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Saturday, June 7th 10:36 PM PT
Greetings from our home at 7,800' at the base of Ski Hill.
Today we carried big loads up to 9,600' camp and made a cache. This allowed us to get in some mileage and take a day off the sleds. It also gives us a lighter move day tomorrow and every little bit helps! Just before dinner it started to snow and we retreated to tents to rest up for the upcoming day. Cross your fingers for clearing skies and we'll make the most of them.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
The Four Day Summit Climb August 15 - 18 led by RMI Guide Leon Davis reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning! The teams reported cool temperatures, light winds and a great day on the mountain. They were beginning their descent from the crater rim at 7:45 a.m. PT. The teams will return to Camp Muir and then continue their descent to Paradise this afternoon.
RMI Guide Casey Grom led the Five Day Emmons Glacier Climb to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. All of the team members reached the summit. The team will descend to Camp Schurman for their final night on the mountain.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Congratulations to RMI Guide Mark Tucker and the Kilimanjaro Team for reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro on August 14th! The team had a good summit day with cold temperatures but everyone did very well. This is Mark’s 25th summit of Kilimanjaro, a true milestone.
After reaching the summit the team will descend to Barafu Camp at 15,000’ where they will eat, change and pack their gear to continue down the mountain.
We expect to hear from them later today once they have reached Mweka Camp at 10,000’ for their final night on the mountain.
Congratulations to Mark and the summit team!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker calls from the summit of Kilimanjaro with the team.
Congratulations Dolly (Donna), Doug & team! Been following the blog! So happy you made it!
Love,
Lisa XO
Posted by: Lisa on 8/14/2011 at 10:21 am
Congratulations Team! I loved your comments from the summit. What a thrill for you all. Meri you cannot see your house from there. Can’t wait to hear from you and see some pictures. So far only the initial group picture online. Love you, Mom
Posted by: Sandra Lull on 8/14/2011 at 10:09 am
Namaste from Namche Bazaar,
The quiet setting of Phakding, amongst the blooming rhododendrons and along the river, gave us the opportunity to catch up on some much needed rest after days of travel and the skewed sleeping schedules of our nights in Kathmandu. We awoke to another nice day and after a leisurely breakfast in the teahouse we continued making our way northward up the Khumbu Valley. From Phakding we contoured above the Dudh Khosi, crossing occasional side streams and weaving our way amongst the fields and villages along the way. With several days of backed up flights finally breaking yesterday the trail was quite busy with locals returning home, trekkers, and lines of dzopkyos - the yak/cow hybrids used to haul loads at the lower elevations. With so many horns swinging down the trail, it was a challenge not to be distracted by our surroundings with towering peaks looming over us, coated in a fresh dusting of snow from last night.
After crossing the Dudh Kosi and climbing a steep set of stone stairs into the small village of Monjo we reached the Entrance Gate to Sagamartha National Park. There we showed our climbing permit and checked in, before continuing on to the village of Jorsale where we paused for lunch. Above Jorsale we reached the confluence of the Dudh Kosi, flowing down from Everest, and the Bhoti Kosi, flowing from below Cho Oyu and the Nangpa La Pass into Tibet. At this confluence of the rivers, but several thousand feet above on the hillside, sits Namche Bazaar. We crossed our forth and final suspension bridge of the day, strung at a dizzying height above the river and blanketed with prayer flags that were streaming in the afternoon breeze, and began the long climb to Namche. Picking our way up the 18 or so switchbacks and through the pine forests, we gradually climbed higher, leaving the river below and gradually revealing the panorama of peaks that often hide from the valley floor. Along the way we passed grinning Sherpani women tempting us with tangerines, a welcome refreshment from the hot and dusty trail of the Namche hill. Eventually the trail leveled out, passing a few houses, before taking a sharp turn and leading us into the heart of Namche Bazaar.
Perched at 11,300' in a U shaped bowl overlooking the Bhoti Kosi and peaks to the south, Namche is a series of terraced streets, buildings, and fields all built in a horseshoe shape that stack upon each other, climbing up the hillside. A center of trade, and now tourism as well, Namche's narrow streets are a bustle of activity compared to the calm farming communities below. Walking through its streets, really just stone lined footpaths amongst the shops, we made our way to our teahouse, nestled right in the middle of Namche. As trekker's peruse the stalls of souvenirs, yak bells, and the latest climbing and trekking gear, stray dzopkyos and yaks wander the streets, with little Sherpa children chasing them from the courtyards of their homes. It's an incredibly unique place and a pleasure to explore and we are looking forward to spending a few nights here.
