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Sherpa Fixing Route to Summit

May 4, 2010

Posted by:

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest

Elevation: 17,575 ft.

A little snow early but a beautiful evening now. All climbers and most Sherpa are here at Basecamp, eating, resting and taking showers. We had a meeting with the other teams about the final fixing of the route and helicopter landings. Tomorrow we hope the fixing team will go as high as the Balcony then to the summit the next day, keep your fingers crossed for good weather. We have been having some helicopter landings at Basecamp that are non-emergency, we are trying to develop a plan for usage in a responsible manner. A new breed of helicopter is now being used that is much more powerful than in the past, so the safety margin has been increased. The community here is working on a win, win for commercial and rescue operations.

Gorum & Team Summit Mt. Rainier!

July 2, 2019

Posted by: JM Gorum

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 14,410'

With rain in the lower elevations, we were ecstatic to hear that our Mt. Rainier summit climb team was above the weather system. RMI Guide JM Gorum is the leader of this crew. He radioed in that the rope teams were currently cresting the crater rim. Congratulations to today's summit team!

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Way to go Daddy! Take your time on the way down as I’m still playing Minecraft! ...just kidding. Love you and can’t wait to see you soon,

Patrick

Posted by: Patrick Evermann on 7/2/2019 at 10:12 am

Congratulations to all. Can’t wait to hear all about the adventure. ccc

Posted by: Carol Collins on 7/2/2019 at 9:05 am

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Vinson Massif: Mallory & Team - Just Another Saturday on the Branscomb

November 29, 2014

Posted by: Linden Mallory

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif

Elevation: 9,100'

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!

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Mt. Kilimanjaro: Tucker & Team Descend to Mweka Camp

July 29, 2014

Posted by: Mark Tucker

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro

Elevation: 10,000'

Hello! I hope our phone call from the summit was received. We had a great climb and are now checking in 10,000' later. All is well here at the Mweka camp, our last camp of the climb. What a night for the summit. The temperatures were chilly, but there was very little no wind and lots of sunshine, you can't complain about that. The team did great up and down. Sixteen hours is a long day for anyone, so we are feeling a bit beat up right now. But we are all healthy and happy. We will wake up early tomorrow for a short three hour descent to the Mweka gate where we will meet our vehicle and driver. Once we load up, we will leave the Kilimanjaro National Park Gate and head back to the Dik Dik Hotel. The lap of luxury awaits.

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Mexico: Waterfall & Team Rest Day in Puebla

January 23, 2014

Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Geoff Schellens

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico

We have had a nice relaxing recovery day here in the beautiful city of Puebla. Geoff and I met up with a few of the team members for coffee in the morning while the rest of the team slept in. The city has an almost European feel with lots of sidewalk cafés near our hotel. Later in the day some of the guys explored the cathedrals while others visited a local climbing shop. We all met back up for dinner and now we're back at the hotel getting ready for the Big day tomorrow. Here's a pick from our approach to Ixta a few days ago. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Hope everything went smoothly today. Waiting to hear about the climb…

Posted by: Brad and Lori Briggs on 1/24/2014 at 3:51 pm

That’s my hubby!!! So proud!!! Good luck everyone with your last summitt!! Fingers crossed the weather is awesome!

Posted by: Jen Jezak on 1/24/2014 at 5:44 am

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Kilimanjaro: Grom & Team Gather in Tanzania

September 4, 2023

Posted by: Casey Grom

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro

Hello from Tanzania!

Everyone and all bags have arrived in Tanzania and the team is doing well and in good spirits after some very long flights. Nearly 20 plus hours for many of us. It was a short and quiet ride to our lodge that is nestled in between Arusha and Moshi and not so far from the base of Kilimanjaro. The team had a quick dinner and headed for bed as the time change had us all feeling just a little off and pretty tired after all the traveling. Luckily we had an extra day here because of flight options. I say luckily, because the time change is pretty tough being about 12 hours difference for us. The extra day will certainly help us adjust.

Today we had a leisurely morning and then rolled into our group meeting after breakfast, where we did a round of introductions and then discussed the upcoming program for the days ahead. The team spent the remainder of the day getting our gear packed up, exploring the grounds of our peaceful Lodge and dodging the gaggle of monkeys patrolling the grounds. We wrapped up the evening with a delicious meal and plenty of friendly conversations.

Everyone is doing well, excited to be here and looking forward to stretching our legs tomorrow as we head to the mountain.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew!

