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Today I carried more gear and food to Annapurna Camp 1 as more bad weather approached. While climbing today I noticed icefall avalanche activity was quite frequent. So far Annapurna has been relatively quiet, hopefully this isn't a sign of permanent change. As I arrived at Camp 1 around noon it was snowing steadily with low visibility. My plan had been to go all the way up to Camp 2, but the weather was so uncertain at Camp 1 that I decided to drop the equipment at Camp 1 and head back down. Currently I'm at Base Camp sitting out this spell of bad weather. Tentbound... again I had considered going directly to Camp 2 today to attempt a possible summit push on the 15th. But the 15th (possibly a decent day at 8,000 meters) is sandwiched between loading events (significant snowfall). The unstable weather looks to persist until the 18th. General Mtn news: Camp 3 was hit by an avalanche a few days ago, two teams had cached oxygen bottles and other items there a while back. All these items were swept away. The nine-day weather forecast does not look promising. Heavy snowfalls, then some clearing but with high winds. I'm hoping the forecast will change to something more promising in the next few days. RMI Guide Alex Barber

Hey, this is Dave Hahn from Lobuche with RMI Everest Climb. Not much in the way of internet here in Lobuche, so I am giving you a call to tell you that everything is good. We have a rest stay here in Lobuche today. Went for a light hike, and everybody's feeling good. So after tonight, which will be our second night in Lobuche, our intention is to move up to base camp tomorrow. All the way to 17,500 feet. Tonight we're still at 16,000 feet. A beautiful evening here in the Himalaya... (transmission lost) RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Sure enough, the rumors turned out to be true. Several climbers made the summit yesterday. By modern standards, this would be quite early for success on the Nepal side of Mount Everest. It is a good thing, without question. I've overheard gossip and squabbling as to whether the proper emphasis was placed on doing a thorough job of fixing rope as opposed to just tagging the top first, but for my purposes it doesn't matter so much either way. The door is open to the top and others will move that way with greater confidence and determination now. The route will improve with the passage of each set of boots. My hope is that a few weeks of relatively stable weather will allow a steady trickle of climbers to get up, get down and get moving on to whatever they've scheduled next. Traffic jams up high on Mount Everest are a bad thing. That is as obvious as can be, but jams are an especially bad thing for those of us who are trying to guide the mountain. Safely guiding big mountains often boils down to keeping one's team moving at a business-like pace (for various reasons including conservation of body heat, conservation of bottled oxygen, conservation of daylight and conservation of good weather and luck). Few things mess with that business-like pace more than hanging out on a 28,000 ft. rope in the dark behind a line of climbers you don't know while they learn things about themselves and each other that they should have learned at sea level. Good, strong, skilled climbers may bob and weave through such traffic jams...forging detour routes and forgoing use of the rope in some sketchy places in order to get by. And those same climbers can usually endure lengthy delays without losing fingers, toes and noses because their fitness and abundant experience in really cold places will protect them. But those who try to guide normal folks through such jams had just better hope they get lucky. Not it. We'll wait, thank you, until the crowds have had their shot at the big top. Sadly we'll miss out on some of the hype...the fame ...the fortune. The world may be completely over the yearly Everest summit mania (and justifiably so) by the time Seth, Erica, Kent and I get around to heading that way in earnest. The confirmation of the early success hit us after a first luxurious night back down in basecamp. And like I said...it was all good news. But as you can see from the previous paragraph, I rationalize and blow my own horn and justify my own slow methods in order to remember that. I've gone on and on about the importance of resting in basecamp, but it should also come as no surprise that it is hugely anticlimactic after days spent up in the tricky and interesting zone. Maintaining focus can be difficult when life gets soft again (basecamp "soft" being used as a relative term now...not to be confused with someplace actually warm, clean and well endowed with furniture). The other half of my team is composed of good, strong, skilled climbers and they are gearing up for the summit and getting set to head out the door. Our paths are diverging after six weeks and I'm prone to summit-bid-envy. We are still weeks away from our own guided bid and in need of a last difficult acclimatization round before the summit. Patience is a pain in the neck sometimes...but I keep in mind that screwing up an Everest summit bid is a bigger pain in the neck. I keep in mind that the goal is not simply to get myself to the top or to chase Apa Sherpa's numbers (18 summits and counting...not exactly low-hanging fruit, ripe for the picking). My goal is to guide a climber (Erica) who has earned a decent shot...to introduce a deserving guide (Seth) to the holy grail of mountain guiding...and to stun the world with the imagery a consummate cameraman (Kent) can capture up that way when given half a chance. We'll take our rest and take our time and be as absolutely ready as possible when our own summit window opens in two weeks.

The Kautz Seminar June 23 - 28 led by RMI Guides Mike Walter, Daniel May, Raymond Holt and Felipe Guarderas have enjoyed their week of training, climbing and learning.  Conditions on the mountain did not allow them to make a summit attempt but the team was all in for the training they could complete and maybe had a little fun in the process.  

Thanks for sharing your time with us in the mountains!