After a long day of walking, finishing with the large climb to Namche, the team is happy to have some down time to rest, relax, and explore. Tomorrow we are planning to check out the weekly Saturday morning market where villagers from throughout the valley will descend upon Namche to stock up on daily goods before spending the day acclimatizing and enjoying the scene of Namche.
5:52 a.m. PST voicemail
Hey guys, it's Jeff. It's 5:00 (p.m.) our time. Calling to let you know that about 2:00 today we all went to the top of Mt. Elbrus. A beautiful day- No clouds, warm temperatures, no wind, total bluebird day on the summit. All are safe and well. We'll be in touch later today
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Geoff Schellens, Robby Young
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Wow! The close to expeditions happen so quickly. After spending two weeks working our way into position, and then waiting for our summit window, the descent flew by. After a day of waiting for winds to die to leave 17k, we left camp in much more moderate winds, but with moderate snowfall added to the mix. The group did a great job of working down the exposed sections of the West Buttress and down the fixed lines to 14k. We ran into Dave Hahn's group there, and traded stories while sorting and organizing our cache, and then continued on our way down to 11k for the evening. Once again the weather moved in, and we arrived at 11k with a chilly wind and snowfall. We set a hasty camp, dug our cache, and ate a hot dinner, before heading to bed. With snow in the forecast for the next day, and hoping to have some visibility, we opted to wake in the dawn hours of morning. The day turned out to be perfectly clear and calm, and we walked out under warming conditions, arriving at Basecamp just in time to see five K2 airplanes land to take out 24 climbers that had been waiting to leave for several days. We were next in line, but spent the day on standby, as K2 launched plane after plane to come get us, only to have to turn around due to clouds and obscured visibility in the passes that allow access to the Alaska Range. Finally, at 8 pm, we got word that the last flight for that evening had turned around and that we would spend another night on the glacier. We set a hasty camp, and cooked up a big dinner out of all of the tasty looking ingredients we could pull from our remaining meals. The next morning dawned clear, calm, and warm, but again, clouds hung in the passes, preventing planes from making it to us, until later in the afternoon. Finally, we had planes on the runway, but the pilots hurried us along, saying it wasn't going to last, and sure enough, as we headed out, pass after pass had shutdown with big white banks of clouds. As we rounded the corner of the Pica Glacier towards Pica Pass, we say the hole we needed and scooted through, with gray rock and white glaciers giving way suddenly to bright green forest and bog lands. Landing in Talkeetna is always a shock to the senses, as smells of grass, trees, pavement, jet fuel, and everything else come flooding in. We stepped off of the planes Tuesday evening to a warm, bright, scented scene, excited to be off the glacier, and gratitude to K2 for trying so hard to get us off.
This trip brought together seven climbers who previously had never met to attempt and test themselves on the tallest peak in North America. The group did an amazing job quickly coalescing into a very functional team. We moved over the mountain efficiently (critical for the weather we would see in the second half of the trip), set camp quickly and solidly, and everyone supported everyone else. It was a pleasure for the three of us guides to work with the group, and their dedication showed as the conditions became more challenging, and everyone persevered despite.
Thanks for tuning in and watching our adventure progress. Until next time,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Geoff Schellens, Robby Young, and team signing out!
Well we are moving right along. Team is doing well after a couple of trams and a chair lift. Here we are at 12000', the Garabashi luxury dorm-type living. We are sticking with the normal program that has worked so well in the past. We did a nice three-hour hike, acclimatization is going well. Was under nice weather. We are just resting, hydrating, and nesting in our lovely barrel. We're waiting our turn in the dining area. There's a few other groups that are sharing our support crew up here and we're all getting along just fine. Although there is just one guy up here. I think he goes by JJ. You know there always has to be one of those in the bunch. So psyched the team is doing well. Should be another good night to catch up a little more on that jet lag.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
RMI Guide Mark Tucker calls in from the Garabashi Hut.
On The Map
What am amazing sunset. How’s the vodka up there?
