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Namaste everyone!

Well, we did it! Everyone successfully made it to Everest Base Camp on a beautiful day. We had a relaxing start to allow the day temperatures to rise enough so that the hike would be pleasant. The team hiked for almost 3 hours to reach base camp or EBC as we call it, stopping along the way many times to take pictures and enjoy the grandiose views.

Once here, we were greeted with the best food, thus far, for lunch and several team members decided to enjoy hot showers while it was still warm and sunny. Although the temperature wasn’t high, the intensity of the sun at this altitude made it feel quite warm to us.

Everyone is doing great and looking forward to a good night’s rest after the day of trekking to get here. We are sleeping on the Khumbu glacier in a campsite chopped out of the ice. Our camp is surrounded by mountains and glaciers in nearly all directions. It’s incredibly stunning to say the least.

Tomorrow the team will make some phone calls to loved ones back home to say hello. So, if you see a bizarre number on your phone appear, please answer. We are calling from our satellite modem since there isn’t WiFi or cell reception here.

That’s all for now!

Casey and Crew

RMI Guide JJ Justman began guiding for RMI in 1998 and his climbing and guiding resume includes a long list of notable peaks from all corners of the world. We recently caught up with JJ to hear about his guiding career and his latest pursuits. RMI: Where have you been climbing this winter? JJ: This winter I have been climbing in a few of my favorite places. I first went down to Argentina to lead another expedition on South America's highest peak, Aconcagua. It was nice to stand on top at 22,841 feet and it was my 14th summit. Unfortunately I was only able to do one expedition there. Usually, I like to climb Aconcagua twice. Instead in February I returned to the States and led a Winter Expedition Skills Seminar on Mount Rainier. We had a great team of climbers and in the beginning the weather was fantastic. We made it up to Camp Muir on a beautiful day but in typical fashion, winter crept back in and it was nasty as ever. This may seem like a downer when on a climb but it's actually a lot of fun to be in that kind of weather. You end up learning a lot about how to survive in bad conditions. That winter expedition ended on a Friday and the next day I flew to Mexico to guide the Mexican Volcanoes Ixta and Orizaba, another favorite climb of mine. It had been awhile since I had been down to Mexico and I simply forgot not only how fun the climbing is but how amazing the food is. You don't know Mexican food until you've been to Puebla. RMI: You’ve been guiding for the better part of two decades, what are a couple of highlights from your guiding career? JJ: Boy, that is a great question. I have many highlights. The first is having guided on Rainier since 1998 pretty much day in and day out for the summer season. I have 188 summits but what I love is having shared those summits with literally over a thousand people. I love climbing Rainier so much for that reason. You are always climbing with new folks, many of whom are mountaineering for the first time. Another highlight has been my Himalayan career. I've climbed on 6 of the 14 8000 meter peaks. I did not summit on all of them. On the contrary. However, I've guided and led safe and successful expeditions in some rather inhospitable environments. Simply experiencing those landscapes is something that cannot be explained, you have to literally do it and see it for yourself to understand its beauty. Out of all the Himalayan expeditions I have done, Dhaulagiri, which is the seventh highest in the world stands out for me. It was 2002, my first Himalayan 8000 meter peak. It is a mountain not many people attempt and our small climbing team was the only expedition there that year. Talk about cool! It felt like we were the original explorers in that region to discover and attempt climbing the mountain. It was steep, the weather was relentlessly horrible and we tried to summit on three separate occasions. And every time the weather screamed at us "No". Regardless, we made it up just shy of the summit and our team was one of the greatest teams I have climbed with. A well knit group. I could go on and on but I'll stop it there. Those are a few of my highlights. RMI: How has guiding changed for you over the years? JJ: Guiding for me is like any other industry. Things change. Things evolve. For me, I have taken the attitude of being a life-long learner. Every year there are new tips, new tricks, new methods about short roping, anchors, crevasse rescue, and emergency medicine. I enjoy learning new ways to do things and most of the time I am learning these things from younger guides who are going through their own official education in guiding. I don't want to be the "old guy" who is stuck in the past thinking "my way is the best way". There