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Today presented our team with it's first real challenge. Early this morning mother nature decide that leaving the weather window wide open was making things a bit to easy for us. She knew we had plans to move to 11,000 feet so early this morning the wind started blowing, the temps dropped and the world resembled the inside of a ping pong ball. For a while we were actually debating staying put. That thought lasted as long as a Luke warm cup of coffee and two hours later we were all heading toward camp 3. Despite the weather this team performed like a well oiled machine. We arrived at 11,000 feet in great style and pounded out a great camp. I am most impressed by everyone's strength and charisma. Talk to you all tomorrow. RMI Guide Adam Knoff

Hello to all from the June 19 Denali expedition. If the saying "make hay while the sun shines" applies to mountaineering, this team could feed a lot of cows. I am thrilled with our team dynamic and progress. Yesterday we ate breakfast, got ready and were blessed with clear conditions at base camp. K2 Aviation worked hard to get us all on the glacier which allowed us to pack up and move out. We arrived at the base of Ski Hill by dinner. Today we woke to perfect weather and the team again showed great enthusiasm to get moving. By 6:45 a.m. we were marching up Ski Hill with full loads. We arrived at 9,800 feet by 11:30 and are now enjoying a steamy afternoon sun bathing. Stay tuned for tomorrow's next episode. This is Adam Knoff signing off.

On The Map

Greetings from Camp Muir. We've had an interesting 24 hours weather wise. Last night we planned on waking up at 1 AM and heading for the summit, but when the alarm went off it was raining hard. We checked every hour from 1 to 6 am but the weather never relented so we called off our summit attempt. We did make the best of the day though. In the morning we trained with our avalanche beacons practicing companion rescue. After lunch we set up a fixed ropes course with a rappel descent. The sun even poked out for a bit. We have one more night and we're still hoping for a shot at the summit but either way we'll be heading back home sometime tomorrow. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

This morning we woke to clear skies and chilly temperatures. After warming our hands with breakfast and hot tea or coffee, we packed up camp and tied into our ropes to leave the basecamp area. The goal for the day was moving to 7,800' camp on the main flow of the Kahiltna Glacier. We enjoyed pleasant temperatures and excellent conditions on the glacier, enabling us to make the trip in just under five hours. As one of the first teams to arrive for the day we were able to move into some pre-dug tent platforms. The peaks surrounding us are shining in the sun and shimmering blue ice is all around. Quite the view from our new home. The weather forecast is great and we are looking forward to our next few days. RMI Guides Eric Frank, Jason Thompson and the AK Seminar team

Mark Tucker here at Everest Base Camp. Wahoo! We have a star and moon lit night staring up at the Khumbu Icefall... It is as beautiful as it gets. We had an extra day we spent there at Gorak Shep. We tackled Kala Patar under some pretty good conditions. Took an extra day so we can really enjoy Base Camp here. We walked into a fantastic set-up as usual. Our [RMI] Operations Manager, Jeff Martin, is amazing. Can't say thanks enough for what he does to put this trip together and the way he slaves here at this altitude, it's just incredible and we just owe a special thank you to Jeff. We are real comfortable and a fantastic meal. Our local cook, Kumar, whipped it out. Showers tomorrow and we'll hopefully go for a nice walk on the end of the glacier, see some Himalayan peaks, and show the team around. Kim and John are doing fantastic... It's been quite a haul to get here... Looking forward for the next phase to continue just the same. We are going to do some good training tomorrow, get all geared up. Work through a few of the bits and pieces that will get us ready for the climb of Island Peak. All's well here and this is no an April Fool's joke so I'm not pulling a fast one on you. We'll be talking to you tomorrow. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

Our team completed a Four-Day climb to the summit of Mt. Rainier via the classic Disappointment Cleaver route. Jack Delaney and Bryan Mazaika reported clear skies above the clouds and a well-established route that made for a smooth ascent.

Climbing Mt. Rainier is more than just a summit—it is reminder of the power of preparation, the beauty of the Cascades, and the camaraderie that comes from shared challenge.

Congratulations to today’s Team!

The good news, there is a TV at Paine Grande that has the ability to give us some creature comforts like the Super Bowl! 

The bad news, it was broken. 

After some much needed rest the team got up early for what can be a long day. From Refugio to Refugio, it's not too long, but this is our first of two side hikes on the trip. Today, was up the French Valley. What can only be described as Alpine Jurassic Park is up there awaiting. Grand vistas, hanging glaciers, dozens of waterfalls pouring down the cliff side. Breathtaking views of Fortaleza, a towering peak to the east. Unfortunately though, today was the rainiest one yet. And so we battled the deluge, and waterfall on top of the trail to get to those views that were then only teased.  We at least got some glimpses and how could we complain. The historically rainy mountains down here had been good to us so far. 

We took what we could get, scarfed down a quick bite to eat and headed back down to where we took the fork up the French Valley and headed off to our second to last Refugio of the trip. Frances Camp. 

We warmed up our hands and bodies with some tea and cards and are now tucked in the sleeping bags we dreamt about in the downpour. 

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

We had an amazing night to climb the highest peak in Mexico, 18,491’. The skies were clear, near full moon and warm air in the first 2 hours out of Piedra Grande Hut. 

By the time we got done meandering through the labyrinth there was a cold breeze and the temps dropped as we neared the toe of the Jamapa Glacier that dominates Pico de Orizaba’s Northside. The Team got their crampons on and up we went for what seemed like forever. The climbing is similar to Rainier’s glaciers. There had been some new snow in the last 10 days and a rain event that was proceeded by a lot of wind and a cold front. The result was a thick ice crust on the lower glacier. The guides had begun talking about turning the climb due to the inability to arrest a fall in these conditions if they persisted in the steeper slopes. Fortunately the snow softened and the team reached the summit around 8:15 am. 

During the descent the clouds came in and we descended to the hut. With wet clouds rolling through camp and temperatures dropping we loaded up and road down the bumpy road to Senior Reyes’ climbing hostel. Beers, showers, beers, food, packing and sleeping in that order gets us to the airport tomorrow afternoon. It’s been a fantastic Mexico Volcanoes trip with a great group of climbers. 

RMI Guides Mike King & Dustin Wittmier

On The Map

RMI Guide Andy Bond and team reached the summit of Glacier Peak in the North Cascades this morning! The team said it was a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky! The team will return to camp tonight and make the hike to the trailhead tomorrow. Congratulations climbers!

Early this morning two members of our Sherpa team left Everest Base Camp en route to Camp 1. The plan was for them to arrive before the climbers and set up tents for the group. The Jet Streams winds were camped above the mountain and word on the Base Camp "street" was that several tents from other teams had been destroyed at Camp 1 due to big winds. Our climbing team headed out of Base Camp but turned back before reaching Camp 1. The climbing Sherpa reached Camp 1 and secured our gear before descending back to Base Camp also. It is even windy here at Base Camp now. The team is feeling well, resting and will try again tomorrow to reach Camp 1. Let's see what happens. Til next time, RMI Guide Mark Tucker