The Mt. Baker - Easton Glacier Team with Walt Hailes reached 10,781' summit via the Easton Glacier. The team had perfect weather and route conditions for the climb.
The team woke up at 5am at Camp 1 with everyone feeling good. They need to start early today as the area they will be climbing in, the Western Cwm, will get very hot. With no wind, mile high walls surrounding you, intense solar radiation due to the lack of atmosphere above, you can be in the cooker.
It feels great for a while, but it sure can take a lot of energy from you. The goal will be to climb up to Camp 2 , have a snack, say hi to Lam Babu
and Yubarj ,our two men making the 21,000 ft + high outpost for the team. Then return back to Camp 1 for one more night before returning to Base Camp.
The Blueprint for a successful climb of this peak starts way before you get to the mountain. Training of course, experience....the more the better, then you need a Master Craftsman like our Dave Hahn out here in the field. Every action has a reaction and nobody knows that better than Dave. Right now the team is working on the foundation of this climb. Dave has the time line for this project always in sight. He looks at his plans and knows that if he fails to build to code things can fall apart. The inspector (Mount Everest) can show up on the job site at anytime and you better be ready.
Dave didn't stop at Home Depot to pick up some help, Linden and our team of Sherpa have all gone through a rigorous apprenticeship, and have been
studying under the watchful eye of a Journeyman Everest Guide. We will continue to support our crew with the best tools and equipment out there.
So both you and I can marvel at a job well done.
Till next time,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Mt. Everest Base Camp Manager
This is Seth and Billy checking in from Punta Arenas, Chile. We arrived yesterday afternoon after 31 straight hours of travel. Lucky for us all of our 13 bags made the trip with us!
We're meeting up with the rest of the crew this evening and in the meantime we are going to get some fresh food to take to Antarctica. We are also going to continue to enjoy the one (1) song that is on continuous loop here in the hotel restaurant.
We'll check in again tomorrow!
This is Dave Hahn calling down from Camp 2 on Mt. Everest. Finally! We are out of Basecamp and on our summit bid. We had a great morning coming up. The climbing route is actually in pretty good condition. The ice fall is scary as ever but the Ice Fall Doctors have been doing a good job and we got through in pretty quick time. It was a beautiful morning nice and clear and calm.
The mountain is quieting down a little bit. There were a lot of Sherpas carrying loads down today for expeditions that were finished. So the mountain is quieting down and we think that is a hopeful sign for us. The forecast is coming together and there are still a few teams still around that are on the same time frame as us. We have been comparing notes.
Things are going pretty well. Our Sherpa team is going to come up tomorrow to ABC. We are going to rest tomorrow and get ready for the Lhotse Face and moving to Camp 3 the following day. We are pretty optimistic. We are all feeling really good right now and we are going to keep you informed.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Just heard the news of crowding in the death zone and subsequent loss of life this past weekend. So glad to read the blog and to be assured all is well with you both. Have fun and be safe. Can’t wait to read about your successful return.
Cheers,
Jo
Posted by: Josephine Johnson on 5/22/2012 at 8:06 am
We looked like a totally different crew at breakfast this morning. Part of that was because it was still slightly dark when we had breakfast today... we were up early for Icefall training. But when the light happened to hit a face here and there, it showed freshly shaved mugs and clean, fluffy hair. We neatened up yesterday afternoon, testing the shower.
When I first began coming to Everest, in 1991, we wouldn't have dreamed of such an extravagance. Or perhaps back then, we simply thought seventy days of grubbiness was required to properly test a summit wannabe. We all wanted to be Everest "hardmen" in the classic mold. Or maybe with some classic mold. Nowadays, of course, it is clear that we can't possibly measure up to the legends of the Everest game by accumulating filth. Cleanliness is in. And besides, it just doesn't seem all that difficult anymore to set aside one propane tank for an on-demand heater connected to a barrel full of water attached to a tiny electric pump, which all results in a hot stream of water coming out of a showerhead near the top of a tent built for such a purpose.
Our clean team walked out of camp this morning at 6 AM. Ten minutes later, we'd stepped into crampons and were trudging up and over ice rolls and ridges, bound for the start of the climbing route. Our Sherpa team had beaten us to it, having rolled out of camp at 4:30 AM. Seven of them fired up the newly established Icefall route to establish our Camp I at around 19,900 ft. Two more, Tschering and Mingma, went to CI but then continued on all the way up the Western Cwm, claiming some prime real estate up there at 21,300 ft for our Advanced Basecamp (aka ABC, aka CII, aka "Tschering and Mingma kicked butt"). The rest of us contented ourselves with a good stretch of the legs, climbing 90 minutes out of camp to reach the first ladders and fixed ropes, which we practiced on for a bit before returning. It was a good reminder for all that we are new to these altitudes and that it is cold out on the glacier before the sun hits. But nearly everybody came down jazzed and excited to get after the rest of the Khumbu Icefall in the coming days. The Icefall is an intimidating place, but it is also quite beautiful in the early morning light.
