Today we woke to beautiful clear skies and astounding views right out our tea house windows. There are huge mountains in all directions and it’s very surreal being here at 11,000' and seeing just how incredible the Himalayas look in person.
This morning we had a leisurely breakfast and then went on a short hike to access a view point where we could see Everest, Lhotse (4th tallest) and Ama Dablam. Everyone enjoyed the views and spent time taking it all in. We then headed to a nearby mountaineering museum which was also throughly enjoyed.
The team then did a little exploring on our own and eventually met up at the amazing “Eat Smart” cafe where we had fresh juices and a delicious lunch with fresh salads, a rarity in this remote part of the world.
The remainder of our rest day was spent shopping and getting knock-off down pants to keep us comfortable and warm when we get higher in mountains.
I am thrilled to announce that yesterday at 6:45am, three members of our Ecuador climbing team successfully reached the Whymper summit of Ecuador's highest peak, Chimborazo. Myself and our local guide Peter were the two guides leading the summit rope teams and I will say without question it was in the top five most difficult summit days of my guiding career. From our high camp at 17,300', the route made a moderate traverse underneath a giant rock feature called el Castillo translated as "The Castle". The team moved together with good style through the rocks to the exposed ridge above. It was here the route began to steepen. From the top of El Castillo at 18,000' to the crest of the Ventimilla Summit at 20,450', you could literally follow the line of ascent by holding a pencil out in front of you and the track would not deviate from its vertical alignment. No other mountain I have ever guided posses such a steep, unrelenting route as Chimbo. I'm not sure why the local guides down here have such a disdain for switch backs but on all the mountains, not just Chimborazo, the routes take the most direct line possible.
Unfortunately this type of route doesn't bode well for tired legs which have seen two giant mountains in the last five days.
By 19,000', half of the team had decided to return to camp, which secretly I was most jealous of. After waking up at 10:30, powering down some instant oatmeal while standing outside freezing, then preparing for a climb we know is going to hammer us, the thought of camp always sounds better than the alternative.
Back on the route, the snow conditions began to change for the worse. Thank God for Peter Piston Legs who, without complaint, post holed, kicked steps and blazed the trail though an old track that was literally blowing in with snow by the time each climber reached steps kicked in by the rope team in front.
Through freezing temps, difficult snow and growing fatigue, we all continued upward. Once we gained the Ventimilla Summit, we thought the kilometer traverse across the summit plateau was in the bag. But nope, not at all.
We had heard that climbing teams were reaching the lower summit but no one had been to the true summit in over two weeks! This left us breaking trail at 20,500 feet, which not even Peter found enjoyable. With the only complaints coming in the form of gasps, we marched on planting our ice axes on top just as the rising sun formed an outrageous pyramid shadow stretching for miles into the waking countryside. With hugs and high fives we all felt a great sense of accomplishment to have knocked off the hat trick of Ecuador's three highest peaks. Something I have never done in one trip.
After a hard descent we made our way back to the Refugio and then onto a beautiful lodge where we eased the soreness away with good food, wine, beer and stories. It was a great closing to two incredible weeks of climbing together.
We all have now just gotten to our hotel rooms in Quito. The Internet is alive and well worrying some and pleasing others. Work for most is unfortunately never far around the next corner.
As we prepare for our final meal together I can't help but feel a bit bummed. This group has been truly great. I would climb with any one of them again.
From Quito this is Adam Knoff and Jordan Cargill signing off.
Thanks to everyone who followed along.
Muchas Suerte.
Congrats to a great accomplishment in the beginning of 2018!! Wishing a restful few days before you start climbing again. Prayers for safety and success. MOM
This is RMI Team 6, standing on the summit of Denali at 6:10 p.m.. A little bit of a cloud, not much wind. Everybody is super happy and super healthy, we are looking forward to a good descent. Thank you everybody for your support.
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
RMI Guide Mike Haugen calls from the summit of Denali, Alaska.
