Most Popular Entries
Thursday, June 24, 2021 - 12:48 pm PT
It's been windy and snowy today at the 11,200' Denali Camp, although we caught glimpses of blue sky above us occasionally this morning. We're all cozied up in our tents after a big breakfast. We're content to rest and relax, enjoying some reading and some napping. We're at a great altitude for acclimatization, so we're (hopefully) getting stronger for our next mission, which will be to move up to Genet Basin at 14,200'. That will happen on the next good weather day, perhaps tomorrow but more likely Saturday or Sunday. We'll keep you apprised of our status. But for now we're happy, hydrated, and comfortable in our current camp.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Buenos Dias from the Cayambe hut. Today was the first "real" day spent training on our first "real" mountain. It always amazes me how a simple acclimatizing hike ten minutes from our hotel in Quito puts us well over 15,000 feet in a matter of hours accomplished in simple hiking boots and a day pack. So when I say "real" it must refer to something big. Our first mountain,
Cayambe seems to fill those shoes. Sitting at 18,997', even the shortest climbers on the team will have the privilege of saying their throbbing noggins broke the respectable altitude of 19,000 feet. Breaking this psychological barrier should make climbing
Cotopaxi, a whopping 400 feet higher, a walk in the park.
This morning the group woke slowly having slept surprisingly well for the large jump in altitude. Our luxurious hut sits at
15,200', a casual one hour hike below the tongue of the glacier. Regardless of our groups strong résumé, we began hiking from the hut revisiting breathing techniques, rest stepping and minor drooling. After an hour hiking upward, we chose our high camp location and cached some tents, stoves and climbing headwear. After a brief rest we moved to the start of the glacier where we revisited self arrest, cramponing and rope travel. This three-hour exercise proved more taxing than expected so upon our return to the hut, eyes were closing sitting at the table so our next training skill was napping at altitude. So far the groups favorite skill to practice. We then practiced knots and hitches before sitting down for dinner. The altitude and full day caught up with all of us so we are looking forward to hitting the sack early. Tomorrow we move to high camp.
RMI Guides
Adam Knoff and
Casey Grom
On The Map
Just got off the phone with our outfitter ALE. There will be no flight tonight. We are to dress in our gear, boot up, and be “wheels up” in the lobby at 4:30 am tomorrow morning. I have mixed feelings…glad to get another night in a bed after the enduro flights to get here, but I’m anxious to get on the ice and start.
This will be my third trip to Vinson and I am stoked to go back. Viesturs and I have been planning this trip for years. First Ascent is our primary sponsor, and the team consists of Ed Viesturs, Seth Waterfall, Caroline George, and Jake Norton, who are all First Ascent team members. Also coming along is Kent Harvey, one of the best high altitude cinematographers in the business. Rounding out our team are clients Cindy Outlaw, Ben Dimock, and David Pritchett. This team will climb Vinson, celebrating the 45th Anniversary of the first ascent done in 1966 by Americans, who were wearing…you got it, Eddie Bauer expedition clothing. We have the original flag from that expedition and plan to place it on top to commemorate their climb. After Vinson, the guides and production team will fly to an unexplored area and ski several first descents. Throughout the trip the entire team will be testing 2011 and 2012 First Ascent prototypes.
Just another day in the office…
Stay tuned for more updates,
Peter Whittaker
The rain continued to spit down on Moscow last night, although not enough to deter a few Muscovites from singing in the street outside our hotel on their way back from the bars. We left the hotel before dawn, watching daylight break over a damp and sleepy city on our way to the airport. Soon, without much trouble despite our loaded bags that far exceeded the 20 kg./passenger limit, we were checked in and boarding the aircraft. Perhaps it was due to the dreary weather but the boarding process was smooth and orderly - a far cry from the normal mad jostling of bodies that typically occurs as every Russian vies for the right to be first on the plane.
Departing Moscow we quickly broke free of the grey cloud cover and the blue skies above stayed with us all the way to Mineralnye Vody - our gateway to the Caucasus. As we approached the runway Elbrus' twin summits were shining clearly in the distance, breaking the horizon and dwarfing the hills around.
Again, all of our bags successfully navigated the Russian baggage check system and arrived with us so we were soon on the road, driving through rolling hills of wheat fields and recently harvested sunflowers to the city of Kislovodsk. A small city by most standards, Kislovodsk is a famous destination known for its natural mineral springs and it remains a popular retreat for many of Russia's well-to-do. Its main streets have recently been repaved and sidewalks widened, we are told partly in the regional preparations for the 2014 Winter Games, although Sochi remains several hours drive from here. We checked into our small hotel located across the street from the town's busy farmer's market that runs from sun up to sun down every day of the week. Taking the rest of the afternoon to explore our immediate neighborhood, pick up some groceries from the nearby store, and resort our gear again, we are at last ready to depart for the mountain tomorrow. There are still several hours of navigating the twisting dirt roads deep into the Caucasus Steppe to reach Elbrus. Assuming the good weather holds and the road are in passable condition we should reach Base Camp by early tomorrow afternoon.
The team is eager to complete our last leg of the long journey to Elbrus and we are looking forward to beginning the climb. Everyone is in good spirits and passes on their best to folks at home. We will check in tomorrow after setting up our Base Camp on the north side of Elbrus!
