RMI Guides Dave Hahn, Geoff Schellens, Lindsay Mann and Zeb Blais along with their great crew of climbers have now made the final walk down to the airstrip. Clouds around the mountain have prevented any planes from getting in today. However, the team is excited to be in position to load those planes as soon as the weather clears enough to fly.
We look forward to hearing from the team once they are back in Talkeetna (hopefully soon)!
Hey everyone, Peter Whittaker here with the First Ascent and RMI team in Antarctica checking in. We had a great day today. We actually moved from Basecamp up to Camp 1 on the Branscomb Glacier. Five and a half miles and it took us about 5 ½ hours, and we gained 2,000 feet. So we're up at 9000 feet now, just over 9, at Camp 1. We had beautiful weather today with very little wind kept conditions nice and the whole team moved up smartly. Seth and Caroline got out before us on skis, and hauled up a load into camp, set up tents and had a hot brewing for us when we got in. It was awesome. And so we're here now. It's about 9 o'clock at night. It is January 6th and Seth wanted to be sure and wish Solveig a “happy birthday.”
Our plan for tomorrow is to… most of us are gonna hang out up here, a couple of us are gonna head back down, and do a back carry, grab loads from base camp. The rest of our food and fuel to bring it up to [Camp] 1 and then will be self sufficient here from Camp 1 to move on up to [Camp] 2 and then eventually the summit. The weather's been just fantastic so far, and we're hoping that it does hold. The team’s well, everyone is enjoying themselves, and we just wanted to share with you our latest. We will talk to you soon, over and out.
Hi from Russia! The whole team and luggage has arrived in Moscow. We just finished a great dinner and are getting to bed so we can enjoy our city tour tomorrow.
RMI Denali Team #4 is assembled and after a full day of packing, is ready to embark on a grand adventure. What exact adventure awaits is somewhat of an unknown, an uncertainty that is a part of the process.
Today was spent packing, leaving no stone unturned because once we land on the glacier we basically just have what we have. Sure, some bartering can take place at the various camps, but we must make every effort to remember every item. Details matter.
Also throughout the day we continued to acquaint ourselves with the logistics of climbing and specifically of climbing this route in full expedition style. The K2 Aviation team gave us a quick orientation about flying on; and we were in close contact with them all day, sorting some additional details about our flights and basecamp logistics. The National Park Service briefed us on the route and provided some information that will help us climb responsibly in regard to our safety as a team and our ability to keep the mountain clean.
To wrap up the day we had a meal at the Denali Brewpub and got to bed hopefully early enough to get a full night's rest in a real bed, possibly our last for a few weeks. One big sigh of relief for every climber, knowing they have everything they need packed and ready to go.
RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier, Lacie Smith, Will Ambler & Team
The second day of the trek took us ever higher into the desert valley on our way to Aconcagua Basecamp. The trail wound it’s way through the high desert of the Andes, past scrub brush, and the occasional Guanaco. Today also provided us with the first views of the mountain. It was a beautiful bluebird day and the upper reaches of Aconcagua were in full view as they towered over the surrounding peaks, including Amighino, a mountain that tops out at the same elevation as Kilimanjaro. Tomorrow we make the final push to basecamp at 13,800 feet and start acclimatizing for the upper mountain.
Update: May 22, 2019 - 5:29 pm PT
An early alpine start at 2am had us walking under starry skies and a nearly full moon to the base of the glacier. After four hours of glacier climbing around crevasses we found ourselves at 17,400’ at a sub peak offering us amazing views of Pequeno Alpamayo and Huyana Potosi. We descended 400’ of rock, that led to steep ridges and the final 500’ of steep ice and rock to the summit. The summit did not disappoint with views of the surrounding mountains and our next mountain objective Huyana Potosi. Lucky for us, after twenty minutes of descending off the top we were engulfed in a cloud. After a twelve hour summit day we’re enjoying some relaxation before dinner.
RMI Guide Eric Frank
May 22, 2019 - 6:39 am PT
Good morning this is Eric Frank calling from 17,839' on the summit of Pequeno Alpamayo. We're having a beautiful morning up here. The team did incredibly well. We had four out of five climbers make it to the top of Tarija peak and four out of five climbers make it to the top of Pequeno Alpamayo. It's a gorgeous morning, light winds. We are sitting on top enjoying snacks with a view in every direction. We are going to hang out here for another 15 or 20 minutes and then head back downhill. We look forward to checking in this afternoon when we get back to camp. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Eric Frank
RMI Guide Eric Frank checks in from the summit of Pequeno Alpamayo.
