Thursday, June 6, 2013
Greetings from the Kahiltna Glacier! Our team flew from Talkeetna onto the mountain this morning and we've been busy setting up shop, pitching tents and dialing in camp. Our sleds are ready and it's an "early to bed, early to rise" type of morning in our future, provided the weather stays workable. Tomorrow we ride for the base of Ski Hill and start climbing.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
All reports sound good for the recent summits. Safe journey to all of you as you begin the climb. Our prayer flags are hung in the backyard for your summit and return. xoox, Bonny
We made the jump! Camp One was old news and folks were sick of the same old scenery, so we decided to move to Camp Two at 18,000' today. We had beautiful climbing conditions: a light breeze and sunshine, and arrived at camp to find it mostly empty. We got our pick of tent sites before several groups rolled in after us.
Because RMI Guide JJ Justman's team was kind enough to leave us a cache of food and fuel at Camp 3, we have decided not to carry tomorrow, but to rest instead. That sets us up to potentially move to Camp 3 on Friday, and potentially summit on Saturday. There are a lot of ifs in that sentence, and we have to remain flexible up here, but we have our fingers crossed. We'll keep you updated.
Cheers,
RMI Guides Pete, Leon, Mike, and the crew
May 25, 2010 - 1:47 a.m. PST / 2:30 p.m. UTC
26,500 ft./21,000 ft
Mark Tucker at Basecamp:
It continues to be a nice day and the team is doing well. Upon reaching the Sol Col (26,500') three team members have decided to call it a day. They will spend the afternoon resting and rehydrating before making an early departure tomorrow morning. The rest of the team has decided to continue their descent to sleep in the thick air of Camp Two at 21,000'.
We expect to see everyone at Basecamp tomorrow.
South Col
May 24, 2010 - 11:15 p.m. PST / May 25, 2010 12:00 p.m. UTC
26,500 ft.
Mark Tucker at Basecamp:
Everybody is at the South Col with all fingers and toes. At these kinds of altitudes, it is just about impossible to keep hydrated. Breathing pure, non-humidified oxygen, along with a limited supply of fluids in your pack, let alone finding time to consume it...you get the picture.
It's all about recovery. First thing you want to do is collapse in the nearest tent, but you need to take care of yourself, the further behind you get the tougher to catch up. We have two support Sherpa at the Col, so all members are greeted with a cup of juice upon arrival. These first couple of hours will be critical if our guys will make the push down to C2 or spend another night at the Col. We have plenty of oxygen at the Col to support another night, but the lower the better.
By 2:00 pm they will decide to stay or go. We will let ya know...
We woke to beautiful conditions in camp, the first time we haven't woken to the tents flapping and slapping. We smashed an oatmeal breakfast and coffee and grabbed backpacks, sleds, and snowshoes and beat feet back to our hole in the snow that held all our best food and treats. We made quick work of the day, three hours round trip, and came back to sunny camp, warm tents, and dry sleeping bags. It was also our last day hauling sleds until we descended for good. So, when we walked into camp there was much rejoicing.
Tomorrow we plan to carry another cache up high to Windy Corner or 14 Camp depending. That will set us up to be ready to make a big move to 14!
Let’s go team! I have a hard time thinking about Brian being stuck inside a tent for days and nights. Hope he has a tent mate that likes to play cards! Moving and climbing are much more fun. Miss you hubby! Jack and I are following along and wishing you well while Lou meditates silently onn your climb.
Posted by: Tory Goltry on 5/20/2023 at 8:15 am
Wonderful to hear…“sunny camp, warm tents, and dry sleeping bags” - the simple pleasures of life on a mountain.
Praying for you all, and have a special place in my heart for my niece Bailey. She is an inspiration to her friends and family.
The RMI Four Day Summit Climbs led by RMI Guides Jake Beren and Zeb Blais reached the top of Mt. Rainier early this morning. At 7:15 the teams were descending Disappointment Cleaver en route back to Camp Muir. The teams are doing well and enjoying the blue skies and calm weather.
