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Posted by: Steve Gately, Avery Parrinello, Ben Ammon, George Hedreen, Lacie Smith, Evan Sather
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Teams August 10 - 13 led by RMI Guides Steve Gately and Avery Parrinello reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Clear skies and warm temps were enjoyed by the climbers. Around 7:30 am the teams started their descent from the crater rim. All teams will return to Camp Muir for a quick break before continuing the remaining 4.5 miles and 4,500' to Paradise. They will conclude thier program with a celebration at Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Congratulations! Well done!
Posted by: Gavin McCraley on 8/13/2022 at 9:23 am
Way to go! Great achievement on a beautiful day!
Posted by: Chuck Denney on 8/13/2022 at 9:23 am
Hello from 14,000ft on Pico de Orizaba! Today we left the comfort of Puebla behind for our final objective. A two hour bumpy 4x4 ride in the back of a pickup truck took us up to our basecamp on Orizaba. The team is feeling well rested for one more climb tonight.
We have clear skies at the moment and the forecast is calling for a clear summit bid tonight. We are looking forward to watching the sunrise from the side of an 18,491ft volcano. For some folks this will be a new altitude record previously broken on Ixta earlier this week.
Wish us luck for a beautiful morning of climbing. We will check in again tomorrow!
Posted by: James Bealer, Luke Wilhelm, David Price
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
We hit the dusty ol' trail today! A gentle breeze at our backs encouraged us towards Aconcagua. The hike to Camp Confluencia was filled with good conversation and lots of laughter. With every step, life is getting simpler and simpler. We are all in such awe of this place.
Till next time,
I hope you’re having the best time, Richie!
Posted by: Kim Ehart on 1/25/2022 at 12:02 pm
Sounds like a great start for a great team. Safe climbing to you all!
Posted by: Noel Imfeld on 1/24/2022 at 8:43 pm
Posted by: Adam Knoff
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche
Elevation: 11,300'
Today proved to be a much less stressful day than yesterday. Waking up to five thousand vertical feet of relief directly out your window, fabulous crisp Himalayan air and the absence of a bajillion people trying to run you over is pure bliss. Combine that with French press coffee, pancakes, eggs and homemade chapati bread and the day is off to a good start.
After breakfast we got our porters loaded up to carry our unneeded gear ahead to our next lodge then hit the trail for our first miles towards Everest Base Camp. What is so unique about this area is this trail is not only a trail but an interstate, superhighway, autobahn, or backwoods country road; it is the single line on which literally everything in this area gets moved through. If you want a beer, it came up on a human’s back. If you want French fries, noodles, toilet paper, clothing, or anything else under the Himalayan sun, it was moved by legs of some kind. No automobiles have ever driven this path, nor will they. It is the way things used to be.
After three delightful hours of walking, we stopped at a small tea house for lunch then polished off the remaining 2 miles to Namche Bazaar, capitol of the Khumbu Region. This last two miles gained us more elevation than the previous four so by the time we rolled into or lodge we were ready for a rest. Despite being over 11,000 feet, the team is feeling good and looking forward to an even more mellow day tomorrow. We are enjoying decent weather in the morning and light rain by the afternoon. A great combo for walking then drinking tea and beer.
Stay tuned for our rest day adventure tale.
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Seth Waterfall, Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest
Elevation: 28,700'
On The Map
Damn!! I can’t sit still in my chair. Go guys, go!
-Larry Seaton
Posted by: Larry Seaton on 5/22/2013 at 5:36 pm
Posted by: Alan Davis, Emma Lyddan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 20,301'
July 17, 2022 Ishinca Valley to Haraz
With a cold frosty morning and a hot cup of coffee we spent our last morning tearing down our Ishinca basecamp to head back to a night of civilization. Much to our chagrin, our bus broke down due to a leak in the air brakes. Thus, we were stranded for multiple hours on windy rough mountain roads. At least the sun was out and a rescue bus on the way. After another duffle shuffle we made it back to the hospitable Andino hotel in Huaraz with just enough daylight to dry out our tents and sleeping bags on our hotel decks. A well-deserved meal with hot showers were in order as our turnaround to head to our next objective is hours away.
