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The first day and night down after an Everest climbing rotation are great for enjoying the novelty of comfort and easy living again. But it isn't really until the second night back down that I normally get full and renewing sleep. And looking at Kent, Seth and Erica over coffee this morning, I'm guessing it was similar for them. We all seemed back to our normal selves again today, ready to make plans and preparations for climbing again. Toward that end, during breakfast out in the sun, we began sketching a big calendar of the next four weeks. There are plenty of blanks on it still, naturally... and of course a big question mark or two at the end, but I was pleased to at least be building a framework out into the all-important second half of May. I consider it a great luxury to be down merely resting rather than recovering (which can be a much less predictable process). I'm crediting that distinction to my strong, fit and patient partners... but also to my experience and past mistakes in this arena. I'm guessing that we did just enough up high this last time around... not too much, not too little. It is all too easy for me to remember the many trips that formed my learning curve on which I wasn't satisfied to come down the hill until my throat was bleeding, my head was pounding, and my muscles were pulled. This is better. And I find I can illustrate the elusive "big picture" with the help of a calendar and some colorful marker pens. Pacing is everything in a two-month-long "race." My partners didn't fight me on any of this stuff (making me worry that my own slow learning curve could possibly have been avoided by employing a bigger brain). Erica settled in for a morning of schoolwork. Kent went to fiddle with his cameras and Seth had reading to do. We'd already made good use of yesterday in showering, shaving and leveling our tent platforms, so today was just plain old good rest. That is what they were doing up at C2 today as well. And perhaps it was the plan all over the mountain, as I didn't see very much traffic in the Icefall this morning. Our Sherpa team didn't rest today, but then they were up early enough and moving fast enough that by my morning survey, they were well out of sight and on their way to C2 already. By afternoon, I was in the mood for struggle and conquest, and so I sought out renowned Scrabble player Justin Merle in the IMG camp. We tussled for a bit (alas, no bingos) before the better man prevailed. And then it was nice to just share afternoon tea with my longtime friends Mark Tucker and Eric Simonson. HimEx leader Russell Brice and Monica, his team doctor, showed as well for an unplanned and relaxing chat. Linden Mallory completed the party when he came to make sure that the "Sirdar" meeting was taking place as scheduled. Far more important than our tea party, this was a meeting of the Sherpa team leaders and dealt with figuring a plan to fix rope -and soon- on the summit terrain. While I may seem smug about taking the longer road and viewing the bigger picture, and all that, in order to get to the summit in the easiest and safest way -three weeks down the road- I'm anxious to have others start pounding away urgently at the door to the top... NOW! There are plenty of strong and ambitious people here, and I don't want them all going to the top when I want to go to the top. It benefits everybody to have the door to the summit open for a longer period... and it will benefit my team to have that route pounded in and well-tested. Those who desire more challenge and more bragging rights back home can go early when it is colder and meaner. I wish them luck. Kick big footsteps, please. Now if the first night down low was novel and the second was restful, I wonder what the third will be like... Will I soon be able to brag about having achieved the perfect basecamp rest day? Ambition takes many forms.

Sunday, January 1, 2023

It was clear cold night, the stars shone like diamonds in the Andean sky. We awoke early in order to beat the heat of the day that was surely on its way with the rising of the sun. The days trek began with an icy cold crossing of a glacially cold stream. It was a painful but effective way to remove any last trace of sleepiness from the group. 

Today is our greatest elevation gain of the trek to reach Plaza Argentina Basecamp.  Gaining 3,600' of elevation is no joke when you’re starting from 10,000', but the team was well fed and ready to start the New Year right. We styled it. We enjoyed sunny skies, cool temps, and stunning vistas as we made our way up the Ralincos Valley and into Basecamp by midday. 

We are playing dice & eating pizza. Some are napping and journaling. Regardless it’s been a good afternoon in the sun to dry out gear and tomorrow morning is a rest day.

Thanks for following along.

RMI Guides Jack, Dom & Mike

Hello again everyone. We had a early departure from the Dik Dik Lodge and drove east for about two hours to reach Kilimanjaro National Park. Our drive took us through the rural country side of Tanzania which is full of banana and coffee plantations, markets and plenty of people headed between home and the local water well. It was very surreal to see so many folks who depend on these wells for their water, especially watching them walking with 5 gallon jugs carefully balanced on their heads. Once at the gate we took a short break to sign in and allow our team to arrange all the loads and hire all of our porters for the seven-day climb. Our team started with 11 climbers and quickly grew as we acquired all the support of cooks, waiters, camp crew and porters and we ended up at a total of 68! Just before 11 a.m. we set off on the trail that ascended through the forest and slowly climbed all the way up to just shy of 10,000'. It took the team a little over four hours to reach our camp and everyone did fantastic and enjoyed the hike. The team just finished dinner and are all comfortably resting in our warm sleeping bags- thanks to the hot water bottles our gracious crew prepared for us. Not quite roughing it yet! RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

On The Map

The Four Day Summit Climb led by Casey Grom and the Five Day Summit Climb led by Solveig Waterfall reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams reported windy conditions up top. Both teams will descend to Camp Muir, pack up and then continue to Paradise. We look forwrd to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!

