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Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Abby Westling, Ben Luedtke, Josh Geiser, Lily Emerson, Michael Murray
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb August 18 - 21 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning at 6:05 am. The teams enjoyed clear skies and a light breeze during their climb. They began their descent from the crater rim at 7:20 am to return to Camp Muir. At Camp Muir they will repack and take a short break before continuing the final 4,500' descent to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's climbing teams!
Photo credit: Ben Luedtke
Posted by: Casey Grom, Hannah Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek
Elevation: 16,950'
Wake up, eat breakfast, hike, drink tea, order dinner, eat dinner, order breakfast, go to sleep, and repeat.
We hit the dusty trail once again, making our way closer and closer to Everest Basecamp. Yaks jingle jangled along the trail letting us know their presence so we could move aside and let them have the right-away. We weaved up and down, right, and left through the boulders in terrain that looks out of this world. We got our first views of the Khumbu glacier and then a great view of Everest. Our best views came on our hike up Kalapatar. Halfway up everyone got views of basecamp and the Khumbu icefall. The whole picture is coming together, and the mirage is disappearing. It’s hard to see where one mountain starts and another ends. Everyone is getting excited to arrive in basecamp, especially now that we have seen it from a far. Tomorrow is the day but for now we will all get a good night’s sleep after a sun-filled dusty day on the trail.
Till Basecamp,
Posted by: Linden Mallory
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Dominic Cifelli, Tatum Whatford, Seth Burns
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 348'
Thursday, July 7, 2022 - 11:52 am PT
We are calling ourselves lucky. Very lucky. The clouds moved away long enough for the glacier surface to freeze up for our nighttime ramble down the lower Kahiltna. We started walking down from 11,000 at 12:30 AM. The midnight sun was beautiful on the peaks around us as we cruised down in the cool shadows. The first hours, to the base of Ski Hill, were straightforward… then things got complicated. Lots and lots of crevasse crossings. But that is where the freeze helped immensely. It also didn’t hurt that other teams preceded us, breaking into holes and showing us where not to walk. In the end we made it through without any collapsed bridges. It took about seven hours to get to the airstrip. Half the team flew off in a K2 Otter just before 10 AM but before the plane could make it back for the other half, clouds rolled in. They didn’t roll away until mid afternoon, at which point the Otter swooped in to get the job done. We were the last team on Denali for the 2022 season… and then we were just a bunch more tourists in Talkeetna with funny tans. The team had a celebratory dinner at Mile High Pizza Pie, and then a late night Cornhole tournament in the beer garden of the Fairview Inn. A little live music and a nightcap (or two) put a finish on an excellent expedition. Thanks for following.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Photos courtesy of Dave Hahn
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Abby Westling
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Elevation: 18,491'
We met yet another stray dog friend today- oh wait, that’s not what this blog about! We are incredibly happy and proud to say that every single team member stood on top of North America’s 3rd highest peak, Pico de Orizaba, today! What a day it was too! We awoke for our alpine start to find that the sky was clear, the wind light, and the temperatures still warm from the previous day. The route takes us up an old aqueduct, then up a rocky slope for a couple of hours until you reach a feature called the labyrinth, aptly named. That is when the weather started to turn from warm and windless to bitter and howling. Up we went, navigating the labyrinth with all its ice, mud, and rock and to the base of the of the Jamapa Glacier. A team member described the glacier as “walking up a descending escalator”, never ending and relentless. On we pushed, with perseverance stretched to its limit we crested the caldera ridge and on to the true summit where we met back up with our 2 other rope teams and embraced.
We are back down now, safe and sound, about to jump in our showers and wash up before dinner, our last one as a team. Seems surreal for it to be over so soon, but we look forward to seeing everyone in the mountains again. This is the Mexico climbing team signing off.
Except there is the picture of our dog friend walking us down to Base.
RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli, Abby Westling and Team
Congratulations, Team! What an incredible trip! So very proud. The smiles on the summit say everything… AND BONUS DOGS?!? Amazing.
Posted by: Raeanna Anglen on 2/20/2022 at 6:35 am
Posted by: Alex Van Steen
Categories: Guide News Carstensz Pyramid Responsible Climbing
| The Moni name for Carstensz is Mbai Ngela. It means "Forbidden Egg." The story is that in years gone by when the mountain was snow covered, it resembled an egg, and the fore-fathers forbade their people from going there because it was the hunting grounds of evil spirits and those spirits always killed those who ventured there. Even today, villagers have a very difficult time understanding the science of hypothermia and often will point to and tell of places along the way where the spirits have killed a poor wayfarer! |
Hi Alex, Glad to see you are still at it and your spine is still in good enough
shape to climb the big ones! Not sure if you remember me, but I was your
chiropractor in Federal Way, and we ran into each other on Rainier in ‘95.