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons led by RMI Guide Walter Hailes reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning via the Emmons Glacier route. The team has descended to Camp Schurman where they will spend the night before returning to Ashford tomorrow.
Congratulations to Today's Teams!
Editor’s Note: This "pulse check," adapted from the end of John Colver’s Fit To Climb Program, a sixteen-week Mt. Rainier training program, is a general check-in two weeks before the climb.
You really can’t build any more fitness less than two weeks before the climb. The other side of that point is there really is the potential to squander the benefits you’ve worked for by doing too much in the coming weeks and arriving to the climb thoroughly exhausted. For some people, the crux of the training is managing the reduced amount of effort and intensity. In a very similar way to being stuck on a mountain waiting for a storm to pass, this reduced workload may test your patience, but you have to recognize that to overdo it now would be akin to stepping out into the storm. There is just no point.
Roughly speaking, the training intensity and volume are reduced by 50% in the coming days. Some ways to manage the additional downtime can be reviewing your gear, reading about the climb, watching a movie or catching up with friends and family. The last few weeks of training are busy and your climb is coming up at the end of next week. It’s time to relax.
Given that your climb is coming up very soon, this week’s and next week’s preparation really blend into each other. As you look ahead at your schedule for the next ten days, bear in mind that it’s perfectly fine to juggle around the days to suit your needs. Another important thing to bear in mind is that it’s certainly okay to skip training days. The goal from now onwards is rest and preparation. The climb is the event that all the training has been leading up to. Most people are going to be a little nervous. If your nerves are getting the best of you, now is a good time to start actively practicing relaxation and anxiety management skills. My frank observation is that no matter what concerns or doubts come up between the start and the end of this week, the right thing to do in almost every case is to relax and focus on the next hour. You will need all of your energy to climb this mountain and you should feel confident that the training you have will afford you the opportunity to reach the summit of Mount Rainier.
There are, however, many things that cannot be controlled, weather and snow conditions being the biggest factors. It is easy to worry about both of these things, but I can promise you as a guide I learned not to worry about those things until the time is actually right. The determination of whether to continue or turn back is always a calculated decision made in the moment, and this is one of the fascinations of the challenge. A climbing team can have a hundred percent perfect weather forecast and if there’s a slight air pressure change two hours from the summit, this can result in white-out conditions and winds so high that turning around is the only reasonable option. It is also true that many successful climbs start out in poor visibility and inclement weather which dissipates as the team climbs higher. No one knows what the conditions will be like on your summit day and this is why the gear list contains clothing and equipment for all conditions. What you can count on is the knowledge that no matter how many times your guide has walked out of Camp Muir in the middle of the night, she or he does not forget what it was it is like the first time. Try and suspend thinking about what is happening above the clouds; I say this with absolute assurance, you will be supported by a world-class guide team.
On this note, many people report that the experience of being part of a team is one of the most memorable aspects of the climb. Being connected by carabiners and a thin nylon rope is certainly a bonding experience. The famous French guide and writer Gaston Rébuffat often spoke of the “Brotherhood of the Rope” to symbolize the connectedness of everyone on the team. It’s an amazing experience to share the mountains with like-minded climbers!
If at the end of next week, you stand on the summit of Mount Rainier, it will be because you put one foot in front of the other, over and over again, and met the challenge of climbing 9,000’ from the alpine meadows of Rainier’s foot to the glacier capped summit. Along the way, you will find synchronicity with your teammates. You will boost them when they are tired and they will do the same for you.
_________
John Colver is a longtime climber, former mountain guide, and certified personal trainer with the American Council of Exercise. Colver introduced outdoor fitness classes to athletic clubs throughout the greater Puget Sound region before creating his adventX brand. Currently, adventX leads training programs in Seattle and Colver presents clinics on outdoor fitness at companies such as Microsoft, Boeing, the American Lung Association, and REI. Colver lives in Seattle.
