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Posted by: Tyler Jones, Zeb Blais
Categories: Guide News
RMI: That night you left Camp Muir with the intention of skiing Liberty Ridge. Were you able to ski that line?
Zeb Blais: The key to skiing big exposed lines is always the snow conditions. When you're looking at skiing a line like Liberty [Ridge] you can only know what the conditions are like when you get there. We were hoping that the north and northeast facing snow would be chalky, smooth, and wind packed, but when we looked at the entrance to Liberty it was clear that it wasn't going to be skiable. The Liberty Ridge Route looked like mid-summer, maybe good for ice climbing, but certainly not skiable. The Liberty Cap Glacier was down to blue ice with lumps of rime glued to it, which I imagine is fairly common since it is so steep, but the skiing below looked the same. Rappelling the Liberty Cap Glacier and skiing the rest of the line did not look like an inviting option.
RMI: What did you end up skiing instead?
Zeb Blais: After realizing that Liberty was not suitable, we turned our focus to the Mowich Face - an amazing, steep face on the northwest side of the mountain. This looked tempting at first, but it was heavily rimed with blobs of water ice. It was not a place to be on skis! We retreated back to the ridge above and decided we needed to focus on warmer, spring like-snow. We decided on the Sickle, a west-facing chute on the Tahoma Glacier. The snow in the Sickle was prime for skiing!
Tyler Jones: On our ski we had nice soft spring snow down to 8,500 feet. From there we were able traverse to our objective for the next day: Success Ridge between the South Tahoma Glacier and the Success Glacier. We spent the night on the ridge, getting some well-deserved sleep, with the magnificent 4,000-foot Success Glacier Couloir above us waiting to be skied. The conditions on the Success Glacier were superb. The snow was firm for climbing and soft for skiing. After the amazing fall line decent, we continued traversing to [the trailhead at] Paradise. As we hit the Nisqually Glacier we added more vertical to our trip and finished at the Nisqually Bridge. In total Zeb and I traveled 24 miles, gaining 19,000 feet and skiing 21,000 feet in 3 days.
RMI: How does being a Guide help prepare you for trips like this?
Tyler Jones: Being a guide helps to develop your intuitive mountain sense, which is very important for making good decisions in the mountains. It is that gut feeling that can make all the difference.
Zeb Blais: Guiding also gives me a good base-line fitness for doing long days in the mountains. Mountaineering is a unique sport that requires specific techniques and fitness to be efficient. The more you do it the better you get!
RMI: What was your favorite part of this ski trip?
Tyler Jones: My favorite part of this trip was seeing a few new places, skiing a new run, and enjoying the views of the Tahoma Glacier from Sunset Ridge.
Zeb Blais: A huge part of the trip was sharing it with Tyler. Moving in the mountains with a partner who you enjoy and trust makes all the difference. There are thousands of big and small decisions to be made when doing a trip like this, from what gear to bring to what line to ski to 'do we go left here or right?' Making these choices and learning from other experienced climbers or guides is always something I enjoy.
Can't forget skiing! Maybe I should have said this first, but the skiing was awesome! Steep, exposed skiing with great snow is one of the most exhilarating things a person can do.
RMI: What adventures do you have planned next?
Zeb Blais: I am guiding a mountaineering trip on Shasta at the end of the month, and then I'll be back on Rainier for the climbing season with a Denali West Buttress trip at the end of June.
Tyler Jones: I am guiding a Denali trip in June. After that I am planning on flying back onto the mountain for a ski trip with my fiancé Laura. After that I will return to guiding on Rainier and the Grand Teton. Then, I am getting married in September!
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Jackson Breen, Charlie Harrison, Bo Torrey
Categories:
Elevation: 13,200'
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons July 3 - 8 led by RMI Guide Nikki Champion spent two days training at Rainier BaseCamp and at Paradise, prior to starting their climb. On Tuesday, they left Ashford for the White River Ranger Station. They donned heavy packs and started up the mountain to their first camp. Yesterday, they ascended to Camp Schurman and continued their training. With an alpine start this morning, they made their summit attempt but were turned back due to high winds, low visibility and challenging walking. The team returned safely to Camp Schurman around 1 pm where they will spend their last night on the mountain. Tomorrow the group will descend to the trailhead and return to Rainier BaseCamp.
our son, Glen Zilly, was in the group attempting to climb Mt. Reiner. A wise decision but he plans to return next year.
