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Jambo! We are checking in from the fabulous Plantation Lodge in Tanzania. We had an incredible day of game viewing at the Ngorongoro Crater. At one point we even had a baboon in the driver’s seat of our safari vehicle. That was kind of exciting. We saw many of the beautiful animals that make their home in this extinct crater, lion, giraffe, zebra and elephant along with many species of monkeys and birds. Tomorrow we head out to Tarangire National Park. The weather has been cooperating and everyone is having fun. Wish you were here. All the best, RMI Guide Mark Tucker

One of St. Petersburg's many names is the City of White Nights, recognizing the few hours of darkness that descend on the city during the summer months. Perhaps it was the daylight or perhaps the change in time zones but it was a fitful night's sleep, deep rest intermixed with periods of wakefulness as the body struggled to adjust to a new sleep cycle. Thankfully, a good cup of coffee at breakfast chased the dregs of sleep away and we headed out to visit the city. Just down the canal from our hotel stands St Isaac's Cathedral, one of the largest in Europe. We climbed the 207 steps up it's spiral staircase to the Colonnade, a walkway offering the best panoramic views of the city - to the port to the west, across the maze of roofs and streets to the south, and to the spires of the Admiralty and the Peter and Paul Fortress standing along the Neva to the north. The beautiful morning made for nice walking along some of the city's 80 canals on our way to the Church of Spilled Blood, an ornately decorated onion domed church built upon the very cobblestones upon which Tsar Alexander II, the defeater of Napoleon, was killed. Wandering through the gardens and side streets, we made our way to the Hermitage, a collection of over 3 million pieces of artwork housed in 5 buildings that as former palaces of the Tsar's are works of art in themselves. Thanks to some "creative route-finding" we managed to avoid the throngs of visitors milling outside the entrance and were quickly walking amongst the grand ball rooms featuring an exhibition of dozens and dozens of Picassos. Hours, days, even weeks could be spent visiting the Hermitage (and only 5% of it's collection can be displayed), so we focused on seeing the highlights for us. By late afternoon our days of traveling and site seeing began to catch up with us and we returned to the hotel for some rest. With evening drawing on and feeling a bit rejuvenated, we ended our day on the water, taking a boat through the city's canals and rivers, watching the sun set over the Neva river. Tomorrow we leave St. Petersburg and trade the shores of the North Sea for the hills of the Caucasus, flying to the town of Mineralnye Vody on our way to Elbrus. We will check in tomorrow when we reach the foot of the mountain.

RMI Guides Nikki Champion, Mac Nolde, Celeste Wilson and Annie Chapman led the Four Day Women's Climb July 28 - 31 to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning.  Reports are clear skies, light breeze and overall beautiful day. The climbers reached the summit early this morning and after spending a bit of time at the summit, started their descent from the crater rim around 7 am.  Once back at Camp Muir the teams will pack their gear and continue the last 4.5 miles down to Paradise. They will end the day with a celebration of their adventure.

Nice work team!

Yesterday we hiked almost all the way up La Malinche. At 14,440 feet, just a few minutes from the top, the park security emerged from the cloud to inform us that the mountain was closed due to the threat of lightning. My own assessment of the lightning risk was lower than his, but this guy didn’t seem in the mood to discuss and I wasn’t going to bring my rudimentary Spanish skills and a trekking pole to a gun fight. Oh well.

On the way down, we got thoroughly soaked and were happy to hop in the showers at the La Malintzi Resort before eating a hot meal and getting to bed early.

At the moment, we are in route to La Joyita, the trailhead for Ixtaccihuatl. We will spend the night there and head to high camp tomorrow.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

Today the entire team was assembled for the first time.  With a couple last minute emergencies, the group is now down to eight.  We are disappointed some folks had to cancel, however we are happy to report that all who planned to make it here are in country with luggage in tow.

After a quick orientation we were shuffled onto the bus for a tour of Quito and a trip to La Mitad del Mundo (The Middle of the World).  This is not a reference to Middle Earth, but instead is a museum at the Equatorial Line.  We were treated to a variety of scientific representations of the Coriolis Effect.  Two members of the team were able to balance an egg on a nail.  In reality, this is possible anywhere in the world but Dustin keeps a close eye on this activity for when it comes time to assign rope teams.

