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The team made great time descending in near perfect snow conditions and watched the weather close in after summiting in what had been the most pleasant weather I have seen on the mountain. We lost one teammate before our summit attempt due to illness but everybody else's summit success is indebted to his superhuman cloud-bending abilities. After bailing out of the Refugio we hustled down to the van where Victor was waiting to whisk us away to Hosteria La Cienega. Cienega was apparently built sometime in the 1700's but for us it simply means a warm bed in a beautiful historic hotel with delicious meals. As far as mountaineering goes the Jose Ribas Hut is luxury but now that we are off the hill the team is really enjoying true luxury. After a fat meal, most of the gang has hit the hay trying to recuperate for a BIG celebratory dinner with the entire team tomorrow night in Quito. Buenos nachos, RMI Guide Billy Nugent

Another great day in the Himalayas!

We had another shorter day of trekking so everyone was SHOCKED last night when I told them breakfast would be at 8:00am instead of our usual 7:30am. Really changing things up over here!

We hit the trail around 8:30am to another sunny and clear day. Nuptse was shining on our right and Pumori towering above on our left. We soon made it to the rocky trail on the edge of the Khumbu glacier and got our first views of Everest Base Camp far off in the distance.

We pulled over for what we thought would be a normal yak train (we always move out of the way - one never faces down a yak) but soon realized it was the largest yak train to ever exist. 50 yaks? 100? Sooo many. This was confirmed by all our Sherpa guides who agreed they had never seen anything like it. We took the extra break and enjoyed taking 1484 more yak photos and videos but this time with Everest in the background.

Before we knew it we had made it to Gorek shep, our final stop before base camp and sitting just over 17,000ft. It’s a barren place and oddly sandy. We all noted that it looks like it’s out of Dune.

After lunch, with clear skies still above, we opted to go on a little hike for better views of Everest.  We had so much fun just strolling a little more uphill, taking photos and talking about all the mountains around us.

We are all doing well and so looking forward to base camp tomorrow!

RMI Guide Jess Wedel and the Lobuche team

P.S. yesterday, Jangbu carried Diego but TODAY David carried Dawa so we’re all even. 

P.P.S. We likely won’t have service or wifi at basecamp so don’t be too worried if you don’t hear from your loved one for the next few days.

Yesterday the Mexico Volcanos team left our luxury accommodation at Hotel Geneve in Zona Rosa, Mexico City and headed to Volcan La Malinche to stretch the legs and get used to higher elevations. 

We made great time through pine forests and cool air from 10,000ft to roughly 13,800ft before we were turned by the Policia de Montaña. Largely to protect the many locals in jeans and street shoes, their 2pm turn around was strict and they were not impressed by our fancy technical outerwear and backpacks. 

Our conciliation price was an amazing view of our next goal, 17,103’ Volcan Iztaccíhuatl (Ixta), and later a muy grande BBQ feast at our cabañas. Off to Ixta!

RMI Guide Joe Hoch

Monday, June 26, 2023 - 9:44 pm PT

As expected, the weather was still a little "off" today, with lots of cloud and some wind up high, but it was definitely improving. We took it easy this morning but got in a training session in the afternoon, reviewing techniques we hope to employ tomorrow when we go for a carry, attempting to put supplies at 16,200 ft. This evening, some of the high cloud finally cleared out and the team got to see mountains Hunter and Foraker along with a magnificent view straight up at Denali. 

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

The Four Day Summit Climb team led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Joe Hoch reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Casey reported a breezy day with winds of about 30 mph, chilly temperatures, a few scattered clouds, but otherwise a beautiful day. The team has started their descent an are en route to Camp Muir. Congratulations to Today's Team!