Our son is a 43 yr. old self employed
Architect who lives with his wife & daughters in Scottsdale, AZ.
Posted by: Patricia Zilly & Richard Zilly on 7/9/2022 at 12:22 pm
Posted by: Eric Frank, James Bealer, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Saturday, May 29, 2021 - 11:35 pm PT
Sleeping in was mandatory this morning as we waited for the sun to hit camp. Rest was the name of the game today as a storm laid siege on the mountain. Wind battered the tents with occasional snow as we all practiced the art of not getting bored. We had a delicious and grand dinner which devolved into (surprisingly well informed) debates on which Disney characters were best. The weather will hopefully improve tomorrow and we’ll be able to get up and stretch our legs.
Such an exciting adventure. Go NORM! Looking forward to seeing more photos and hearing your stories. Stay safe, my cousin. :)
Kathy
Posted by: Kathy Leslie on 6/1/2021 at 4:40 pm
Ptaying you all up and down and sunny no storms, sure-footedness. Love to Norm, from Uncle Kaz too
Posted by: Old aunt Karen on 6/1/2021 at 9:10 am
Posted by: Jake Beren, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 10,781'
Yeah team!!!
Posted by: Mary Peer on 4/11/2013 at 2:34 pm
Posted by: Linden Mallory
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Keeley Rideout, Jess Wedel
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Mt. Rainier RMI and SheJumps Climb, led by Hannah Smith, reached the summit today at 5:40am with 100% success! They have started their descent from the crater rim and will return to Basecamp later today.
This team humbly crushed the route and completed in style!
Posted by: Number one fan on 7/13/2021 at 11:38 pm
Congrats!!! What an amazing accomplishment!!
Posted by: Kimberly Austin-Ellis on 7/12/2021 at 3:45 pm
Posted by: Ed Viesturs, Peter Whittaker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
So exciting! Congratulations to the entire team!
Posted by: Molly G on 8/11/2016 at 3:37 pm
Up at high camp this morning, things were blessedly calm. So much easier, after a long summit day, to have breakfast and pack up in windless and sunny conditions. We set out at noon and took on the hardest part first, getting big packs and tired legs down the fixed lines. It felt good to get that all behind us as we rolled into low camp and repacked for sled hauling down the lower glacier. We pulled in to basecamp at around 7 PM with a Twin Otter waiting. Some hurried packing, sorting and organizing followed and the Twin got off deck at 8 PM. They held dinner for us tired but excited Vinson folk. We stuffed ourselves and caught up with all the expedition folk we’d been sharing the mountain with. Our tents went up for a final night in Antarctica. It looks good for flying tomorrow so we may make it all the way to Punta Arenas on this whirlwind finish to the trip.
Best Regards,
RMI Guie Dave Hahn
We did it!!!
All team members are safely back to high camp after standing on the “Roof of Africa”.
The team did a great job climbing and stayed positive, even though it was tough at times. It was slightly chilly, and the route was busier than we would have liked. However, our early departure saved us from the more than 100+ climbers all stuffed together. We even had the summit to ourselves for a little while!
We spent about 30 minutes on the summit celebrating, taking photos and even made a few phone calls to loved ones back home.
We are headed down the mountain to our final camp in the thick warm air at 10,000’ where we’ll have dinner then head off to bed for some well-deserved sleep.
Casey and a happy Kili team!
Way to Live your dreams!! We are so proud of you Cory and Team!!
Love Auntie Jugee
Posted by: Julie Anne Hoegger on 9/18/2022 at 11:45 am
You did it! Congrats! See you tomorrow. Love all of us.
Posted by: Tabetha Kallsen on 9/18/2022 at 9:10 am
Great trip guys! Serious vertical.
Zeb let me know if you’re still trying to unload those Spatniks. This is Steve, the splitboarder in Spatniks. We chatted on the way up Ellery Bowl back in April.
get me at stevebrezovec at the jeeeeeeemail dot com
Posted by: Stevee B on 6/19/2013 at 5:50 pm
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