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Posted by: Jake Beren, Steve Gately, Megan Budge
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
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June 4, 2017
Anticipating a long hard day we woke the team and fired stoves at 5AM. After a hearty breakfast of toasted bagels, cream cheese, smoked salmon and capers the team quickly assembled for the climb. Skies were clear when we left camp and the temps quite cool, great for climbing! The plan for the day was to carry a cache of gear to 14k Camp to both lessen the burden of weight when we eventually move and to acclimate to a new altitude. We climb through several iconic features on the way including Motorcycle Hill, Squirrel Hill, The Polo Fields and finally Windy Corner. The team did great and were psyched to leave the sleds and snowshoes behind for crampons and an ice axe! Clouds started billowing in just as we reached 14k camp so we dug our cache spent a few moments to refuel, re-hydrate and breathe the new air at 14,000'.
The team is all now back at camp and doing great. Tomorrows agenda is unknown, a lot depends on the weather forecast. We may take a rest day or we may move camp up to 14k. You'll just have to tune in tomorrow to find out!
Thanks for following along everybody.
RMI Guide Steve Gately & Team
Posted by: Tyler Reid
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Chile Ski
My last experience on Volcan Lanin was two years ago, and it was severely windy. Since then I've yet to talk to anyone who has had a calm experience on this mountain.
Two days ago as our team was climbing a steep gully, with 7,000' of vertical relief above us, that Lanin wind taunted us. The weather forecast called for things to calm down in the late afternoon, but weather forecasts in southern Chile should be read with a degree of skepticism - there's simply a lack data points in these parts to expect much accuracy.
At 3:30 in the afternoon I thought to myself, we'll give it 45 more minutes. The wind needs to mellow out significantly. And we need to find a safe place to camp. Basically some alignment of the stars, or we're going to have to retreat to the monkey puzzle forest...
At 4:15 I scampered up the steep edge of the gully while our group took a break under a rock outcrop. On a protruding ridge I stumbled upon a perfect, safe, snowy ledge carved out by that Lanin wind. And then I thought wait a minute - where's the wind? Gone.
We had an amazing evening camped in our fortified perch, looking out on dramatic cloud layers. Darkness turned to what felt like daytime, with a very full moon illuminating our tent walls.
The next morning we started climbing - kicking steps in the frozen snow with crampons on our boots.
Our Chile Volcanoes trip landed in the middle of a very unsettled weather pattern here in Araucania. 1,500' above our camp on Lanin, the snow started to fall, the wind started to blow, the clouds came in, and my attention started to turn from my surroundings to my GPS.
Time to go down. Good thing skiing is so much fun in and of itself. We were smiling big by the time we rolled into camp, and smiling bigger by the time we hit the snow line on the lower flanks of the mountain. 3000' or so of perfectly smooth corn...
Thanks Chile for 8 awesome days of skiing, and thanks Lonquimay and Sollipulli for allowing us to visit your summits. Llaima and Lanin...we'll be back next year. And thanks to our awesome Chile 2015 crew: JP, Stephen, and Wendy. And a special thanks to our amazing local outfitter and guide, Sergio Perez.
RMI Guide Tyler Reid
Posted by:
Categories: Mexico
The RMI family and the mountaineering community are quite something to witness and to be a part of, if only for a trip here and there. The Mexico volcano trip this last March was exactly what I had hoped it would be, and as usual it turned out to be infinitely more. My two previous Rainier summits with RMI had made a believer out of me. Telling my family that I would be in the absolute best hands while in Mexico wasn't some shading of the truth. With the mythical creatures known as guides — Jake, Christina and Alfredo — watching out for us, we set out on a most excellent adventure to climb Ixtaccihuatl and El Pico de Orizaba.
