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Tuesday, September 14, 2021
At around 10am today a team led by RMI Guide Matias Francis reached the summit of Mt. Shuksan. The climbable weather was short lived, as they raced the impending rain back to camp. The weather won this round as they made it back to camp soaked, but happy. The team will spend the night at high camp, before descending down during the day tomorrow (hopefully in the sun).
Congratulations to the team!
Posted by: Eric Frank, James Bealer, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 20,310'
Thursday, June 3, 2021 - 6:15 pm PT
Good afternoon! This is RMI Guide Eric Frank calling on June 3rd from the summit of Denali, the highest point in North America. We are up here on a beautiful afternoon, in-and-out of the clouds. Sometimes we can see 100 miles; sometimes we can only see our climbing boots. We had an awesome climb today. Started off a little chilly in the shade, but all-in-all it has been a wonderful day of climbing. We are enjoying 15 minutes on top right now. It is about 5:15 local time. We are going to pack up and head downhill where we should be back between 9 and 10 pm tonight. Thanks everyone for following along. Friends and family- I am sure you’ll be happy to hear from your respective individuals in a few days. Our hope is to move down to a lower elevation, thicker air and catch a plane to the land of burgers and beer within a couple of days. Thanks for following along. Bye.
RMI Guide Eric Frank calls from the Denali summit!
The team was treated to an almost windless summit day on Orizaba to cap off our Mexico Volcanoes trip! We summitted at 9:30 am and got down safely in time to enjoy a delicious home cooked meal in Tlachichuca. The team is showered, full, and ready to see our families when we fly out tomorrow for home. Till next time Mexico!
Posted by: Bryan Mazaika, Josh Geiser, Joey Manship
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb Led by RMI Guide Bryan Mazaika reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team had clear skies above Camp Muir and a good climbing route. The team is on the descent and will be celebrating at Rainier Basecamp this afternoon.
Congratulations team!
Posted by: Christina Dale, Joe Hoch, Dustin Wittmier, Dominic Cifelli, Erika Birkeland, Seth Burns
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb May 28 - 31th led by RMI Guides Christina Dale and Joe Hoch led their teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. It's a beautiful day on the mountain and Joe reported the route was in good shape and would likely be improving with the warm temperatures and stable weather expected. The teams enjoyed about an hour in the crater and began their descent from the crater rim just before 8 am today. The team will return to Camp Muir and then continue down to Paradise later this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Yeahhhhh Aunt Sam and Matt!!!! We are cheering you on the whole way, and can’t wait to hear your summit story!! Baggin’ peaks and being awesome. ❤️❤️❤️
Posted by: Ellis Bond on 5/31/2021 at 2:54 pm
Linden, you are the second Mallory to reach the top of everest; congrats. You’re the top!
Posted by: b lee on 5/22/2011 at 6:24 am
GO LINDEN… i am proud of you cuz- great guiding!!
Be safe :)
Posted by: Shelby Herrod on 5/21/2011 at 1:36 pm
Sara,
For weeks I’ve been clicking on this box and trying to come up with something inspiring or helpful to say to you. Unfortunately, surprise, I’ve realized that there probably isn’t that one perfect thing that’s going to help you through this but I can say this: If there was anyone in the world that I would say could climb mount Everest and make it to the top (I know, i don’t have the climbing lingo down yet) it would be you. Not only are you strong (I mean, we’ve all seen those chiseled abs hehe) but you’re also brave, sweet and amazingly humble. Heck, if I were climbing mount Everest, they’d probably have to get an extra harness for my big fat egotistical head! hehe. Though I have to say, just bragging about how I have a friend as cool as you is enough for me. But really, I look up to you Sara, you’re everything a person could want to be and I know it’s getting hard and it’s probably only harder from here, but remember that you’re already remarkable no matter what happens. And as much as I’d like to fly up there with a cosmo and a beach towel in hand, all I can really say is that I wish you the best, you’re one of the most astonishing people I know, and from my heart to yours, I know you can do this.
