Most Popular Entries

The Four Day Climbs led by RMI Guides Joe Hoch and Devin Wilkinson climbed above the clouds to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier. Joe reported sunny skies and light winds with a cloud deck at around 9,000' this morning. The Weather was holding and provided the team will good climbing conditions. 

Congratulations to today's team! 

Saturday, June 25, 2022 - 7:46 pm PT

Good evening all,

It's been quite a day and it's not even over yet. We woke to a chilly morning at 17,000' Camp. It made for a slow break down of camp and packing due to cold fingers and let's face it tired bodies from the day before. But with some effort we left camp and made our way to 14,000' Camp. Like usual it got real hot when we got low. By the time we arrived it was hot and we were tired. We opted to stay at 14,000' for the evening. Another RMI team helped set up our tents and gave us water. True team players. After shuffling gear and eating breakfast burritos for dinner we are all laying down for a few hours before we wake to start walking at midnight for the airstrip. It's going to be a long day but we've got this. Lots of motivation to propel us forward. Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon we will be flying back to civilization.

Time to nap,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

We are currently in the town of Puebla, taking a rest day after our climb of Ixtaccihuatl and preparing ourselves for our upcoming climb of Orizaba.

Yesterday we left our high camp on a warm but windy night. The route takes us up through a steep scree field and into a short section of chimneys that requires a little scrambling. After gaining the ridge we made our way along the circuitous route, taking breaks to regroup and adding layers as the wind continued to blow. We put on crampons and grabbed our ice axes for the steep descent onto the Ayoloco Glacier. With daylight breaking the horizon we had two remaining false summits before getting to Ixta’s high point of 17,340'. The sun rose just in time for us to take pictures and share some high fives. We descended back to high camp and eventually back to the trailhead. After sorting some equipment and enjoying a few refreshments, we got on the shuttle to head for Puebla.

Climbing Ixta can be deceiving; we don’t cover many miles and the vertical gain seems minimal. However, the rocky and loose terrain makes for slow progress, especially when compared to being on snowfields and glaciers.

The team worked hard yesterday and is planning to take full advantage of today's rest day before we head to Orizaba tomorrow.

 

Thanks,

RMI Guide Mike King

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

This is Dave Hahn calling down from Camp 2 on Mt. Everest. Finally! We are out of Basecamp and on our summit bid. We had a great morning coming up. The climbing route is actually in pretty good condition. The ice fall is scary as ever but the Ice Fall Doctors have been doing a good job and we got through in pretty quick time. It was a beautiful morning nice and clear and calm. The mountain is quieting down a little bit. There were a lot of Sherpas carrying loads down today for expeditions that were finished. So the mountain is quieting down and we think that is a hopeful sign for us. The forecast is coming together and there are still a few teams still around that are on the same time frame as us. We have been comparing notes. Things are going pretty well. Our Sherpa team is going to come up tomorrow to ABC. We are going to rest tomorrow and get ready for the Lhotse Face and moving to Camp 3 the following day. We are pretty optimistic. We are all feeling really good right now and we are going to keep you informed. RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

The Four Day Climb July 10 - 13 led by RMI Guides Hannah Smith and Jack Delaney reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 6:45 am.  Hannah reported a good route, light winds and a nice route. The team enjoyed some time on the crater before starting their descent. They will return to Camp Muir for a short break before continuning down to Paradise.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

The July 8th Four Day Climb team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The team climbed above the heavy marine layer to enjoy clear skies and goregous views fromt the top. RMI Guide JM Gorum checked in by Radio, and reported light winds, clear skies, and a great route for climbing.

The team is on the descent and will be back to Camp Muir later this morning.

Congratulations to today’s team!

The Women's Mt. Baker Climb, led by RMI Guide Nikki Champion, aborted their climb at 8,900' this morning due to rain and high winds.  The team is currently on their descent back to camp where they will break camp and head to the trailhead.

We made the all important break from basecamp today.  The day began sunny and calm and we were feeling good, so the decision was easy.  We began stirring at 9 AM and made it a leisurely morning of packing and sorting.  Our rope team of three pulled out of Vinson Base Camp just after 12:30 PM.  At first, the sun was strong and we stripped a few layers so as not to sweat, but as we neared yesterday’s high point, some clouds intervened to make it a little cooler again, but not desperately so.  Our faces weren’t freezing but we couldn’t lounge around at rest breaks.  We took on the sleds full of supplies that we’d stashed yesterday and made the tricky pull up and around the Branscomb Glacier’s big 90 degree corner and made it under the two great ice streams pouring 2,000 meters down Vinson’s West Face.  Walking conditions weren’t the easiest, the surface was alternatively rough or super smooth and firm.  We put on crampons to gain better purchase, which helped but which isn’t exactly the normal way of things below Low Camp.  We made it in to 9,300' Low Camp just after 7 PM and set to work building platforms for the tents, setting up and anchoring tents, and getting moved into them.  That and digging a kitchen and dining area in the super hard packed snow/ice took a good chunk of the evening.  The sun finally pulled out of the clouds to make our 10 pm dinner a bit more pleasant.  This camp gets direct sunshine until 2 or 3 in the morning, making the tents comfy in the evening, but then it gets a seriously cold shadow until 11 AM, making mornings cold and slow.  But since we’re in the comfy phase now, we won’t worry about tomorrow. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