The money, the time and the physical preparation to get the privilege of attempting to summit these glorious peaks seemed to be my primary focus prior to leaving but that was not my greatest takeaway from this adventure. The very best part of this trip, for so many of us, was the friendships that were formed as we came together as a team. From a train engineer to pilots and financial analysts to company presidents, everyone came together to embrace the experience. There aren't many venues these days where people of such different backgrounds and ages are put together to achieve a difficult goal like mountaineering. The immediate concern for one another was astounding. All of us trading what small bits of information we had that might help a teammate, sharing best practices or a piece of gear, and acts of kindness that you never see coming were happening from our first meeting in Mexico City. On Orizaba, our only summit possibility, when one of the team was going to turn back with just the guide another member offered to keep him company. What an act of selfless kindness.
The fantastic cultural experience was also something I hadn't really thought about until my arrival. Throughout our travels in Mexico we were met with tremendous hospitality. Dr. Reyes' staff at the historic climbing hostel Servimont in Tlachichuca provided us with incredible food, entertainment and service. It was a unique experience to be welcomed into that legendary place. The city of Puebla is a real gem. The architecture, the restaurants, the people; I could have spent a week entertaining myself there. To experience this place with my fellow climbers was truly a lot of fun.
Oh yes, the mountain part. Sketchy weather was stalking us the whole trip with an early arrival of Spring. The guides got us prepped and in position but no one doubted the decision to retreat off Ixta after a night at 15,400 feet. It was a night to be nice and cozy. Orizaba had wicked winds and a good snowfall prior to our arrival. Our train engineer offered his four wheeling skills and whipped that beast of a vehicle up the mountain road shaving hours off our hike to the Piedra Grande Hut. What a hoot! Of course it was a classic challenging RMI mission; methodical, focused, safe. We didn’t have the best visibility until our descent but summiting was another incredible event to share with my new climbing family! The experience was a thing of beauty; the mountain, but more so the excitement and spiritual moment for each of us being up there. A huge thanks to RMI, my fellow climbers, our guides, and all the folks who supported us. I will continue to practice my rest stepping in Kentucky and very much look forward to my next adventure.
Posted by: Casey Grom, Elias de Andres Martos
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Expeditions Skills Seminar - Muir has spent the week training at Camp Muir and this morning were able to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier. Due to high winds throughout the night, they delayed their departure from Camp Muir. The conditions were firm and the conditions cold but with clear skies and decreasing winds the team was able to spend some time on the summit. All of the team members participating in this week's program reached the summit along with RMI Guides Casey Grom, Elias de Andres Martos, Andy Hildebrand, Andrew Kiefer and Mike King. The team will return to Camp Muir to spend their final night on the mountain. Tomorrow they may do a bit of training before starting their descent to Paradise.
Congratulations to the Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir team members!
Congrats to the team! Especially for my husband , Mark!
Very excited for you all!
Posted by: Mary Ann Miller on 9/11/2014 at 3:19 pm
All is well here in the Baksan Valley, at the base of Elbrus. We've settled into our comfortable hotel here in Cheget, which doubles as a ski town in the winter. It reminds me of Jackson Hole with Mt. Rainier instead of the Grand Tetons.
We woke to a beautiful morning and finally we were able to get out and stretch our legs a bit. We made the most of the local ski lifts, (to save our knees of course) and hiked up the neighboring peak to start our acclimatization. It started off a little cloudy today, but eventually cleared for some decent views of Elbrus. After our ascent we headed back down to town for a nice lunch and headed over the local climbing shop to pick up a few last minute things. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, getting our bags packed and just wrapping up another enjoyable Russia dinner with plenty of borscht.
All is well here and we'll check in again tomorrow!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and Crew
Casey,
You do get around!
Good luck and stay safe.
Art Muir
Posted by: Art Muir on 7/15/2014 at 8:38 pm
Posted by: Robby Young, Elias de Andres Martos
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Greetings all,
After spending the last 10 days above 14,000', our eyes and lungs relished in the sights, smells, and the oxygen-rich, moist ocean air we encountered on the drive back from Huaraz to Lima. A stop in Playa Barranca for ceviche, tacu-tato, and other local seafood dishes truly brought our expedition full circle as we enjoyed an ocean view from our lunch table. Upon arrival in Lima, the inevitable disbanding of the team began as some caught midnight flights back to friends and family, while a few have one more day in Lima to relax, catch the World Cup Final, and relive the wonderful experiences we've had over the past couple weeks in the Cordillera Blanca. Best wishes from sea level and thanks for following along!