PC: Tim Holt

It was a cold night here at Low Camp last night. Frost formed on the edges of our sleeping bags from our breaths and we woke up to rings of frost crystals around us. Once the sun poked over the ridge line things began to warm up and before long we were moving about camp without too much chill. The plan was to carry a small load of food and fuel to high camp to prepare for our summit bids. Since our loads were manageable and we are nursing what rest we can at lower altitudes, we worked in tandem with a group from ANI and Penn and I made the carry to high camp while Jon traversed the glacier to a col on the far side of the valley. We set off in the early afternoon with (relatively) warm temps and no wind. We skinned up the base of the fixed lines that ascend a broad face to a ridge line that leads to the upper portions of the Vinson Massif. Transitioning at the base of the fixed lines, we put our skis on our backs and strapped crampons on and began climbing. We spent the next several hours climbing the ~3,000' face, watching the glacier shrink away below us and the mountain tops above loom larger as they drew nearer. As we neared the top of the fixed lines a low but sharp wind kicked up and the temperatures instantly plummeted. We bundled up and climbed the final hour or so into high camp doing our best to conceal any bit of skin from the biting winds. The winds died as we reached high camp and we were able to warm up a bit as we stowed our gear in preparation for our move up there. It was a spectacular evening, the glaciers below us flowed out into the low hanging clouds below while to both sides of us the rugged ridge lines of the Massif reared up from below. Above us a half full moon hung above the summit of Mt. Shinn, Vinson's neighbor, and looked so close that is seemed like only a quick detour would get us to it and back again. With our packs emptied we strapped on our skis and started back down. The skiing was slow and conservative right out of high camp as we picked our way through the wind affected snow, finding a line through the tall curls of snow carved out by the Antarctic gusts. The snow was firm and smooth along the top ridge line of the fixed lines and we chose to belay ourselves down that to keep ourselves safe. Once onto the face the sun had softened the surface and we were able to link up great turns for several thousand feet all the way down to the Branscomb Glacier below. We returned to camp by late evening and quickly set about cooking dinner and sharing our observations and insights about the route above with Jon. With our gear in place, we're hoping for a decent forecast tomorrow morning to make our move to high camp and shoot for the summit in the following days. We're back in the tent at Low Camp enjoying the warm midnight sun (as ironic as that sounds) and burrowing into our sleeping bags in preparation for another chilly night down here. RMI Guide Linden Mallory & team PS: Roll tide!

On The Map

OK! Here we go! The photo may be a bit fuzzy and who is that guy holding his hand up in the mirror? Well folks, the fall season in Mexico is under way. The team is all here and we have all the typical characters...those individuals who love to travel internationally seeking a little bit of culture and a few high places. Stay tuned to the blog because I can already tell with this team...we are going to have a lot of fun and a few stories to tell!! RMI Guides JJ Justman and Elias de Andres Martos

Hello from Barafu Camp, We had another gorgeous morning when we woke up. Since it was a fairly short hiking day we took our time packing up camp and had a nice leisurely breakfast. We walked out of camp at 9:00 and made very good use of the trail to continue working on our rest stepping, pacing and breathing so we will be ready for tomorrow. The group did great and we made it to camp in just over two hours. We took full advantage of our afternoon by talking about all the details of the climb ahead as well as discussing what gear to bring and what gear can stay at camp. Now we are getting ready for an early dinner so we can be in bed by 7:00. The alarm clock is set for o'dark thirty and the plan is to be walking out of camp at 1:00 am. Hopefully we will be calling in from the summit of Kilimanjaro around 8:00 am. The entire team is strong and healthy and doing well. We all appreciate the comments that have been posted on the blog, thank you for sending the encouraging words. Best regards, RMI Guide Jeff Martin

On The Map

Checking in from Casa de Piedra, aka trekking camp 2 here in the Vacas Valley. Our crew had another great day moving well and enjoying near perfect weather. While the terrain was very similar to yesterday's hike the temperatures were considerably lower and there was a pleasant breeze all day that lessened the onslaught of the sun. Right before the Refugio we caught our first glimpses of the mountain without a cloud in the sky. The mountain looks a bit more dusty and dry than normal. The Polish Glacier also appears more broken up than normal. Still, we took a break to shoot some photos and let the size and grandeur soak in a little. After arriving in camp around 2:30 pm, we spent the afternoon lounging and some adventurous folks even went for a swim in the river. The river is running a fair bit deeper than normal so our team is going to ford it tomorrow on mules instead of on foot which will be a new experience for all of us. All for now, will check in again tomorrow from basecamp... RMI Guide Billy Nugent

On The Map

Hello Everyone, Today the team left behind the busy city life of Moscow and have arrived safely at the base of Mt. Elbrus. We caught an early flight to Mineralnye Vody, which is known for its abundant mineral springs and then headed to the mountain via a four hour bus ride. The drive was reminiscent of the rural Midwest we have back home, full of farms and beautiful sunflower fields that stretched on as far as the eye could see sometimes. The only difference was that the cows seemed more content standing in the middle of the road than in the fields. It sure made for an exciting ride to say the least! The plains quickly gave way to the deep Baksan Valley that sits at the base of Caucasus Mountains. Everyone still seems a little tired from all the travel, but we are all happy to be in the mountains now.

Casey Grom here checking in with RMI's Kilimanjaro Climb # 2 of 2024!

All is well here in Tanzania and most of the team arrived yesterday morning after some very long flights. It was a short and uneventful ride to our Lodge that is nestled in between Arusha and Moshi and not so far from the base of Kilimanjaro. The team spent the day relaxing and getting adjusted to the nearly 12hr time change.

We had a leisurely morning today and had our first official meeting at 8:30 where we did a round of introductions and then discussed the program for the coming days ahead. We spent the remainder of the day getting our gear packed up, exploring the grounds of our Lodge, which is incredibly peaceful and has monkeys running around keeping us entertained.

We wrapped up the evening with another delicious meal and plenty of friendly conversations. Everyone is doing well and excited to hit the trail tomorrow and get a little bit of exercise.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew # 2