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Hello from 15,500ft on Ixta! The team did an impressive job carrying heavy loads up to our high camp today. Sunny skies and upbeat attitudes made for a great day in the mountains.
Our camp is above the clouds for now with only a light breeze. We have spectacular views of the Volcano Popocatepetl (17,800ft) to our south. Popo is an active volcano that spits out plumes of Ash from time to time which is fun to watch.
Tonight we will eat an early dinner and crawl into bed to get some shut eye before an early start to our summit attempt tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing the massive sprawl of city lights from both Mexico City and Puebla thousands of feet below.
Day 16
After what felt like an eternity, the winds finally calmed and the clouds parted ways as we arrived at Nido de Cóndores – Cólera (High Camp). A challenging day with a very rewarding conclusion. The team quickly made camp in hopes of getting as much sleep as possible before the big day tomorrow. We are tired but prepared.
Till next time,
RMI Guides Luke, David and Team
Richie! Finally, the moment you all have been waiting for! I’m sending you all positive energy for a memorable and fulfilling moment in time that you will always cherish. Looking forward to seeing your group photo at the summit. Peace and love to all of you :)
Posted by: Joey Collazo on 2/6/2022 at 2:22 pm
Joe and Team, rest well and best of luck. Joe remember the plan, God speed, be safe you got this
Daryl
Katie
Posted by: Daryl and Katie on 2/5/2022 at 8:57 pm
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Alex Halliday, Sam Hoffman, Sam Marjerison, Cal Seeley, Brian Walters
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 12,300'
The Four-Day climb led by Pete Van Deventer and Alex Halliday turned around at 12,300’ this morning. The teams were facing 45 mph gusts as a wet cloud cap descended on them. They reported that the weather at Camp Muir was far more favorable with a light breeze to welcome them.
The teams are on their descent back to Basecamp, with warm showers and good food in their sights.
Been following the blog all summer, making my own attempt on 8/29. Curious if that picture is from
Today and where is it on the route?
Bummer about the wind but congrats on getting that high!
Posted by: Matt Neal on 8/11/2022 at 10:53 am
Posted by: Eric Frank, Alex Halliday, Erika Birkeland, Tatum Whatford, George Hedreen, Cal Seeley
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,080
The Five Day Climb June 9 - 13 enjoyed a beautiful sunrise from Ingraham Flats and Camp Muir this morning. Route conditions did not allow the teams to ascend above 11,200' yesterday or today but the team got in some good training and enjoyed two nights at Camp Muir. The teams descended to Paradise arriving around noon today and will conclude their program at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Photos: RMI Guide Eric Frank
We did training ascend on June 11 and went up to 11,000’ around 4 pm. I didn’t see any route conditions that did not allow to go further, I don’t have much experience though. Could you give more details on what route conditions stopped the group?
Posted by: Nick R on 6/15/2022 at 12:55 pm
What were the route conditions that did not allow you to go above 11k? Avalanche? Deep snow? Heading up this weekend and wondering what the current risks are from most recent teams.
Posted by: Kahlie Gleason on 6/13/2022 at 1:58 pm
Posted by: Matias Francis, Henry Coppolillo, Daniel May, Ellison Boord, Nick Sinapius
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,080'
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir September 8 - 13, 2022 enjoyed a great week of training at Camp Muir. RMI Guides Matias Francis and Henry Copolillo led the team with instruction on ice climbing, crevasse rescue, student led glacier navigation, fixed line travel, intro to multi pitch climbing, rappelling, alpine bouldering, nightly talks about altitude and avalanche awareness. The team is doing a bit more training this morning before starting their descent to Paradise later today. They will conclude their program this afternoon at Rainier Base Camp.
Nice work team!
Posted by: Casey Grom, Hannah Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek
Elevation: 11,300'
Hello again everyone.
All is still well here in the Khumbu as the team members made our way back into Namche. It was a nice day on the trail passing by climbers, trekkers, yaks, and porters all bound uphill to Everest Base Camp. We slowly made our way through the maze of traffic and enjoyed one last good view of Everest.
Tomorrow we'll be moving out early on our final leg of the journey back to Lukla. So please keep you fingers crossed we have good weather and can make our flight back to Kathmandu the following morning.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
This is all so Awesome!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 4/2/2022 at 11:06 am
You make a insignificant climber like me inspired to handle any incident on a mountain with a new perspective. You make me proud to be affiliated with RMI - so professional and humanistic- making the good decisions when it counts I am proud to have climbed with a group of professionals like you.
Posted by: Elsie Bemiss on 4/29/2015 at 8:57 pm
Thanks for taking time to give us an update. The base camp trek has been on my bucket list for some time. Now I’m more determined than ever to go once things settle down and the people of Nepal begin to rebuild their lives. They’ll need us more than ever to return and be a part of their economic growth.
