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The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Billy Nugent and the Five Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Zeb Blais reached the summit of Mt. Rainier earlier this morning. The team has descended safely to Camp Muir where they will pack up before continuing their descent to Paradise. We look forward to greeting the teams when they arrive in Ashford later this afternoon. Congratulations to today's climbers!

May 30, 2014 - 10:54 pm PT Ground hog day of a sort here, though not really. We spent another day sitting, listening to what sounds like a freight train above us: the wind blowing over the Buttress. Mid day though, the wind direction shifted, and 14 camp went from being a place of relative calm, to getting intermittent gusts of wind to 30 mph or so, enough to move a lot of snow around. At the same time the snowfall intensity increased, so that it finally feels like we are sitting in some real weather in Alaska. A number of skiers around camp took the opportunity to make some nice powder turns, making us all jealous. With all of that, we are still optimistic about our window in the next day or two, and so spirits are high. Once this system blows itself out, it will be off to the races for us, hopefully as soon as tomorrow. We'll let you know how it goes! Best, RMI Guides Pete, Robby, Josh, and team

Hi this is Seth checking in for Ed, Kevin and Mark. We’ve all returned from Denali safe and sound. We ended our trip without going to the summit which was a disappointment but was the best call for everyone. We had a great time but the unseasonably cold and windy conditions were not condusive to an enjoyable climb for us. For me climbing is all about the experience and the people you share it with and this trip was one of the most enjoyable that I have had. While we did not top out we did return safely. That is the best reward of all. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

Hello again everyone.

Team is hanging tough here in Pheriche as the weather and clouds continue to obscure the amazing views. But spirits are high nonetheless!

Thankfully today was a scheduled rest day and the team enjoyed relaxing here at our lodge most of the day. We did manage to squeeze in a very short hike in the snow to stretch our legs a bit. Reading, naps and some storytelling filled most of the day.

Weather forecast are calling for sunshine tomorrow. So keep your fingers crossed for us!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Wednesday, June 9, 2021 - 7:22 pm PT

Hello everyone,

We woke this morning goal oriented and optimistic. We knew if we wanted to fly we had a lot of chores to get done to be ready when the pilots said it was time. As we packed our duffels and packs and rearranged gear we all kept a hopful eye on the clouds above, hoping they would clear and give us the window we wanted. Unfortunately our patience did not pay off and our window for flying closed. But the day was not lost as we are now ready to try to tomorrow. So with dinner time approaching we will enjoy hopfully one last dinner at a table and fly in the morning.

Cheers,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith & Team

June 16, 2014 - 8:03 pm PT We arrived at our 11,000' camp in the late afternoon today. Our plan was to leave early this morning to head up here, but the weather was pretty terrible. White out conditions and strong winds kept us in the tent all morning. Just after noon, the weather started to get a bit better and we got word that the conditions were better higher up. We heard a couple of planes that take people on scenic tours overhead, so our suspicions of clear skies above were confirmed. We packed up our camp in record time and headed uphill. The conditions grew steadily better the higher we went and the traveling was actually pleasant. We arrived in camp way earlier than we predicted as our team has been very steady and strong as we travel up the mountain. We built a storm fortified camp and are just finishing up a well earned meal. Our plan for tomorrow is to do a back carry. This means that we will go back down to dig up our 10,000' cache and bring those supplies up to our new camp. We will hopefully have the weather to complete this task early so that we can rest up for our days at higher altitudes. RMI Guide Mike Haugen and RMI Team "The Ocho"

On The Map

May 28, 2014 - 10:18am PT Good morning from Base Camp! We are listening to the snow fall while we sit in our tents, and although it seems bright and cheery from inside the orange nylon walls, this weather system has settled in and the South East Fork is thick with clouds. We made quick work of the walk down from 14 yesterday, stopping in at 11 Camp to dig up our cache and say hello to Brent, Leah, Nick, and their team. It's much warmer down here, but consequently the snow is wet, heavy, and saturating, so we are all enjoying more time sitting "indoors" of sorts. Hopefully we get a break in the storm soon and K2 Aviation can get us back to Talkeetna! RMI Guide Mike Walter & Team.

The clouds cleared last night after dinner and for an hour or so we sat in the evening light at 11 Camp, watching the cloud bank below us race through Kahiltna Pass and over Kahiltna Dome, a peak across the valley from 11 Camp. Unfortunately the improved conditions did not persist and when we woke up this morning we were back in the clouds with a light snow falling. After a quick breakfast we grabbed our nearly empty packs, pulled on our gore-tex shells and goggles, and headed back to our previous camp. As is typical near Kahiltna Pass, where the weather funnels through the low gap in the mountains, the conditions deteriorated with the wind whipping snow by us. But we pushed through it, reaching our old camp at 9200' before long. We dug up our food bags and supplies we left cached there yesterday and loaded everything into our packs before setting off back uphill. The knowledge that our warm tents awaited us was good motivation for the team and we motored back to 11 Camp through the wind and blowing snow. When we got back to camp we found our tents starting to sink beneath the accumulating snow so we pulled out the shovels and cleared out camp from the drifted snow. Before long everything looked as it had when we left this morning. We've spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the tents. The skies have cleared a bit and the sun is managing to poke through every now and again. We are hoping to carry a cache of supplies to 13,600' tomorrow but the conditions are looking questionable. There are a few teams here that have been waiting for a few days to do the same thing but haven't because of the weather. Unfortunately the forecast for tomorrow looks like more of the same, but we're keeping our fingers crossed anyways. RMI Guide Linden Mallory

Here is one to write home about! Today we woke at dawn to the clearest skies in a week. Mount Rainier and the surrounding volcanoes of Hood and Adams were clear and bathed in morning alpenglow without a breath of wind in the air. Below our home at Camp Muir we had quite a treat waiting for us, 4500 feet of untracked snow begging for our signature. We obliged and milked powder turns down the snowfield, grinning from ear to ear as we skied the best conditions our host had to offer. It doesn’t get better than this, skiing so much vertical with all the hard work done and a perfect day to match our enthusiasm. Our finest pitch was just into our old camp and we could admire our tracks while we clicked in for our last push to the parking lot. One last look up at Mount Rainier to admire our stellar morning and we could see our route down before a cloud swallowed Camp Muir and sealed the day. Perfect weather, conditions, and team - couldn’t ask for more. Thanks Marci, Kirk and Uncle Bob for an excellent time skiing in the mountains, RMI Guides Jake Beren, Solveig Gerhart and the RMI team

Today we went for our first acclimatization hike to Rucu Pichincha, one of the volcanoes that frame in Quito. We took a Gondola from 10,000' to 13,000', and then hiked to around 15,200'. The weather was very nice for hiking: a bit breezy and cloudy in the morning, and then sunny and warm in the afternoon. We had views of the impressive glaciated volcanoes Cotopaxi, Cayambe, and Antisana on our descent. Everyone did very well with our first venture up into that type of altitude - and it was an altitude record for many on the trip- hopefully there will be a lot more of those to come! Last night we dined at a very nice restaurant that served typical Ecuadorian cuisine. Everyone sampled different local dishes, including cuy (guinea pig)- an Ecuadorian delicacy. Tomorrow we are off for another acclimatization hike to the climbing hut on the Ilinizas, and we'll spend the night at a hacienda before heading on towards Cotopaxi. I will check in tomorrow.