Friday, June 28th, 2013
As planned, we fired up the stoves shortly after our 1 AM wake up. The plan in getting up so early, was to be moving during the coldest part of the day when we could hope that the glacial surface would be frozen solid. That would make sled hauling and walking in general a lot easier than pulling through slush, but more importantly, a freeze would make things safer, bridging the crevasses we'd need to cross. It was apparent this morning, as we ate breakfast and took down tents, that we weren't going to get a hard freeze. Temperatures hadn't dipped low enough, and there was cloud overhead that seemed to act as a warm, damp blanket, insulating the glacier and messing with our plans. But things had firmed up a little anyway, and by 4:15 AM when we hit the trail, snowshoes were doing the job in preventing "post-holing". Rigging up properly for such travel is far more complicated when sleds are in the mix, so the fact that it took some time to get organized was not unexpected. That extra time paid off when we were able to move good and steady without any gear glitches or malfunctions. The first hour took us down about 500 feet in elevation to the main Kahiltna Glacier where we turned North. We began to meet a few rope teams on their way out and it was great to meet an old friend or two in passing and to hear of their adventures on the mountain. Our second and third hour-long pulls took us past Mount Francis (hiding in cloud) and the junction with the East Fork of the Kahiltna. By the fourth and fifth sections of the climb we passed the Kahiltna Peaks and made it to the NE Fork junction... about where we wanted to be at the base of Ski Hill. By this point we were thankful to have cloud cover giving us relief from the sun as we built camp and crawled into tents for an afternoon snooze.
After a quiet and easy afternoon in the tents, we met for dinner in the deluxe POSH dining complex dug by Zeb, Erik and Mike King. We turned in early once again anticipating another early start tomorrow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Our team met this morning for our six day Mt. Rainier program. It was the first day of orientation for our Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir. We spent the day ensuring we had all the right equipment and could pack efficiently. In the afternoon we grabbed our harnesses, boots, ice tools and crampons and spent time on the climbing walls at Rainier BaseCamp.
Just because we are not on the mountain doesn't mean we can't have fun.
Stay tuned as our team ventures on the mountain starting tomorrow!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
The Four Day Summit Climbs August 10 - 13 led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Gabriel Barral reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. The teams reported clear and sunny skies with light winds with some valley fog below but clear skies to Paradise. The team started their descent from the crater rim at 8:00 a.m. en route to Camp Muir. They will continue their descent to Paradise later this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's summit climb teams!
We have all arrived safely in Talkeetna and have settled in to our rooms in the Talkeetna motel. The team spent the evening telling stories and getting to know each other a little better. Since most of the team are already friends and have climbed together on other mountains it was mostly the guides that needed to get caught up with the back stories and inside jokes.
We will spend Wednesday checking in with the National Park Service Rangers, doing final gear checks, packing and enjoying the sunshine here in town. The weather forecast is promising for flying to the glacier tomorrow first thing on Thursday. We will check in again tomorrow as our adventure on Mt. McKinley begins.
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Cheers from the whole team;
Andy, Ian, James, Tim, Steve, Mike, Pete and Walt
The Four Day Climb with Brent Okita and Henry Coppolillo reached the Summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Brent reported a clear, calm, and beautiful day on top.
The team spent time on the summit signing the summit registry, taking pictures, and celebrating before starting their descent back to Camp Muir.
After our dry run yesterday, we got to do the real thing today. We landed on to the Kahiltna at precisely 10 am, and boy was it already hot! We were hoping to hit the ground running, but talking to teams coming off the lower Kahiltna and looking at the temps we decided to take the day to review skills, dig a cache and organize.
Due to the hot temps we are switching to a night schedule so we will sleep through the heat of the day today and depart when things firm up! Morale is high and we are super excited to be on the mountain!
June 25, 2014 - 12:26 am PT
And so it begins... The last RMI Denali team of 2014 took shape today in the Anchorage airport. We assembled, seven climbers and four guides from around the world lugging about 23 or 24 giant duffel bags of cold weather gear. The team took a ride with Denali Overland, our shuttle service to Talkeetna. The three hour trip was broken by a stop for provisions in Wasilla, but then we powered on up the Parks highway to our Talkeetna turnoff. We had pretty good views of the Chugach Range as we left Anchorage but the Alaska Range stayed mostly hidden under cloud. There were some scattered rain showers to see, and a Bald Eagle or two, but no moose this time. We were in Talkeetna by 8:30 PM and getting settled into the comfortable Talkeetna Motel not much later. The big work of preparing to fly onto Denali begins in the morning.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
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Summit team and all congrats! I am in awe!
Posted by: Karen Norris on 1/12/2018 at 5:50 pm
Congrats to a great accomplishment in the beginning of 2018!! Wishing a restful few days before you start climbing again. Prayers for safety and success. MOM
Posted by: Jane Knoff on 1/12/2018 at 2:41 pm
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