1979 - RMI Guide and Owner, Joe Horiskey, and RMI Guide and Co-Founder, Jerry Lynch, on the summit of Mt. McKinley (now Denali). ---- RMI Guide, Owner, and Alaska Operations Coordinator, Joe Horiskey, recounted his first Mt. Rainier climb on our blog a few years ago. To kick off #50YearsofClimbing we are featuring Joe’s story of his first climb. This August will mark 52 years since Joe’s first climb. Find out more about having your first climb featured on our blog! ---- Forty-six years ago, August 24, 1967, I began my first summit climb of Mt. Rainier. I was a paying customer. The cost was $25, which included a One-Day Climbing School. Nevertheless, as many have, I contacted the Guide Service (it wasn’t RMI yet) and pleaded my case to avoid the training and lessen the price. I pointed out I had backpacked earlier in the summer and encountered snow, which I successfully negotiated. Alas, the manager informed me I needed the Climbing School, but proposed I carry a load of food to Camp Muir to work out the cost. Terrific! John Anderson drew a rudimentary map of the ‘route’ to Muir one Saturday morning at Paradise in early July and my only question was “how many round trips?” (I was totally serious). His deadpan reply was that one ought to do it. My trip to Muir is another story for another time. I managed to deliver the supplies and participated in Climbing School the following day. The evening of August 23, 1967, some neighbors from Lakewood dropped me off at Paradise. My folks had provided money for a hot dog at the snack bar, but a room in the Inn was out of the question. Not a problem, so I headed to the Inn to kill the evening before finding a suitable campsite. Employee Talent Shows were a nightly occurrence at Paradise Inn in the good old days. The hotel management hired people oftentimes based primarily on musical or other talent. At the conclusion of the show a juke box was cranked up, and employees and guests alike hit the dance floor for a couple of hours. I was content to watch. At 10:00 PM I donned my waiting pack (a wooden frame Trapper Nelson) and walked up the Skyline Trail a short distance above Paradise Inn. There I settled in beneath a cluster of sub-alpine fir and spent the night. Dawn on Saturday, August 24th, promised a perfect day for the trek to Camp Muir. Guide Service headquarters was located in the basement of the Visitor Center (the flying saucer) and there I met the other clients and our two guides, Tony Andersen and John Rutter. There were five clients, including myself. I can’t remember details about the trip to Muir, other than I positioned myself in line directly behind the ‘cabin girl’ headed up to cook for the guides. There was no client Bunkhouse, instead the guides on each trip would pitch and strike White Stag car-camping tents (the guides headquartered in the tiny, rock Cook Shack). Dinner was provided as part of the fee: beef stew & mashed potatoes (from #10 cans), as well as breakfast when we awoke to climb (#10 can peaches). Even a sleeping bag was supplied (I had no concern of when it may have been cleaned last). Summit day took 12 hours round trip: nine hours up and three hours down. There were three ladders to cross on the Ingraham Glacier. We left Muir at midnight and about half-way across the Cowlitz Glacier, I realized I’d left my gloves in camp. No big deal; I would tough it out. On a side note, it goes without saying we weren’t wearing helmets, beacons, harnesses or headlamp (we carried flashlights), or even gaiters. I wore wool army pants, my ‘parka’ was a Navy pea coat (heavy wool), and we were tied directly into the 150’ goldline rope with a bowline on a coil or bowline on a bight. Above the first rest break, we negotiated the ladders and traversed north onto Disappointment Cleaver. My hands were pretty damn cold (the guides hadn’t noticed my predicament) as we ascended the spine of the Cleaver. On top of DC we took our second rest break and lo and behold, one person decided to call it quits. Before resuming the ascent I screwed up my courage and asked the person staying behind if I could by any chance borrow his gloves…of course I could! High on the summit dome I was really starting to run out of gas, and we were still more than an hour from the crater. Could I/Should I drop out?! John Rutter’s emphatic answer was a resounding NO! I kept plugging. Now the rim was in sight, and slowly getting closer. But then…what the hell?! Instead of halting for a much needed break we didn’t so much as pause, traversed through the rocks, dropped into the crater and crossed. Sign the book. Un-tie and reach Columbia Crest. Hero shot. The weather was perfect. It was 9:00 AM, Sunday, August 25, 1967. August 25th, 1967 - Joe Horiskey, age 16, on the Mt. Rainier summit. Mt. St. Helens, pre-1980 eruption, in the background. Occasionally over the years I have wondered if I blocked our descent from memory; was it that much an ordeal?! I recall very little, other than being incredibly thirsty. In retrospect, we took some wrong turns on the DC (Disappointment Cleaver), which necessitated backtracking uphill (killer). At Muir we were plied with Kool-Aid. The descent to Paradise took forever, but at the parking lot I was one happy, exhausted 16-year-old. 1968 - Jim Whittaker, Joe Horiskey, and Lou Whittaker on Mt. Rainier. Joe's first year working for the guide service, which became RMI the following year. I didn’t play organized sports in high school; I grew up with parents who hated camping (but enjoyed road trips and appreciated National Parks); to suggest I wasn’t particularly studious is a gross understatement; but I had just discovered something I loved, that would stay with me for the rest of my life: climbing. Over the next winter I bothered Lou incessantly about becoming an Apprentice Guide (I even applied for work at Paradise Inn, but evidently lacked a requisite talent). At some point (maybe just to put me off), Lou and/or John Anderson said to show up at Paradise in June, and see if there was work. I did; there was; and, there still is! RMI Guide Joe Horiskey