Most Popular Entries
Posted by: Mike King, Dustin Wittmier, Lauren Macklin, Mike Bennett, Jackson Breen, Trevor Katz
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb with RMI Guides Mike King and Dustin Wittmier were on the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Above this heavy marine layer, team had clear skies, sunshine and mild winds. The climbing was great with a with a direct route and it took the team 5 hours to get to the top.
Congratulations team!
Posted by: Matias Francis, Sam Marjerison
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 9,131'
The Fisher Chimneys climb led by RMI Guides Matias Francis and Sam Marjerison had beautiful summit weather yesterday. They reported great route conditions and enjoyed the SE Ridge to the top. The team spent last night on the mountain and will be descending this morning. They expect to be back at the cars in the early afternoon. They will conclude their program with a celebratory meal and wrap up!
The Mexico Volcanoes Team arrived yesterday with all their equipment. Today we left Mexico City for a two and a half hour drive through the scenic country side on our way to La Malinche. Along the way we got great views of Orizaba, Ixta and Popo. In my eight trips I’ve not seen the air quality this clear for such long distances. Which makes having our hike cut short around 12,000’ due to the park police turning hikers around all the more disappointing. This area is known for afternoon thunderstorms and apparently the park is instituting a strict turn around time now.
We decided to listen to the tactically dressed officer with the gun and not end up in a Mexican jail. The group got a chance to stretch their lungs and legs some, we all would have hoped for a longer hike. The remainder of the day will be spent in the former Olympic training center that now hosts tourists and locals. We will look forward to heading to Ixta tomorrow for a hike and gear check.
Thanks for following along,
Great job dad, keep going. Moms says hi.
Love, Daniel
Posted by: Daniel Kovatich on 11/10/2021 at 6:10 pm
Posted by: Casey Grom, Hannah Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek
Elevation: 17,575'
Namaste everyone!
Well, we did it! Everyone successfully made it to Everest Base Camp on a beautiful day. We had a relaxing start to allow the day temperatures to rise enough so that the hike would be pleasant. The team hiked for almost 3 hours to reach base camp or EBC as we call it, stopping along the way many times to take pictures and enjoy the grandiose views.
Once here, we were greeted with the best food, thus far, for lunch and several team members decided to enjoy hot showers while it was still warm and sunny. Although the temperature wasn’t high, the intensity of the sun at this altitude made it feel quite warm to us.
Everyone is doing great and looking forward to a good night’s rest after the day of trekking to get here. We are sleeping on the Khumbu glacier in a campsite chopped out of the ice. Our camp is surrounded by mountains and glaciers in nearly all directions. It’s incredibly stunning to say the least.
Tomorrow the team will make some phone calls to loved ones back home to say hello. So, if you see a bizarre number on your phone appear, please answer. We are calling from our satellite modem since there isn’t WiFi or cell reception here.
That’s all for now!
Casey and Crew
Awesome climbing memories! Have fun.
Posted by: Hollyanne Samuelsen on 3/26/2022 at 5:06 pm
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Today we visited the famous Ngorongoro Crater, and considered by many to be the 8th wonder of the world. The crater is what remains of a once massive volcano that erupted and collapsed on itself, leaving behind a giant caldera that's almost exactly 100 square miles. Every time we've visited the crater it's been excitingly different, and today was the same.
We were able to see several lions and it was exciting to see two other cats, a Seval cat and a Caracal! As we made our way around the crater we saw tons of other wildlife, zebras, Cape buffalo, wildebeest, jackals, Giselles, countless large birds. It was quite a day to say the least, and I'm certain one that won't be forgotten by anyone.
We finished the evening here at the plantation lodge and are looking forward to what tomorrow may bring as we head to Tarangire National Park.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari crew
On The Map
Posted by: Alan Davis, Jack Delaney, Leif Bergstrom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 9,131'
Our Mt. Shuksan seminar tagged the top of Mt. Shuksan this morning. After many days of training in the rain, the team awoke to clear skies for their climb. The previous five days were spent learning about rope travel, weather patterns, avalanche safety, snow and ice anchors, etc. RMI Guide Alan Davis reported great route conditions and a top out time of 9:30am.
The team is back at the trailhead and will enjoy some good food and drink before starting their journey home.
Nice work climbers!
Posted by: Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
We got an early start after breakfast today. Eventually we made a short stop in Amecameca for some last minute provisions and a light lunch before riding up to Paso de Cortez where the park entrance for Ixta resides. We opted for a five mile hike instead of riding the bus on the bumpy road. While the hike was mostly on a gated dirt road we enjoyed the rolling grassy hills and scattered pine trees. Afternoon clouds had built up and we were able to see the lower portion of our climbing route.
We’ll spend the remainder of the afternoon setting up tents and getting our gear sorted for the move up to our high camp tomorrow. The Team is doing well and hoping for Popo to put off some ash plumes for some good photos. We will check in tomorrow from high camp.
