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RMI Guides Casey Grom and Dominic Cifelli led their Four Day Climb teams for August 15 - 18, 2022 to the summit of Mt. Rainier today.  Climbers reached the summit around 5:30 am.  They reported an excellent climb and overall great day.  The teams are heading back to Camp Muir where they will take a quick break before continuing the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise.  Their program will conclude this afternoon at Rainier BaseCamp.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

RMI Four Day Climb August 23 - 26 led by RMI Guides Mike King and Joe Hoch reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this mornnig at 6:30 am.  Mike report a light breeze with a cloud near the summit as they were ascending this morning but once they reached the crater they had good visibility.  The teams were crossing the crater and approaching Columbia Crest just before 7 am.  After enjoying the views and signing the Summit Book, the team will begin their descent from the crater rim.  They will return to Camp Muir for a short break and then continue down to Paradise later today.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

The RMI Mexico's Volcanoes team enjoyed a restful day in Puebla. The historic town square was a little less festive this year but colorful murals, buildings and food didn’t disappoint. The highlight for some was a sunset dinner and drinks at a rooftop restaurant. 

This morning we got an early start for Tlachichuca, at the base of Pico de Orizaba, where we are currently having a meal after packing for our climb. We also got our COVID tests done - a requirement to return to the United States. 

Our drive today to Piedra Grande Refugio, Orizaba's high camp, will be on a bumpy and dusty road. We will take a walk to get some exercise and then turn in the evening. We hope to get good rest for our alpine start and summit attempt on Orizaba tomorrow. We’ll be updating the blog upon returning from Orizaba tomorrow afternoon. Fingers crossed for good weather.

Thanks,

RMI Guide Mike King

Day 16

After what felt like an eternity, the winds finally calmed and the clouds parted ways as we arrived at Nido de Cóndores – Cólera (High Camp). A challenging day with a very rewarding conclusion. The team quickly made camp in hopes of getting as much sleep as possible before the big day tomorrow. We are tired but prepared.

Till next time,

RMI Guides Luke, David and Team

Greeting everyone,

When on trips like this a team develops routines. Our daily routine begins with copious amounts of tea and coffee. The favorite flavor thus far is anything lemon ginger. After our bodies were filled with our hot beverage of choice, we hit the trail. Before we got too far into the trail (all a few hundred feet) we stopped at a bakery. The apple strudel has been said to be the best a team member has had outsode Austria. Loaded up with goodies we begin our journey for the day. We followed crystal blue water as we made our way uphill. Long bouncy cable bridges zig zagged us across the river. The stretch of the trail should be called the trail of stairs since we climbed what seemed endless amounts of them. But with every step we took we went higher and got closer to the mountains. Halfway through the day we got our first glimpse of Everest...man is she beautiful. This sneak peek gives the team motivation to push uphill.

After sharing the trail with fellow hikers, mules and zyopkyo (half cow, half yak) we arrived in Namche. Colorful buildings and stone walkways greet us. Souvenirs outside the store front capture our eyes. Puppies scamper about. Namche has a majestic feel. Hotel camp de base welcomes us with more tea, snacks, and Wi-Fi. The team has earned them all. Naps and shopping occupied our afternoon before sitting down for dinner with not tea this time but hot cocoa. Tired eyes and bodies are welcomed by comfy beds as we settle down for the night.

Today has been a good day. Tomorrow brings more adventure and more pictures. 

Goodnight, all,

RMI Guides Casey, Hannah, and Team

The Four Day Climb July 13 - 16 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today led by RMI Guides JT Schmitt and Joe Hoch.  The teams reported winds around 45 mph towards the summit.  That means they didn't spend much time on top today.  As of 7 am they were on their descent and headed back to Camp Muir. The teams will continue down from Camp Muir later this morning and return to Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon for their celebration ceremony.

Congratulations to the Footprints of Fight climbers!

Hola de Mexico!

The RMI Mexico Volcanoes team has arrived in Mexico City.  After negotiating the busy maze of streets from the airport we have arrived in the lively Zona Rosa district. Last night we enjoyed some authentic Mexican food and prepare for our first acclimatization hike at La Malinche today. Stay tuned for more dispatches as we continue our trip around Mexico!

