Today's Mt. Rainier summit climb teams, led by RMI Guides Tyler Jones and Hannah Smith, turned at the top of Disappointment Cleaver (12,300'). The guides reported cold and icy conditions. They are currently on their descent to Camp Muir and will be in Ashford early afternoon.
May 23, 2017
Woke up to better weather than the forecast said so we took advantage of the fleeting visibility. Most of the day was spent cycling thru crevasse rescue in a nearby crevasse and rigging sleds. We believe one of Sally's sons had a birthday in the last 24 hours so a special shout out to her progeny. More weather is supposed to be on its way so we are taking it one day at a time here in base camp. Still lots of fun being had and learning as well.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
Hey, this is Alaska Mountaineering Seminar checking in. Last night we went to bed under increasing wind and snow. This morning we woke up to continued snow and wind and whiteout conditions.... The sun finally peered through this evening giving us a gorgeous last sunset for our time here on the Kahiltna Glacier. Tomorrow morning will be getting our flight back into Talkeetna after a great week here in the Alaska Range. Take care.
Jason Thompson checks in for their last night on the Kahiltna Glacier
Late yesterday evening we were treated to a spectacular moonrise over the Ama Dablam massif here in Pheriche. The very full moon bathed the surrounding peaks in a brilliant light, the glaciers glowing so strongly that after retreating inside I was obliged to pull my curtains closed to cast extra darkness into my little room. Luckily, the clear skies persisted through the night and we awoke to another crystal clear morning, with only the highest peaks sporting their jet stream plume of clouds far above us.
Leaving our bags in the teahouse, we set off up a small trail above Pheriche, climbing quickly we passed several stray yaks and decaying chortens as we climbed higher. With the weather staying clear and the team climbing strongly, we made good time up the ridgeline, soon gaining the summit of Nangkar Tshang, a rocky outcropping around 16,500' standing proudly above the confluence of the Imja Khola Valley - coming from Island Peak - and the Dudh Kosi Valley - coming from Everest. Along the way we had excellent views of our climbing destination, Island Peak, which we will return to in a few days after visiting Everest Base Camp. Standing by itself at the head of the valley at well over 20,000', the peak does indeed resemble an island, surrounded with a backdrop of some of the world's highest peaks including Nuptse, Lhotse, and Makalu.
After enjoying the views from the summit of Nangkar Tshang, we headed back down the trail, quickly losing the elevation that we worked so hard to gain. Before returning to Pheriche, we walked down to the the sister village of Dingboche, visiting a small building built high into the cliff face above the valley on our way. Returning to Pheriche, we returned in time to sit in on the HRA Clinic daily Altitude Talk, listening to Dr. Barb Jones from the US give us the latest briefings on altitude science and demonstrating the use of a Gamow Bag, or portable hyperbaric chamber, for us.
Tomorrow we climb higher towards Everest, bound for the small herding village of Lobuche, situated just past the terminus of the Khumbu Glacier. Communication from Lobuche is difficult but we will do our best to keep everyone up to date with our progress.
July 1, 2015 6:25 pm PST
Hey, it's Billy here checking in from 17,200' on Denali. We are back in camp after our foray up the Autobahn and around the corner on Denali Pass but it was quite windy. The wind along with zero visibility and blowing snow and some wind slab instability conspired to shut down our summit attempt. So we turned tail at just above 18,500 feet and everyone is back down in camp, in one piece safe and sound. We're trying to regroup and figure out what the future holds for us. We'll check in tomorrow and let you know we're up to you.
