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Before the big mountain bug bit me, I viewed snow as a blanket that came in the winter and lay quietly in place 'til spring's thaw. All that changed when I decided it wise to educate myself about avalanches. Taking part in the introductory Level 1 avalanche education course, I quickly learned how the snowpack, terrain, and triggers (like climbers or cornice falls) can transform that quiet blanket into a raging white dragon. Interested in learning more about this beast, I enrolled in a Level 2 avalanche course a few years later, and came to understand that each layer of snow that falls forms something of geologic record in that season's snowpack: if the snow falls warm, that layer will stay warm for a long time; if hail falls, it can be evident in the snowpack months later. Even more incredibly—similar to plates of geologic sedimentary matter—that seemingly silent white winter blanket is often actively undergoing radical metamorphosis due to vapor and temperature differences in the layers. This February—with the support of the RMI Guide Grant—I participated in a Level 3 course. It's something of a graduate level course in the University of Avalanches: A rigorous curriculum that explores the intricacies of snowpack dynamics and the techniques used to assess how stable the snowpack is. Our course took place in the Wasatch Mountains and it began a few days after one of that area's avalanche forecasters had declared it one of the weirdest snowpacks ever. An excellent classroom had been arranged! A key focus of the course was learning to quickly identify weak layers in the snowpack and then to assess the structure of that instability. One aspect of instability has to do with the kinds of snow crystals in between the layers. A Cliff Notes summary would be: square ones are bad, round ones are good. But how can you tell with something so small? Were they the good guys or the bad guys? First, I had to identify which layer to look at, a process of first poking the snow with my finger to determine layer interfaces, and then prodding it with a fist, four fingers, one finger, a pencil, or a knife to get some grip on the specific hardnesses. Once all that was established, it was time to sort out the good from the bad. Somewhat ironically, amidst all of the grandeur of the Wasatch, I was often peering into the little lens of a snow microscope looking at the edges of myriad little bits of snow to determine their personalities. Ultimately, beyond peering down a microscope, knowing the snow is a very sensory experience, incorporating sight, sound, and touch in order to determine its stability: windslabs are often squeaky like styrofoam, while faceted grains bounce off a gloved hand and make for a poor snowball. Of course, once stability is determined, the sensory experience is the pure enjoyment—how well does it ski? Through careful tracking of the Wasatch area over our week of study, we knew that north aspects were retaining the best snow. So, after our final exam, involving each person doing a complete analysis of the season's snowpack and weaknesses, we gathered together for a final run back into the front-country. We ripped our skins and then laid tracks down a beautiful bowl, each up us kicking up huge roostertails of powder joy—a reward for all of our diligent study. The pleasures of backcountry skiing and the benefits of big mountain climbing with skis are becoming increasingly known in the outdoor world and RMI is right out in front of the trend. Safely partaking of those pleasures and benefits involves really coming to know the snow. While in its essence knowledge of the snow is like knowledge itself, where “The more one knows the more one knows they don't completely understand,” coming away from the Level 3 avalanche course, I feel good in knowing that I'm keeping the learning edge sharp. That sharp edge will aid me whether cramponing up alpine routes on Rainier or schussing down couloirs in the North Cascades.

Eat until you get sleepy, sleep until you get hungry... That's been our program, pretty much, today. Zach took the record for late sleeping (10am) and Dave took the record for most cafe americanos (4 by my count). But Gerry, Brian and I were no slouches in the rest day department either. We've just finished with dinner and while the rest day was great everyone is getting psyched for el Pico de Orizaba. Tomorrow we'll be headed up to high camp and with a bit if luck it'll be a summit for us early Saturday. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

It was another wonderful day here on Kilimanjaro with clear skies to start the day. We hiked for just about six hours all total today starting at 12,200' and then climbed up to 15,300' and then descended back down to 12,800'. Everyone did great and thoroughly enjoyed the climb and many of the team members set new altitude records for themselves. The climb took us up across the Shira Plateau, traversed over to Lava Tower and then underneath the Arrow Glacier. We then descended into a valley that sits at the base of the Great Barranco Wall. Along the way we stopped and admired the unique vegetation that is only found in the high altitude of Africa. We saw many giant lobelias, groundsels and hundreds of Senicio trees that look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. The team is now resting comfortably in camp and are looking forward to climbing the Barranco Wall tomorrow. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

On The Map

Summit! Today’s Mt. Rainier teams led by Seth Waterfall and Geoff Schellens reached the top! The teams were in a heavy cloud cap with light winds. Report from Camp Muir is 10 - 15 mph winds, sporadic rain from the southwest but clearing. Both summit climb teams began their descent by 7:40 a.m. RMI Guide Billy Nugent is starting the Expedition Skills Seminar – Emmons and is at Rainier Basecamp today for their technical training.

