This is the Mexico volcanoes expedition checking in from the summit of Pico de Orizaba! We summited in great time in great conditions! Blue bird skies and 5mph winds greeted us from the top! Stand by for some pictures once we are back in town!
RMI Guides JT Schmitt and Grayson Swingle
Another sparkling and clear start to the day. Mt. Meru, our 15,000ft neighbor to the west, stood out like an island in the sea of clouds that cover anywhere below 10,000ft. Great views above of the summit as well. Our usual large fresh breakfast then off we went up a nice smooth gentle but steady ascent to the famous Lava Tower outcropping situated at 15,000ft. Snacks and a lot of breathing then down we went. Two thousand feet lower has us tucked into another beautiful camp called Barranco. The team is a bit tired after what ended up being about an eight-hour day. All is well and looking forward to dinner.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Sounds like everything is going well so far. Banx is being a good boy but I’m sure he misses you (Charlie and Sara), because we miss you. Keep it up! Love you. Mom and Dad.
Posted by: Deb on 7/19/2019 at 3:52 pm
“Thinking of and talking about you from a hospital room at rehab!” -Uncle Terry
We love you guys!!!! Uncle Terry said he’ll do it again with you next year!
The Five Day Climb led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Bryan Mazaika reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Brent reported clear skies, but a constant wind of about 35 mph keeping the temperatures cool.
Congratulations to Today's Team!
May 12, 2017 - 10:49 pm PT
We rose early this morning to bitter cold temperatures and clear skies, with just a light breeze blowing through camp. Reluctantly we left the comfort of our sleeping bags and fired up the stoves. After a few hours we were fed, hydrated, and had camp broken down, and we were off climbing up Motorcycle Hill. We were the first group out of camp by a long shot, so we had the mountain to ourselves.
After cresting Motorcycle Hill, we tackled our next challenge, Squirrel Hill. After Squirrel Hill, we had a little reprieve on the relatively flat Polo Fields. We climbed up and around Windy Corner, passed our cache site from yesterday, and continued into Genet Basin, the 14,200' camp.
It was a hard day with heavy packs, but everyone climbed hard. We arrived in camp with plenty of time to build camp in the sunshine and get some rest before dinner.
Tomorrow's plan will involve sleeping in before breakfast to let the sun warm our chilly tents. Then we will head back downhill to Windy Corner to retrieve our cache.
We'll check in again tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
The day started with our local staff serenading the team with the "Jambo" song after breakfast. It was nice to see the strong and good men who've helped us so much this week all in one place, singing, dancing and able to receive our thanks for their great efforts. We then made an effort to get out of their way by leaving Mweka Camp and descending 4000 vertical feet to the Mweka gate to end our climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The low clouds didn't hold back for long before dropping light but steady rains on us and the already slippery track. The trail took us through a lush and seemingly impenetrable forest... I'm sure there was much to see, but mostly we concentrated on making careful steps and avoiding falls for a few hours. We were relieved to reach easier terrain for the home stretch. Since it was still raining at the Mweka Gate to the National Park, we didn't hang around long before loading onto our expedition bus/truck and hitting the road for Moshi. Halfway back to Arusha, in better weather, we stopped for a great picnic lunch. Then it was on to our comfortable home at the Dik Dik hotel where we all got a lot cleaner and a little more pleasant as we caught up on sleep and internet. We're heading for a celebration dinner now, which will double as a farewell to Brian and Brad who are abandoning us and heading home tomorrow as we set out for our much-anticipated game-viewing safari.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
June 30, 2014 - 9:44pm PT
Hey Everybody!
Last night we got our first taste of Denali weather as a wet snow fell, dusting our camp with six fresh inches. The little storm began to lift after a leisurely breakfast of bacon, eggs, and hash browns and we were soon able to pack our bags for a carry to 10,000' feet. Along the hike we witness spectacular views down the Kahiltna Glacier and up to the start of the West Buttress. We are now back in camp resting and awaiting a tasty dinner of tortellini prepared by Zach. All is well here in the great north as the sun splashes some light into our dinning tent.
Thanks for following along!
RMI Guide Ben Liken
What an amazing view!!!!! It’s hard to imagine all that snow coming down when you see spectacular sunshine like that.
Posted by: Joanna Standley on 7/1/2014 at 4:36 pm
Following you on the web’s Denali cam—often looks cold and cloudy but that may be deceiving looking from below. Hope spirits and feet are in good shape. Furnace hot in Potsdam NY.
Our guest house in Namche was packed to the gills with other trekkers and climbers last night. But as it was our third night in the same place, we felt pretty much like we owned the place anyway. We packed away the chapattis, the "thak tok soup", and the "chicken chilly" (yes it is spelled that way), as if we'd been living above 11,000 feet for weeks. Erica pretty much won the eating contest by knocking back a plate of veggie chow mein, two boiled eggs AND macaroni and cheese. The kid can eat... and that is a good thing, since that particular skill, or the lack thereof, has made a huge difference in climber success at altitude over the years. Some folks wither away as they go higher. The reasons aren't complicated; we all burn calories faster up high since everything is more work in the thin air, and of course life in a cold place tends to burn extra calories anyway. One of the troubles with simply eating more to compensate is that most people don't feel like doing it. The human gut gets overwhelmed fast when the blood it depends on is poorly oxygenated. So eating becomes a chore and -this being a trip full of mountain guides- we tend to nag each other a lot to do our chores. Erica has discovered that the path of least resistance is to say "Yes please" when the momo plate comes around again. (Perhaps it helps that Melissa bet her a fancy Kathmandu dinner post-trip that she wouldn't be able to maintain her weight for the next sixty days).
