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The Four Day Climb September 5 - 8 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Andy Bond. The guides reported cold temperatures this morning with winds 15 mph and a dusting of new snow on the upper mountain. Mother nature put on quite a show last night with thunder and lightning throughout the area followed by some serious rain. We are glad the timing of the storm happened once the teams were at Camp Muir and cleared enough for them to make it to the summit today. Once back at Camp Muir the teams will continue to Paradise and transfer to Rainier BaseCamp. This afternoon they will conclude their program with a short celebration. Congratulations to today's climbers!

Tonight I'm in Camp 3. This camp is hands down the most ridiculous camp I've ever made. It's perched atop a small serac maybe 20' by 20' with huge drops on three sides. A 150 feet overhanging ice cliff is what I'm tucked under... to protect from avalanches. Yikes! The past three days I've spent making my way up Annapurna. The first day (the 19th) I left Base Camp with two Sherpa guides to re-open the route after a week of snow. But on the way to Camp 1 and after arriving in Camp 1, I was observing avalanche activity that was just too frequent for my comfort to continue pushing on to Camp 2 (as was our original plan). Shortly after making the call to stop for the day at Camp 1, a massive avalanche broke high on Annapurna. Rumbling toward us, I thought, for a moment, it was gonna hit us but luckily it just dusted Camp 1 with a cloud of snow and a large gust of wind. The 20th I made my way to Camp 2 and found my tent, that I had set up on April 4th when I first established the camp, buried under 7ft of snow. Three and a half hours later I had my tent unburied and patched up. Today, the 21st, I tackled the most technical and dangerous section of Annapurna. Namely, a 3,200-foot climb through steep alpine ice with large seracs always above you. Just think of ice blocks the size of tractor trailers just waiting their turn to rumble down the mountain side. About mid-way through the climb I broke one of the straps on my Millet 8000m boots. Taking refuge beneath a massive serac I quickly jimmy-rigged a fix and kept climbing. The key in these regions is to move as fast as is safe and possible for you. This evening at Camp 3 I'm sharing this small ice pedestal with another team. We barely fit. Just as dark set in a large stove fire erupted in a tent adjacent to mine. Luckily I had my down suit and inner boots on and could rush out to help reduce the fire. Myself and a few other climbers rushed to kick gas canisters and oxygen bottles out of the fire; throwing snow on it, and principally focusing on preventing the other tents from catching fire. Unbelievably no one was injured! The tent and many of the occupant's belongings were lost to the fire, but everyone is safe now. It's quite windy here tonight. Not sustained, but you can hear the gusts approaching from the distance. Not sure what my game plan is for tomorrow, either head to Camp 4 and make a summit attempt tomorrow evening; in which case I'd be racing a forecasted storm to the summit, or head back to Base Camp and wait for a more stable window. RMI Guide Alex Barber

The Four Day Summit Climbs led by Brent Okita and J.J. Justman reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. It is a beautiful day on Mt. Rainier, the teams experienced light winds and clear skies. They were beginning their descent from the crater rim at 7:30 a.m. en route to Camp Muir. The Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz July 31 - 5 August led by Jake Beren reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The team has returned to their high camp and will spend their last night on the mountain. They will do some additional training before returning to Paradise tomorrow afternoon. Congratulations to today's team!

Wulp, we done carried to Camp 2 and let me tell you, this team is climbing STRONG. We got into a little bit of snow and wind through Ameghino Col but it was nothing we couldn't handle. We were just under four hours up to Chopper Camp and around one hour down. This means we were cruising! And after a dinner of pasta with tomato sauce (w/ fresh sauteéd onions and garlic) and a hot drink we're nestled back in our tents ready to pass out. Stoke meter is up there, maybe 7 or 8! RMI Guide Billy Nugent & the Aconcagua Team

Saturday, May 13, 2023 - 7:03 pm PT

A gentle shushhhh of snow falling on the tent woke us this morning. We were the central theme in the snow globe as snow fell quietly and windlessly down. We lingered over coffee and bagel sandwiches letting the day progress. We really couldn't see much, but it was calm, warm enough, and we had a nice camp to return to, so we finally sorted some loads out, loaded packs and sleds, and turned uphill again to go cache. We walked through a milky white world for several hours before we decided that we had done enough, and further walking was going to involve a lot of feel and not much sight. So we dug quite a large hole and left our loads there under the snow to be retrieved in a few days time. The walk down went quite quickly, and after an hour we were back at camp where the clouds were lifting and the sun was blazing at max intensity. We are currently enjoying a short siesta, before a hearty dinner of reindeer gumbo. We plan to pack up camp tomorrow and trade up to an abode at 11,000'.