Monday, May 23, 2023 - 9:01 pm PT
Hello fellow readers,
Today was our first rest day of the trip and much needed. Our sunburnt lips and face, chaffed hips, and tired bodies needed the well deserved rest. We enjoyed a casual morning with coffee and pancakes at 9:30 am, followed by lots of down time in our tents. The afternoon was spent gathering our group gear piles for our cache tomorrow and reviewing crampon technique for tomorrow's steep ascent up motorcycle hill. The team is ready and psyched to head further up Denali and get closer to being on top. Camp is bustling with more hopeful people. As per usual we have all crawled into our tents to get settled for the night to rest up for tomorrow's cold early start.
Goodnight all,
RMI Guide Hannah, Devin, Erika, and Team
June 2, 2015 - 6:56 pm PT
The last few days of a trip always fly by. The summit, descent, and celebration in town all came together over the course of three days. Our
summit day was spectacular, with blue, sunny skies, little wind, and balmy (0 degrees F) temps. We got up with the sun the next morning, which felt considerably colder, and packed our bags to descend. We originally planned to go as far as 11,200' Camp, picking up our cache at 14,000' along the way, but when we walked into 11k at 4.30 in the afternoon, and with plenty of energy to spare, we decided to keep the momentum rolling, rig sleds, and head to 7,600’ camp. The few hours of fighting with our sleds downhill proved well worth it. We got to camp at 8:30, where RMI Guides Geoff Schellens and Eric Frank with their Upper West Rib team were super nice and had stoves boiling for us already. We set a hasty camp since we were only going to be there for a few hours, and went to bed. We had our only real alpine start of the trip, waking at 2.30 am. The walk out the lower Kahiltna was one of the highlights of the trip. High thin clouds reflected the light of a not yet risen sun, and the alpenglow on the surrounding peaks burned a brilliant red. A wind at our backs pushed us towards Base Camp. The scene kept our eyes drifting to the sky, and it was impossible not to enjoy the walk despite the heavy packs and sleds. By 7:30 we were at the airstrip, ready for the first flights of the day to Talkeetna. In no time the incredible pilots from K2 descended in two Otters, we loaded the planes, and we were in town, taking in the scents of grass, flowers, and trees for the first time in weeks. We showered off the smell of 18 days on the mountain, and set about filling our bellies with something that we hadn’t carried on our backs. We spent the afternoon drying gear and packing bags for our inevitable separation, and then had a final celebration dinner at the West Rib, a restaurant that is synonymous with Mt. McKinley climbers. Now, we are beginning to part ways. Some of our climbers have left for Anchorage and flights home, while others are staying in Alaska for a bit longer, albeit as tourists. Jet boat adventures, bicycle tours, and road trips to the North side of the park all lie in the future. The guides will amuse ourselves tomorrow with some time on a boat, dropping lines for Halibut, before we also head South to the Mt. Rainier climbing season. The group did a spectacular job on the mountain, climbing smoothly and safely, and we were rewarded with a truly fine summit and 100% of our group on the summit. The guides thank the whole team for their efforts, laughs, and incredible chemistry; it was a really memorable trip for us as well! Thanks to everyone for following along. Now its off to a boat, where someone else baits the hook for us and the fish can’t help but bite!
RMI Guides Pete, Robby, Josh, and Team.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker checking in from the final camp: down here at the Mweka Camp, 10,000 ft on Kilimanjaro. It’s all tall, giant heather; it’s beautiful. It looks like a fabulous night for a summit climb but that’s exactly what we will not be doing. It’s a done deal.
We will enjoy our last night on this beautiful mountain. Tomorrow we head to the trail head.
On The Map
Friday, June 21st, 2013
Ahhhh a day of rest. We did not even move in our tents until the sun hit them at 9:30. We had a morning of slowly cooking pancakes for the group. We believe pancakes are the perfect acclimatization food.
We volunteered to be guinea pigs for a medical experiment having to do with high altitude. The test involved having a series of heart rate and oxygen saturation measurements taken and then walk around a track for 6 minutes to see how those measurements change. It was not a competition, but let's just say our group crushed it!
If the weather is nice tomorrow, our plan is to move some gear up to
17,000' Camp. On
Denali, 60% of the time the weather is good all the time!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen and RMI Summit Team 6
On The Map
Monday, June 3, 2013
Today was a day of light work and much chilling. We were able to sleep in later than any other day so far, which is always a nice treat i
n the mountains. We did get some fresh snow overnight, so we spent the first few minutes of the day clearing off tents and backpacks. But by 9:30 we were all feasting on righteous breakfast quesadillas filled with fluffy eggs, crispy bacon, melted cheese and topped with hot sauce, which fueled the crew for our back-carry.
We headed back down to our cache and retrieved all our gear, and began the grind back to camp. While the oblong sleds dragged a little in the new snow, we were still able to complete the trip quickly, and before 1 o'clock we were back in camp. Now we are enjoying all the delicious lunch food we had cached, gorging on tasty morsels.
The team is currently resting and getting ready for a hard day of work tomorrow. We're planning to carry a load up to 14K' camp, and the stretch of mountain between here and there will be the most difficult terrain so far. While it may seem like mountain climbers have some strange fetish for being cold, smelly and sore, there is no substitute for the reward you feel at the end of hard day of climbing. We'll check back in tomorrow with an update, so until then keep sending positive energy and wishes for high pressure!
RMI Guides Tyler, Garrett, and the Crew
On The Map
Our
Four Day Summit Climb Team led by RMI Guide Brent Okita reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. Brent radioed early this morning and reported high clouds with hail and winds at about 25mph. The team spent about 15 minutes on the crater rim before starting their descent and are now en route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's teams!
.jpg)
Beautiful team, magestic scenery…keep up the great work Daryl.
Posted by: Pat on 6/24/2021 at 10:39 pm
View All Comments