We were up, breakfasted and on the trail out of Namche by 7:30 AM. For the first hour or so, we wound our way along on a traverse across a steep hillside. Far below us, the Dudh Khosi was making plenty of noise as the waters crashed through continuous and ridiculous rapids. Far above one could watch eagles and hawks soaring -provided that one didn't look up for so long that one walked off the edge and fell down to the Dudh Khosi. The trail was busy with yak trains coming and going. This was actually our first dealing with true Yaks as they don't generally live below Namche. We've so far seen plenty of dzokials carrying loads -and while dzokial is not an acceptable scrabble word, it is none-the-less a sturdy animal representing the cross between a low-land cow and a high altitude Yak. Now it is mostly yaks carrying loads to and from Everest Basecamp. They are strong, sure-footed, surprisingly feisty and a little tough to pass when they want the whole trail to themselves.
By 10 AM we'd descended a few hundred meters back down to the Dudh Khosi and found our place in the sun. We sat at the tables outside a couple of teahouses drinking milk-coffee, milk-tea and hot lemon. This rest break was a nice time to collect our various camera teams, to make a head count, to people-watch (we watched Ed Viesturs head out at flank speed for his workout on the big hill to Thyangboche) and to eat another plate or two of fried rice. Eventually, we pried ourselves out of our comfortable sidewalk cafes and got busy on the hot and dusty trail going up to Thyangboche. The hillside was mostly covered in pine and rhododendron forests but there were also enough clearings to get a dose of strong sun. Typically, the day had begun clear and bright but was clouding up some as we approached noon. Thyangboche Hill, like a lot of the hills in this part of the world, goes on forever, but our entire group made it up the thing in about 90 minutes. Then it was time for another sit-down for snacks on the majestic hilltop. The place is famous for its elaborate and somber monastery, but also these days for having another last-chance internet café which Peter Whittaker took advantage of to connect once again with his family. We'd begun our hilltop break with views of Ama Dablam, Kangtega, Lhotse and Everest but after a couple more milk-teas the clouds won their battle and concealed everything.
Now wrapped up in cozy First Ascent jackets and sweaters, the whole gang trouped on down the shady side of the Thyangboche Hill through a thick rhododendron forest to Deboche... our home for the next two nights.
We walked for seven hours today… of course we did take a leisurely lunch break in Phakding, so it was less. But it felt like a big day. We lost about 2,000 vertical feet in the first hour, coming down the Namche hill. That was significant, since it meant we were then working at low altitude (around 9,000 ft) which was easier than so much of what we’ve done in the last week. It was a cloudy day, but there was an amazing amount of helicopter traffic overhead. And there were plenty of trekkers, porters and pack animals on the trail. It is prime time in the Khumbu. Still, we had some fine peaceful moments gazing at waterfalls and flowers and children playing on small farms. We bounced across a bunch of cable bridges and finally we climbed uphill for the final 90 minutes to reach Lukla. We’ll spend the night and see if we get lucky with clear weather for flying in the morning.
And we’re back on the horse! We woke up early this morning in Huaraz and took in the last luxuries of hotel life before we loaded our bus and headed down the Rio Santo towards our final climb. It’s a long drive to Quebrada Llanganuco, where Pisco is located, but it’s a stunning sight to take in. We drove past some of the biggest peaks in South America on our way including Huascaran and Huandoy which tower up into the world of 21,000’. We dropped our bags with our donkey drivers and began our 2 hour approach around 11am.
Once we arrived at Pisco Base Camp we took in some warmth inside the Refugio as the snow fell off and on. Our guide team and cook staff got camp built here in this beautiful meadow and we spent the entire afternoon eating, no joke. After dinner finally was finished, we made our way to tents for a good nights sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll do some crevasse rescue training, take a short hike to the top of the morraine above camp, and pack for our big day on Friday. We’ll be in touch, as always.
RMI Guide Robby, Alfie, William, and Team ‘One-to-a-Tent’
June 28, 2014 - 10:27pm
Hey, it's Billy calling in from 17 Camp on Denali. Today was not summit day for us. We woke up to some inclement weather that's been steadily working all day with winds gusting near 70 miles an hour or so. We build up pretty solid, fortified camp and everyone's sitting tight and holding on. Winds from the storm are supposed to give way to nicer weather in the next couple of days so we're just sitting tight with our fingers crossed. We'll call and check in tomorrow, to let you know if we got up there. That's all for now.
Billy Nugent checking in from 17,200' Camp on Denali
Eric: 70mph winds…OUCH…flapping tent syndrome….use the ear bud skull cap combo to keep from going insane! Trust tomorrow things calm down. U.P.
Posted by: Paul on 6/26/2014 at 4:03 pm
Been checking the blog nonstop to see if you guys had made any progress! Not to worry, keeping our fingers crossed that the weather clears up and you will be able to make a successful summit bid! Keep up the great work! Miss you Dad and Michael! xoxo
For any of you soccer fans up there: the Men’s US soccer team advanced to the knockout round about an hour ago (despite a loss to Germany). #MURICA
Posted by: Katie Freedman on 6/26/2014 at 11:32 am
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Sounds like everything is going well so far. Banx is being a good boy but I’m sure he misses you (Charlie and Sara), because we miss you. Keep it up! Love you. Mom and Dad.
Posted by: Deb on 7/19/2019 at 3:52 pm
“Thinking of and talking about you from a hospital room at rehab!” -Uncle Terry
We love you guys!!!! Uncle Terry said he’ll do it again with you next year!
Posted by: Casey Kluttz on 7/19/2019 at 12:47 pm
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