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

GO TEAM!!!
Love the blog site!!! Thank you for the awesome updates!
Luv, Hikari and Belle

Posted by: Hikari and Belle on 9/9/2023 at 4:43 pm

Super excited for you all … how cool we can follow your journey from across the globe. Looking forward to the updates and pictures and wishing you all a great experience!!❌⭕️ PamH

Posted by: Pam Hess on 9/6/2023 at 5:01 pm

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Denali Expedition: Smith & Team Enjoy Good Weather and Views on Carry

May 24, 2023

Posted by: Hannah Smith, Devin Guffey, Erika Birkeland

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 11,000'

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 - 9:25 pm PT

Hello again,

It was an early morning today for our carry to 13,500' to cache gear. We were the first to leave 11,000' Camp as we headed up Motorcycle Hill. It's not a casual start as it's quite steep and contains some cracks to step over. Once onto Motorcycle Hill, we preceded to go up Squirrel Hill and then walked across some flatter terrain called the Polo Fields. At the other end of the Polo Fields is Windy Corner and that leads us to our cache. It was a fantastic day with good weather and beautiful views. Words and pictures never do it justice. Once we dug our hole and offloaded our gear it was back to camp. It was a long day and deserves a rest before we break down camp and move to 14,000' Camp. Weather seems to be holding with chances of snow but for us some rest will set us up for success later on. Fingers crossed for good weather Thursday on our move. For now we are going to enjoy some down time in our tents and plenty of opportunity for snack consumption.

Goodnight all,

RMI Guides Hannah, Devin, Erika, and Team

Mt. Rainier: King, Schmitt & Team Reach Summit

August 8, 2019

Posted by: Mike King, JT Schmitt

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 14,410'

The Four Day Climb August 5 - 8 reached the summit around 5:30 AM today. RMI Guides Mike King and JT Schmitt reported a cloud cap near the summit and moderate sustained winds. The teams are returning to Camp Muir and will continue their descent to Paradise later today. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Congratulations, Team!!! You did it! You all should be so proud of yourselves on this incredible accomplishment:) I love you, Owen!

Posted by: Catherine on 8/8/2019 at 12:12 pm

Third times the charm! Way to go Adam! Hope that cloud cap didn’t dim the view! What an accomplishment!

Posted by: Kay on 8/8/2019 at 8:24 am

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Denali Expedition: Beren & Team Fly to the Kahiltna Glacier

June 1, 2017

Posted by: Jake Beren, Steve Gately, Megan Budge

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 7,800'

May 31, 2017 The team woke up this morning, ate one last home cooked breakfast and gathered at the hanger where our gear was waiting at K2 Aviation. The bad weather of the last few days cleared up over night and we anticipated being able to fly into the range early this morning. We all spent a few moments finalizing our backpacks and duffels when K2 gave us the thumbs up. We quickly loaded up two aircraft with everything we'll need for the next three weeks and before we knew it we were in world of flowing ice, snow and rock. A 45 minute plane ride takes you from the comforts of town and puts you rather abruptly in a harsh environment and every year I'm always amazed at how I never quite get used to how quickly life changes in Talkeetna. For many decades starting in the early 1900's expeditions would start there journey with a week or more of toiling through the Alaskan bush just to reach where we have flown in under an hour. I'll take the plane please! An hour spent repacking and gearing up had us walking down the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier by noon. The skies were blue, the temps pleasant and the views massive. Only once in the last 4 years have I had the pleasure of walking up the Kahiltna Glacier with a view and the team did great readjusting to life in the range. Five hours of hard work brought us to our first camp at the base of Ski Hill at 7,800ft. We spent the afternoon setting up our camp. The team is now tucked in for the night getting some well earned rest. Tomorrow we will cache some gear at 10,000ft then return back to 7,800 to sleep. Forecast is calling for more good weather tomorrow and the team is excited to explore new terrain! Thanks for following along everyone. RMI Guide Steve Gately

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Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Hi!!! Thinking about you tons! Hope u r enjoying every minute! Can’t wait to hear all about it in person! Love Us

Posted by: Cosco Clan on 6/2/2017 at 2:51 pm

Good morning to all
Wish I could make you all my famous meatballs and homemade pasta
Be safe
You have hundreds of people sending you all good wishes and prayers
Love you Stephen
mom/dad - aka Tina and John

Posted by: Tina Zabinski on 6/2/2017 at 6:11 am

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Vinson Massif Expedition: Team thankful for flight!

November 28, 2013

Posted by: Dave Hahn

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif

It is looking like we will have much to give thanks for today. The flight to Union Glacier is on! We are on the bus leaving town for the airport now, all bundled in Antarctic clothing. I hope to send the next update from the ice. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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Most Popular Entries

Sherpa Fixing Route to Summit

Gorum & Team Summit Mt. Rainier!

Vinson Massif: Mallory & Team - Just Another Saturday on the Branscomb

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Mt. Kilimanjaro: Tucker & Team Descend to Mweka Camp

On The Map

Mexico: Waterfall & Team Rest Day in Puebla

Kilimanjaro: Grom & Team Gather in Tanzania

Denali Expedition: Smith & Team Enjoy Good Weather and Views on Carry

Mt. Rainier: King, Schmitt & Team Reach Summit

Denali Expedition: Beren & Team Fly to the Kahiltna Glacier

On The Map

Vinson Massif Expedition: Team thankful for flight!

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