We'll be in touch.

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

The last few mornings we have had would not by most standards be considered relaxing or “vacation” worthy in most people’s worlds.  Although we were able to “sleep in” on Wednesday morning, there is something about being at 16,000 feet surrounded by coughing, restless climbers which is simply not conducive to quality rest.  Thursday evening we were up at 11:30 pm, so this morning is a welcomed relief from those high altitude toss and turners.   

With 9,000' feeling like sea level and our second 500 year old hacienda feeling like the royal Hilton, this morning was a gift for the mind, body and soul.   I must confess that in our last hacienda, Dustin was convinced a ghost had visited our room floating above him making his whole body tingle, which is a legit claim considering the place’s history, but with equal haunting tales following us to our current hacienda, we slept too hard to notice if calling the ghost busters was reasonable.   

After a thoroughly caffeinated breakfast we packed the van and headed south towards Chimborazo.  The bus first landed us in the bustling town of Ambato where we shopped and enjoyed watching Jonny try to expand his stomach with an intimidating 20” burrito.   He opted to not complete his task in the name of comfort for the remaining bus ride which ultimately brought us to my favorite hacienda called, Abraspungo, located in Riobamba, a short hour drive from Chimborazo.  Here we were greeted with a lovely hot tottie and a host who speaks perfect English.   Dustin and I can steer the ship with our first grade Espanol, but I would consider  it equal to loosening the handle bars of a mountain bike and sendings down a hard single track.  We crash a lot!   

Once moved in we continued our skills training the appropriate way, with shorts, beer and a perfectly manicured lawn.   Dinner followed and was superb!  All in all, this is how a rest day should feel, which is good because tomorrow we start our hardest and final mountain of this wild adventure.   Chimborazo is the farthest point from the center of the earth and sometimes feels like it has no end.   We need to be strong, determined and ready to rock if the summit is going to be found.  We will touch base from High Camp tomorrow.   

RMI Guide Adam Knoff

The Four Day Climb August 6 -9 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning led by RMI Guides Robby Young and Alan Davis. Robby reported a beautiful day with no winds and a great route. The team enjoyed some time on the summit before descending from the crater rim en route to Camp Muir. The teams will continue their descent to Paradise and return to Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon. Congratulations to today's climbers!

Hello to all those following the Mexico Volcanoes trip. Our team woke up this morning in Puebla feeling rested, happy and possibly a touch hungover. Of course partaking in two or three celebratory cervesas last night was highly discouraged by the guide on the trip but I caved into massive peer pressure and had my share. After breakfast we loaded our van and headed out. 90 minutes later we were pulling into the beautiful compound of our Mexican outfitter and again fed like kings. The biggest surprise for the group so far isn't how hard the climbing is, although that is a very close second, but more how delicious the food is. This isn't classic texmex but truly authentic comida. After the gear perpetration and lunch, we piled into the big 4 x4 truck and grinded our way for an hour and a half up a road so dusty we all looked like bandits covering our faces in the back. Now camp is made here at the Orizaba hut and the mountain js in full view. There are other teams here as well so the climb tonight into tomorrow will not be a lonely one. The more the merrier I guess. Dinner is in 30 and bedtime in 90. I feel like quite the father tucking my team in at 630 pm. It is something adults don't do too often. Wish us luck tonight and stay tuned for tomorrow's climbing dispatch. Everyone is psyched to be heading up North America's third highest peak but also to come home. To all our friends and family, now we miss you! RMI Guide Adam Knoff & Team

The Four Day Summit climb led by Brent Okita, Solveig Garhart and Dan Windham reached the top of Mt. Rainier today. The team reported clear skies and 20 mph winds. At 7:40 a.m. PT the teams were at 12,300' on their descent en route to Camp Muir. The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons July 3 - 8 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning led by Mike Walter. The team will return to Camp Schurman for their final night on the mountain. Congratulations to today's summit teams!

This is Mike checking in for the November Mexico Volcanoes trip. Everyone arrived in Mexico City over the last 2 days with all their equipment. We had a brief team meeting and dinner last night. This morning we will head out early to get to La Malinche, a dormant volcano for the last 3,100 years for our first acclimatization hike. The bus ride takes us out of the vast and heavily populated area of Mexico City with its population of 22 million people and into the rolling agricultural communities near the border of Tlaxcala and Puebla states. The goal for today is to hike to the top of La Malinche at 14,600’. We will check in later today once we are back down at the cabins. RMI Guide Mike King