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Tyler Jones and Christina Dale reached the top of Disappointment Cleaver today at 12,300' before route conditions and strong winds forced the team to turn. The team checked from Ingraham Flats as they were on their descent and en route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to Today's Teams!
Congratulations on your climb! You met the challenge with great training, persistence, and most of all a great sense of adventure. We are proud of you and are looking forward to celebrating with you in person. Way to go Mike!!!
M & D
Posted by: Dennis and Kathy Garvey on 7/7/2018 at 1:00 pm
Wow! How exciting, great job Marc! Praying for a safe return, we can’t wait to hear of your adventure! Love, Ben & Celeste
Posted by: Celeste & Ben Wedding on 7/7/2018 at 9:54 am
The Four Day Summit Climb Teams led by RMI Guides Seth Waterfall and Solveig Waterfall reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Seth reported clear skies above with moderate winds and cool temperature. There is a cloud deck below at approximately 7,500'. The teams began their descent from the crater rim at 7 am en route to Camp Muir. The teams will continue their descent to Paradise and we look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later today.
Congratulations to today's teams!
Thick clouds rolled into the Alaska Range overnight and when we woke up shortly before 3am, we found ourselves in the midst of a thick fog bank. It was thick enough that we even needed our headlamps to get around camp, an uncommon occurrence in Alaska this time of year. The fog bank acted like a thick warm down comforter, keeping the temperatures hovering around freezing, even at the coldest part of the night. We caught several glimpses of breaks in the clouds above and decided to venture out of camp to see if we could find some colder temperatures and more supportable snow above the valley floor. We set out through the mist, following the track that we scouted yesterday evening, and navigating the crevasse field that guards the entrance to the side valley leading up to 747 Pass.
The scene was awe inspiring while we climbed the valley. As a flat light began to illuminate our surroundings, we passed the foot of huge rock faces that stretched vertically into the air above us until they disappeared into the clouds. At the head of the valley loomed the headwall and seracs that mark the top of the pass. The views would come and go with the clouds, occasionally spitting hail and almost rain on us. After climbing a little more than a 1,000' up that pass we were dismayed to find that the temperatures had not cooled and we were sinking to mid thigh in the soft isothermic snow when we climbed the steeper pitches. Around us running water ran down the cliff faces, telling us that even the snow slopes high above had not frozen overnight. With more clouds blowing in and spits of rain coming down, we knew that today wasn't our summit day as the conditions made for exceedingly slow progress and the warm temperatures and rain increased the chance for rockfall and snow sluffs above us while also weakening the snow bridges that allow us to cross the heavily-crevassed glacier.
We pulled our climbing skins from our skis and descended back down our route, making a few fun turns in the soft, punchy snow and returned to camp. We spent the rest of the morning catching up on the few missed hours of sleep from our early start, reading, and keeping a general light-hearted banter going in the tent.
By mid afternoon the clouds lifted a bit and we decided to stretch our legs with a little tour across to the east side of the Ruth Glacier before returning to camp for the evening.
We are hoping that the clouds will continue to lift and bring in some cold temperatures to provide a good freeze for the glacier. If we get a cold night and a good freeze of the snow surface, we will make another attempt on Mt. Dickey tomorrow morning. If the weather stays warm we'll pack up camp and move back up the glacier towards Mountain House to get some ski touring in on some of the more gentle slopes in that area.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory & Team
Jambo from Mweka Camp,
We had a great summit day and the entire team reached the summit at 7:50 AM. It started about 11:45 PM last night when the alarm went off, and soon after we were dressed and packed for the climb. After a quick breakfast we threw on our backpacks and started up the trail. The team did a great job of climbing the 4,000'+ to the top, and the weather cooperated with us the whole way, with a little wind to start, but was almost calm while we were on the summit. It took us 7 hours total to reach the top, and after spending about 45 minutes on top, we began our descent down to our last camp on the mountain, Mweka Camp.
Everybody did very well today. Now we are settled into our tents and looking forward to a good night's rest. We'll get an early start tomorrow and finish the last section of our trek, descending to Mweka Gate.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
RMI Guide Jeff Martin calling in from the Roof of Africa.
Congratulations Chief!!! We are all so proud of you!!! Love and miss you!!! Jill, Rachel, Caleb, Kiki, Emily, Shane, Eli, Silas, David, Catie, Shena, Jeff, Anthony and Chloe
Can’t wait to hear from you Wayne, Yippppppeeeeeeeeee, love Dinah and Sue
Posted by: dinah rogers on 7/18/2011 at 4:47 pm
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