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Hi, this is Seth writing you from the Everest Bakery and Cyber Cafe in Namche Bazaar. It's a beautiful day in the Khumbu. Our schedule calls for a rest day today in order to allow our bodies to adjust to the altitude here. It's kind of strange to have to acclimatize to a location that is a fully functioning town. But a slow and steady approach to basecamp is necessary to keep us healthy for the upcoming climb. Namche is a beautiful village located in a high amphitheater surrounded by craggy peaks. The town is bustling with trekkers from all over the globe which give it a very cosmopolitan feel. It's the Sherpa capital and it's cool to see all of the guys moving through town on their way to basecamp. It must be climbing season. The team is doing well and everyone is enjoying the trek so far. A few of us were able to get a glimpse of Everest this morning, which was great. It's as big as I remember! Tomorrow we are taking a day hike to the village of Kumjung and hopefully we'll be able to get views of Ama Dablam, Nuptse, Lhotse and of course Everest.

Hello everyone 

Right out of camp we were faced with the only significant technical obstacle for this climb. This hurdle is the great Barranco Wall, which rises about 1,000ft and looks as intimidating as it sounds. Thankfully there is a nice narrow trail that weaves its way up and through the wall and all the way to the top. Most of it feels more like steep hiking, but there are a few places that require the use of our hands to help us climb up. 

The team did a good job of moving steady and allowing a few porters through with their loads precariously balanced on their heads. Which was astonishing to see!

After reaching the top we took a nice break and enjoyed the amazing views of the ice ladened south face and valleys below. The team continued our hike for a few more hours up and down through a few valleys before reaching today's endpoint. 

All in all, it took only about 4 hours for us to reach our next camp called Karanga, named for the big and beautiful valley which it overlooks. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

At 7:20 a.m. PT the Mount Rainier Four Day Summit Climbs led by Kel Rossiter and Zeb Blais were just about to crest the crater rim. They reported 10 mph winds from the north and perfectly blue skies. Congratulations to today's summit climb teams!

Hey Seth here checking in from Mweka Camp, that is our last camp on Kilimanjaro. We made it back to High Camp in really good time and the good weather continued all the way down. Everyone is tucked into our tents and just waiting for dinner. We are going to crash out early tonight after a super long day, but a successful one. Tomorrow we are off the mountain and back at the hotel. I will send summit photos when we get back into Wi-Fi range. That’s it for us. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall and team.

Prvyet from Elbrus Northside Basecamp, We got an early start from Kislovodsk this morning. With our backpacks packed and our street clothes stored away, we piled into the back of an old Soviet-era off road vehicle and headed into the Caucasus. The pavement quickly disappeared only a few minutes outside of town and we began the long, twisting dirt road to Base Camp. The enormous 36" wheels of the former military truck handled the rocks and ruts of the road with ease and we made good progress through the lower slopes of the mountains. Rising gradually from the fertile fields in the heart of Russia, the northern Caucasus steppe is a stunning landscape. The farms and fields slowly give way to grand rolling grasslands, cut by deep canyons, hemmed in by rocky plateaus, and framed by jagged, snow capped peaks. Herds of sheep, cows, and goats wander slowly, feasting on the alpine grass before autumn sets in. And rising above it all stands Mt. Elbrus, it's twin summits literally shimmering in the clear morning air. The view of the mountain this morning was fantastic and we were thrilled to watch the mountain grow larger as we bounced our way towards it. After five hours of gradually making our way higher into the mountains on increasingly narrow and eroded roads, we reached Basecamp - a cluster of brightly colored tents at the foot of Elbrus' flanks. We set up camp, unpacking our climbing gear, taking stock of our food supplies, and keeping an eye on the curious bovines wandering about. Before the afternoon slipped by we headed out on a short walk above Basecamp to stretch our legs. Back at camp we sat down to a hearty minestrone feast before crawling into the tents for the evening. After days and days of travel from our homes almost a dozen time zones away, it feels great to finally be on the mountain. The team is excited and eager to start our ascent. Tomorrow we are planning to go on an acclimatization hike and cache some of our gear higher up near our next camp. It is an excellent opportunity to get out on the trail and give our legs a shake out while positioning us for a move to the next camp. We will check-in tomorrow night and let you know how it goes.