All for now.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
RMI Guide Billy Nugent checks in from 17,200 ft on Mt. McKinley
One and all were singing the praises of Jo's Garden in Phak Ding this morning. After confusing days of travel and hustle and bustle and jet lag, it was wonderful to sleep deeply with the sound of whitewater from the nearby rushing river masking everything. As is typical, it was a clear and crisp morning with plenty of blue sky when we started walking at 8:30 AM. The first hour of our six-hour journey was spent either in forest or in the gardens that pass for farms along the river. Magnolia and rhododendron were in bloom, but then so were the apple trees. Before long we were looking up at the glaciers and impossibly steep ridges of Thamserku, perched several vertical miles in the sky. Within a few hours we'd reached the National Park entrance at Jorsalle. Then it was time for a relaxing lunch at the last of the teahouses before we crossed the river and got busy with the Namche Hill. We crossed the ultra-high cable bridges near the start of the hill and then plugged away in the heat for several thousand feet of vertical gain through the pine forests. At one point we heard the thunderous crashing of tons of ice cascading down the steep gullies on the opposite wall of the canyon. Finally, we eased into the magical village of Namche Bazaar. The town is built as a series of concentric half circles, facing the giant peak of Kwangde, across the valley. We strolled through the tight "streets" (there are no cars and probably never will be) until we reached our hotel for the next three nights, Camp De Base.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Lovin’ the blog! It’s the first thing I check every morning and maybe several times throught out the day…yes, I know there is only one update per day. I’m enjoying living vicariously through this incredible journey. Keep changing with every step Robbie and Erin!
Posted by: Tiff on 3/27/2015 at 5:48 am
One of my dreams is to see Everest in person. I came across your blog and was stoked to know that I could read as your team progresses towards the final goal. Safe travels to you and your team Dave. Looking forward to many more pics and blog entries. Best regards Sir!!!!
Our luck with the weather continues. It was another perfectly calm, blue-sky, sunny day on Mount Vinson. We took full advantage, moving up from Low Camp to High Camp. It is plenty of work to break camp and hit the trail in this cold environment. This "morning" it took us about 2.5 hours. We were walking by 1:45 PM. We had the advantage today that we were all familiar with the route and the fixed ropes -thanks to our carry on the same terrain two days ago. This time we shaved about forty five minutes off, reaching 12,150 ft High Camp in five hours and fifteen minutes. We set to building camp and digging in, which took a few more hours of hard work, but eventually we were all sitting face to face in a freshly excavated dining room. We talked over exactly how summit day might work out for tomorrow. After dinner, the team pitched in to build some snow-block walls, just in case the wind comes up. Then folks wandered about a hundred feet west to look over the edge. It is a stunning view, peering over this dramatic and abrupt escarpment to see almost every footstep we've made to date. In the distance, the Nimitz Glacier is prominent and beyond that it seems that we can see forever on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The team went to bed ready to go for the top, we'll see if our weather luck holds.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
The Four Day Summit Climb team led by RMI Guide JJ Justman and the Five Day Summit Climb team led by RMI Guide Leon Davis reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams reported clear skies with 15-20 mph winds. The teams will descend to Camp Muir and take a short break before continuing their descent to Paradise.
We look forward to seeing the teams back at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!
OMG! Great job Ron I didn’t doubt even a sec you were gonna make it. Congratulations. Now you can check this item of your bucket list. Diego says you are unbelievable! Lol:)
Posted by: Edda Zabala on 8/7/2014 at 12:38 am
Way to go guys! An amazing accomplishment to add to your lists!
Our team made the summit of Mt. Elbrus! It was an interesting weather day. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good. The wind and the cold challenged everyone including myself.
Our team did a fantastic job motivating each other and looking after one another. I was really proud to climb with all of them and they all deserve a huge congratulations!
We are now safely down back in the ski town of Cheget. A well deserved rest after a good Russian meal is in store!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Yeah!!! Well done everyone! Good job Cindee~ can’t wait to hear all about it when you get home!! Xoxo, Maija
Posted by: Maija Markula on 7/28/2014 at 9:23 am
Congratulations!! Cindee, you are amazing. Well done for the entire team!! Great adventure and climb for everyone! Be safe and enjoy the rest if your trip.
Karen
June 14, 2014 - 10:37 am PT
Despite a marginal forecast, we awoke to perfectly workable conditions. Packing up our cacheables, we busted moves up the hills Motorcycle and Squirrel to get to the Polo Fields. There it began to snow lightly but never got too bad and we were able to make it all the way to Mt. McKinley's 14K Camp in great style.
At 14K, we ran into our friends on the other RMI teams and always great to see some friendly faces in such a wild zone. Tomorrow we plan to rest up and move as soon as the weather allows.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
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Glad you got a chance to give it a try! See you.next month.
Posted by: Ken Wanderer on 7/19/2019 at 10:37 am
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