--RMI Guide Grayson Swingle

• My friend, Dave Campbell, and I drove a VW bug up the Alaska Highway, which in those days included 1200 miles of unpaved surface (dirt!). His V-dub gave up the ghost in the Yukon, about 100 miles short of the Alaska border, so we hitch-hiked to Anchorage and took the Alaska Railroad to Talkeetna. Two guys in a pick-up, moving to Alaska after time there in the army, went hundreds of miles out of their way to deliver us to Anchorage. That anybody would pick up two straggly dudes along with 1,000 lbs of backpacks, food and gear, left a most favorable impression with me.
• Later in April, my first day in Talkeetna. It was snowing mightily as I stepped from the train and observed a wedding procession passing by the Fairview Inn on Main St. The bride and groom were mushing a sled dog team to the delight of revelers lining the street. Being a ‘Cheechako’ (tenderfoot/greenhorn/newcomer) I couldn’t help but wonder if the couple planned to honeymoon in a nearby igloo.
• Our 4-man team brought 30 days of food: breakfast, lunch and dinner for four, packed inside two dozen 3-gallon metal containers (to thwart cache-raiding birds). As it turned out, we needed every morsel as we were on the mountain a total of 33 days (and didn’t make the summit; must be some kind of record!)
• We had elected to fly with Don Sheldon’s competitor, Cliff Hudson. Cliff headquartered out of his home; a quonset hut, strewn to the absolute brim with various electronics and innumerable airplane parts (plus, his wife Ollie, and four young sons). There was no Talkeetna State Airport that I remember. Rather, we took off and landed from the ‘village strip’ across the street from the Fairview (a wind sock was strategically placed on the roof).
• Climbers did not pay a Special Use fee, but the NPS required each party to have a radio capable of reaching Talkeetna from Base Camp. It was rented from ABC Communications in Anchorage, and required a $500 deposit (a fortune to us at the time). Cliff Hudson provided the necessary 12-volt car battery and jumper cable to power the radio, as well as a dozen 12’ spruce boughs (which he crammed into the fuselage of his Cessna 180, along with our food cans, group and personal equipment, and finally, us!). The small Cessna’s that pilots preferred in those days meant multiple trips to and from the mountain, transporting climbers.
• Base Camp was approximately 7300’ on the SE Fork of Kahiltna Glacier. We dug a snowcave for leaving the radio, battery, spruce boughs, and misc. personal affects. We marked the roof circumference with willow wands and a 15’ section of PVC pipe (it snows a lot there), adorned with a small flag, to denote the cave entrance. Over three weeks later we returned and located the cache (which required extensive digging to excavate). The spruce boughs were lined up in a row on the glacier surface, and radio antennae wire strung from the cave to each, like a telephone pole in the middle of nowhere. Power was connected to the radio, and we commenced trying to reach Cliff in Talkeetna to inform him we were ready to be picked up. If the radio didn’t work (some years it wouldn’t) our backup was the CB radio (Citizens Band), potentially capable of reaching a passing aircraft. In those days, bush pilots were acutely aware of location and progress of ‘their’ groups on the mountain, in order to guesstimate when pick up from Base Camp would be needed (in case the radio didn’t work).
• In 1972 sleds were not in vogue, and the four of us carried back and forth in between camps to fully stock the next, higher, site. That required as many as three days of stockpiling. In retrospect, we wasted a lot of good weather while low on the route, and experienced unsettled conditions during the time we spent at high camp.
• Underway, we observed three people descend from Kahiltna Pass, early-on in the trip. It turned out their fourth member had been evacuated from 14K with suspected pulmonary edema. These were the last human beings we saw for the better part of the next three weeks, until we were descending the ‘infamous’ fixed line between 15,000’ – 16,000’ (we met a party coming up the rope; worst spot on the whole route to pass!).

• All nine RMI Denali expeditions reached the summit of Mt McKinley (May, June, and July).
• 87% of our 2015 Denali clients reached the summit.
• The vast majority of guides and climbers jet to Alaska and ride a shuttle to Talkeetna.
• K2 Aviation’s fleet of de Havilland Beavers and Otters can transport an entire team to Base Camp in a single flight.
• Satellite phones and daily dispatches of expedition progress take the guess work out of when to pick up climbing parties.
• RMI expeditions averaged 18.4 days roundtrip this season.
• Guides and climbers alike raved about the new Expedition Sleds.
• There were no accidents or injuries requiring evacuation or hospitalization on any RMI Denali expeditions this season.
_____
Joe Horiskey began guiding for RMI Expeditions in 1968 at the age of seventeen. Since that 1972 expedition, Joe has participated in 23 Mt. McKinley expeditions and has 235 summits of Mt. Rainier along with expeditions to peaks across the globe. Joe is a co-owner of RMI Expeditions and director of our Mt. McKinley expeditions. Have a question or thinking about climbing Mt. McKinley? Call our office and talk to Joe; he loves to talk all things Alaska!

We had a great day at Mt. Erie on Tuesday for the first day of our Expedition Skills Seminar - Shuksan.  We went through gear, learned knots, anchors, belaying, and rappelling. We also did a bit of top rope climbing in boots to get ready for Shuksan. We then prepped and got ready to head onto the mountain for the next few days.  We had a great day with a bit of cloud cover to keep it cool. We then moved into camp at the toe of the Sulphide Glacier with some incredible views for the next several days! 

On Friday, we made our summit attempt with 100% of the group reaching the summit at 9,131'.  It was a long day and we arrived back in camp late.  Everybody is happy. We'll train on Saturday and check in then. 

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer