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June 8, 2014 - 9:19 pm PT Today was a great day for resting and that is what we did. We awoke to some clouds and snow at our camp at 7,800' and decided to hunker down. Reviewing some knots and hitches filled the spaces between naps and we are raring to go tomorrow if the weather allows. It is snowing at present and with more snow in the forecast, we'll just have to wait and see. RMI Guide Jake Berenn

On The Map

RMI Guides Mike Haugen and Solveig Waterfall and their Four Day Summit Climb Team reached the top of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team reported clear and beautiful weather with light winds of about 10 mph. The team has started their descent and will be back at RMI Basecamp this Afternoon. Congratulations to Today's Team!

June 5, 2014 - 11:57 pm PT We slept in a bit this morning as light snow fell on camp. After a leisurely breakfast of bagels with bacon and cream cheese, we walked 30 minutes down to our cache at 9,900'. After returning to 11K Camp, we rested before building snow walls around our tents. Everyone is doing very well and excited to keep working up. With light snow still falling this evening, we are going to keep watching the weather and take it day by day. Thanks for following along with us. RMI Guides Eric Frank, Geoff Schellens and the UWR team

On The Map

The Four Day Summit Climb August 12 - 15 led by RMI Guide Dave Hahn along with the Five Day Summit Climb August 11 - 15 led by RMI Guide Seth Waterfall reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today! The teams were approaching the crater rim at 7:20 a.m. PT. They reported clear skies and sunshine, cool temperatures and moderate winds. The teams will descend to Camp Muir and continue down to Paradise later today. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams and to Seth Waterfall for his 101st Summit Climb of Mt. Rainier!

This morning we packed up our bags, checked out of our hotel, and headed north. The first stop was at La Laguna Mojanda, a high alpine where the trailhead for our second acclimatization hike is located. We drove through clouds and rain to get there, but when we arrived we where above the clouds and could see the day's hiking objective, Fuya Fuya. Fuya Fuya is a peak that is situated on an ecological reserve, north of the town of Otovalo. The clouds moved in and out throughout the day, and we climbed up through the high-altitude grassland with periods of rain, hail, and wind. The most challenging part of the climb was staying on your feet, as the volcanic soil became quite slippery in the rain. The final 200' of the climb included a fun rock scramble to the summit. Everyone did great, and rose to the challenges that the weather presented. Now we're warm, dry, and comfortable at the beautiful hacienda San Luis. A big dinner and a good night's rest is on tap for tonight. Tomorrow morning, we'll head to the Indigenous town of Otovalo, and spend a large part of the day enjoying the world famous Otovalo Market. After a leisurely day at the market, we'll head to the climbers' hut on Cayambe for the night. We'll spend two nights there during our summit attempt. Ciao for now, RMI Guide Mike Walter

Hello Everyone, Casey here checking in from Moscow. All is well and the team arrived yesterday evening. We had a quick meet and greet, then headed out for a bite to eat before calling it a night as everyone was feeling the jet lag. Today we had a wonderful breakfast and then set off on today's adventure. We spent most of the morning in and around Russia's famous Red Square. We started off with a quick visit of Lenin's Tomb, then headed to the Kremlin for a few hours. Up next was a short subway ride to one of Moscow's many Cathedrals and then headed back to see the beautiful St. Basil's. Several team members did a little exploring on their own and others got a quick cat nap back at the hotel. We have just returned from a nice meal and are getting ready for bed again. Tomorrow we have an early departure and catch one more flight before we get to Elbrus.

Hi this is Seth. The team is all in Puebla relaxing after a long day yesterday. We encountered a major storm at high camp on Ixta that prevented us from climbing to the summit. I was up most of the night checking in with the climbers and making sure that the tents were properly anchored and not getting covered in snow. It snowed most of the night and by the time we began our descent there were over three foot drifts in places. The blizzard increased in intensity as we left camp and the descent was a difficult one. Everyone remained in good spirits however and we managed to descend back to the Altzimoni hut by two o'clock PM. Once we were there we discovered, to our dismay, that the road was snowed in and our vehicles would not be able to pick us up. Our resourceful local staff was able to hike out and find a National Park employee with a four wheel drive truck that agreed to help us. His truck could only get to within a half mile of the hut so we shuttled loads in the blowing snow, loaded the truck with our gear, and hiked six miles out the road to the Paseo de Cortez. At the pass our vans were there waiting for us and we hopped in and drove to Puebla where we are staying at the beautiful Hotel Colonial. What a difference a day makes! The city seems a million miles away from where we were yesterday.

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!

The team is bivvied out under the stars and a clear sky at Las Lenas tonight. After packing the last of our gear for the mules to carry in, we headed to the dusty Vacas Valley. We had a breezy and sunny walk in, taking time to eat fresh melon and jamon y queso sandwiches at a leisurely lunch break along the river. At camp, the local cowboys made us a steak Asado over the open fire for dinner. Tomorrow, we continue up the valley to Casa de Piedra where another Asado dinner (and hopefully starry skies) await us! RMI Guide Katrina Bloemsma

We are continuing to plod our way slowly but steadily up this mountain. Our team woke to beautiful blue skies this morning and took advantage of the good weather by putting in another cache up at our Camp 2, which also goes by the names "Guanacos Camp 3," and "Chopper Camp." No matter what you call it, it sits at over 18k' and is one of the last spots with running water as you ascend. We made short work of the carry, climbing the 2,000' or so in 3 stretches and made even shorter work of the descent back to Camp 1. The skies clouded up this afternoon so we got to enjoy some comfortable napping temps in the tents. We spent the rest of the day eating napples, reading, and listening to tunes. Rumors of deteriorating weather have us pondering our next move but our plans call for another rest and acclimatization day. We'll see what Mother Nature has in store for us, RMI Guide Billy Nugent