Posted by: Casey Grom, Hannah Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek
Elevation: 13,950'
We left BC today after a very comfortable and enjoyable stay.The team has enjoyed the trek through the Khumbu, but without a doubt, our BC set up had the nicest dining room, cleanest bathroom, and most enjoyable shower we've experienced.
The team enjoyed a few last views of the glacier and surrounding mountains as we retraced our way back down valley, pausing occasionally to allow the Yak trains to pass with their important cargo that help the expeditions succeed.
We hiked for seven hours today and descended more than 3000’ back to Pheriche. Needless to say, the team is feeling good and enjoying the thicker air.
RMI Guides Casey, Hannah and Crew
Posted by: Tyler Jones, Zeb Blais
Categories: Guide News
RMI: That night you left Camp Muir with the intention of skiing Liberty Ridge. Were you able to ski that line?
Zeb Blais: The key to skiing big exposed lines is always the snow conditions. When you're looking at skiing a line like Liberty [Ridge] you can only know what the conditions are like when you get there. We were hoping that the north and northeast facing snow would be chalky, smooth, and wind packed, but when we looked at the entrance to Liberty it was clear that it wasn't going to be skiable. The Liberty Ridge Route looked like mid-summer, maybe good for ice climbing, but certainly not skiable. The Liberty Cap Glacier was down to blue ice with lumps of rime glued to it, which I imagine is fairly common since it is so steep, but the skiing below looked the same. Rappelling the Liberty Cap Glacier and skiing the rest of the line did not look like an inviting option.
RMI: What did you end up skiing instead?
Zeb Blais: After realizing that Liberty was not suitable, we turned our focus to the Mowich Face - an amazing, steep face on the northwest side of the mountain. This looked tempting at first, but it was heavily rimed with blobs of water ice. It was not a place to be on skis! We retreated back to the ridge above and decided we needed to focus on warmer, spring like-snow. We decided on the Sickle, a west-facing chute on the Tahoma Glacier. The snow in the Sickle was prime for skiing!
Tyler Jones: On our ski we had nice soft spring snow down to 8,500 feet. From there we were able traverse to our objective for the next day: Success Ridge between the South Tahoma Glacier and the Success Glacier. We spent the night on the ridge, getting some well-deserved sleep, with the magnificent 4,000-foot Success Glacier Couloir above us waiting to be skied. The conditions on the Success Glacier were superb. The snow was firm for climbing and soft for skiing. After the amazing fall line decent, we continued traversing to [the trailhead at] Paradise. As we hit the Nisqually Glacier we added more vertical to our trip and finished at the Nisqually Bridge. In total Zeb and I traveled 24 miles, gaining 19,000 feet and skiing 21,000 feet in 3 days.
RMI: How does being a Guide help prepare you for trips like this?
Tyler Jones: Being a guide helps to develop your intuitive mountain sense, which is very important for making good decisions in the mountains. It is that gut feeling that can make all the difference.
Zeb Blais: Guiding also gives me a good base-line fitness for doing long days in the mountains. Mountaineering is a unique sport that requires specific techniques and fitness to be efficient. The more you do it the better you get!
RMI: What was your favorite part of this ski trip?
Tyler Jones: My favorite part of this trip was seeing a few new places, skiing a new run, and enjoying the views of the Tahoma Glacier from Sunset Ridge.
Zeb Blais: A huge part of the trip was sharing it with Tyler. Moving in the mountains with a partner who you enjoy and trust makes all the difference. There are thousands of big and small decisions to be made when doing a trip like this, from what gear to bring to what line to ski to 'do we go left here or right?' Making these choices and learning from other experienced climbers or guides is always something I enjoy.
Can't forget skiing! Maybe I should have said this first, but the skiing was awesome! Steep, exposed skiing with great snow is one of the most exhilarating things a person can do.
RMI: What adventures do you have planned next?
Zeb Blais: I am guiding a mountaineering trip on Shasta at the end of the month, and then I'll be back on Rainier for the climbing season with a Denali West Buttress trip at the end of June.
Tyler Jones: I am guiding a Denali trip in June. After that I am planning on flying back onto the mountain for a ski trip with my fiancé Laura. After that I will return to guiding on Rainier and the Grand Teton. Then, I am getting married in September!
Great trip guys! Serious vertical.
Zeb let me know if you’re still trying to unload those Spatniks. This is Steve, the splitboarder in Spatniks. We chatted on the way up Ellery Bowl back in April.
get me at stevebrezovec at the jeeeeeeemail dot com
Posted by: Stevee B on 6/19/2013 at 5:50 pm
Woo hoo! Way to go Kelly and Janette! I’m super proud of you both. Can’t wait to hear the details and celebrate. Have fun sliding down! :)
Posted by: Jerry Verhoff on 7/3/2022 at 9:26 am
Congrats Kelly & Janette! So proud of you- woohoo!!! Love you both!
Posted by: Christina on 7/2/2022 at 5:05 pm
View All Comments