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Posted by: Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Torres del Paine
We had a nice short day today. The sun was out and made for the quick 4 1/2 hour hike. We are back in Puerto Natales and looking forward to a nice dinner and some story telling from the eight days in Patagonia. Thanks for following along.
Posted by: JT Schmitt, Alex Halliday
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,080'
Due to avalanche activity, the Four Day Climb with RMI Guides JT Schmitt and Alex Halliday did not climb above Camp Muir this morning. The mountain received 8+" of new snow yesterday afternoon and there were numerous slides on the Cowlitz Glacier with several going over the trail. In the first picture, you can see evidence of avalanche debris that has been deposited along the first steps of the route.
The team has started their descent and will back at Ashford Basecamp early this afternoon.
Posted by: Andy Bond, Chase Halbert, Stephen Inman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 10,781'
The Expedition Skills Seminar, led by RMI Guide Andy Bond, spent six days in the North Cascades. They had a tremendous time learning mountaineering skills and to top it off, reached the summits of Mt. Shuksan and Mt. Baker! The team is currently on their descent to the trailhead where they will celebrate together before departing for home.
Congratulations to the team! Two successful summits!!
Posted by: Tracey Inman on 8/29/2021 at 9:25 pm
Checking in from 13,000ft on Ixta. Today the team is preparing our equipment for our trip up to high camp (15,500ft) on Ixta. We are enjoying a beautiful sunset to the west with glorious views of Ixta to the North. The mountain has fresh snow above 15,500ft.
Tomorrow will be a challenging day with heavier packs, but our team is looking strong. As we watch the sunset, we are eating a delicious meal prepared by our wonderful local staff!
Wish us luck for continuing good weather and hopefully a successful summit of Ixta 17,100ft!
We will check in from our high camp tomorrow.
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Josh McDowell
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14, 410'
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Josh McDowell reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 6:45 am. Pete reported clear skies, calm winds of about 5 mph, and a good route with easy walking. It took the team 5 hours and 45 minutes to get from Camp Muir to the Summit.
Congratulations Team!
Posted by: Pepper Dee
Categories: Guide News Guide Grant
My second mock lead on the course tackled an aesthetic, rambling three pitch climb on the Wind Tower. I had done the climb before, but had never been responsible for three other mock-climbers. I found myself doing nearly everything differently with my mock-climbers in tow--positioning my climbers out of the way of loose rock, breaking pitches up into shorter, up-and-down sections, and rigging lowers down exposed, short steps that I had always simply down-climbed. All told, a climb that had taken a mere hour and a half climbing independently took me three quite involved hours to guide.
To me, that is the part of guiding that I will always love the most--the challenge of using every trick in your toolbox to make a section of terrain as safe as you can for your climbers. My Rock Guide Course endowed me with plenty of tricks, from terrain belays to rigging rappels to rope management systems. The real excitement of the course, though, was getting experience applying these tricks in one of the most complex rock climbing areas in the country.
Hello from 15,500ft on Ixta! The team did an impressive job carrying heavy loads up to our high camp today. Sunny skies and upbeat attitudes made for a great day in the mountains.
Our camp is above the clouds for now with only a light breeze. We have spectacular views of the Volcano Popocatepetl (17,800ft) to our south. Popo is an active volcano that spits out plumes of Ash from time to time which is fun to watch.
Tonight we will eat an early dinner and crawl into bed to get some shut eye before an early start to our summit attempt tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing the massive sprawl of city lights from both Mexico City and Puebla thousands of feet below.
Love reading the updates. Hope tomorrow is a successful summit day!
Posted by: Katie Allanson on 10/12/2021 at 1:25 pm
Posted by: Mike King, Camille Leininger, Leif Bergstrom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 10,781'
RMI Guide Mike King and the Mt. Baker Coleman Deming July 20 - 22 team reached the summit this morning. Mike reported a cold and windy day with firm conditions on the Roman Headwall. The team returned to camp shortly after 11 am. After packing up camp they descended to the trail head and concluded their program.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
The team left the comfort of Puebla for the more rural town of Tlachichuca. Here is where we met back up with our climbing equipment and got to work. Packing and sorting for the climb ahead.
We ate a quick lunch and hopped in the 4x4’s for a rough ride. Long, dusty, and hot we swayed back and forth on what seems like the bumpiest road in Mexico. After two hours of that intense discomfort we arrived at Pico de Orizaba Basecamp and are now settled in to our tents, resting for the climb ahead. We’ll eat some carne asada and head to bed. It’s a clear night here at camp and we’re hoping for that trend to continue till we get back down.
Wish us luck!
Happy Birthday to my son Davis!
Posted by: Sherry Yonge on 6/18/2022 at 1:58 pm
8+’ ? Surely that’s in inches! Let’s all hope the weather improves and parties stay safe.
Posted by: David on 6/18/2022 at 11:25 am
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