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9/10/13 6:49 am PT
Hello all -
The team has finally made it all the way down to Mweka camp situated around 10,000' and are resting after such a big day.
We had a wonderful day for climbing today with clear skies, moderate temps and very little wind. Everyone did a great job of taking care of themselves the entire day and really impressed me by making the summit in a little over 6 hours. We spent about a half hour taking in the spectacular views and getting the obligatory summit photos, then headed back down to high camp. After a brief rest we packed up and headed further down valley to tonight's camp.
Everyone is doing well and I'm sure will sleep well tonight.
Looking forward to hot showers and clean clothes tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
9/10/13 3:10 am PT - Success!
Our entire team reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro today.
We have safely returned to high camp and are getting packed up for our descent.
We'll try to update this evening.
The Four Day Summit Climbs August 13 - 16, 2013 led by RMI Guides BIlly Nugent and Lindsay Mann reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams delayed their start from Camp Muir due to high winds but were fortunate that the winds decreased enough to allow them to climb.
They began their descent from the crater rim shortly after 9 am PT. The teams will return to Camp Muir for a short break before continuing down to Paradise.
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz enjoyed of week of training on Mt. Rainier. They spent their final night on the mountain last night. This morning they broke camp and started down to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's summit climbers! We look forward to seeing all teams at Ashford BaseCamp this afternoon.
After a good night of sleep and a belly full of fresh fruit, bread and an assortment of meats and cheeses we headed out to explore the city a bit. Our hotel is perfectly located in central Moscow with the Kremlin and Red Square just a short walk away, so that's where we headed first. We payed a brief visit to the Red Square then watched the changing of the guard at Russia's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before spending a little more than 2 hours inside the beautiful Kremlin. Once back outside we opted for a tour of the famous Moscow subway which sits hundreds of feet underground and is incredibly efficient and meticulously decorated. Apparently it was built so deep it could double as a bomb shelter during the Cold War years. It was amazing and a little overwhelming too.
The team then took a break for lunch and so members took naps and others explored a bit on their own. We have wrapped up the evening with a great meal and a nice little walk. Everyone is still feeling the jet-lag, but doing great otherwise.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Monday, May 27, 2013
We are resting today! Nothing much to report but a trip to the 6,000' drop into the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna known as the "Edge of the World" where we took some photos. Otherwise we relaxed and enjoyed the perfect weather on our first full day rest of the entire expedition. The team is doing well and excited for the big push ahead! We are hoping to move to high camp tomorrow and make a summit attempt soon thereafter!
Ciao from 14k,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Sunday, May 26, 2013
We had a big day today and per the norm our team crushed it. We set out from 14 camp around 10:30 this morning hoping to get a cache of food, fuel, and gear in place for our high camp at 17,200'. Most teams are content caching somewhere along the ridgeline of the West Buttress and picking up the needed supplies on their way by during the move to 17 camp. Our crew was strong enough to climb all the way up the buttress and place our cache right in the middle of high camp. This will play to our advantage on the move day, enabling us to travel with lighter loads thus conserving energy for our summit push. The day ended up being one of our longest and hardest yet at around 8.5 hours round trip but will serve as good training for the harder and longer days to come. Anyway, we are back in camp relaxing in the evening sun and looking forward to tomorrow's well-earned rest day.
All for now,
Billy
Good luck to everyone! Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Tell Robin we said HI from Destin, FL
Posted by: Mary Romair on 5/31/2013 at 9:03 am
Hi Craig and Billy Nugent Team!
Great job everyone and thanks for the Blog updates! Sounds like Craig is holding his own as the “elder” team member! Of course those that know him would expect no less! He’s 52 going on 25! :)
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All reports sound good for the recent summits. Safe journey to all of you as you begin the climb. Our prayer flags are hung in the backyard for your summit and return. xoox, Bonny
Posted by: Bonny Rogers on 6/7/2013 at 12:01 pm
Good luck Everyone!
Love,
Your LA Fans
Posted by: S Brownie on 6/6/2013 at 10:57 pm
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