded with a grand view from the top. We all congratulated each other for this big accomplishment, and took our summit photos. We descended back to Barafu Camp in time for a late breakfast and to pack our gear up for the hike down to Mweka Camp. It is nice to be down at 10,000' again. We are camped amongst the Giant Heather and the air is thick again. Our last dinner on the mountain started with a champagne toast to the summit of Kilimanjaro, and was followed by a wonderful meal. We walk out the last six miles and end our trek at the Mweka Gate tomorrow. We will be back at the Dik Dik by early afternoon and everybody is looking forward to a hot shower and clean clothes. The Kili Team

We have two rest days in our legs and a good weather window predicted for the next few days so we are going for it! Our plan, with safety at the forefront of our minds, is to move to high camp (17,000') tomorrow and make our summit attempt the following day. This is why we have worked so hard to get to this point. We are physically and mentally ready!

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

Today we carried food, fuel & a few personal items to Camp 2 at 18,000'.  Pardon the typo of elevation yesterday (we had it 17,000'). We had a clear morning to begin the day. Heavy snow began to fall with a light breeze while we were putting together our cache. The team got back to camp and is waiting for a break in the snow. This weather pattern is forecasted until the 9th when strong winds are expected for the 10th & 11th. We rest tomorrow and hope the storm abates.

RMI Guide Mike King

We're on the way to high camp on Kilimanjaro! The sun is out and it's a beautiful day. We'll be on the trail for about three hours today and then we'll begin our final prep for the summit push. If all goes well we should be on top of Kilimanjaro within 24 hours! RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

On The Map