Our tour then proceeded to El Panecillo and old town Quito.  It rained for most of the day, but we made the most of it and it cleared up just enough on top of El Panecillo to have a great view of the city.

By the time we returned to the hotel most of us were pretty exhausted.  Many team members' flights arrived late last night so people were given the choice to run around town or just relax in the rooms.  I think most chose sleep!

We are all in good spirits, healthy and ready for our first acclimation hike tomorrow up Rucu Pichincha.

RMI Guide Adam Knoff

A three hour walk brought us to the toe of the glacier where we spent several hours training on snow and ice in anticipation of our first summit attempt tomorrow. We’ve made a new camp at roughly 15,400’ which sits in the beautiful Condoriri Valley, where we are surrounded by beautiful peaks. We had an early dinner, and we find ourselves trying to get some rest before an early wake up and a long day tomorrow as we look to climb Pequeno Alpamayo. RMI Guide Eric Frank

June 15, 2015 8:57 pm PT Hello everybody this is Geoff Schellens with the Upper West Rib team calling from the summit of Denali. It’s been quite a long day and a lot of tired folks but we are happy to be here. We are about to start our descent and we will check in from 17 Camp. Thanks everybody for following along. RMI Guide Geoff Schellens

Hello again everyone. All is still well here in the Khumbu as the remaining team members made our way back into Namche. It was a super busy day on the trail with climbers, Trekkers, yaks, and porters all bound uphill to Everest Base Camp. We slowly made our way through the trail traffic and enjoyed one last good view of Everest. Along the way we ran into several old friends from my past trips and stopped to wish everyone good luck and finished the day off with a nice reunion with one of RMI's finest Billy Nugent. Godspeed my friend! Tomorrow we'll be moving out early on our final leg of the journey back to Lukla. So please keep you fingers crossed we have good weather and can make our flight back to Kathmandu the following morning. RMI Casey Grom and crew

On The Map

Once again clouds hungover Base Camp this morning and the moisture and cold temps covered camp in a thin layer of frost. We broke down camp and packed up our gear in the cold early morning shadows, stopping now and again to warm our hands while brushing frost off of the tents and packing them away. The first rays of morning sunshine found us climbing out of Base Camp on our way to Camp 1. The rest and added acclimatization from yesterday paid off as we moved up the trail, making switchback after switchback up the rocky slope. By midday we reached Camp 1 and taking advantage of the good weather quickly set up our tents. Camp sits on a gentle slope at 16,600', just above a series of spires and cliff faces that roll off below us. The slope meant we had to put in some work rearranging rocks and flattening the platforms but before long we had everything set up and tied down in case the winds picked up. The rest of the afternoon passed building rock walls for wind protection and retreating to the tents when occasional squalls of snow blew through. Thankfully nothing major came about and by early evening the clouds lifted a bit, giving us amazing views of the glaciers and peaks above Base Camp while we had dinner. We're tucked into the tents and heading to bed to get some rest before tomorrow. Our plan is to make another carry to Camp 2, getting more supplies up there for when we move the following day. It's great to be out of Base Camp an up on the mountain. Tom and Thomas continue to climb very well and we are all adjusting to the altitude smoothly. Buenas noches from Campo Uno! RMI Guide Linden Mallory

Currently, the team is resting at the South Col waiting for the weather to calm so they can launch their final summit push. The original plan was to leave on the evening of the 23rd and summit on the morning of the 24th although weather moved in dropping several inches of snow which fell thru out the night. Because of the weather and limited visibility, the team decided to hold off on the summit push and patiently wait one more night. As of now, spirits and anticipation are high with an afternoon of clearing skies and decreasing snow. If things continue as they are, the team should have a good shot at a successful and safe climb. On another note, I descended to Basecamp with one of our climbers on the morning of the 23rd in a decision that we felt was best for us. We are both currently down monitoring the radios with full support and wishful thinking for our teammates up high. If things continue to go well, the team will depart the South Col tonight for an early morning summit. Wish them luck and safe travel!