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May 4, 2015, 9:46 pm PT Good evening friends & family! The first RMI Alaska Seminar of 2015 is on the SE fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. Our team spent today buffing out camp, which overlooks the airstrip, with snow block walls and a bathroom. We taught a clinic on climbing fundamentals, watched Mt. Hunter shed some large ice blocks and enjoyed a nice dinner of burritos in the cook tent. Tomorrow we will venture to the north side of Horiskey's Hump for some more training and climbing. Good night from a cold sunny glacier far far away. RMI Guide Leon Davis

On The Map

June 4, 2014 - 12:53 am PT The winds have finally abated now that we're in our tents here at 17,200 ft Camp. For much of the day we we're climbing head on into the breeze, making for an uncomfortable climb to camp. But we're psyched now. Tomorrow promises to be a great day, and given the fact that we had to ascend less than 1000' we should be in good shape. It was unfortunate the Buttress was so windy because it was such a beautiful climb and day. Wish us luck with the weather and perhaps our next chat will be from the summit. Good night from chilly 17,200' camp. RMI Guides Brent, Leah and Nick

On The Map

Another casual morning... We ate some breakfast, checked out of the Mercure (our hotel) around 8 am or so, loaded up the van and Jaime's truck, then hit the road. Heading north on the PanAmerican Highway, we left Quito and passed through the town of Otavalo, famous for it's large open air market. Eventually we turned off the highway and headed up into the countryside on our approach to Cerro Fuya Fuya. After many kilometers of driving on a cobblestone road up into the mountains we reached Laguna Mojanda and the base of Fuya Fuya. The lake is actually a giant caldera filled with water (think Crater Lake in OR) and made for a great backdrop to our second training hike. A couple hours of hiking and scrambling brought us to the summit at well over 14,000'. We enjoyed clear and sweeping views from la cumbre of the two valleys below in addition to the big Laguna. After a quick break on top we beat feet for the cars to try and out pace some menacing clouds. Everyone was feeling great. After another short trip in the van we arrived at the beautiful Hosteria San Luis. Talk about traveling in style, there are beautiful gardens, stables, classic colonial architecture, a pool, and a pond. The gang is settling in and enjoying the last bit of luxury before heading up to the climber's refugio on Cayambe. I'll call and check in tomorrow night from the refugio, RMI Guide Billy Nugent

Sunday, July 4, 2021 - 10:09 pm PT

The weather has not been cooperating with us lately, and the forecast doesn't look good either. Today was the best day in the forecast period and there were still strong winds up high and a huge lenticular cloud on the summit all day. We took advantage of the "best day" to climb up to 16,400' and retrieve our cache; there's a good chance that we would not be able to retrieve it over the next few days. Tomorrow is day 19 of our trip, and our time is running out. With no potential summit day in the foreseeable future we will likely start our descent tomorrow morning. The weather will determine our descent strategy and timing.

RMI Guide Mike Walter

Wednesday, June 19, 2013 The team is assembled and ready to go! Yesterday, we all stepped off the plane into the fire; both literally and figuratively. Alaska has been experiencing a strong heatwave, and Anchorage was toasty. We also had a lot to get done, buying the rest of our food for the mountain and making the drive to Talkeetna. We settled in to relax for the night, leaving the gear sorting and packing for today. Now, all of our gear is packed and weighed for the plane, tents have been set up and checked to make sure that they are good to go, and everyone is excited for the flight through the Alaska range. Now we just need the weather to cooperate tomorrow AM long enough to get us onto the mountain! Hopefully we'll check in from the glacier tomorrow! Cheers RMI Guides Pete, Geoff, Robby, and the team

On The Map

Hello from the Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge, Well, the elusive tree climbing lions were no where to be seen today, but the game viewing at Lake Manyara proved to be spectacular. From the moment we entered the gate, there were lots of animals. The first sighting of the day was a troop of baboons, followed by velvet monkeys, blue monkeys, giraffes, cape buffalo, elephants, hippos, and water bucks. Not bad for the first hour of our safari. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the park, and took enough pictures that a few batteries were already drained half way though the afternoon. Lake Manyara is about an hour's drive to Ngorongoro crater and we timed it perfectly to be at the first viewpoint of the crater right before sunset. When you first approach the crater, the view is just spectacular. Dropping almost a 1000 feet below you is the largest unbroken and unflooded caldera in the world. It is almost 13 miles across and is home to 25,000 animals. Not surprising that many call this the eighth wonder of the world! After a short drive along the crater rim from the viewpoint, we arrived at our lodge for the next two nights. The Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge sits right on the crater rim and each room has a full on view looking out over the entire crater. We will get an early start in the morning to drive down into the crater. Tomorrow is going to be a big day and the group can't wait to get down there. - The Kili Team

Descent

May 24, 2010 - 8:15 p.m. PST / 9:00 a.m. UTC 29,035 ft. Mark Tucker at Basecamp: Weather still okay as the team makes good progress on the descent. Still a couple days of hard work ahead for the climbers, and huge days for the Sherpa team to break down the camps. Not till our last load comes out of the icefall, will this team waiver from the techniques and attitude that has brought us great success on this expedition. It's been a lot a fun sharing our story with all of you. I will continue to keep you updated as news comes in. Thanks for all the support back home. All the best, Rainier Mountaineering Everest Team 2010

Party on TOP!

