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It was another beautiful day here in the Khumbu Valley, and finally we had our first views of Mt. Everest. Just above Namche you can see Everest far off in the distance, but still about 20-30 miles away. We hiked for about 5 hours today and made a quick stop at the Tengboche Monastery where we sat in on another prayer session. Everyone is doing well Keeping it short tonight as there's not much wifi or cell service. Everything is running off of a generator that's about to a shut off. Apparently a big snow storm this winter knocked out the hydroelectric power source. We'll send more tomorrow. RMI Guide Casey Grom

On The Map

Today is a tough one to put into words. Amazingly bitter sweet is the only honest way I can aptly describe the team's fruit basket of emotions after the outcome of today's Antisana summit attempt. When the alarm again went off at 10:30 pm, this time in a grassy pasture three miles removed from the base of the mountain, I couldn't help but cringe. It was only when I flopped out of the tent that my spirits lifted. It was perfect out! A full moon illuminated Ecuador's most elusive glaciated summit and from what we saw the day before, things looked promising. To lay it out, our climbing team was comprised of four team members and three guides. Two of our team members went back to the states early due to illness and three more decided to forego the climb to focus more on the skills side of this program. Don't forget, we have the highest mountain yet to come. We ate a small breakfast and did our best to make sure those still sleeping were adequately bothered by the climbers heading off with no sleep. A 30-minute jeep ride brought us to the start of the moraine and 60 minutes later we were putting crampons on to begin heading up the glacier. I had to put moon screen on so not to burn my cheeks, it was that bright. Six hours of the most beautiful, engaging and aesthetic mountain climbing I've ever done in Ecuador landed us on a nice flat spot just as the sun was rising. The moon was still full and the alpenglow was incredible. The bitter was about to balance the sweet. Five-hundred feet below what we thought was an inevitable successful summit was a crevasse running the entire width of the glacier. Farit asked if we could jump across and I told him we didn't practice that skill yet. He shrugged and said "ok". Our sweet hopes for a proud summit were instantly dashed. So goes the unpredictable nature of mountain climbing. After returning to camp where the rest of the team was practicing skills, a rapid pack up ensued and it was into the magic bus and off to a beautiful hacienda resting almost on the foothills of Cotopaxi itself. Hot showers, cervesas and clean beds were a welcomed reward to get us psyched for what's to come. Our third and final mountain awaits tomorrow. No matter the outcome, knowing the trip is coming to a close will also be bitter sweet. Shaun and Nichole, we miss you. RMI Guide Adam Knoff

July 1, 2013 We are still here. And by here, I mean McKinley Basecamp airstrip in a snowstorm. I am usually an optimist in these types of situations, but the forecast is for days of the muck. In order to improve international relations, we have adopted two Russian climbers that reached the summit the same day we did and are stuck with us. Andre and Igor pretend to like our jokes and our cooking so we will keep them awhile! I told the group we were making them Vietnamese Pho for dinner. Really it was Ramen with some dehydrated vegetables. Although they knew what it was, they put some Sriracha hot sauce in it and humored me! RMI Summit Team 6 P.S. Cindee says Happy Birthday Roger!

On The Map

Thursday, June 6, 2013 Awh ya! We are all moved in at 14,200' in the Genet Basin! Last evening we were put to bed by the clearing of the clouds and spectacular views of Kahiltna Dome, Mt. Foraker from the 11,000' camp. We had a windless night and woke to a brisk yet blue bird morning. We had a quick bite of oatmeal and a coffee, and like blades in a blender we whipped up our kit and saddled our packs to ride. Our trip was smooth with a chance to further take in the unbelievable view of the entire Southern Alaska range. We rounded Windy Corner with a rest stop in zero wind. Our freckles could tell by late morning that the sun's inferno would take a toll on our energy. Regardless, we made great steady progress arriving in 14 camp in a little over 5 hours. Arriving at camp is just part of the move day's work! We established camp quickly thanks to a previously occupied camp. Yet, making water, retrieving the cache, moving our belongings back in the tent coupled with new altitude is hard work. This all pays off at the end of the day when you're snuggling with your big cached food bag and other piles of feathers We are reunited with! Laying in the tent as i write with a full belly of soup, tortellini, and cookies! It is good to be moving up with sprits high, climbers enjoying the mountain and a rest day for tomorrow! Did I say Awhh ya? RMI Guides Tyler Jones & Garrett Stevens & The team