RMI Guides Robby Young, Elias de Andres Martos, and the Peru Seminar Team
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Robby Young
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 17,380'
Good afternoon, this is the climbing team in Peru. Elias calling here. We have made it to high camp on Tocllaraju and we are perched at 5,100m right on the edge of the glacier. A sense of accomplishment that everybody has right now. It's indescribable as we are in one of the most beautiful places that we have seen so far on this trip. We are surrounded by a huge cirque of 5,000 and 6,000-meter peaks. Tonight we are going to get ready to climb Tocllaraju, the last and most challenging objective of our seminar. Everybody is doing really well and we are having right now really good weather. Everything is on schedule and we will keep you posted tomorrow hopefully from the summit, sometime in the early morning. Right now it's 4 o'clock in the afternoon local time in Peru. We are brewing some water and cooking some dinner. That's pretty much it for now. We will hope to, like I said, call tomorrow from the summit and wrap up this amazing expedition. That's all for now. Good evening.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Elias de Andres Martos calling from Tocllaraju's High Camp.
Corell - it sounds beautiful ( and you are too - that should embarrass you if Elias reads these out loud!)
Thurston the Younger loved his first day at lacrosse camp.
Christian is still glowing over Germany’s win - and we are off to UVA today for orientation.
Good luck on the summit. And come home quickly - I am going through withdrawal and need a fix!
Posted by: Thurston on 7/10/2014 at 5:06 am
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Robby Young
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
May 22, 2014 - 1:55 am
We are tucked in tight at 14,200'!
It was a beautiful, clear morning, so we crashed our camp along with a few other groups, cached our sleds and snowshoes (no one was sorry to leave them behind), and once more pointed our feet towards Motorcycle Hill. The going was a lot easier today with the trail that we put in yesterday having had a fair amount of traffic. We passed through a once more windless Windy Corner, and headed for 14,000' with everyone moving well under heavy packs. Mike Walter and team were at 14,000' to greet us, and made our move in easy, helping with water, tent platforms, and a kitchen. We definitely owe them a big thanks. We lose the sun a bit earlier here, and the extra three thousand feet definitely makes itself evident in the temperature. No one needed coaxing to crawl into the sleeping bags and call it a day.
We are psyched to finally be here, in position to set ourselves up for a summit bid. It's nice to check off another milestone too. We'll let you know what adventures tomorrow brings.
RMI Guides Pete, Robby, and Josh
On The Map
Chuck and Steve hang tough. Everyone sending there love
Posted by: Charles Floyd on 5/22/2014 at 5:57 pm
Sent O2 this morning. It will be there on June 9th :)
Love you Chuck!
Posted by: Joellen Floyd on 5/22/2014 at 4:56 pm
The Four Day Summit Climb August 30 - 2 September led by RMI Guides Chad Peele and Andy Bond were unable to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier. The teams were forced to turn around at approximately 12,100' today due to very high winds and returned to Camp Muir safely. As of 7:00 a.m. PT strong winds were still gusting at Camp Muir. The teams are expected to depart from Camp Muir at 10 a.m. PT en route to Paradise.
Blue skies and calm winds greeted our Four Day Summit Climb Teams led by Jason Thompson and Pete Van Deventer. The teams enjoyed the views from the Summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning and are now en-route back to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to Today's Teams!
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Excellent progress Lindsay! Rooting for you. Go, go, go!!!
Posted by: Patty on 6/5/2017 at 10:49 pm
Che-che! Have the best time, everything will be waiting for you when you get back. Only better. :)
e
Posted by: e on 6/5/2017 at 12:46 pm
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