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Last night's winds abated in camp, but up high that was not the case. A large, menacing lenticular cloud covered the upper portion of the mountain and wind could be seen blowing plumes of snow off of the West Buttress. But, the storm seems to be on its way out. We are hoping to move to high camp tomorrow or the next day and have a go at the summit. We'll see what the weather has in store, but at least it is improving. From Robbie: Happy birthday Vanessa! RMI Guide Mike Walter

It was just as cold in the final hour before the sun hit this morning, but somehow that didn't matter as much since we didn't have to get up. It was a rest day at 9,000 ft on Mount Vinson. We eventually assembled the team in the POSH tent for an early afternoon, four course breakfast. After three good and long days moving food and fuel and gear around, it was very nice to just kick back and take it easy. It fits well with our acclimatization plan as well, to have worked up high yesterday and now to be resting at "low" altitude. RMI Guide Linden Mallory and his climbers came through in mid-afternoon on their way to Basecamp and it was good to hear of their summit day. The weather was perfect again today and so the sun and lack of wind had us forgetting what the actual temperature was. We napped, drank water, read, chatted, and snacked the day away. Finally it was time for dinner and tall tales in the strong evening sunshine. All are feeling healthy and ready to move up the mountain. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

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

May 10, 10:50 pm PT Well, the weather continues to treat us well up here on the Kahiltna Glacier. We moved from Camp 2 to Camp 3 (11,200') in beautiful, sunny weather; a light breeze kept us from over heating as we climbed up towards Kahiltna Pass. Once at camp we spent a few hours digging in and establishing a comfortable living situation. A well-earned dinner of quesadillas with fresh vegetables filled our stomachs before we crawled into our sleeping bags for the evening. The weather forecast remains good, and tomorrow we will go down to 9500' to make a "back carry" and retrieve the extra equipment we left there in order to make our loads more manageable for the journey to camp 3. We'll be in touch again tomorrow. Cheers, RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

We watched a few different climbing teams go down this morning because the weather was junk and they were out of time and low on supplies. We are very hopeful that Denali will invite us to climb to the summit in the next couple of days. The team is strong, healthy and happy. What a great group of guys! We have all progressed from amateur to professional tent nappers with all of these weather no bueno days. RMI Guide Mike Haugen

The Kautz Seminar Team July 27 - 1 August led by RMI Guide Sam Marjerison has spent the last several days training and climbing.  They began their climb of Mt. Rainier from Paradise on July 29 ascending to camp near the Wilson Glacier.  They spent time learning crevasse rescue skills, setting anchors and belays and worked on technical ice climbing skills before starting their summit attempt.  The team climbed strong through the Kautz Ice chute this morning, reaching an elevation of 12,900'.  At that point, deterioration weather forced them to retreat.  They will spend another night at camp, perhaps get in a bit more training, and then descend to Paradise tomorrow.  They will conclude their adventure in Ashford tomorrow afternoon.

Strong climbing team!

Friday, May 30, 2025 - 7:57pm PDT

Waiting at 14,000

Our guides warned us that days at 14,000 feet could be among the hardest. Not because of the altitude, the vertical climbs, or the heavy loads—but because of the waiting.

Today, we hoped for a weather window to move to 17, the penultimate step in our push for the summit. Instead, we were sequestered in camp by wind and snow. Nerves and hopes for tomorrow run high. These are the days that can wear on you—but I am fortunate to be part of an intrepid, resolved, and collegial team.

I am inspired by you, my fellow climbers—by your humor and strength, your spirit of adventure and fierce determination, your perseverance and positivity. We came together by different paths, but we now share a common journey. When I falter, you wait. When you ascend, I cheer. We move together, always supporting, never judging.

I am equally emboldened by our guides—by their friendliness, focus, and vision. They work while we rest. They carry the heavier loads. Though their frustration with our poor packing skills and questionable foot care is sometimes apparent, their patience, calm, and capability give me confidence—not in the outcome, which even they cannot promise, but in the possibility. There are a thousand reasons—weather, injury, error—that any one of us might not summit. But these three remarkable people are the reason we can try.

I don’t know what the next few days hold. But I know this: the ten of us will face what comes together, as we have faced everything so far—one expedition, one team, one rope.

– David and team

Greetings! We officially started our visit with a mandatory tour of the city, and some of the sights that proclaimed Kathmandu a Word Heritage City by the UNESCO. After a full morning of enriching our cultural perspective, we proceeded to another big meal all together, tasting new Nepali dishes over vivid discussions at the table. Like the day before, the jet lag kicked in, and the afternoon was spent relaxing and packing for the mountain flights. Our next dispatch will be from the mountains! Stay tuned for our progress uphill. RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos

Hey, everybody this is Casey Grom checking in again from the Kilimanjaro climb. Wanted to let you know that we had another wonderful day here in Africa. We got up at about 7:00 and had a nice big breakfast of eggs and bacon and porridge and some toast. At 7:30, we washed that down with plenty of coffee and then tried to hit the trail right at 8:00. The camp we were in, the Mweka Camp, was a little bit crowded because it's sort of a small spot, but we kind of got out ahead of a bunch of the teams. We slowly made our way up one of the ridges that leads up on top of what's called the Shira Plateau. We gained about 2,500 feet and we took just a little over five hours to get up here. The team did incredible today and once again our our wonderful mountain staff and porters broke camp after we left and then passed us on the trail and then arrived at camp and had it all set up by the time we arrived up here. We just finished dinner and the clouds have just kind of blown off. Now we've got a beautiful view of the upper mountain as the sun has gone down. Everybody's outside taking a look at all the beautiful stars that we can see right now. So that's all for now. Everybody's going to head to bed as it's starting to chill down a little bit up here, and we'll touch base again tomorrow. Thanks. RMI Guide Casey Grom

On The Map

May 26, 2015 - 11:13 pm PT We woke to a swirling cloud cap above, that left little doubt that it was unpleasant in the West Buttress. We decided to wait the day yet again and see what tomorrow brings. We did take advantage of a break in the clouds to walk to the "Edge of the World', where Genet Basin drops almost 7,000 feet to the Northeast fork of the Kahiltna. The views from here are unsurpassed and everyone took turns being belayed out to the edge to snap photos. We'll give another shot at caching on the buttress tomorrow. We'll let you know how it goes. RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Robby Young, Josh Maggard, and team

On The Map