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Posted by: Eric Frank, James Bealer, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Saturday, May 29, 2021 - 11:35 pm PT
Sleeping in was mandatory this morning as we waited for the sun to hit camp. Rest was the name of the game today as a storm laid siege on the mountain. Wind battered the tents with occasional snow as we all practiced the art of not getting bored. We had a delicious and grand dinner which devolved into (surprisingly well informed) debates on which Disney characters were best. The weather will hopefully improve tomorrow and we’ll be able to get up and stretch our legs.
Such an exciting adventure. Go NORM! Looking forward to seeing more photos and hearing your stories. Stay safe, my cousin. :)
Kathy
Posted by: Kathy Leslie on 6/1/2021 at 4:40 pm
Ptaying you all up and down and sunny no storms, sure-footedness. Love to Norm, from Uncle Kaz too
Posted by: Old aunt Karen on 6/1/2021 at 9:10 am
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Adam Knoff, Robby Young
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Shishapangma
Elevation: 18,500'
Sorry we missed your call to us this morning with the happy anniversary wishes, but we really appreciated your message and expression of affection. The diner and after party last night was a smash success (or so I’m told). As you might have expected, in keeping with my careful allocation of excess consumption occasions, I duly allocated last night’s affair as my one such occasion for 2016. And as I’d expected, today was a total loss, dedicated exclusively to aspirin, antacids, rehydration and horizontal recovery! Hopefully your retreat to Base camp was uneventful and the rest there today fulfilling and complete - and even better than mine!. Wishing you and the team nothing but fair skies and calm air from here on!
Love from us both.
Posted by: Rick Deerwester on 9/24/2016 at 4:32 pm
Go go go! Enjoy and good luck :)
Posted by: Carlos on 9/24/2016 at 2:38 pm
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Jackson Breen, Charlie Harrison, Bo Torrey
Categories:
Elevation: 13,200'
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons July 3 - 8 led by RMI Guide Nikki Champion spent two days training at Rainier BaseCamp and at Paradise, prior to starting their climb. On Tuesday, they left Ashford for the White River Ranger Station. They donned heavy packs and started up the mountain to their first camp. Yesterday, they ascended to Camp Schurman and continued their training. With an alpine start this morning, they made their summit attempt but were turned back due to high winds, low visibility and challenging walking. The team returned safely to Camp Schurman around 1 pm where they will spend their last night on the mountain. Tomorrow the group will descend to the trailhead and return to Rainier BaseCamp.
our son, Glen Zilly, was in the group attempting to climb Mt. Reiner. A wise decision but he plans to return next year.
Our son is a 43 yr. old self employed
Architect who lives with his wife & daughters in Scottsdale, AZ.
Posted by: Patricia Zilly & Richard Zilly on 7/9/2022 at 12:22 pm
Posted by: James Bealer, Mike Bennett, Josh Geiser, Josh McDowell, Augi Fleer, Lily Emerson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides James Bealer and Josh McDowell reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team had a little bit of weather, so they did not stay on top for long. The team is back at Camp Muir and will be arriving at Paradise in the early afternoon
Congratulations Team!
Our climb kept pushing us as we descended from our high camp at Barafu (15,200') all the way to Mweka Camp (10,000'). The feet and knees were talking to us and what they were saying would be inappropriate for the ears of young children.
But we all made it, in part to the fantastic pizza our chef Tosha made us for lunch. Pizza, at 15,200'! On a two burner stove, no less.. Incredible!
At Mweka the gods were smiling down on us, granting a rare sunny day at this place that exists on the edge of the rain forest where clouds always seem to hang. Of course, Tosha beat us to Camp to prepare another wonderful dinner.
Last night brought everyone a night's sleep they haven't had since they were bouncing about in diapers. 10+ hours of solid sleep was had by all, just the right medicine for our tired bodies. It was amazing to see a bunch of mostly middle aged men bounce back from an intense 13-14 hour day and trot down a slick, slightly muddy trail to the Park gate at 6000'. In fact, they even beat many of our porters down. A first!
At the Mweka gate we were greeted by our outfitter and the busses and enjoyed our last meal 'on the mountain.' This time cold drinks were available, and many bottles of the local brew were consumed. The gift shop was happy to provide some the chance to get something special to bring home.
The highlight of this time was certainly the singing and dancing our mountain crew did celebrating our week together. The joy and kindness these hard-working individuals shared with us all week was distilled into a few minutes, and really reminded us of how special this trip was.
Yes, the mountain was fantastic, but it was the people we shared this time with that proved to be the most special part of the climb. These people, who lack so much in material things compared to us Westerners, are so rich in spirit and generosity that we as a team were all moved and reminded of what's really important in life.
And in the end, there was this team of climbers that came together to climb a mountain and left as friends, sharing an amazing story that will never be forgotten.
Hope to see you all again!
RMI Guide Brent Okita
Happy Birthday, Geo! Congrats on reaching the summit. We’re still standing here for now. See you soon!
- The Sales Pod
Posted by: Kourtni Kesler on 7/26/2022 at 6:53 am
I have tears in my eyes from reading this. Congratulations to all of you! So inspiring!
