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Posted by: Casey Grom, Hannah Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek
Namaste!
Greetings from Nepal!
The team has finally arrived after some incredibly long flights and a 12hr time change.We spent our first day get acquainted and discussing the necessities to our upcoming adventure.
We then headed out to visit a few famous temples here in Kathmandu. First up was the Swayambhunath, also known as the "Monkey Temple", that overlooks most of Kathmandu. Then we visited the massive Boudhanath Stupa, which is one of the largest in the world. We wrapped up the evening with getting all our gear packed and an amazing meal at a restaurant call “Le Sherpa”.
Today the team left Kathmandu and flew to Lukla, our starting point to the trek. Thankfully it was a rather uneventful flight to one of the world’s most famous airports. After arriving had breakfast then waited at a tea house for all the porters to be chosen and then hit the trail. We hiked for about 3 hours to reach our first camp of the trip in a small village called Phakding. The weather was perfect, and everyone did great on the hike.
Team is doing well and oh so happy to be in the mountains!
RMI Guides Casey, Hannah, and Team
Posted by: Christina Dale, Joe Hoch, Dustin Wittmier, Dominic Cifelli, Erika Birkeland, Seth Burns
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb May 28 - 31th led by RMI Guides Christina Dale and Joe Hoch led their teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. It's a beautiful day on the mountain and Joe reported the route was in good shape and would likely be improving with the warm temperatures and stable weather expected. The teams enjoyed about an hour in the crater and began their descent from the crater rim just before 8 am today. The team will return to Camp Muir and then continue down to Paradise later this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Posted by: Grayson Swingle, Charlie Harrison, Mira Schoeberlein, Dustin Wittmier, Tatum Whatford, Nick Sinapius
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,400'
The Five Day Climb May 26 - 30 led by RMI Guides Grayson Swingle and Dustin Wittmier were turned around by avalanche danger this morning near 11,400'. The team safely returned to Camp Muir they reported blue skies above and a cloud deck below around 7,000'. The teams left from Camp Muir just after 9 am on their descent to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later today.
Posted by: JT Schmitt, Christina Dale, Jess Wedel, Tyler Meyers, Jenna Burkey, Roland Scott
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb June 27 - 30 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning led by RMI Guides JT Schmitt and Christina Dale. Christina reported great route conditions and clear skies. The teams were on their descent at Camp Comfort around 7:30 am making their way back to Camp Muir. The teams will continue their descent to Paradise and then be transferred to Rainier BaseCamp.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Congratulations everyone! You must be so proud of yourself! We can’t wait to have to full story of your adventure! ❤️
Posted by: My-Lien on 6/30/2022 at 12:58 pm
Congratulations, you did it!!!!
Posted by: Carole on 6/30/2022 at 9:08 am
Posted by: Adam Knoff
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche
Elevation: 13,950'
Namaste from the small village of Pheriche.
I know this might come as a surprise to many of you, but we woke up at the same time as the last 5, ate the same food and packed our bags for another meditative day of trekking. The departure was a bit more emotional than the previous mornings because I had to say farewell to the host family I so thoroughly enjoyed seeing after so many years but as we all know, time continues to roll, and we will one day see each other again.
Easing the sadness of leaving Phortse was the crystal blue skies and breathtaking views of the mountains we have been waiting to see. Within 30 minutes of leaving the Phortse Guest House, we were greeted with stunning vistas of three major peaks, one being Ama Dablam, arguably the most iconic peak in all of Nepal. Later in the day Mt. Everest even made a quick showing. Energized from such a powerful landscape we cruised the three hours to Pangboche which is the oldest Sherpa village in the entire region. It is also the location of a very old Monastery where we were lucky enough to arrange a Puja ceremony with the head Lama of the village. This ceremony is a special blessing granting us passage into the mountains with luck and safety. Shortly after the Puja we had a good lunch giving us strength to polish off the remaining distance to camp.
Making better time on the second half of the trail, we could focus on the walk and not take a thousand pictures because the clouds moved in and shut down the views. We rolled into our tea house just in time to have the fire warming the great room and hot tea ready. We were also very happy to see the other RMI group and share stories of the adventures already had and the ones to come. Casey Grom is one of my closest friends, so I feel lucky to have gone from one emotional encounter to the next. Although the visits are brief, they are meaningful, nonetheless.
Now the team is all tucked in and I myself am off to bed, happy to have a rest day tomorrow. Everyone is in good spirits and doing well.
We will reconvene tomorrow at the same time.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff and Team
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Alan Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,200'
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Nikki Champion and Alan Davis walked to Ingraham Flats and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise. The weather on the mountain is warm and calm. Due to hazardous route conditions the team was unable to climb higher on the route. The team has started their descent and will be back at Paradise in the early afternoon.