Hope all is well with you and yours. Drop me an e-mail if you have a chance.
Chris
P.S. gourds on the unit are the custom in Papau!
Posted by: Chris Mallory on 7/28/2013 at 7:59 pm
Way to go, team! Thinking of you all the time up at Camp 2 and beyond.
Saw Katie’s second LAX game against Holy Innocents on a gorgeous Saturday. She is such a trooper and it was a tough loss. Have to catch more games in the coming weeks.
Be safe and take our love with you.
Posted by: Mom / Grandma on 5/2/2011 at 6:52 am
News from the home front I thought you would want to hear….. Osama bin Laden has been killed by US forces in Pakistan. They have just announced tonight at 10:30 PM. Stay safe!!!!!! xxoo Stacey
Posted by: Stacey on 5/1/2011 at 8:29 pm
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Mike King, Dominic Cifelli
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Monday, December 27, 2021 - 5:32 pm PT
The news was mostly about canceled flights and snarled travel as our Vinson climbing team headed to a dozen different US airports to kick off the expedition. Incredibly, we were able to gather in Miami yesterday evening -With all our climbing gear- and board the Gulfstream 7 for the easy and pleasant part of our journey -a ten hour ride to Punta Arenas in the far South of Chile. We’ve been COVID testing several times a day now to satisfy immigration requirements and to be extremely careful with regard to going to The Ice healthy. Even quarantine for the afternoon in our hotel on the shores of Magellan’s Strait was relaxing and beautiful as we looked out at the summer light on the water. We organized gear and clothing with the high hopes of flying tomorrow morning once glacier conditions and negative test results allow. Our all star team of 12 includes astronauts, entrepreneurs and some of the world’s most accomplished and acclaimed climbers and guides. It is a happy reunion in a familiar place for a number of us and a brand new set of continents and experiences for others.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
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Posted by: Terri L. Jennings on 12/30/2021 at 7:34 am
Positive vibes for everyone!! Wishing you all a safe journey!
Posted by: Monica Isaacman on 12/29/2021 at 8:16 pm
Posted by: Geoff Schellens
Categories: Guide News Guide Grant
On the third day of my five-day AMGA Ice Instructor Course, we had planned to take two groups to Eureka, Colorado, to climb long multi-pitch ice routes. Avalanches from large snow bowls above threaten many of these routes, like the classic Stairway to Heaven. On this cold, crisp morning we encountered six inches of new snow, and after driving up to Red Mountain Pass we decided that the avalanche risk was too high and opted to go with our back up plan: climbing at Dexter Falls.
Dexter is just north of Ouray, Colorado, and offers excellent multi-pitch ice routes that are exposed to less avalanche hazard. Climbing Dexter Falls with two teams of three climbers posed new guiding challenges. Namely, avoiding knocking ice onto the climbers below. We chose to climb with both teams parallel to each other to protect against this. Parallel rope technique requires that the lead climber is thoughtful about where both following climbers will be ascending. The goal to keep them on slightly separate routes, allowing any loose ice to fall without risking injury to either climber.
The climbing was fun and we topped out having done it in a safe manner. Climbing ice in Ouray, Colorado, or anywhere for that matter, is easy and enjoyable after acquiring a relatively straightforward skill set.
I hope you enjoy the photos!
____
Geoff Schellens is a senior guide for RMI Expeditions, leading trips in Argentina, the North Cascades, Alaska, and Colorado. Geoff is currently climbing Dhaulagiri, an 8,000 meter peak in the Himalayas. See more of Geoff’s mountain photography on his website The Exposed Edge.
Posted by: Luke Wilhelm, James Bealer, David Price
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
It's easy to forget how wild it is here. Over the past several days we have been surrounded by the hustle and bustle of helicopters, mules, and other climbers rushing in and out of Aconcagua Base Camp. Today brought a lovely change. Carrying our gear higher and higher, we were reminded of how incomprehensible the land we are exploring in is. The surrounding mountains took depth and the air became noticeably thinner. It was calm. No wind, no helicopters, no loud music. Just climbing. Wonderful.
Till next time,
RMI Guide Luke Wilhelm & Team
So excited for you Richie! Can’t wait to hear all about this and see pics. You are a rockstar!
Posted by: Andrew Hatfield on 1/29/2022 at 11:37 am
Sounds amazing! Keep it up and enjoy the adventure everyone!
We love you and miss you Pops! We’re all rooting for you!
Posted by: Noel Imfeld on 1/28/2022 at 9:29 pm
Congratulations to Jim Karmozyn and the entire team on a safe and successful climb and return.
Posted by: Ted Wioncek on 7/8/2022 at 12:17 pm
Woweeee! So proud of you all! What an awesome, incredible journey! We thoroughly enjoyed following along.
Welcome back!
Diana and Tom
Posted by: Diana Weiss on 7/7/2022 at 3:24 pm
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