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The clear, beautiful skies made for a cool and frosty night down at Ixtaccihuatl Basecamp. The team woke up to flakes of snow hitting our face, courtesy of the moisture from our breath. We ate our breakfast, packed our bags and were on our way.
The sun was strong, but a cool wind kept our temperature regulated quite perfectly as the team worked their way up. Our months of hard work and preparation paid off as the team was strong as ever. Making the move from 13,000ft to 15,400ft is no small feat, especially with the heavy loads of the day. We made short work of it though, getting to our high camp in around four hours flat. Now we need to move into camp, relax for a bit, and talk logistics for the day ahead. I’m proud of the way the team performed today and it makes me as hopeful as ever for our summit day tomorrow.

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

The Mt. Rainier RMI and SheJumps Climb, led by Hannah Smith, reached the summit today at 5:40am with 100% success! They have started their descent from the crater rim and will return to Basecamp later today.

After several days of training and ascending to Camp Schurman, the Expedition Skills Seminar June 17 - 22 led by RMI Guide Mike Walter reached the summit of Mt. Rainier on Tuesday.  The team enjoyed good weather and route conditions.  After reaching the summit they returned to Camp Schurman for their final night on the mountain.  The team will descend to the trail head and return to Rainier BaseCamp on Wednesday afternoon.

Congratulations to the Emmons Seminar team!

Your read that right, round 2 for RMI Torres del Paine Trek. Our team flew into Puerto Natales on the 19th. We spent the 20th getting gear ready and getting adjusted to the time zone change. Today our shuttle picked us up at 5 am and by 7:30 we were walking up hill. Our first day is up to see the Torres (towers) that the park takes it’s name from. Three granite spires that rise out of a alpine cirque that has a receding glacier and provide great views. It’s a tough day to begin our eight-day trek: 13 miles with 3,500’ up and back down to Torres Central. There was hardly a cloud in sight, no wind at Windy Pass and the heat was not what we’d have expected in Patagonia. Thankful for the shade we got from the forested trail while it lasted we enjoyed a good day and are now back at the Refugio. Tomorrow we’ll hope for some cooler weather but regardless head for Seron Camp over a short four-hour day. Thanks for following along.

RMI Guide Mike King

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!

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!

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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.

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