Most Popular Entries

Saturday, June 22nd, 2013 Greetings from Pete, Geoff, Robby and Team, Under cool temperatures and partly sunny skies, we moved uphill again this morning from our camp at 7,600' to 9,600'. The slopes of Ski Hill offered up our first significant climb of the expedition given our full loads weighing down our packs and our sleds. After building camp at 9,600', we continued to lighten our loads and fill our bellies by feasting on soups and Tasty Bite delicacies, followed by some hot beverages and storytelling. Our team is feeling strong and weather looks accommodating for a move to 11,000' camp tomorrow morning, where we'll finally post up for some rest and acclimatization. RMI Guides Robby, Pete, and Geoff

On The Map

Hello, this is Jake Beren in Ecuador calling in for the RMI team down here. We had a fantastic day yesterday just resting and recouping after a pretty big week so far here in Ecuador. And this morning we're going to head up to the hut on Cotopaxi. And with any luck, tonight we will be making our bid for the summit. So wish us luck and keep sending those good weather vibes down here and I will check in tomorrow. RMI Guide Jake Beren

On The Map

Hello everyone. After a day of long flights, our team arrived in Quito last night and moved into the Hotel Mercure Alameda to rest and recover. This morning the team indulged in a great breakfast including various local fruits and dishes. After a quick orientation meeting, we headed out for a city tour and visit to the Equator. Warm weather and a sunny day made our time walking around the city enjoyable. We were able to visit Independence Plaza, the Jesuit church La Compania, and the Virgin of Quito - a 100+ foot statue with gorgeous views overlooking the city. Seated at 9,350 feet, the air in Quito is thin, especially for those of us coming from sea level. The city tour, in addition to exposing us to some of the best sights in Quito, gave us a chance to stretch our legs and aid in the acclimatization process. The time that we spend here is building the base to increase our chances of success later in the trip. We spent the afternoon exploring the Equatorial line and phenomenon associated with it. We watched basins of water, only a dozen feet apart, swirl opposite directions on each side of the line and learned when the indigenous people first discovered their location. After taking a few hour siesta, the team met for our first dinner to round out the day. The conversation and laughter at our table made it feel like a group of old friends, who will only grow closer in the coming days. RMI Guide Casey Grom

Hey Everybody - This is the Ecuador group checking in. We had a great day today and everybody is doing well. We had another delicious breakfast at the hotel and took off early to ride the teleferique (gondola) up to Rucu Pichincha. Pichincha is a volcano just outside of Quito and we hiked the older (Rucu, in the indigenous language of Quechua) extinct side of it. We rode the gondola up the mountain to 13,500' into the grasslands above Quito. We began our acclimatization hike up to the top of the volcano from there. Our Ecuadorian guide Freddy joined us today and set the pace for everybody to follow. As we ascended, we moved from the grasslands into a rocky scramble that led to the summit. It took us 3 hours to ascend to the top at 15,406', which was a new altitude record for some members of the group. The descent was welcomed as we headed back to the comfortable altitude of Quito. We did a little shopping then headed out for an early dinner on a rooftop in old-town. We had spectacular views of the Basilica, the San Francisco de Quito, and the Virgin as we ate traditional Ecuadorian cuisine. Everyone seems to be having a great time and we will check in tomorrow. RMI Guides Casey Grom, Maile Wade & the team

Peter and Ed left for the summit at 10:45 p.m. Nepal Time / 10:00 a.m. PST.

June 24, 2023 10:41pm PT

It was an easy, restful day for our team today. We slept in, lingered over breakfast, and then set out at 11:20 to retrieve our cache above Windy Corner. In short order, we were back in camp and headed for the shelter of the tents as the afternoon sun got strong.

There were still lots of clouds and wind elsewhere, but we were certainly happy with the weather at 14k.  Even so, we built snow block walls around camp after dinner, just in case forecasted winds materialize.

RMI Guides Dave Hahn, Dustin Wittmier, Sam Marjerison, Michael Murray and Team

Hello everybody this is Jake with RMI’s Mexico Volcanoes Trip. Our team is standing on the top of Ixtaccihuatl right now about to catch the sunrise. Beautiful day, light winds, really strong team. Everybody is doing great. Really couldn’t ask for a better day. Thanks to everybody back home. We will be touching base when we get a little bit lower. Have a good one. It’s pretty good up here. RMI Guide Jake Beren

Hey again from Mt. Kilimanjaro checking in with our evening update. From the Karanga Camp, hovering around 13,000'. Well we had another great day, can't help but reported it. We climbed the Barranco Wall, which was a half hour of fun. I can't tell you how many pictures I shot and they are going to be looking good in the old photo album, I guarantee it. It was getting a little bit dusty so we called upon the rain god. We got a little sprinkle then we got into camp and the sky opened up a bit. It didn't really soak things but just enough to kind of keep the dust down. Now I see the summit above me, a billion stars out, a little cloud layer below, temperatures not too bad. We are all in good shape. There was no wet gear created. We were perfect timing on that so we are looking really good for our push up to high camp tomorrow. We are all thrilled. Had a great meeting. Went over a lot of details and as a team are doing very well. Don't you worry, we are having a good time and everything is A OK. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

This morning we awoke to 6 to 8 inches of light fresh powder. We didn't allow this to stop our momentum. With calm winds and overcast skies we decided on a carry for today. We cached a portion of our gear at 10,000 feet with the intention of lightening our load when we move to 11,000 feet. We are now back at our camp at 7,800 feet hiding from the sun, rehydrating and relaxing. For the past two days we have seen many climbing teams from all over the world. This trip of a lifetime is well underway and the team is climbing strong. As the winds pick up here at Camp 1, we are headed out to tighten up our camp and build some wind walls. Cheers for the team. RMI Guide Tyler Jones

On The Map

Peter Whittaker gets blown around on the summit of Mount Rainier.