July 18, 2022 Huaraz to Copa Base Camp
Another duffle shuffle and we were on our way to the Copa trail head just an hour north of Huaraz. The trail was in great condition, and we were in forests of eucalyptus until we reached about 13,000’ winding up and up until we reached our basecamp for Copa at 15,200’ over laguna Lejlacocha. The mountain was in the clouds for most of the day, but we were able to enjoy occasional glimpses of the glacier in between rain showers even a nice sunset. After a 4600’ gain in elevation, we were ready to eat a quick dinner and crawl into our warm sleeping bags to rest before our move to high camp tomorrow morning.
July 19, 2022 Attempt to Move
We were thwarted on our attempt to move from basecamp to our high camp at 17,200’ due to extremely high winds and cloud cap over the upper mountain this morning. Fortunately, we were able to rest in the sun at basecamp despite nearly losing our cook tent from the high winds ripping through camp. The winds finally subsided in the late afternoon and the Viscachas came out to play as well as the Andean geese. With the mountain looming in its majesty above our little basecamp, we came to a group consensus that we might as well try to go climbing tonight. As long as the weather stays calm, route conditions allow, and our bodies hold up, we’ll give it an honest go…
July 20, 2022 Copa Summit Push
It felt like a summer climb in the cascades, walking out of camp with only a few hours of sleep and anticipation, but we left our camp at 10pm after a cup of coffee to give it a go. 2 hours out of basecamp, past a glacial lake and through boulder fields of old, we wandered up to the bottom of an ice chute. Our entrance to the glacier. We quickly transitioned into boots and crampons and climbed the three pitches of rock and waterfall ice onto the steep snow slope that brought us to what would have been our high camp at 17,200.’ We paused here to add our hard-shells to arm ourselves against the windy night as we gulped down some gummies and chocolate covered espresso beans. As the night progressed so did the wind, sustained at 15-20mph with gusts of 30+ at our faces. Looking up between the occasional sandblasts from the sugary snow, the Milky Way and all its splendor still shone brightly, so we continued. We meandered through the steep snow slopes, crevasses, and seracs of the Copa glacier until finally the last pitch onto the summit plateau. 6,188m (20,301ft) and we arrived in a single push from basecamp. Something none of us thought we would pull off. 14,000’ to over 20,000’ and back in a day seemed out of reach, fortunately the weather was clear and just good enough that pacha mama (Goddess of the Andes) allowed us safe passage into this beautiful and sacred space. With tired bodies and full hearts, we celebrated one last mountain meal back in basecamp and slept hard to prepare for the walk back to civilization the next morning. Thankful for a safe and successful trip to this special Andean paradise.
Posted by: Tatum Whatford, Roland Scott
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 10,781'
Satuday, September 3, 2022 8:00 am PDT
Hey y'all,
On summit of Baker at 7:45.Moderate winds and smoky skies. 100% of team on top.
Tatum, Roland, and Team
Friday September 4, 2022 9:00 pm PDT
Hey y'all,
Yesterday we had perfect weather for our hike to camp without a cloud in the sky. We made camp at 6,100. Today we had a good school day with light winds and smoky skies.
Tatum, Roland, and Team
Posted by: Alex Halliday, Tatum Whatford, Joey Manship, Josh Geiser, George Hedreen, Lily Emerson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guide Tatum Whatford radioed at 7 am that the first rope teams of the Four Day Climb August 22 - 25 were reaching the crater rim. The remaining teams were 10 minutes out. Tatum reported a beautiful morning on the mountain with no wind and a very good route. Once they spend a bit of time on the summit, Tatum along with RMI Guide Alex Halliday will lead their climbers back to Camp Muir where they will have a quick break to re-organize and pack for their remaining descent to Paradise. The teams will conclude their program this afternoon with a celebration at Rainier BaseCamp.
Way to go teams!
Bill - Happy Birthday! Nice way to spend it. Would love to see you in Saratoga again this year (if the climbing schedule permits of course).
Dave
Posted by: David Schmidt on 4/29/2011 at 12:05 pm
HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY!!! how fun! just can hardly wait to read the posts every day! i am so grateful that all is going well. hugs and prayers and best thoughts coming your way! lynn crow
Posted by: Lynn Crow on 4/26/2011 at 9:19 am
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