Saturday, June 29, 2024 - 10:10 pm PT

Life is easier at 14,000 ft.  It was still a little breezy and cold this morning as we packed up at 17K.  It still looked like the wind was howling up above. But of course we had our eyes on a dignified retreat. And a careful one. There were quite a few tricky steps to manage on the descent of the West Buttress. It was a relief to have the fixed rope section completed without incident. We rolled into 14,000' Camp at 5PM and had an easy evening in the sunshine. Yes, we are still a long way up a mountain, but everything is more friendly down in the thicker air.  We'll try for 8,000 ft for tomorrow night.

Best Regards, 

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

We went to bed last night really warm. The sun was still on the tents, and temps through camp were warm. That lasted until early morning, when suddenly the clouds dropped, and the temperature plummeted. This morning therefore was one of the coldest of the trip, properly bone-chilling cold. Halfway through breakfast the sun finally hit and our fortunes changed, thawing us out and warming up conversation. This was hopefully our last rest day. We took the opportunity to walk the short jaunt to the Edge of the World, where the edge of Genet Basin in which 14k camp is located, plummets to the NE fork of the Kahiltna 7000' below.

Otherwise, we’ve rested and organized for a hoped for move to 17,000’ tomorrow. The forecast looks promising, and we are excited to enter the home stretch! We'll send a progress report tomorrow.

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer & Team

Yesterday as our team of acclimating, moth parenting, cloud touching gringos strolled up Rucu Pichincha, a storm was unleashing 40 miles to the south.  In Espanol they might say it was raining perros y gatos, but luckily we never felt a drop.  Ever since the team arrived, our weather has been a bit squirley leaving us to wonder if we might actually get wet somewhere along the line.  

As we packed Victor’s magic bus today, the clouds swirled above but not as noisily as the traffic around us.  Forty-five minutes after departing our gracious hotel hosts, we gathered speed around a four lane roundabout and were literally shot out of the city like something breaking free from a strange orbit.  Three hours and 50 miles later we found ourselves at a beautiful crater lake named Largo Mojanda.  As Americans we want to pronounce this with a true "j" sound, making this lake sound like some kind of volcanic jelly, but in Espanol, the "j" sounds like an "h" and the "o" is long giving it a more majestic feel. 

The mountains we climbed don’t take as much tutoring to figure out.  Fuya Fuya is the name of the twin peaks we ascended leaving only images and not so much phonetics to the imagination.  Much like yesterday, the weather held and we were blessed with another summit and beautiful vistas of the deep blue lake and surrounding peaks.  The climbing wasn’t difficult but watching Jerome plunge into the frigid water was.  When he asked me it it was okay to swim, I looked at him and said, “I don’t know, is it?”  I certainly wasn’t risking my skin against fresh water volcanic flesh eating trout.  He went in but came out quicker. 

From the lake we descended the bumpy cobble road to our favorite lunch spot and then to the hacienda for some rest, packing and preparing for tomorrow’s big move to 15,000' on the flanks of Cayambe.  This is a big jump so wish us luck.  But, before we go to the mountain we will go shopping!  All faithful blog followers get a gift.  

Stay tuned.

RMI Guide Adam Knoff

The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb teams were walking into the crater rim just before 7:00 a.m. The weather is fairly warm with a cloud deck at 6,400'. They will spend some time on top as they cross the crater rim to Columbia Crest before starting their descent.

The Four Day Summit Climb July 2 - 5, 2018 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning just before 6:30 AM PT led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Chase Nelson. The teams reported steady winds of 25-30 mph throughout their ascent. They were able to spend some time on the summit enjoying the blue skies and sunshine this morning and began their descent from the crater rim around 7:30 AM PT. They will continue their descent to Paradise later this afternoon and we look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later today. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!