On The Map

Our second Vinson trip of the season has officially started. After some fairly long flights and a few delays, we all arrived in Punta Arenas yesterday. Fortunately all our gear has also arrived. With all the excitement of a new adventure starting and the fact that it does not get dark here until almost 11:00 pm, it was well after midnight before we decided to call it a day. Since there was not a whole lot on the agenda today, we took full advantage of this by sleeping in and having a late breakfast. We finished up the last of our equipment needs by checking out a few of the local gear shops and a stop at the grocery store to buy some additional snack food. At the same time we able to explore a little bit of this neat little town. With our bags more or less packed up, we headed out for a nice dinner at La Marmita. The food is incredible here and it is no wonder why it sits at the top of the restaurant list for Punta Arenas. Tomorrow we will have our briefing with ALE (Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions), to go over the details of our flight to Vinson and the rules of climbing in such a remote and pristine environment. Will check-in tomorrow. All the best, RMI Guide Jeff Martin

Well hello all. Last week temperatures were frigid. I am happy to say today was downright balmy. We'll take it. We spent our entire day today going over some critical information. Laying the ground work for crevasse rescue. A lot of information was downloaded and everyone seemed to grasp the concepts. Knots, anchors, rappelling into a crevasse, self extrication from a crevasse were some of our topics on this beautiful day. Kahiltna Base Camp is getting busier by the day. More and more climbers are showing up to head up Denali, other friends are finding success on various routes on the Mini Moon Flower and the North Buttress of Mt Hunter with this current stretch of superb weather. Word on the street is temperatures are about to get really hot the next few days. We will let you know how that plays out. Everyone is doing great and says hello. RMI Guide Jason Thompson

On The Map

We made it to high camp yesterday in hopes of a summit attempt today. The winds did not cooperate but tomorrow's forecast is looking good. Please send good weather vibes our way! The team is doing great and ready for their summit attempt. We will check in tomorrow. RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

Saturday, June 19, 2021 - 3:51 pm PT

Today we woke up to snow and wind. We are resting and acclimating today, hoping to climb tomorrow!

RMI Guides JT Schmitt, Alan Davis, Kiira Antenucci and the RMI team

The Four Day Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides Billy Nugent and Tyler Reid reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning just after 7 am. Tyler reported a cloud deck below at around 8,000’ and a cloud layer above. The teams were experiencing moderate to gusty winds and cold temperatures. They will descend to Camp Muir and then continue to Paradise this afternoon. We look forward to seeing everyone back at Rainier BaseCamp later today. Congratulations to today's summit climb teams!

Hello, This is RMI Guide Mark Tucker checking in from the Karanga camp on Kilimanjaro, situated at about 13,160', or 4011 meters above sea level. We are looking so good. Having a gas - wish you guys were here. We have the most amazing night out. The moon is getting fuller and brighter as we speak. We are poised for our next push to the Barafu Camp tomorrow which will be our high camp. Things worked out very well today, we timed our selves perfectly for the ascent of the Barranco Wall, which is right out of camp, some step traverses, some ledges and face, several rock bands. Just really fun climbing. Everybody did great and we took some really nice hero photos. Then we did a traverse, only a couple miles today, and into this camp. And we're on the impressive south side of Kilimanjaro with the Diamond, Heim, Kersten, Decken Glaciers hanging right above us. It's quite a sight. So, the weather is holding and everyone on the team is healthy. They are definitely keeping our kitchen staff busy keeping those pots filled. No loss of appetite for this crew. We are doing so well in and we are psyched up. We had a bit of a summit talk today, passing along some information going over some tactics that will be useful in the near future. So all is well, and we will check in tomorrow.

On The Map