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Today our team enjoyed a city tour of Moscow with our Guide Nina. She was a wealth of knowledge and we all learned a great deal. We visited of course Red Square, St. Basil's Cathedral and fortunately the subway of Moscow. At first I was a little skeptical. Mainly because I was expecting something like NYC and some dude in a snakeskin jacket and a funny hat saying, "that ain't a knife...this is a knife". However a nice jaunt underground displayed some spectacular artwork fit for a King and Queen. What a way to start a Mt. Elbrus adventure! Thanks Nina!! RMI Guide J.J. Justman

The Everest Climbing team left the village of Pheriche at 13,950' where they have spent the last few nights acclimatizing and are now settling in for the night in their new tea house in Lobuche at 16,175'. The team is doing well, everyone is feeling good and hiking strong.

On The Map

We slept well in the Barrels last night, the paneled walls providing a surprising amount of insulation from the cold mountain night. The morning again dawned clear and after breakfast we headed out on our final acclimatization hike. The fact that our bodies are already growing stronger at this altitude was evidenced by our pace this morning as we made it to our high point of yesterday a bit faster and with far less effort. We continued upwards, donning our crampons and picking our way across the rushing rivulets of surface water beginning to run down the glacier as temperatures warmed. By midday we reached our goal, an outcropping of rock at 15,300' or so. Above us stood the east summit of Elbrus towering another 3,000' higher. Below us stretched the massive rolling glaciers of the mountain, enveloping all sides of the mountain like an apron. It was a beautiful view and we were pleased to be up there. Retracing our steps, we descended back to the Barrels in time for an afternoon lunch before relaxing for the rest of the day. The weather once again turned unsettled in the afternoon, occasionally spitting rain and hail on us. A fairly consistent trend has emerged while we have been here - clear skies in the morning followed by light afternoon precipitation. It appears as though it will continue for the rest of the week, boding well for our planned summit bid the day after tomorrow - keep your fingers crossed! A light hike and some rest is planned for tomorrow.

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

Jambo! We are all back at the Dik Dik Hotel where it all started not so long ago. Since then, we have climbed a Big Mountain and seen wildlife galore. We had some tough moments and most recently some very easy ones. We have made some new friends and had a chance to visit with past ones. All and all, we had a great time. It was nice to have you following our dispatches. Thank you. I look forward to starting my next dispatch in March with Namaste, when I return to Nepal for yet another expedition on the Big Everest. All the best, RMI Guide Mark Tucker

Puebla Rest Day and Off to Orizaba

After our single push of Ixta, the Mexico Volcanoes team deserved a rest. We took full advantage of Puebla’s welcoming streets, cathedrals and parks and mostly lazed around for a day. 

Two nights of sleep, some light sightseeing, a gold plated brisket sandwich this time, and even some parking garage yoga later, we reluctantly packed the van back up and headed to Tlachichuca. 

We’re off to attempt our highest summit of the trip, Volcan Orizaba. Wish us luck!

Whew! After several strenuous days, the team has been relaxing at Chilcabama, a traditional Ecuadorian farmhouse. The surrounding countryside is beautiful, with a knockout view of Cotopaxi. Our day has been spent on exploratory walks, extensive eating, pestering the resident llama, and gazing at Cotopaxi through the hotel's spyglass. Tomorrow we head up to the Cotopaxi hut for our next summit bid. Wish us luck! RMI Guides Billy Nugent, Katie Bono & Team

Buenos noches from Mexico City. Everyone has arrived without too much incident and we just spent the evening getting to know each other. Our hotel is located right on the zocalo (historic center) in the city so there is tons of activity all around. We had a great dinner overlooking the square and now we're getting ready for a fairly early start tomorrow. Our next stop is La Malinche where we begin our acclimatization in earnest. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

RMI Guides Jake Beren and Tyler Reid led the Four Day Summit Climb to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. It was a nice day on top and the teams began their descent at 7:50 a.m. Congratulations teams!

The Four Day Summit Climb August 19 - 22 led by RMI Guide Brent Okita reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today! Brent reported strong winds and a change in the weather as the team made their ascent today. They spent a little time on top before beginning their descent around 7:30 a.m. PT. The team will return to Camp Muir and then continue their descent to Paradise this afternoon. Congratulations to today's climbers!