Posted by: Kathryn LeBey on 7/7/2013 at 5:10 am
Posted by:
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
The Cotopaxi Team is safely off the mountain and checked into the historic La Cienega Hosteria in Lasso, Ecuador. Today has been a mix of excitement and frustration as we finally took our shot at the summit of Cotopaxi, only to be thwarted by the high winds that characterized our stay on the mountain. We awoke at midnight to a slight lull in the wind and began our climb just after one o'clock AM. The snow conditions proved to be tough with a thin ice-skin over unconsolidated 'corn' snow. After reaching just over 18,000 feet I had to make the tough decision to turn the teams around. The wind had increased dramatically, blowing climbers out of the trail and covering all of us in a layer of rime ice. It was maddening to get so close to our goal but in the end the importance of returning safely to our family and friends is, of course, the most important thing. Now we're set to celebrate the end of our trip with a great dinner at La Cienega before making the final leg of our journey tomorrow. We'll check in again when we arrive back in Quito.
RMI Guide - Seth Waterfall
Hey there, this is Adam and Andres checking in with the "Family style West Rib team". We are camped at 14,000’ on Mt. McKinley.
Today we enjoyed another wonderful rest day. The weather on the upper mountain is still unsettled with some high winds and light precipitation so we opted to go ice climbing on a small serac at 15,000’, halfway up the notch camp on the Upper West rib. Then we came down and had a great lunch and have many visitors stopping by for some nice conversation. We anticipate a heated Blackjack tournament tomorrow with our neighbors here in camp. We will have another full rest day tomorrow and we will update you on the losses our team will incur during the card game.
Until then all is well here, everyone is doing great and feeling healthy while waiting for a potential window to open on Monday. That is the news for now, we will talk to you tomorrow.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
On The Map
Hi family style. I love that the weather wasn’t great so you decided to go ice climbing. You realize that is not an obvious alternative for most of us mortals right? Here in Golden, Colorado we have been playing naked in the paddle pool and eating yogurt off our tummies(just the under 4 set). Thought you might appreciate the contrast. :) Susannah, Cassidy, Kindell and Scout
Posted by: Susannah Thompson on 6/6/2011 at 11:26 am
Just heard from Peter that the team is going for the summit tonight/tomorrow! We are all hoping and praying for a successful summit bid, but more importantly, your safe return. GOOD LUCK, love and hugs to Peter.
Posted by: Esther Kim on 6/5/2011 at 11:17 pm
Posted by:
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Humbleness is the key ingredient for climbing mountains. To embody the notion that you, the climber, are such a small part of the dynamic equation needed to safely climb an incredible peak is as challenging as the actual climbing. Our team was faced with such a challenge once we reached our high camp on El Pico de Orizaba. Weather was not cooperating with our plans to attempt the summit as wind, precipitation, and low visibility engulfed the mountain well into the morning. Many a time, emergency situations that arise in the mountains are rarely the product of just one issue, rather many tiny poor decisions that escalate to something worse. We discussed this over as a group and agreed that if we had left in poor visibility, precipitation, tough route finding, and difficult travel with the fresh snow we were not setting ourselves up for success and safety.
The weather slowly eased it's temper as the sun began to rise revealing a beautiful, snow-covered landscape reaching down to nearly 12,500'. This unusual winter storm has left a dry, dessert-like alpine environment encased in the cold grasp of winter. A cloud cap swarmed the upper reaches of the Jamapa Glacier as our team headed out for a hike in hopes of reaching the glacier. Watching the wind whip through the mountain up high, reminded us how unforgiving mountaineering can be. The snow became deeper and deeper as we approached the last section of the rocky labyrinth just below the glacier. At the foot of the glacier, around 16,500 ft our team was knee deep in snow, gazing at the summit in awe. From this point the summit was beckoning us to climb, what looked like only a stone's throw away. This is when one must face the reality in this case of what looks so close is easily 3 hours away and with deep snow, more like 4 hours. Too long, too exhausting, too dangerous at this point to go on. Our team, satisfied with the journey and experience of climbing in Mexico, returned to the Reyes' lodge for some relaxation prior to our departure home.
As we sat at our gates waiting for our respective flights, we all began to dream, to wonder of the next climb. For some us, a return trip is on the bill. For others, a future mountaineering expedition is right around the corner. For all, a peace knowing we came home safe, friends, and hungry for more. Thank you to Tom, Casey, Ryan, Jayson, Mazzie, Seamus, Collin, and Marty for making this an amazing climbing program for RMI!
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George, Don’t forget to look up and enjoy the view! Cyndi
Posted by: Cyndi on 6/9/2014 at 5:40 am
Jake…Hope you and the team are able to tag the summit…Godspeed…Thanks for your help on Rainier two Septembers ago…Waltero
Posted by: waltero glovedr on 6/9/2014 at 5:27 am
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