Resting up this afternoon, we watched as a number of teams pulled into basecamp. Within a few days, the gang will all be here, but for today we were happy to see the Alpine Ascents team pull in with a bunch of guides we've all worked alongside of for years. IMG got here before us, and they are just a stone's throw away with a bunch more of our friends. Russell Brice came through camp yesterday and reported that his big HimEx team is doing well in their slightly separate basecamp twenty minutes down the trail. There have been a few sightings of the Benegas brothers, Willie and Damian and it will be fun to connect up with them again for some milk tea. Henry Todd is rumored to be on the approach. The season is on and all the usual suspects are gathering.
The Four Day Climb August 19 - 22 led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Dustin Wittmier reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. As of 7 am the teams were enjoying time in the summit crater. There are currently a few broken clouds but otherwise a clear and sunny day. Teams will be returning back to Camp Muir and then descending the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise. There program will conclude with a celebration at Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon.
My son Lucas was roped up with each of the guides at some point during the climb and had nothing but praise for all of them. My wife and I want to thank Mira, George, Casey, and Dustin for leading a safe, informative, and successful climb! Cheers to all of you!
Excellent weather at Union Glacier this morning. Our return flight to South America was never in question. We ate huge breakfasts and then went back for seconds. There was a little easy packing and a little easy waiting, sprinkled through with meetings and reunions with climbers and guides and staff from other trips in other places. The 757 landed in early afternoon with another load of Vinson hopeful climbers. We got on board shortly afterwards. There were excellent views of the Ellsworth Mountains east side, with Craddock, Vinson and Tyree standing out. Then it was seatback movies and the drink and snack carts for the four hour flight. We touched down in Punta Arenas around eight. My team was checked in to hotels and showered and ready for a celebration dinner by ten. This is the easy part.
It is 4:30 in the afternoon on the 25th of May, at South Col, Everest High Camp. We didn’t go for it last night, there a few too many people, I don’t know how many exactly, but on the order of 90 – 100 and there was a wind last night, so we didn’t pull the trigger last night.
We are going to go for it tonight. We’ve got the forecast in our favor, the winds are supposed to drop down. There are other people going for it tonight but manageable numbers and we feel pretty good about it. It’s a sunny day up here at 26,000’ and we are hanging out, making plans taking care of our selves, getting ready because tonight we want to start up for the roof of the world.
I’ll try to give you a call when we get up and are brewing up in the dark tonight and the cold. But all is well, we are going ahead with things.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
RMI Guide Dave Hahn calls from 26,000 on Mt. Everest.
This is Dave Hahn calling down again from Camp 2, ABC, on Mount Everest, 21,300'. We took a rest of day here today as plan, tried to catch up on our hydration and rest obviously. We were pretty much observers today watching a lot going on, watching a lot of climbers coming down from the top and a lot going up. Easy to look out at any time today and see over 100 climbers on the Lhotse Face. We were particularly interested in the efforts of Lam Babu, our Sirdar, who went up in the middle of the night last night and led a team of Sherpas that were determined to help a man high on Lhotse who had been in distress for a couple of days. They did a great job getting up there. They were up there at Lhotse Camp 4 by out about 4 in the morning, or I'm sorry by about 6 in the morning. But sadly it was just a little too late for the man who'd been through too much. But very proud of Lam Babu and the team that he led up there. He's back safely at camp now. And we're getting ready for our efforts at moving up tomorrow, moving to Camp 3 tomorrow on the Lhotse Face. So that's certainly occupying all our thoughts as we go to bed. Hoping everything's in order and that we have a good day tomorrow. Bye for now.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Dave Hahn calls in from Everest Advanced Basecamp.
RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Melissa Arnot reached Everest Base Camp a few days ago and the expedition is underway! Keep an eye on the RMI Blog over the coming weeks for updates on their climb. In the meantime, check out this video from Outside Magazine where Dave describes his preparation for climbing Mt. Everest.
Mark, Your updates are very insightful and amusing. Sounds as if you are great at your job and enjoy it. Malamo Pono… Susie
Posted by: Susie Ellison on 4/24/2011 at 9:12 am
Happy birthday uncle Bill! Is it hard going with out menchi’s for 1 month? Hope to see you soon!
Posted by: sophie on 4/24/2011 at 8:15 am
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