Today we woke up with clear skies! After breakfast we shouldered our packs and went for a hike to the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. The Fork offers spectacular views of the North Buttress of Mt. Hunter, South Face of Radio Tower, and the West Face of Kahiltna Queen. We also learned about snow anchors and glacier travel. It was really nice to be able to stretch our legs and hike around. It certainly was a fantastic day. We also had the opportunity to eat dinner outside enjoying the incredible views. The weather is looking nice for the rest of the week, so we will be getting around. Everyone is doing great! RMI Guide Andres Marin

The Four Day Summit Climb led by Brent Okita and the Five Day Summit Climb led by Tyler Reid both reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning just after 7 am PT. Brent reported beautiful weather - bluebird skies without any wind. The low marine layer of clouds we are experiencing in Ashford tops out around 6,000' -7,000’. The teams started their descent around 8:30 en route to Camp Muir. They will take a break there before continuing their descent to Paradise. Congratulations to today's teams!

Hey all, this is Geoff and JJ with Aconcagua Team One. We are currently back at Camp Two after an acclimatization hike up to 20,000' today. Moderate winds, a cloud cap pretty heavy this morning, breaking up this afternoon, pretty clear now with still some winds hanging in there. We are all doing well and everybody's happy and we are just waiting for a good weather forecast come our way, which would be great. That's all for now, bye. RMI Guide Geoff Schellens

There were elephants walking between our tents in the night. We went to sleep to the sound of them eating grass and shrubs. Breakfast at Lokisale was just before sunrise and so we got the maximum value from our final day on Safari. We hated to leave such a comfortable camp, but we were excited to see what we could see. Within a few minutes drive, we’d crossed back into Tarangire National Park, but a considerable distance from the main gate. Our drivers took us along a gigantic swamp which was teeming with wildlife. We had the place to ourselves for hours.  The team was still looking high and low for leopards when we found lions. Two big males, out for a mellow morning of hunting. They simply walked toward herds of hartebeest or Cape buffalo without much stealth, hoping to get lucky. 

Then we saw a lioness and her two cubs laying about and doing cat things. Before the morning was out we’d gotten glimpses of another leopard and a couple of Cheetahs.  Not close enough for photography but close enough that we felt very lucky to see them. We headed for the main gate eventually, after a hundred more eagles and giraffes, a dozen hippos, a million impala and wildebeest and zebra. There were hyenas and mongooses and darn near everything else… except bears and tigers.  And mile after mile of beautiful East African savanna and forest. 

By noon we were out of the park and driving east toward Arusha. We made a final stop at the cultural center on the city outskirts and stretched our legs while surveying the artwork. We reached our comfortable and familiar Rivertrees Hotel just after 3 PM. Then we started having to say goodbye to one another as our itineraries diverged. Some of us are flying today, some tomorrow, some are continuing the expedition to the shores of Zanzibar. It was a good team and so we are confident of seeing each other again on some future adventure. Even so, there is just a little sadness that it all has to end for now. 

It was pretty fun. Thanks for following along. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

Thursday, May 18, 2023 10:55pm PDT

Hello from the Kahiltna Glacier!

What a busy day it was. We loaded planes and were in the air by 9am. It was chilly morning in Talkeetna, warmed by bour last Lattes and Michael but man was it hot on our walk. I thought it was cold in May. We took off downhill on what is called heart break hill. It is not heart breaking yet but it will be on our return. But that is a way away from now. Everything is so big around us you have little idea how far everything is. Is it close or is it miles away? We walked for 5.5 hours to reach our camp at the base of ski hill. It is a tough walk with heavy sleds and heavy packs. You really enter a pain cave to push through. One stretch is your quads, the next your hip flexors, the next your calves, something is always uncomfortable. But hey that is what we signed up for!

After setting up tents and moving in we gathered for dinner. We carried in pizza from Mountain High Pizza, and it was delicious. We topped off the night with a hot drink and the crawled into our sleeping bags. It’s a marvelous feeling to lay down and release the body. Tomorrow we will carry gear to just over 10k feet and then return to our camp for the night. The lighter loads will feel a lot better going up ski hill. Weather is moving in so fingers crossed it stays at bay till we return to camp or even better till the following evening so we can get to 11k camp. The team is looking good, and morale is high.

We are all excited to keep moving uphill.

Goodnight all,

RMI Guides Hannah, Devin, Erika, and Team

With dust in our eyes (it hasn’t snowed here since early January) and a dream in our hearts (no matter how dirty and tired we are, we all continue wanting it), we awoke at 12:45am this morning to climb Iztaccíhuatl (Ixta). Actually, we were all awake around 10:45pm to overhear the saga of two of our climbers trying to get a mouse out of their tent. Either way, these alpine starts always seem to come a touch too early.

Our day started with a sleepy ascent of “The Knees” section of the route. Once atop “The Knees”, there was a moderate wind that stuck around all day. Most of us wore parkas for nearly the entire climb; it was chilly but beautifully clear. Once the sun came up, we could clearly pick out skyscrapers in downtown Mexico City, which is unassumingly, the fifth largest city in the world.

The group powered through cold, wind and dust and everyone who made the attempt today also reached the summit! Congrats to this bus full of climbers who will enjoy their well-deserved Tacos Arabe in Puebla this evening.

Dustin