Dave and Linden are resting at Camp 2. Kaji and Dawa up to Camp 2 with last loads of equipment to help support the summit push. Dave, Linden, Kaji, Dawa, and Tsering up early tomorrow for the climb from Camp 2 to the South Col. Yubarj will support the effort from Camp 2 and one of the three climbing sherpa are slated to stay at the South Col in support of the Summit team. Bill, Sara and myself made the early morning trek to the Heli pad with a ship headed our way till it ran into clouds. It started in Lukla, then returned to Lukla without Sara and Bill, but still on standby. At these altitudes, and good sized mountains near by, best to fly a bit conservative, you know what I mean. So Bill and Sara along with Lam Babu started hiking to Pheriche after lunch. They kept an eye on the weather and a hand on the phone in case they could fly from either Gorak Shep or Lobuche. Neither option happened and last I heard they were getting near Pheriche. They were enjoying the hike today and have no problem trekking all the way to Lukla in three days. Maybe tomorrow, weather permitting they will fly out of Pheriche enjoying one of the most spectacular flights you can imagine. Base Camp keeps getting less and less tents around but that's what happens around this time of the season. We are all getting very excited about the next couple of days. Forecast is good. Team healthy and strong. Camps in place. A bit of luck, will make good chance at the summit. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

Good evening trusty readers,

Today we left the comforts of Namche to make our way further up valley. We may not have had views yesterday but we more than made up for them today. The team enjoyed their first views of Everest along with Lhotse, Nuptse, and Ama Dablam. It turns out there is a lot of downhill while making our way uphill to basecamp.

The first half of the day we gradually descended towards the valley floor before we crossed a bridge to reascend everything we had lost and then some. We made quick work of the uphill even with the traffic jam of people and animals. After walking through the monastery at Tengboche we descended one more time to our best Teahouse.

Now we may have left Namche, but we sure didn't not leave any comfort. Our rooms had fluffy blankets and heated beds to sooth and relax our bodies. There is plenty of effort given getting to basecamp but so far we have not had give up much comfort. Another delicious dinner and some dessert has us happy and ready for bed. Tomorrow is another day on the trail with more beautiful views.

Goodnight, all,

RMI Guides Hannah Smith, Abby Westling, and Team

Hello everyone, This is JJ Justman and RMI Team # 2 standing on the highest mountain in South America in the western hemisphere of the world. We had a great day climbing it was a very tough day climbing, it was very cold. It's still a little breezy up here on top, but not bad. Everyone is doing well and we're looking forward to walking down hill and back into camp and recovering. So that's it for now from the summit. Everyone is doing great. We will touch base again when we make it back to camp safe and sound. But like I said everyone just did a phenomenal job today. Take care and we'll touch base again soon. This is Team 2 from the summit of Aconcagua out.

On The Map

June 11, 2013 You can't always get what you want... Those lyrics from Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones were the first thing that went through the collective consciousness this morning. The guides woke at 6am, packed sleeping bags in preparation for departure and unzipped the tent - only to see winds whipping the ridge of the West Buttress route above. While camp here at 14,200' remains relatively calm, the higher reaches of the mountain are getting pummeled by ferocious northeast winds, which are sending plumes of spindrift snow off into the stratosphere. With a forecast high temperature of -15F at the 17,000' camp today, and winds gusting well into the 30mph range, the only safe option is to wait here in camp and hope for a less windy day to make our move. That combination of wind and temperature will actually feel like -65F (approximately), which can freeze exposed flesh in one minute. Needless to say, we're not going to venture into that kind environment. So here we sit and wait, hoping for a break in the wind. We were treated to a bodacious air show earlier, when the contract helicopter, an A-Star B-3, came ripping around and right over our tents about three times in a row. Seems like they are doing some sort of filming up here, and we all mugged shamelessly as the ship blasted less than 40 feet above us. Good entertainment, to say the least. While we have had more than one facetious conversation about moving in the wind storm, the group is prepared to wait for the right time and the right weather window. To channel the Stones yet again (and continue the song): If you try sometimes, you might find you get what you need So here's hoping we get what we need! RMI Guides Tyler Jones, Garrett Stevens and the patiently waiting team

On The Map

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

On The Map

Our team had a great day today, putting in a cache at 13,700' at Windy Corner. We returned to a day time schedule, and enjoyed a warm and sunny day today. The weather is beautiful here at the 11,000' camp tonight; there is blue sky above, clouds below, and no wind. We're all in our sleeping bags and looking forward to a good night's rest. If the weather is good tomorrow morning we are planning to move our camp up to 14,200'. We are feeling ready and are looking forward to the challenge of tomorrow. That's it for now...time to get some zzzz... RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map