With love always,
Gigi
Posted by: Gigi Abcarian on 5/13/2011 at 1:58 am
SAYYYSS!! I can’t stop thinking about you!! every step is closer to your dream and closer to coming back to us!! so hunker down and stay strong. WE ALL LOVE YOU SO MUCH
Posted by: Ans on 5/9/2011 at 7:57 am
The Mt. Shuksan Sulphide Glacier Team led by RMI Guides Joe Hoch and Dan May reached the summit on Thursday, September 22, 2022. The team had great weather, smoke free skies, and a great climbing route. With incoming rain, the team descended a day early to beat the deteriorating forecast.
Congratulations Team!
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Mountaineering Fitness & Training
The ability to measure your gains throughout a training program is a great way to stay motivated and identify areas that you want to work on more. In college I raced on the cross-country ski team. On the team, we had several different benchmark sessions throughout our summer and fall training seasons. These sessions helped measure strength, anaerobic threshold, race speed, and endurance. While the demands of nordic ski racing are somewhat different than mountaineering, these categories still apply directly to mountaineering. If you incorporate tests into your training plan early, you’ll have a benchmark to compare each subsequent test to. With a tool to identify your progress, you’ll be amazed at the progress you will make in getting faster, stronger, and fitter!
As food for thought, a couple of the events that we used were:
A Strength Test: The test encompasses three different core exercises that isolate different muscle groups: sit-ups, push-ups, and dips. Starting with sit-ups, do as many complete sit-ups as possible within a 1-minute span, rest for 30 seconds, and then repeat. We did the same with both push-ups and dips, keeping track of the numbers. When repeating the test later in the season, you are able to track your gains in core strength.
3000-meter running test and time trials: Both allowed us to compare times over a consistent course and test aerobic thresholds. The 3000m is long enough (7.5 laps of a standard track) to attain a good idea of how you can push and maintain over an extended distance. Time trials are the same, though distance and mechanism can vary (20 kilometers on a bike or a 45 minute uphill run). Longer courses focus on aerobic capacity (endurance), while shorter events move more towards the aerobic threshold (the ability to process lactic acid and maintain aerobic respiration).
Uphill sprint test: Running uphill as hard as I could pushed me into the anaerobic zone and measured maximum performance. Alpine ski areas, a local uphill grind, or even a long set of stairs are a great place to do this test. Find a section 2-3 minutes long, duck your head, and give it all you have.
Be creative with creating your own benchmark tests! Enter a 5k race periodically, use your local stadium stairs as an anaerobic test, and create a strength test that works for you. The options are pretty limitless, and when you see how much time you’ve dropped on that uphill run, or how many more sit-ups you can do over the period, you’ll be that much more psyched to keep getting after it. As always, be careful, especially at the beginning. Training only works if it’s making you stronger so train smart and stay injury free!
_____
Pete Van Deventer is a senior guide at RMI Expeditions. A former collegiate nordic skier, Pete climbs and guides around the world, from the Andes to Alaska. Pete is leading an expedition on Denali's West Buttress in May. Also an avid skier, Pete has sailed and skied on several occasions through Norway's Lofoten Islands, read about the adventure on the RMI Blog.
Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Lauren Macklin, Tatum Whatford
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Mt. Rainier Women's Climb, led by RMI Guide Hannah Smith, reached the summit at 6:30 a.m. The team reported nice weather and good route conditions. They spent some time on top before beginning their descent back to Camp Muir at 8:00 a.m.
We look forward to congratulating the team this afternoon at Raineir Basecamp!
Congratulations to all 9 of you women and especially you Amie. You all put in so much work and are an inspiration to us all.
Thank you Hannah and Tatum for getting them to the top!
Posted by: Craig Oberg on 7/30/2021 at 9:30 am
E-L-L-I-O-T
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Enjoy the peace and wonder of your celebratory lap down mountain.
Love ya, proud of ya - period.
Sláinte
The Old Man
Posted by: Shawn Dalgleish on 6/5/2021 at 6:35 pm
Awesome Job Eric!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 6/5/2021 at 2:50 am
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