Posted by: DK on 4/29/2015 at 8:54 pm
Linden, you are the second Mallory to reach the top of everest; congrats. You’re the top!
Posted by: b lee on 5/22/2011 at 6:24 am
GO LINDEN… i am proud of you cuz- great guiding!!
Be safe :)
Posted by: Shelby Herrod on 5/21/2011 at 1:36 pm
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Mountaineering Fitness & Training
The ability to measure your gains throughout a training program is a great way to stay motivated and identify areas that you want to work on more. In college I raced on the cross-country ski team. On the team, we had several different benchmark sessions throughout our summer and fall training seasons. These sessions helped measure strength, anaerobic threshold, race speed, and endurance. While the demands of nordic ski racing are somewhat different than mountaineering, these categories still apply directly to mountaineering. If you incorporate tests into your training plan early, you’ll have a benchmark to compare each subsequent test to. With a tool to identify your progress, you’ll be amazed at the progress you will make in getting faster, stronger, and fitter!
As food for thought, a couple of the events that we used were:
A Strength Test: The test encompasses three different core exercises that isolate different muscle groups: sit-ups, push-ups, and dips. Starting with sit-ups, do as many complete sit-ups as possible within a 1-minute span, rest for 30 seconds, and then repeat. We did the same with both push-ups and dips, keeping track of the numbers. When repeating the test later in the season, you are able to track your gains in core strength.
3000-meter running test and time trials: Both allowed us to compare times over a consistent course and test aerobic thresholds. The 3000m is long enough (7.5 laps of a standard track) to attain a good idea of how you can push and maintain over an extended distance. Time trials are the same, though distance and mechanism can vary (20 kilometers on a bike or a 45 minute uphill run). Longer courses focus on aerobic capacity (endurance), while shorter events move more towards the aerobic threshold (the ability to process lactic acid and maintain aerobic respiration).
Uphill sprint test: Running uphill as hard as I could pushed me into the anaerobic zone and measured maximum performance. Alpine ski areas, a local uphill grind, or even a long set of stairs are a great place to do this test. Find a section 2-3 minutes long, duck your head, and give it all you have.
Be creative with creating your own benchmark tests! Enter a 5k race periodically, use your local stadium stairs as an anaerobic test, and create a strength test that works for you. The options are pretty limitless, and when you see how much time you’ve dropped on that uphill run, or how many more sit-ups you can do over the period, you’ll be that much more psyched to keep getting after it. As always, be careful, especially at the beginning. Training only works if it’s making you stronger so train smart and stay injury free!
_____
Pete Van Deventer is a senior guide at RMI Expeditions. A former collegiate nordic skier, Pete climbs and guides around the world, from the Andes to Alaska. Pete is leading an expedition on Denali's West Buttress in May. Also an avid skier, Pete has sailed and skied on several occasions through Norway's Lofoten Islands, read about the adventure on the RMI Blog.
Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Dominic Cifelli, JT Schmitt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Guide News
Elevation: 16,000'
RMI Guides JT Schmitt, Dustin Wittmier and Dominic Cifelli are in Nepal on an expedition with the main objective to climb Manaslu without supplemental oxygen. They departed the United States on September 1st and are able to check in from basecamp:
Hello,
We arrived at Manaslu basecamp on September 11th after four days of trekking through remote valleys in Nepal. Most days were spent shrouded in a cloudy veil, but we were treated to the occasional view of rugged glaciers clinging to high mountains. Staying in tea houses, we were immersed in Nepalese and Sherpa cultures through conversation and enjoying traditional foods together.
Six days after arriving in basecamp we are well established at 16000’ and have made our first rotation on the mountain. We spent three days moving to as high as Camp 2 at 21,000’, setting up our tent and caching gear. On that rotation we spent two nights at Camp 1, letting our bodies acclimatize to sleeping at 18900’.
Currently we are on our third rest day, waiting out torrential rains; and the report from higher on the mountain is that there is significant snow accumulation. It is beneficial that Wi-Fi is available in basecamp so we can continue to monitor weather forecasts, waiting for a window to make a second rotation.
We are hopeful we will be able to push through some marginal weather tomorrow to take advantage of a small, upcoming window. Our second rotation will hopefully allow us to reach Camp 4 at 24,300’, to cache some gear and set us up for a summit push.
RMI Guides JT Schmitt, Dustin Wittmier & Dominic Cifelli
Stay strong team! Love you Dom. Uncle artie
Posted by: Art cifelli on 9/21/2022 at 4:30 pm
Hey Dustin!!!
This is So Awesome!! You Are Strong!! You can do this!! After all you pulled my old farmer a$$ to the top of Cotopoxi!!!
All the best for Strength and Stamina Dustin!!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 9/19/2022 at 7:17 am
Love reading the updates. Hope tomorrow is a successful summit day!
Posted by: Katie Allanson on 10/12/2021 at 1:25 pm
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