Congratulations Team!
Hey good jobs to teams up there giving it a shot. I keep seeing teams getting turned around for “hazardous route conditions” on the last few posts. Can anyone let me know the key hazards turning teams around (heading up this week) Please lemme know good job up there!
Posted by: Tyler on 9/3/2022 at 5:32 pm
Posted by: Casey Grom, Alex Halliday, Augi Fleer, Josh Geiser, Mira Schoeberlein, Bo Torrey
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,080'
The Five Day Climb June 24 - 28 was unable to make a summit attempt due to high winds at Camp Muir overnight. RMI Guides Casey Grom and Alex Halliday reported that the wind picked up around 8 pm last night averaging 60 mphs at Camp Muir with gusts over 90 mph. The wind continues to blow this morning which will prevent the teams from ascending above Camp Muir. The Five Days Teams will be descending to Paradise later this morning and returning to Rainier BaseCamp.
Posted by: JM Gorum, Pepper Dee, Cal Smith, Stephen Inman, Jackson Breen, Erika Birkeland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 12,400'
The Five Day Climb June 5 - 9 ascended to Camp Muir on Monday after their inital orientation and Mountaineering School days. Yesterday they enjoyed some additional time working as a rope team and walking in crampons as they traveled above Camp Muir to Ingraham Flats. They were able to explore more of the mountain and see a bit of the route. Today they left Camp Muir hoping to reach the summit. They traveled up to Ingraham Flats and then started to ascend the Disappointment Cleaver. Unfortunately new snow and potential avalanche danger forced them to turn back at around 12,400'. The teams will return to Camp Muir and then continue to Paradise. They will conclude their program in Ashford later this afternoon.
the same thing happened to me in 1969 !!!! That was a long time ago. But over the years, I was successful 4 more times. I will never ever forget those great experiences, so do not give up. Book another climb as soon as possible. bill bussey
Posted by: bill bussey on 8/18/2021 at 11:59 am
Sunday, September 4, 2022 - 12:45 am PT
Team is all safely back at high camp, a little tired but full of smiles.
Everyone did an amazing job climbing and stayed positive even though it was a tough climb. It was a cold night and busier than we would have liked, but the team persevered and we were able to get 9 out of 10 climbers to the summit!
We spent about about 30 minutes on the summit celebrating, taking photos and even made a few phone calls to loved ones back home.
We are headed down the mountain to our final camp in the thick warm air at 10,000 ft, where we’ll have dinner then head off to bed for some well deserved sleep.
Also to note…Buckeye’s won! O..H
RMI Guide Casey Grom and a happy Kilimanjaro summit crew!
Amazing photos! Congrats to all!
Posted by: Brigid Miller on 9/4/2022 at 5:06 pm
Woohoo congratulations team! Well done! To hear the elation and excitement in Karl’s and Derek’s voices from the summit sent shivers down my spine and tears to my eyes as I was so filled with happiness and thanksgiving to God. Cheers to all!!!
Posted by: Kim on 9/4/2022 at 11:55 am
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Taylor Bickford, Emma Lyddan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 17,000'
Tuesday, June 7, 2022 - 11:39 pm PT
Today we had our second birthday of the trip, mine! We celebrated by loading up the heavy packs and making the move to 17,000' Camp. We headed out this morning with clear skies, but low clouds slowly overtook 14,000' Camp and the fixed lines. We remained in and out of the clouds for the entire climb of the West Buttress, with occasional bouts of sunshine and snow. Overall, a beautiful, tough day on the Buttress. Right before dinner time we rolled into 17,000' Camp, where we set up camp and started making water and hots for a late dinner. The next few days of weather look favorable, so I think we'll squeeze the summit in within the next two days. Check back in tomorrow either post summit, or post rest day!
Happy Birthday Nikki! We’re so happy things seem to be going well for the team. Hope Taylor and Emma fixed you dinner last night and let you sleep in a bit:). May the weather gods continue to treat you all well. Go Team! Love, the Wilhelms
Posted by: Tracy on 6/8/2022 at 5:39 pm
Happy Birthday, Nikki! Videos are breathtaking! I can feel the wind and snow from my easy chair! Way to go! Cheers, Jerry, your 3rd level uncle, twice removed!!?
Posted by: Jerry Worden on 6/8/2022 at 4:04 pm
Yeahhhhh Aunt Sam and Matt!!!! We are cheering you on the whole way, and can’t wait to hear your summit story!! Baggin’ peaks and being awesome. ❤️❤️❤️
Posted by: Ellis Bond on 5/31/2021 at 2:54 pm
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