Hello from Shira! We're all in camp and we're relaxing. It was nice and sunny for most of the day which was a pleasant change from yesterday.
It was actually one of the nicer days I've had on this mountain. Usually there is some point in the day that's uncomfortable temperature-wise. Today there was none of that. It was nice and warm in the morning and then as we got higher the clouds came in and out and that kept us from getting too hot.
We had excellent views of Mt. Meru (15,180') and even got a few glimpses of Kilimanjaro's summit.
We all made it into camp in time for lunch and now we're spending the afternoon chilling out in camp.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Thursday, July 11, 2013
We couldn't have asked for a much nicer day, but we'd have loved to have used it differently. It was clear and sunny from start to finish at 14,200' ft, just as we'd hoped it might be to settle the slopes above us. But I'm sure every climber on the team would rather have used such sparkling and fine weather to climb, rather than for waiting to climb. It was a bit of a tough day for the team as we had two climbers descend with Mike King, bound for base and Talkeetna. Their problems, a head-cold and a sore foot, were relatively minor, but 14,200' is not the best place for such issues to resolve and we had a golden chance to team Mike up with a descending team led by guides we know and trust. But we are sorry to not finish the entire climb together. It has been a great team. We can't say for sure that we ourselves won't be headed down in a day or two, but we cling to a slim chance for getting to the summit. Zeb and I went on a short recon mission on the suspect slopes and found things better than we'd expected. Good enough that we will make an attempt on 17 camp in the morning if the weather cooperates. We are still getting reports from those at 17,000' that the route to Denali Pass (18,300 ft) is presumed to be avalanche prone and impassable at present, but we'll just try to solve one set of problems at a time.
The National Park Service rangers at 14,000' used the fine day to remove their seasonal base. A B3 helicopter flew laps for several hours to get the gear and personnel down. Camp -and the mountain in general- is getting very quiet as we near the end of the climbing season.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
RMI Guides JJ Justman and Levi Kepsel led their Emmons Seminar team through a mountaineering school at Paradise today. It was a beautiful day as shown in JJ's video of photos.
Today's weather report: not so good. We woke up this morning here at Plaza Argentina in a cloud with it steadily dropping gloppy snow. The prospect of a successful carry up to Camp 1 was looking dismal but we decided to get up and fire the stoves anyway. Over the course of breakfast and our morning coffee the weather began to improve and by 10 am we were looking at some continuing light precip but nothing that would hold us back. The team rallied, geared up, and hit the trail. With a six-hour round trip effort we were able to put in a sizable cache of food, fuel, and cold weather gear up at Camp 1 (16,200'). The team performed well despite unstable scree and our first real taste of carrying big loads at high altitude.
Ciao,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
The Four Day Summit Climb July 20 - 23 led by RMI Guide Casey Grom reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 7:30 a.m. PT. The teams reported sunny skies but cold temperatures and extreme winds. The teams will return to Camp Muir and then make their final descent to Paradise later today.
Congratulations to today's teams!
Just because we climbed Europe's highest mountain Mt. Elbrus, it doesn't mean the adventure is over. After a great celebration dinner last night we boarded our flight and we are now in St. Petersburg. It has been a tiring day flying so we are going to relax tonight, order a little room service and maybe have a little spa time. Tomorrow we are going to begin exploring this amazing Russian city. We will have some photos and video to show you.
RMI Guide J.J. Justman
What an exciting time for this group! The wait is finally over and your adventure begins! I wish complete safety and totally success for everyone in the group! I look forward to updates! Peace!
Posted by: Mary Helen Martin on 7/21/2012 at 4:39 am
Hey JJ Whoo Hoo congratulations JJ and team!! What an accomplishment. I have been following all your posts and climbs. You seem like an awesome upbeat guide. I’m doing the 4 day climb of Rainier August 11-14th. I was hoping you would be one of the guides. I heard great things about you. So hurry back to the states!!
Posted by: Kristen Farris on 7/11/2012 at 10:08 am
Oh my goodness! We must be so far out there. No cell service, no internet, no wifi. How are we gonna get by? Just fine. That's what I can tell you. The team's doing well. We are up here at Lobuche. Had a nice walk up. Fine weather, a little overcast now. Chilly, chilly up here at 16,000'. We are happy to be here in good shape. We are checking in by satellite phone, so we can still be connected. We appreciate everyone following along. Hopefully tomorrow we will move up to Gorak Shep where I think we may have some connectivity, and I may be able to send some fabulous pictures from the jaunt up the hill today. We will check in again.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Well, we're at the hut on Orizaba getting ready to climb tonight. It was an interesting drive up here, for sure. It's been very dry here recently and some forest fires have sprung up down low on the mountain. Normally this wouldn't worry me too much but one of the fires is within a mile of our access road. There are firefighters working in the area and our local logistics company is on top of the situation so at this point it's just a minor concern. One thing that's looking good is that there seems to be a weather system building which would help the fire situation out a ton. The downside of that is it will make climbing more difficult if we are faced with a storm.
So that's basically our situation... there's a few things that are out of our control, so we're just doing what we can to give ourselves the best shot at the summit. We're prepping to go up but not at the risk of climbing in a dangerous storm or getting stranded at the hut. We'll be making the safest call, of course. I'll call back early tomorrow and update everyone on our status.
Wish us luck, we could use it!
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall & Team
Our Four Day Summit Climb Teams led by Dave Hahn and Geoff Schellens reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Dave and Geoff reported great conditions on the mountain with clear views all around. The teams have started their descent and are on en route to Camp Muir.
Mike Walter and team also reached the summit of Mt. Rainier via the Emmons Glacier route. The team reported beautiful weather. The have started their descent back to Camp Schurman.
Congratulations to today's teams!
The morning weather looked promising enough for early rising. We launched into breakfast and made the decision to take one last acclimatization day before moving up to 14 thousand feet. That meant that breakfast turned into brunch and that we would spend the day aggressively resting so as to be ready for a move tomorrow. It was generally fine weather down on our part of the mountain and we got in good naps and meals and snacking sessions. By afternoon and evening, clouds were stacking up on the mountains around us but things remained calm at 11,000 ft.
GO TEAM DAVE . Sending Prayers & Best to Ur team ... Take care y’all & Keep smiling !!! Please give our luv to Sanjeev Nagrath —- Rohan, Courtney, Nora , Niki & Anjalika
Happy Day :)
Posted by: Anjalika Nagrath on 7/1/2021 at 8:14 am
Another once-in-a-lifetime experience! Excited for all!
Posted by: Frances on 8/9/2013 at 8:04 am
What a site to see. mark it looks like you are wearing a white hat. take care love mom
Posted by: cornelia miller on 8/9/2013 at 7:44 am
View All Comments