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Tuesday, May 16, 2023 - 7:40 PM PT

Our life inside the snow globe continued today but got more comfortable as we dug in more completely. We dug our cooktent down further this morning so that standing puts us level with ground. Down that deep the wind cease to matter as much and we have sealed ourselves into a quite cozy spot. We moved through breakfast before retreating to the tents for the majority of the day. We made a lot of progress on our reading lists and did a fair bit of napping and eating to pass the time. We are hopeful that the trend will improve tomorrow and allow us to jump back down to 9,600 to retrieve our cache. Then we will have more exciting news to report, but for now, we are warm, fed, and happy, patiently waiting for the mountain to say we may pass.

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

Friday, June 4, 2021 - 3:09 pm PT

After our dry run yesterday, we got to do the real thing today. We landed on to the Kahiltna at precisely 10 am, and boy was it already hot! We were hoping to hit the ground running, but talking to teams coming off the lower Kahiltna and looking at the temps we decided to take the day to review skills, dig a cache and organize.

Due to the hot temps we are switching to a night schedule so we will sleep through the heat of the day today and depart when things firm up! Morale is high and we are super excited to be on the mountain!

RMI Guide JT Schmitt and team

The Four Day Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides Mike Haugen, Garrett Stevens and Elias de Andres Martos reached the summit of Mt. Rainier just before 7 am this morning with 100% of their team members. The teams reported very cold and windy conditions. They will spend a bit of time on the summit and then descend to Camp Muir. After a short rest to repack and refuel they will continue their descent to Paradise. Congratulations to today's teams!

I don't think I've ever seen an Everest season end so early or so abruptly. It began snowing hard at basecamp at around 6 AM and that has continued without pause for the entire day. Cyclone 02B out of the Bay of Bengal is the likely culprit. That was the same "depression" that prompted my summit squad to speed up our attempt, and in fact to go a day earlier than we'd originally planned. That all worked out, just barely, but I must admit that as we walked down the Western Cwm early yesterday morning under temporarily clear skies, I wondered what all the rush had been for. No wonder anymore. This is a big storm and our forecasts say it hasn't actually arrived yet... the whole cyclone may track right over Everest in the next few days. Due to the hard and smart work of our Sherpa team, we are sitting pretty. They managed- during our summit push- to take down every non-essential piece of gear from the Lhotse Face to the Khumbu Icefall. After the summit, when Seth, Melissa, Kent and I thought we had a big chore in getting our tired, coughing bodies down to ABC for the night, the Sherpas we'd gone to the summit with began tearing down Camp IV and putting it on their backs. They put in a huge, and with the value of hindsight, essential contribution in getting everything off the South Col before the bigger storm. This allowed our entire team, members and Sherpas alike, to be off the mountain and safely in basecamp by yesterday afternoon. According to Lam Babu and Tendi, just a handful of loads remain at ABC. While in logistical terms, this means that the expedition isn't quite finished and some of the guys will have to brave the Icefall for a final roundtrip, in the greater scheme of things... as I say, we are sitting pretty. If it intends to snow and snow and snow, then the Western Cwm could get extremely hazardous from an avalanche perspective. It is far better to have a team at the bottom of the mountain waiting until things are safe enough to go up rather than to have a team halfway up the mountain waiting until things are safe enough to come down. This doesn't mean that we aren't worried and concerned for our friends on neighboring teams who were caught in a less advantageous position. But yesterday evening, we were simply elated to be all in one safe place ourselves and to be newly successful. As we finished up dinner, happily comparing notes on the trip's two summit days, it was clear that the Sherpa dining tent next door was the more happening venue. The cheers were getting louder and louder, the singing and stomping of feet more enthusiastic. One by one, the team members found excuses to leave the dull tent and flee to the festive one. Since I'd put in about three hard days at altitude without significant sleep, I snuck past what was surely the best party in the entire valley and made for my own little hovel of a sleeping tent. I was not bothered in the least to hear the celebration go on for hours as I lay comfortably dozing in the dark. Nobody seemed the worse for wear in the morning as we huddled near a propane heater for our snowy breakfast. Not a lot got done today as we mostly took shelter and tried to catch up on food and drink. Linden Mallory, our hardworking basecamp manager, kept plenty busy with inventories and packing lists. The afternoon showing of "The Bourne Identity" on laptop had the dining tent jam-packed and silent. If the entire team is ready for beaches and jets and home, one couldn't quite see that today. We'll pack up and get walking soon enough. The gang is just happy to be together... and very aware that, while a cyclone spins overhead, none of the other teams that left BC so urgently in recent days are flying out of the Khumbu Valley.