is always something to learn. I've also been fortunate to be mentored by some of the best mountain guides in the world. And I find the most important skill a guide can have and often the most difficult to learn is the "soft skills" of communication. Great guides have great empathy. Personally I learned this on my summit of Everest in 2004. Coming back down off the summit I was utterly exhausted! And I remember thinking, "this is what my clients on Rainier feel like after making the summit!" I climb Rainier so much I am used to it but for someone who has never done it, well, they get exhausted. A good guide can empathize with their fellow climbers because we have all been there, we have all felt that uncomfortable pain of exhaustion. It's a bitter sweet aspect of standing on top of big mountains, whether it is Rainier, Denali, Aconcagua, or Everest. RMI: You create some great short videos from your climbs, how did you get interested in creating those? JJ: I became interested in making videos of my climbs because of the dispatches I used to do for my Himalayan climbs: it was fun to share photos and videos of the climbs. Families and friends of the climbers enjoyed seeing their loved ones and the environment they were in. On Rainier, one of the things guides would hear is about how people wish they would have taken more photos. Of course the main objective is to summit and climbers have enough to focus on. So I shoot video throughout the climb and then do a quick down and dirty edit and post the video for anyone to see on a Facebook Page called "The Guiding Life". For me, shooting video on a climb is just part of the job. My camera is connected to my ski pole so all I have to do is push a button so it doesn't distract from my main responsibilities of guiding. And people have really enjoyed and appreciated being able to see themselves in action on the mountain. RMI: What do you enjoy most about being a mountain guide? JJ: What I enjoy most about being a mountain guide is taking people into one of the most beautiful environments in the world. When you look at a mountain from down below like 99% of people do, they think it is beautiful. Spectacular even. However, when you stand up on that mountain looking down below, it is a completely different world. And it is amazing. Again, it is something you don't understand until you see it with your own eyes. In order to stand on any mountain's summit a person has to be tough. You must break through that mental barrier that says "I don't know if I can do this." Keeping climbers safe in an environment that can be dangerous and coaching them through tough situations to accomplish great things is what I love about guiding. For some folks climbing Rainier is the most unbelievable thing they have ever done. For some others they get the climbing bug and have to go higher. No matter what, I love sharing the raw power of just being in the mountains. Experiencing one of the most beautiful places you can be. RMI: You’ve done over 15 Expeditions to Aconcagua, what advice do you have for climbers looking to climb South America’s highest mountain? JJ: To date, I have done 16 expeditions to Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America. For many climbers, Aconcagua is the first real "expedition style" climb they do. So there is a little bit of learning you have to do, some subtle differences from a typical climb. One of the biggest obstacles people face is boredom. Expedition climbs like Aconcagua are all about patience. You have to have patience. You have to acclimatize properly, which means on days you are feeling great, you may have to rest and just take it easy. Weather will always come in and you will have to wait out a storm. You have to be patient. Again, it is the mental game that gets most people on climbs. You have to be tough. Tough beats Strong every time. And if you are tough and hang in there you will be rewarded with the most amazing view South America has to offer. RMI: What does your upcoming climbing season look like? JJ: My upcoming climbing season for 2012 is another whirlwind but I wouldn't have it any other way. I will be on Mount Rainier from beginning to end, May through September. However, I am excited to have a two week stint where I will be going back to Russia to guide Mount Elbrus. I am really looking forward to that climb because it is with some folks I have climbed with a lot all over the world. I missed that point when talking about what I enjoy most about guiding. I love developing friendships where over the years I get to share in more and more climbing experiences with the same people. After my tour in Russia and on Rainier I will be leading a Mexico's Volcanoes trip in October before I head back to Argentina in late November where I will be leading two expeditions on Aconcagua, one starting December 3 and the other starting January 2. It's still early in the game but there is already talk of the Himalayas, a place I always want to return to.

