Most Popular Entries

RMI Guides Tatum Whatford and Felipe Guarderas led their Five Day Climb teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning.  The guides reported an amazing day with light winds and clear skies.  The route is busy with climbers so the teams reached the crater rim and have started their descent to Camp Muir. Once back at camp the climbers will enjoy a relaxing afternoon on the mountain and celebrate their accomplishment.  The team will spend tonight at 10,080' and continue the remaining 4.5 miles/4,500' down to Paradise tomorrow.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

Namaste everyone,

The team is hanging tough here in Khumbu. Today we departed Namche and hiked for about 6 hours today up and down, dropping all the way down to a river, which is a stunning turquoise, then climbed slowing up the hill before the famous Tengboche Monastery. Unfortunately, the weather was not in our favor, normally we get to see might Everest off in the distance as well as many other Himalayan giants, but not today. 

I’m grateful the team didn’t seem to mind, and everyone chatted happily, except on those uphill sections. 

Traditionally we have gotten a blessing from a famous lama in Pangboche, but sadly that lama has moved on to a higher calling. So today we were able to request a private Puja with another lama at Tengboche and each receive a blessing. The Puja is a Buddhist ceremony where the lama chants a Buddhist prayer and gives us a blessing to protect us from harm and grant us health and a long life. 

We've settled in to a nice and warm tea house called Rivendale that's incredibly clean and nice. I shouldn’t mention the heated blankets everyone is enjoying, since we want you all to think we’re roughing it! 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and The Warm and Newly Blessed Crew. 

A few clouds to the morning but after another nutritious breakfast we set out toward High Camp. We marched up the broad tilted plateau concentrating on efficient techniques in walking and breathing. Things steepened just a bit as we came to the final ridge. We all were feeling strong as we arrived in Barafu our High Camp at 15,000'. We enjoyed a great lunch and held a meeting about strategy for the summit bid. We are busy packing up for an early dinner, bed by 6 pm and wake up around midnight. The team is in great shape and can't wait to get started. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

Our team made it to Camp Muir! It was a long, arduous day but everyone put their heads down, gritted their teeth and made it to 10,000 feet in great style. The action continues! Despite a little bit of weather to keep us cool we are having a lot of fun training in the snow. RMI Guide JJ Justman

RMI Guides Adam Knoff and Geoff Schellens led their teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The Four Day Summit Climb August 27 - 30 teams reported clear skies and chilly temperatures with winds blowing 15-20 mph. The team were approaching the crater rim at 7:30 a.m. After spending some time on top they will descend to Camp Muir to repack and rest a bit before continuing down to Paradise this afternoon. We look forward to seeing the teams back in Ashford this afternoon. Congratulations to today's summit climbers!

RMI Guide Billy Nugent and Team are currently standing on the summit of Mt. Shuksan. They reported beautiful weather with hardly a cloud in the sky. Billy said, "It doesn’t get much better than this." The team is enjoying the view and will head back to their high camp shortly. Congratulations Billy & Team!

Well, 80% of the team and 70% of the bags made it to Kathmandu, but never fear, it looks like we'll be together tomorrow. The airlines and connections just weren't cooperating but every trip has some tough spots and we just wanted to get ours out of the way early on. The rest of us spent the day walking, sightseeing, eating baked goods, and resting. We did go for a great dinner of chicken tikka masala and naan in Thamel this evening where we got to know each other and start wrapping our heads around the adventures ahead and around us. Tomorrow we'll do some sightseeing in Kathmandu, last minute errands, and a good gear check. Everyone is full of good positive energy and looking forward to spending the next two weeks together in the Khumbu. RMI Guide Christina Dale

Hello everyone or as they say here in Africa, Jambo, The gang is finally all here after their long flights. Today we had our official team meeting where we did a round of introductions and had an overview of the Kilimanjaro program, shared a few stories and discussed all the gear needed for this adventure. Most of us spent the rest of the day relaxing here at the peaceful Dik Dik Lodge or snuck off for a quick nap to help adjust the nearly 12hr time difference. And just so everyone back home knows, we are about a 1/2 day ahead of you. Everyone seems excited and ready to go and we finished the evening off with another delicious 5 course meal. Stay tuned, RMI Guide Casey Grom and Crew

Hello, This is RMI Guide Mark Tucker checking in from the Karanga camp on Kilimanjaro, situated at about 13,160', or 4011 meters above sea level. We are looking so good. Having a gas - wish you guys were here. We have the most amazing night out. The moon is getting fuller and brighter as we speak. We are poised for our next push to the Barafu Camp tomorrow which will be our high camp. Things worked out very well today, we timed our selves perfectly for the ascent of the Barranco Wall, which is right out of camp, some step traverses, some ledges and face, several rock bands. Just really fun climbing. Everybody did great and we took some really nice hero photos. Then we did a traverse, only a couple miles today, and into this camp. And we're on the impressive south side of Kilimanjaro with the Diamond, Heim, Kersten, Decken Glaciers hanging right above us. It's quite a sight. So, the weather is holding and everyone on the team is healthy. They are definitely keeping our kitchen staff busy keeping those pots filled. No loss of appetite for this crew. We are doing so well in and we are psyched up. We had a bit of a summit talk today, passing along some information going over some tactics that will be useful in the near future. So all is well, and we will check in tomorrow.

On The Map

Tuesday, July 9, 2013 Not too much to report on our scheduled rest day at 14,200' on Mt. McKinley. It was calm and sunny, despite the persistent storm forecasts, but it did seem to be getting progressively more cloudy as the day went on and it started snowing at a good clip while we ate dinner in our cozy POSH tent. The team did an excellent job of taking it easy today. We caught up on hydration and sleep, rested sore muscles and dried out boots and socks. We pared down the personal gadgetry and entertainment systems for the hard move up to 17,200' and tried to figure out any clothing or gear that would not be useful up above. The number of teams around or above us has been steadily diminishing and as is normal for this point in July, the National Park Service climbing rangers have been packing up their seasonal station at 14 and getting loads ready for helicoptering. It has been fun visiting with the other teams, but it is also quite enjoyable to have the mountain in its natural state -quiet and uncrowded. If it doesn't snow too much tonight and we get a decent shot tomorrow, we'll move to high camp. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map