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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

Today saw our first dose of real work above Basecamp as the gang carried up a load of food, fuel, and cold weather gear. It was a long day with big loads up to elevations over 16,000 feet, so we were certainly working hard but the team was generally unfazed. The carry definitely helps supply us on the upper mountain but also serves as a good stimulus for our bodies as they try and acclimatize to the higher altitude. The physiological changes are happening and the headaches most folks reported on our first night at Basecamp are now long gone. Higher oxygen saturations and lower resting heart rates are also the norm. Another rest day tomorrow and a fat steak dinner tonight here at Basecamp should give us an opportunity to get stronger and stronger and set us up well for the hard work that lies ahead as we move up. All for now, RMI Guide Billy Nugent

On The Map

The skies were clear early this morning, and so it was the perfect time to leave basecamp as the snow surface was nicely frozen and travel was "easy". We were roped up and on our way by 4 AM, watching the sunlight play on the upper slopes of Mts Foraker and Hunter.  Glacier conditions were excellent. There were few open crevasses, and the route was fairly direct.  We pulled into our destination -the base of "ski hill" - in just four and a half hours. 

Camp then went up relatively quickly and we got in out of the intense midday sun for some quality naps.  A breeze came up in the evening, but by then we'd built a dining tent and were able to enjoy dinner in peace. 

We intend to make a carry tomorrow, to 10,000 ft if possible. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guides Dave Hahn, Sam Hoffman, Sam Marjerison, Nick Sinapius

¡Hola!

Yesterday the entire team arrived for the first RMI trip to the Mexico Volcanoes for this season. We have all bags in tow and are now on our way to La Malinche for some acclimatization. Today is mostly cloudy, so we will see what the mountain gives us, but more importantly we are getting out to move the legs and exercise the lungs. Check back tomorrow for details on how our day went!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

Today was the start of our safari adventure and we visited the beautiful Lake Manyara National Park. The lake is a brief stopping ground for many migratory animals and home to more than 350 different birds. Everyone enjoyed the day cruising around in our safari vehicles with cold beverages in hand while seeing a few animals up close. 

We didn’t see a ton of animals today, but we did get up close to a few elephants, baboons and 6 beautiful lions! Also managed to see a couple of zebras and a giraffe off in the distance. 

It was a nice introduction to the incredible diversity of wildlife that Africa has and the team is looking forward to seeing more tomorrow. 

We wrapped up the evening with a wonderful meal at our new lodge www.plantation-lodge.com see for yourself!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari crew

RMI Guide Bryan Mazaika and the Five Day Climb are approaching the crater rim of Mt. Rainier. New snow fell overnight but Bryan reports the weather is currently nice and cold up top. The teams will spend some time on the summit before starting their descent. We look forward to seeing them back in Ashford this afternoon. Congratulations climbers!

After returning from our carry yesterday the snowfield above our camp had soaked up more UV radiation than the Tropicana sun tan lotion team. This created a flooding event that required earthwork and various channels to divert the water away from our tents. We worked faster than FEMA during Hurricane Katrina because we not only had skin in the game but nice fluffy down sleeping bags to keep dry. By the time our Team completed a micro Suez Canal, the snow started falling and would blanket the mountain by midnight, go figure. Led Zeppelin said that when the levy breaks, you have no place to go, we decided to challenge that statement and move to Camp 2 this morning. While people walked on frozen and slick rocks this morning, the sun rose like it does everyday and made for a great day to 18,000’. Our Camp 2 is technically the now closed Guanacos Route, Camp 3. It is placed between two old snowfields that would have been glaciers maybe a few hundred years ago. With views of the Polish Glacier to our south and the heavily glaciated peaks to the North we couldn’t get a better place to enjoy the afternoon. The Team has been putting in hard work and it’s paid off with a day off for Christmas, Festivus or whatever they celebrate. If we hadn’t taken a day off there might have been some airing of grievances and a few feats of strength. Fortunately, the guides have some treats planned and nice breakfast for the group. The winds that were forecasted have been pushed back a few days and we are all grateful that the dead still air has allowed for such a great trip above Plaza Argentina. Everyone sends their love back home for the holidays. RMI Guide Mike King

On The Map

The Four Day Summit Climb Teams led by Dave Hahn and Pete Van Deventer reached the Summit of Mt. Rainier today. The groups were greeted with sunshine and light winds of 10 - 15 mph. Congratulations to Today's Teams!

Windy windy windy. We left Pampa de Lenas amd continued our journey up valley. What started as a light breeze grew stronger and stronger throughout the day. The wind whipped down valley creating dust clouds. Our mouths became gritty. Our skin felt rough. Our bare skin got sand blasted. It felt like tiny stings on our shins. It was as if mother nature was trying to push us away. But we put our heads down and leaned into it. Right before camp we were rewarded with our first views of Aconcagua and her neighboring peak Amigino. They look so big from where we stand. Towering 12,000 feet above us sits the summit. Fingers crossed, all the stars align and we will be standing up there in just shy of two weeks. But before that we are going to focus on our next goal, arriving at basecamp.

Talk to you all tomorrow from Plaza de Argentina,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

The team assembled in Moscow yesterday evening for the start to our Elbrus Northside adventure. We kept things brief, as many of us were working off the affects of many hours of transatlantic flights, and headed out for a nice dinner at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the Moscow River. This morning it was time to kick it into tourist gear and explore some of the historical architecture in and around the Kremlin. We met our tour guide Victoria in a bustling Red Square and joined the queue to file through Lenin’s Tomb to see his body. We emerged from the darkness to cross Red Square and enter St. Basil's Cathedral. The building is actually made up of 11 individual churches, all connected, that were built and dedicated to a variety of saints; some local heroes of Moscow, and some of the Eastern Orthodox religion. After a quick swing through the GUM department store, we swung around the walls of the Kremlin to the entrance and filtered through the main gate. Inside, buildings from a variety of time periods, some dating back to the Czars and emperors, some built during communism, house a variety of museums, assembly and concert venues, and current Russian government offices. Of interest to us were the five cathedrals towards the back of the Kremlin. Cathedrals that were used for the coronation of emperors, to hold the remains of royalty, to be the head of the Eastern Orthodox religion, and to be the location for royal baptisms, weddings, and other major events. Our whirlwind tour of cathedrals concluded, and we wandered into the old city for lunch, before making our way back across the Moscow River to our hotel for a little free time. We got together this evening for another delicious meal atop yet another Moscow building, this one themed around mushrooms and all of their unique flavors. We’ve only just gotten off the planes it feels like, but early tomorrow, we’ll be back on the road to the airport, headed for Kislovodsk, our departure point for the mountain and our objective. It will feel good to be closer to the hills, and to the rhythms of climbing that we're accustomed. We'll check in tomorrow from Kislovodsk. RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer