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The storm may be coming to an end. We hope. It was still snowing yesterday, and predictions had it continuing today, but despite a great deal of cloud and moisture in the air... we've got sunshine on Everest Base Camp. There is no climbing activity in the Icefall today out of respect for the Nepali men who -one year ago- lost their lives in the avalanche off Everest's West Shoulder. This somewhat grim anniversary has been made a little worse by our recent inability to get through the glacier. The reasons... bad weather and shifting glacial ice, are perfectly normal in this game, but against the backdrop of last year's season-ending tragedy, the barrier to the Western Cwm seems more formidable than ever. Early yesterday morning I accompanied our Sherpa team into the start of the difficult sections, but we along with perhaps 70 Sherpas from other teams had to turn around when a combination of vertical ladders was discovered to have been destroyed by shifting ice. We were back in camp before the normal wakeup and breakfast time... and it must be admitted that sitting in a chair sipping coffee beat balancing over treacherous and tedious crevasse crossings, but... as I say, it would have been a major boost to morale and to the team's progress to have made Camp One. That will now have to wait until the route is repaired and the storm has exited. It will happen. In the mean time, our team is simply in the same situation as a couple dozen others... maintain mental and physical readiness. We did it yesterday afternoon by going on a brisk hike toward Pumori Camp One. Today, it seemed best to give the team their freedom... some chose a hike down to the tea houses of Gorak Shep, some chose showers and good books in basecamp. Realistically, there will be more waiting to endure. The Icefall Doctors need to do a fair bit of work to make the route passible tomorrow and the climbing teams have decided not to crowd them in their labors. So we'll wait. And we'll be ready when our chance for climbing comes. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

We had a great climb of Cotopaxi yesterday, and everyone summitted! We took advantage of cool weather and firm snow conditions and were able to climb during the day yesterday, hiking only the approach to the glacier in the dark. The weather was great, with no wind all day. The team climbed very strongly up the steep slopes of Cotopaxi, and had enough gas left in the tank to enjoy the summit and climb safely back down to the climbers' hut in 10 1/2 hours round trip. We had great views along the way, being able to see many of Ecuador's high peaks, including Cayambe, Antisana, the Illinizas, the Pichinchas, Cotocachi, Imbabura, and El Corazon, as well as the beautiful mosaic of Andean farmlands far below us. We spent last night relaxing at the climbers' hut and descended to our waiting vehicles this morning. Now we are at the beautiful Hosteria La Cienega, enjoying hot showers, lower altitude, and the comforts of life off of the mountain. Congrats to our team for a successful summit of Cotopaxi! RMI Guide Mike Walter

RMI Guide Eric Frank called in from the crater rim of Mt. Rainier at 7:30 a.m. The Five Day Summit Climb September 19 - 23 was just approaching the summit. They reported cold temperatures with light winds and an overall beautiful day. RMI Guide Geoff Schellens led the Four Day Summit Climb September 20 - 23 to the summit also. The teams spent just over an hour on the summit before starting their descent. They will return to Camp Muir to re-pack their gear before continuing down to Paradise. We look forward to seeing both teams at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon. Congratulations to today's summit climbers!

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!

It rained for a good chunk of the night, but things were not too bad when we got underway at 8:20 am this morning. It is always tough to leave Phakding with all the flowers in bloom. But we had a mission: enter Sagarmatha National Park and get up to Namche. Before we reached the park entrance, it began to rain on us, but it never got too bad. Just a little soggy. We took a deluxe lunch break in the village of Monjo, and things dried up a little while we were inside. Then we got busy with the big Namche hill. We have already gone uphill plenty in these two days, but the Namche Hill is different. About 2.5 hours of steady climbing. The team crushed it though and we were pulling into the amphitheater-like town of Namche at about 4:15. Now we are getting used to life at 11,400 ft -a task made far easier by the comfort of Camp De Base, our “tea house” for the next two nights. 
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

Land of elephants. Tarangire National Park has one of the largest concentrations of elephants in the world. And we saw plenty, along with most every other animal to be seen on safari. It was a great day of wildlife viewing in a park very different from the Ngorongoro Crater. This park is huge. A vast savanna broken up by a few river systems that provide much need water in this very parched environment.

Eric's big objective was to see a leopard, and our guides Chacha and Jacob didn't let us down. High in a leafy tree, camouflaged so incredibly well, was the cat! How our safari guides can pick these critters out of beyond me. We can only see it with binoculars, but there it is, with part of a carcass it had been feeding on. 

The animal sightings continue regularly as we make our way to our luxury tent camp in the park. We celebrate our final night together with another wonderful dinner and a few glasses of nice South African wine. 

We're off to get in a few more hours of wildlife viewing before having to get back to Arusha where we'll enjoy our day rooms for a few hours before our evening flight home. 

Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and get into the big cats again on our way out. 

RMI Guide Brent Okita and Team

Saturday, June 8, 2013 Bonjour, from the fryer at 14 camp. The essence of climbing the great big mountains is that in the shade we freeze and in the sun we fry. Our carry to 16,400 ft went well and we are now ready for some more rest time. Today was a long hard effort getting out of the tents around 6:45 with not a breath of wind and clear skies; the not so fuzzy part was -10 F air temp. This had us all moving quickly to eat another bowl of oatmeal and down a cup of coffee before departing camp and wiggling vigorously to keep the fingers and toes warm. When we reached the half way mark in our second leg of the carry, the sun popped up over the West Rib route and the rays warmed us to our core. It took just a half hour for us to be climbing in our base layer, welcoming the fry portion of our day. The fixed lines on the West Buttress Head Wall were in great condition with fabulous cramponing - the teeth biting in the snow as if we were on steep green grass. I envy green grass as the only natural colors we have observed are white, blue and the light brown of the granite ridges rising thousands of feet above. We chopped in firm snow to create a cache hole just big enough to drop food, fuel and supplies. The team then descended down the buttress a short way before a hot and relatively easy and smooth decent off the fixed lines and a short stroll back to our 14 advanced base camp! In the tents yet again hiding from the magnificent orange ball in the sky! The future of the day and for tomorrow is to chill, eat, drink, and rest up for our summit push hopefully next week! We miss you all! The guides are currently craving an ice cold coke, some one please have one for us! Till tomorrow be happy be chill all is well! Ciao, RMI Guides Tyler Jones & Garrett Stevens

On The Map

At 7:57 a.m. RMI Guides JJ Justman and Jake Beren were standing on Columbia Crest, the highest point on Mt. Rainier, enjoying the views. There was a gentle 5 mph breeze on the “prettiest day in May that [JJ and Jake] have ever seen.” The teams began their descent about 8:30 and we look forward to seeing them at Rainier Basecamp this afternoon. Congratulations Summit Climbers!

Hello everyone, it's JJ and Seth along with the 2012 Mount Elbrus Northside Team! We packed our bags and headed out early this morning to catch our flight to Mineralnye Vody. It was then a full day of grocery shopping, sorting gear and packing all our expedition gear. We will have a long, adventurous drive to base camp on the north side of Elbrus. We will let you know how beautiful the drive is tomorrow. RMI Guides JJ Justman and Seth Waterfall