Posted by: Andrea Murphy on 7/25/2022 at 11:53 am
We had a casual start to the day. Our hike took us to 15,400’ on Ixta where we have camp set up for the night. Our plan is to rest a little bit after the hard effort of carrying heavy packs and still adjusting to these higher elevations. This evening we will do some gear and skills refreshers. There are some ravens squawking over head and the sun feels good on the tents. Tonight we will ascend the “knees” of Ixta and gain the long and circuitous ridge line and hopefully be on the summit around sunrise. Spirits are high and everyone is healthy and enjoying having the heavy packs off their backs.
All the Best to you and your Team Mike!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 11/10/2021 at 2:53 am
Posted by: Andy Bond, Grayson Swingle, Ben Luedtke
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 20,301'
Thursday, July 30, 2022 10:20 am PDT
I’m going to start with the spoiler-100% of our team made it to the summit! This was very special because of the excellent chemistry we developed on this trip. To get to the summit, we had to travel across the Autobahn-clipping in and out of over 50 pickets, climb past Zebra rocks, take in the views at Denali pass, do the 100 yard dash across the football field, tackle pig hill before finally arriving on the summit ridge all while changing layers of clothing throughout the day. The summit brought tears to many of our eyes. It took us just under 7 hours to reach the summit from 17,000 camp. At the summit, everyone exchanged hugs and laughter. Some commemorated with flags and special notes for loved ones. We took lots of pictures and celebrated our hard effort before we descended back to camp in 3 hours and were completely exhausted. Our celebration included watching Steve, who carried a hula hoop he found in Talkeetna to the summit, break the world record for completing over 30 seconds of hula hooping at the highest elevation recorded for the activity. We all videoed the event for the record book.
We were blessed with incredible weather; 1st rate guides-Andy, Grayson and Ben; interesting, accomplished, funny and caring team mates.
I want to also share my own personal story which motivated me to climb Denali- The highest mountain in North America. After hiking the Appalachian trail in 2018, I decided I needed a new challenge which was tackling the highest point in every state. I quickly realized this goal included Denali and Mt Rainier and that i better get working on those two mountains since I wasn’t getting any younger. Having no mountaineering experience, I did some research and decided to climb with RMI since they guided on both mountains and came with high reviews. To get some experience, I decided to take the kahiltna seminar followed by a climb of Rainier. Covid initially delayed my plans by a year but in May 2021, I completed the Kahiltna seminar only to find out a month later that I had stage 1C ovarian cancer. I had surgery in July and started 6 rounds of chemotherapy which ended in December. I wanted to have a goal to focus on during chemo, so I signed up for the June 15th climb of Denali. Knowing this was a daunting task, I went hiking everyday during the four months of chemo no matter how sick I felt. Amazingly, I continued to get stronger and fitter and climbed a 13,000 foot mountain in Colorado in November. I think I had this overwhelming desire to push myself because I didn’t want to let cancer interrupt my goals. Another part of me wanted to do something that was as close to mentally and physically demanding as combating cancer as I could find. I certainly believe climbing Denali fulfilled that objective! Standing on the summit was thrilling but at the same time I realized the yearlong journey was the meaningful part not the single destination.
Mary-Beth and Team
Late to the party but my congratulations are just as strong. You all rock! Steve and his hula hooping self and Mary Beth. MB for you I am just without words. I was diagnosed with Stage 2B breast cancer in 2018 and just getting through it all about broke me. Reading what you accomplished during your treatments and since is just so motivational. I’m so glad you were part of this team whose blog I followed because of Steve. The Universe sure is magical.
Posted by: Melanee Strootman on 7/5/2022 at 10:12 am
Congratulations to the whole team!! What an accomplishment for you all. Mary Beth you’re just amazing and I can’t wait to hear what your next adventure might be.
Posted by: Jan Sgroi on 7/2/2022 at 9:44 am
Posted by: Brent Okita, JJ Justman, Mike King, Nick Hunt, Walter Hailes, Steve Gately
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
Thanks again to JJ and Brent as well as all the other guides for a great climb! So glad to be a member of the first summit team of the season! You guys are truly amazing and I had a wonderful experience with RMI!
Posted by: Chad Burgert on 5/16/2013 at 8:42 pm
A. Summer - Getting high, elevation-wise that is
Posted by: Mark Addams on 5/16/2013 at 7:23 am
On The Map
Enjoy Tibet while you guys are still there! It’s a beautiful place and I wish I had enjoyed everything while I was still there. Hope everything’s going well!
Posted by: JonathanL on 4/14/2011 at 6:04 am
Great Job Bill McGahan and Sara Rose McGahan (as Adam and Owen now refer to you guys :))! What an awesome adventure!
Posted by: izzy on 4/12/2011 at 12:34 pm
Guys had a great time, so much so I’m booking for Mexico. I want to make sure JJ brings the fat finger ascender just for me…
Posted by: Louis on 6/11/2012 at 2:31 pm
We had a fantastic time learning mountaineering skills and hanging out in the hut at Camp Muir. What a great group of clients and guides! Thanks to JJ, Dan, Tim, Katey, and Alex for teaching us so much. You took a newbie and got me well started on a great obsess,er,uh, hobby! Thanks to Nick for suggesting the trip, and every body for keeping it fun. I hope Zeek’s goose grows her feathers back in time for the next trip!
Posted by: Jim on 6/10/2012 at 3:18 pm
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