We went for it today!  Another absolutely beautiful, sunny, calm and clear day.  It was something of a long shot for our entire team to be fully acclimated and ready for this serious push to 16,000 ft but we decided it was worth the try.  That summit or not, we wanted to give it a go.  And so we set off at 9 AM.  It was cold at first, but rapidly becoming evident that -without even a hint of breeze- we wouldn’t suffer so much from the low temps.  In fact, many of our team were pealing off down pants and bibs in the first uphill hours.  We made steady progress, but the altitude took a toll and ultimately we formed turn around ropes.  Those of us coming down early put our hopes and best wishes into those continuing to the top.  Those pushing on got determined and efficient and topped out at 4:45 PM with inspired help from Scott, from Conrad Anker and from Hannah.  Our entire team was reunited at high camp by 7:30 PM and enjoyed several easy, comfortable New Years Day hours recounting the adventure and looking out over the precipice of Vinson’s great western wall.  We blew out candles on cookies for Sarah’s perfectly timed birthday and called it a day.  An incredible day in a wondrous place. 

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Greetings from Vinson High Camp @ 12,500. Much nicer day. No wind. Up in 6 hrs 15 min.  We are looking good for top tomorrow.  Other teams rested at high camp today. Forecast is for continued good weather.   We caught the 99.2% total eclipse this morning at 4:44 am. We were able to see Venus, but no stars. Still pretty bright out, surrounded by ice and snow, but a different light. We enjoyed it. Team is psyched for tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Back to perfect weather. We made the summit of Mt. Vinson one more time today. Just a small rope team to get the final climber -who rested yesterday- up to see the sights. And there were unlimited sights to be seen. The entire Ellsworth chain was visible from end to end and beyond, at least two hundred miles of jagged peaks and endless ice. There wasn't any wind at all on the summit today, so it was the most comfortable -30 C one is ever likely to see. We made the top in 6 hours and 45 minutes, spent a half hour up there saying "wow" over and over, and descended to high camp in two hours. Seth Waterfall and the rest of the team took things easy at high camp throughout a nice long sunny day, snacking and catching up on hydration. Tomorrow we'll all drop back down the mountain and begin the journey home. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

It is 4:30 in the afternoon on the 25th of May, at South Col, Everest High Camp. We didn’t go for it last night, there a few too many people, I don’t know how many exactly, but on the order of 90 – 100 and there was a wind last night, so we didn’t pull the trigger last night. We are going to go for it tonight. We’ve got the forecast in our favor, the winds are supposed to drop down. There are other people going for it tonight but manageable numbers and we feel pretty good about it. It’s a sunny day up here at 26,000’ and we are hanging out, making plans taking care of our selves, getting ready because tonight we want to start up for the roof of the world. I’ll try to give you a call when we get up and are brewing up in the dark tonight and the cold. But all is well, we are going ahead with things. RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

6:55 a.m. Nepalese Time ON THE SUMMIT! Perfect conditions with some other teams around. Everybody in great shape. Congratulations to RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Linden Mallory!!! RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

Wake up, eat breakfast, hike, drink tea, order dinner, eat dinner, order breakfast, go to sleep, and repeat.

 

We hit the dusty trail once again, making our way closer and closer to Everest Basecamp. Yaks jingle jangled along the trail letting us know their presence so we could move aside and let them have the right-away. We weaved up and down, right, and left through the boulders in terrain that looks out of this world. We got our first views of the Khumbu glacier and then a great view of Everest. Our best views came on our hike up Kalapatar. Halfway up everyone got views of basecamp and the Khumbu icefall. The whole picture is coming together, and the mirage is disappearing. It’s hard to see where one mountain starts and another ends. Everyone is getting excited to arrive in basecamp, especially now that we have seen it from a far. Tomorrow is the day but for now we will all get a good night’s sleep after a sun-filled dusty day on the trail.

 

Till Basecamp,

Casey, Hannah, and team

Day 10

Leaving the ruckus of Basecamp behind, the team enjoyed a smooth ascent to Camp 1 today. The massive rock buttresses of the upper mountain certainly made us feel tiny. It is peaceful moments like today, in epic places like this where we are reminded of how small we all are. It feels great to be established on the upper mountain.

Till next time,

RMI Guide Luke Wilhelm

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