It was shower day for the climbing team. This was our designated "day off" so that all could get a good night's sleep without any nervousness about what might be demanded of another training/climbing day. It seemed to do the trick... we all showed up late for the pre-breakfast coffee and tea session. There was a pretty good procession of old friends and fellow guides coming to say hello and exchange radio frequencies today. Climbing teams are now pouring in, the Puja flags are going up everywhere and brightly colored tents are blossoming in every direction. We'll make our first push through the icefall tomorrow... Sherpas and guides, at least. Our goal will be to check out the route and to establish Camp 1 at close to 20,000 ft. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Hi Everyone, It's been a fun, if slightly soggy, day in Moscow. The day started with thunder and lightning at sunrise but as we all met up over breakfast the light show subsided. After breakfast we took a nice walk around Red Square and met up with a local tour guide. She took us into the Kremlin and showed us all around the old cathedrals inside. While we were in the Kremlin the skies opened up and it started to rain. We gave everyone the option to bail out and return to the hotel but this crew is tough and all of the stuck it out. After touring the Kremlin some folks wanted to do their own thing for a bit so we split into 3 groups for lunch time. After that we met back in the hotel and reviewed the gear necessary for the climb. Pete and I split up after that and checked out everyone's gears individually. Everyone seems very well prepared with top-notch gear and plenty of mountain food. Everything is lining up nicely for our departure for Mineralnye Vody and Kisklovodsk tomorrow. RMI Guides Seth Waterfall, Pete Van Deventer and Team

The Four Day Summit Climbs led by RMI Guide Brent Okita & Kel Rossiter were forced to turn this morning due to avalanche danger. The teams reached 12,700’ on Mt. Rainier before turning around. Brent radioed in at 6:44 am as the teams were taking a rest break at the top of Disappointment Cleaver in white out conditions. They will continue to Camp Muir to repack and rest before continuing their descent to Paradise later this morning.

The rain continued to spit down on Moscow last night, although not enough to deter a few Muscovites from singing in the street outside our hotel on their way back from the bars. We left the hotel before dawn, watching daylight break over a damp and sleepy city on our way to the airport. Soon, without much trouble despite our loaded bags that far exceeded the 20 kg./passenger limit, we were checked in and boarding the aircraft. Perhaps it was due to the dreary weather but the boarding process was smooth and orderly - a far cry from the normal mad jostling of bodies that typically occurs as every Russian vies for the right to be first on the plane. Departing Moscow we quickly broke free of the grey cloud cover and the blue skies above stayed with us all the way to Mineralnye Vody - our gateway to the Caucasus. As we approached the runway Elbrus' twin summits were shining clearly in the distance, breaking the horizon and dwarfing the hills around. Again, all of our bags successfully navigated the Russian baggage check system and arrived with us so we were soon on the road, driving through rolling hills of wheat fields and recently harvested sunflowers to the city of Kislovodsk. A small city by most standards, Kislovodsk is a famous destination known for its natural mineral springs and it remains a popular retreat for many of Russia's well-to-do. Its main streets have recently been repaved and sidewalks widened, we are told partly in the regional preparations for the 2014 Winter Games, although Sochi remains several hours drive from here. We checked into our small hotel located across the street from the town's busy farmer's market that runs from sun up to sun down every day of the week. Taking the rest of the afternoon to explore our immediate neighborhood, pick up some groceries from the nearby store, and resort our gear again, we are at last ready to depart for the mountain tomorrow. There are still several hours of navigating the twisting dirt roads deep into the Caucasus Steppe to reach Elbrus. Assuming the good weather holds and the road are in passable condition we should reach Base Camp by early tomorrow afternoon. The team is eager to complete our last leg of the long journey to Elbrus and we are looking forward to beginning the climb. Everyone is in good spirits and passes on their best to folks at home. We will check in tomorrow after setting up our Base Camp on the north side of Elbrus!

Leaving Puebla after a good breakfast we drove though fields of cactus and learned about the different ways you can eat them from our driver Rogelio. Once in Tlachichuca, we sorted gear and piled into an old Dodge Power truck and drove to the high hut on Orizaba. Fortunately it had snowed recently and the roads were not very dusty and we made it up to the hut with great views of our upcoming climb. Once at the hut we ate and rested and listened to the cold wind on the hut as we waited for our early start. Wish us luck.