May 24, 2010 - 6:55 p.m. PST / 7:40 a.m. UTC 29,035 ft. Mark Tucker at Basecamp: Congratulations to the RMI Team! Dave, Leif, Seth, Casey, Michael, Scott, Tendi, Tshering Dorjee, Dawa Jamba, Da Gyldjen, Nima Tenji, Pasang Temba. On top of the world. All are doing well. A few quick pictures, a look around, then they'll start heading down!

First of RMI Team Arrives at Summit!

May 24, 2010 - 6:08 p.m. PST / 6:53 a.m. UTC 29,035 ft. Mark Tucker at Basecamp: Seth Waterfall is on the summit of Mount Everest. He has the summit all to himself. It is a bit chilly but he has plenty of oxygen and is feeling good! The rest of the team is at the Hilary step continuing up.

South Summit!

May 24, 2010 - 5:38 p.m. PST / 6:23 a.m. UTC 28,700+ ft. Mark Tucker at Basecamp: Just spoke with Dave via radio he and all others are on the South Summit changing O2 bottles. Some high level clouds keeping it cool so Seth had to get on the move or risk getting too cold, he is now on the Hilary step! Dave reports everyone in good shape.

Almost to South Summit

May 24, 2010 - 4:05 p.m. PST / 5:20 a.m. UTC 26,000 ft. Mark Tucker at Basecamp: Just received a radio call from Seth reporting he is approximately 10 minutes below South Summit. Dave and crew are just a bit behind. Little wind, some high clouds in and out, but overall great conditions.

At the Balcony

May 24, 2010 - 2:11 p.m. PST / 2:56 a.m. UTC 26,000 ft. Mark Tucker at Basecamp: All teams are at the Balcony changing oxygen bottles. The weather report remains calm winds and clear skies. The next check-in should be in approximately 2 - 3 hours, the South Summit, where I should be able to speak with the team directly.

Going For It!

May 24, 2010 - 9:30 a.m. PST / 10:15 p.m. UTC 26,000 ft. We have not been purposely holding out till the bitter end, I promise. You all deserve the final summit push. So lets bring it to you today and tonight. We sure hope that the old adage," good things come to those who wait", comes true. Tough call last night holding back the summit push, always a tricky situation, but it's looking very promising tonight. Snowed pretty much all day, but now......... not a cloud in the sky, and what a moon! Dave reports a little windy at the Col right now. I can't guarantee the team will summit, but there is a group of men at the South Col tonight that have done just about all that is possible to have a shot at the top. I can guarantee.... this RMI group will give Mount Everest the respect she deserves, and will not push harder than seems reasonable. It's all relative when you subject yourself to some of the most extreme conditions on Earth. With the support we have from our incredible Sherpa staff, and the wealth of experience our guides bring to this expedition. No worries mate. I may even get a few winks in between the dispatches I plan to send throughout the night.

The Four Day Climb led by RMI guides Brent Okita and Alex Halliday attempted to climb Mt. Rainier today, but turned at Cathedral Gap due to pouring rain. The teams got a late start out of Muir this morning due to the rain and lightning overnight. They plan to leave Muir shortly after 9 am for their descent to Paradise.

A very nice day on Safari. We descended into the crater some 1,800 plus feet to get below the clouds surrounding the rim. Interesting forest of flat-topped Acacia trees surround the drop from the top. We as guests felt welcomed to this community of over 30,000 animals. Such a unique experience to be part of the tribe of the crater. The animals sense no threat so to be able to observe these creatures interaction in such a pure form is truly amazing. You can really think you understand their train of thought and why they are behaving a certain way. Probably not even close to the reason behind the action but fun to think I may be a wild animal whisperer. Great food and drink of course as we continue to enjoy the friendly local hospitality. The team continues to impress with their ability to persevere through the challenges of the day like what picture to take. Life is good, all is well, get out while you can. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

Update: 5:56 am PT It's a little bit of the high camp blues up here at 19,600 feet on a Sunday afternoon. Will someone please magically tell us what's going on in the nfl?! The winds are still strong but we are having more lulls which is a good sign. Now it's a waiting game. We need the winds to be reasonable to make a safe summit attempt. And if there is one thing Aconcagua is known for...it's wind. We are hoping for the best! Voicemail: 2:59 am PT: Hey Everyone - This is Team 2 up at High Camp on Aconcagua at 19,600’, I am trying not to yell right now, but if you hear that noise, that is the wind. As I speak the tent walls are slapping me in the face. We did not go the summit today, it definitely was way too windy. But the word on the street, is the winds are supposed to die down later this evening and through tomorrow so keep your fingers crossed. Everyone here is doing really well. We are making the best out of a windy day . Keeping some hot drinks going for the gang and making some breakfast. We will be hanging out and making sure these tents don’t go any where. Thanks for following along. Everyone is safe and sound, we will check in later, hopefully with some good news tomorrow. RMI Guide JJ Justman

On The Map