The Four Day Climb August 9-12 led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Sam Hoffman reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today with all of their climbers.  It's a beautiful bluebird day and the teams climbed strong. They started their descent from the crater rim around 7 am.  Once back at Camp Muir they will take a quick break before continuing the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

Saturday, May 29, 2021 - 4:19 pm PT

With snow falling through the night and low visibility in the early morning we decided that a weather day at Camp 1 was better than packing up a wet camp and moving to a crowded 11,200’ Camp. We got some solar on the tents which makes for good napping. Lots of good conversations over a big breakfast of hash browns, eggs and bacon. Our plan is to move to 11,200’ tomorrow in better conditions. Everyone is doing well and looking forward to moving uphill.

RMI Guide Mike King

What a nice day for the team. Really the first time to catch our breath and that is not an easy task here at 11,000ft. After the whirlwind tour of Kathmandu, a flight into the mountains, and a big hike yesterday, what a nice option to take it easy today. We still cut a swath through Namche Bazaar, invested in the local economy and even stretched our legs a bit. Recharging our physical and gadgetry batteries was the focus of the day. One highlight was a trip to the local museum. It had three viewing areas: one being a typical Sherpa home with all the furnishings, another of Sherpa history and culture, and a room full of Everest history, fantastic photos and early expedition gear. The team has been behaving well and enjoying all the support of our local outfitter, High Altitude Dreams, and the fantastic staff here at our Tea house in Namche, Camp de Base. We all feel so lucky to spend this time with these wonderful people. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

Another windy night in a tent at altitude made getting on the road no problem for the team this morning. We loaded up our packs with everything needed to survive up high and marched down to a warmer season at Plaza Argentina, stopping to pick up our caches along the way. In a few days time it will be summer in Mendoza and the cold we've lived in up high a memory, but until then we have many miles to walk and a grand asado with our mule driving friends. Talk to you when we hit the tree-lined streets of Mendoza. RMI Guide Jake Beren

On The Map

Hey, everybody this is Billy calling and checking in from Ecuador on the Ecuador’s Volcanoes trip. The crew woke up yesterday morning at the Hosteria San Luis, where we enjoyed some really nice facilites after our hike on Cero Fuya Fuya. We went to the famous Andean Market in Otavalo where the crew got a chance to see all the local handicrafts and eat some crazy foods, all the cool stuff that’s for sale on a super busy Saturday market. It was a real treat that we were there on a Saturday. Then we geared up and headed up to the hut on Cayambe. The road was in super bad condition. So, we ended up having to run laps with the 4x4 thru some deep mud while the rest of the crew was walking along the way. Vans couldn’t get within 10 km of the refugio. But everybody is up here right now. We are taking a rest day. We did a bit of training and we are hanging out. Hopefully getting geared up for a summit attempt tonight. The weather has been super awful all day. Lots of clouds, blowing snow, lots of wind and everything around us is covered with ice and rime Currently the weather is improving so we are keeping our fingers crossed for tonight and we’ll take our first crack at a big volcano. So, we’ll call and check in tomorrow and let you know how it goes. Signing off for now, RMI Guide Billy Nugent

Congratulations to the Four Day Climb team led by RMI guides Brent Okita and Will Ambler for reaching the summit of Mt. Rainier!

With clear skies and breathtaking views, today’s climb was nothing short of spectacular. Huge kudos to the team for their determination and teamwork on this unforgettable journey.