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Tuesday, June 13, 2023 - 11:57 pm PT

The team has arrived in Talkeetna with all of our bags! 

Yesterday, we spent the day doing the hard work of packing for a three week expedition. It is hard to visualize how much you will actually need and hard to come to terms with the sheer weight of the equipment needed for a Denali Expedition. There are no porters here. We have to carry everything we need on our own backs, but that’s what makes Denali special. You can’t pay your way to the top. 

At the moment, we’re waiting in a dreary Talkeetna for a weather window to fly. We’ll be hanging out in the hangar, practicing and refining the skills needed to climb “ The Big One”, and crossing our fingers for an opening. 

Wish us luck!

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

RMI Guides Brent Okita and Chase Nelson lead their Five Day Climb Teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Brent reported a clear and beautiful morning with winds around 20 mph on the crater. The teams were beginning their descent from the crater rim around 7:30 AM PT. Once back at Camp Muir, they will pack up their gear where they have spent the last two nights and complete their descent to Paradise. Congratulations to today's climbing teams!

Great day for hiking. Now that most of the team are feeling more or less adjusted to the 17,500 feet of Basecamp, today seemed like the day for walking higher. Our choices are limited in this dead-end valley since going up through the Khumbu Icefall for exercise is too spicy a proposition for most reasonable folks. Our solution is to backtrack a bit, following the trail partway back down toward Gorak Shep and then branching off to gain some elevation. The goal today was Pumori Camp One at about 18,200 ft of elevation. We like this particular stair master of a hike because the boulder-hopping is pretty similar to the ice-chunk hopping we'll do in the Icefall. As a bonus, we gained stupendous views of Everest (from North Col to South Col), Lhotse, Nuptse and those distant peaks like Ama Dablam and Thamserku that we used to see so regularly while trekking. We could also see the sprawl of tents down on the Khumbu, growing by the minute. Sure enough, when we reached the main trail during our descent, it was like getting on the interstate highway back home. Hundreds of trekkers, climbers, porters and yaks are now flowing in and out of Base. Tents are going up everywhere, helicopters are buzzing around like flies... The climbing season is cranking up quickly. We walked the half hour or so from downtown Everest Basecamp to our exit in the upper midsection and sat down for one of Kumar's great lunches. Afternoon is for resting, relaxing and rehydrating. We've got plans for cranking things up another notch tomorrow. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Today, RMI Guides Brent Okita and JJ Justman led their teams to the summit of Mount Rainier! With a looming forecast of a change in our glorious weather, the guides decided today was the day! They crested the crater rim around 7:40 a.m. and spent an hour on the summit before a cloud cap started to form and they began their descent. The team is currently on the last stretch between Ingraham Flats (11,200') and Camp Muir (10,000') where they will celebrate and rest for the night. The seminar has two more days to gain additional training before they end their week on Mount Rainier. Congratulations to the teams!!!

RMI Guide Dave Hahn and the Mount Rainier summit climb team reached the summit in clear, calm and chilly conditions. The team spent some time on top marveling in the views and then began their descent at 9:25 a.m. After a successful summit yesterday, the Five-Day Muir Summit Climb team, led by Jake Beren, is on their way down from Camp Muir. We look forward to congratulating the teams in Ashford this afternoon!

Thursday, June 26, 2014 - 10:07 AM PT The Ecuador team is back at Cotopaxi's high camp. All is well. Thursday, June 26, 2014 - 7:01 AM PT RMI Guide Mike Walter checked in this morning from the summit of Cotopaxi! We look forward to hearing from Mike again once the team is safely off of the mountain. Congratulations team!

On The Map

Hola amigos: The last few nights have been a bit windy to say the least and the rattling of the windows has been soothing to some of us, and not so much for others. So we've had a few traditional siestas during the day. Our plan was to move up to a higher camp today, but due to weather and acclimatization we have decided to spend one more night here in the cozy hut. Thankfully Adam greeted the team with plenty of pancakes and coffee this morning, which helped start the day. We then headed out to do some training not far from the hut and did a short hike to get a better look at our route. A number of climbers arrived today and are planning on climbing Cayambe tonight, which is good news for us. Hopefully they will be successful and kick in a good trail to help us out. Other than that all is well here at just over 15'000'. Everyone is happy and hungry and looking forward to dinner. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Mark Tucker here checking in from Kirurumo, a luxury tented lodge. Half of the team began their journey homeward bound. We wish them all the best on their travels. We stopped at Lake Manyara for some safari game viewing and ended up here. We are about a quarter of the way to Ngorongoro Crater, so a little bit of a drive tomorrow, but more safari in our near future. A luxury tented camp once again doesn’t look like anything on the mountain and everybody is enjoying it. All is good, having a blast. Wish you were all here

The Four Day Summit Climb July 27 - 30 led by Jake Beren and Gabriel Barral reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams were beginning their descent from the crater rim at 7:30 a.m. PT. They reported light to moderate winds, warm temperatures and clear skies. It's a beautiful day on Mt. Rainier. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!

Greetings from Ecuador! Today was the first official day of our Ecuador Volcanoes trip. After an excellent breakfast at our hotel (which included fresh fruit and juices from the region, like papaya, pineapple, watermelon, and guanabana), we set off on a tour of Quito. Led by our local city guide and expert historian, Jorge, we traveled to the historic Old Town Quito. We toured the Basilica and other historic churches in the district, learning the history of their creation and their unique architectural styles. We also visited the Presidential Palace, Ecuador’s House of Congress, and Independence Square. Then the team headed up to the hill on the outskirts of Quito known as El Panecillo. Here, in addition to seeing the large statue of the Virgin of Quito, we were afforded a panoramic view of Quito. The next stop on the trip was at a beautiful restaurant/hotel for lunch, where we all sampled classic Ecuadorian cuisine; the meal started with an empanada, then a potato/cheese/avocado soup known as locro de queso. The main course was Fritada, or fried pork, accompanied by corn, plantain, and potatoes. The meal finished off with a delicious homemade ice cream with a fruit sauce made of babaco and guanabana. With full bellies, we headed north to visit an ethnographic museum located exactly on the equator, where we were able to stand with one foot in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern hemisphere! The day concluded with a great dinner, lots of joking around, and laughter at the well-known Magic Bean restaurant. Tomorrow we will go on our first acclimatization hike to the volcano Rucu Pichincha. Everyone is doing great and we all send a big “Hola” to everyone back home. I will be in touch tomorrow with pictures and an update of our hike. RMI Guide Mike Walter