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May 31, 2014, 2:11 pm PT We are still here at Kahiltna Base camp. We received another foot of new snow overnight and it shows no sign of slowing or stopping. We are all staying hopeful that the weather will break sometime in the next few days and we can finally get a big meal and that long awaited hot shower! RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

May 20, 2014 - 11:57pm PT Today was a glorious day full of sun and cooler temperatures. We left camp early this morning and headed west, down to the main flow of the Kahiltna glacier. The team got first hand experience of how we move across such massive fields of ice and the views both up and down glacier were amazing. Felt like we were in the middle of the middle of nowhere. Our objective was a small formation called the pizza wedge and as we got closer the crevasses got bigger. So big that our desired approach was cut off by a 200' wide crack over a mile long. Despite being rewarded with great weather and cooler temps, this years snow isn't making things easy. So we trekked back to camp and resumed training for a full day tomorrow of crevasse rescue and beacon searches. All is well and beautiful here! RMI Guide Leon Davis & Team

We said our bittersweet goodbyes to the good life at Plaza Argentina this morning as we headed up on the mountain to begin our climb. No more steak or lasagna dinners but it sure feels good to be finally doing this! The team climbed extremely well and made even better time up to Camp 1 than we did on our carry a couple of days ago. Everybody is a bit tired but in good spirits... Looking forward to a good night's sleep and another work day tomorrow as we try and push a load of supplies further up the mountain. Also wanted to make a shout out to Garrett's team, who made the summit today! Nice work guys... Buenas noches de campo 1, RMI Guide Billy Nugent

On The Map

Greetings from Basecamp, Another beautiful day here. Some of the team hiked a few hours while others lounged around camp. Dave, myself and Tendi went to yet another meeting of the groups that will be involved with the rope placement above Camp Two. In the past I have seen this essential element of the climb become a large hurdle in regards to not only the financial but physical impact on the teams, this year the job is set to be done with great cooperation from our diverse community. Happy is me! Tomorrow will be final preparations for the first wave of climbers who will leave the next day for nights at Camp One. The real deal is just around the corner and this team is ready. Thanks for visiting.

8:13 a.m. PDT Hey, this is Linden calling from Phakding in the Khumbu. We left Kathmandu early this morning and flew to Lukla. Everything has been shut down for about four days because of bad weather. However, the weather changed this morning and we stormed right on to the first flight to Lukla. It was a gorgeous flight, perfect weather and an easy landing. Lukla had all of our bags successfully. We traded in our street shoes for our trekking shoes and we were ready to hit the trail. We walked for a couple of hours down to our first tea house. We enjoyed great weather all day long. It was great to be on the trail and to be moving. Tomorrow we head to Namche Bazaar and will check in from there.

Our guest house in Namche was packed to the gills with other trekkers and climbers last night. But as it was our third night in the same place, we felt pretty much like we owned the place anyway. We packed away the chapattis, the "thak tok soup", and the "chicken chilly" (yes it is spelled that way), as if we'd been living above 11,000 feet for weeks. Erica pretty much won the eating contest by knocking back a plate of veggie chow mein, two boiled eggs AND macaroni and cheese. The kid can eat... and that is a good thing, since that particular skill, or the lack thereof, has made a huge difference in climber success at altitude over the years. Some folks wither away as they go higher. The reasons aren't complicated; we all burn calories faster up high since everything is more work in the thin air, and of course life in a cold place tends to burn extra calories anyway. One of the troubles with simply eating more to compensate is that most people don't feel like doing it. The human gut gets overwhelmed fast when the blood it depends on is poorly oxygenated. So eating becomes a chore and -this being a trip full of mountain guides- we tend to nag each other a lot to do our chores. Erica has discovered that the path of least resistance is to say "Yes please" when the momo plate comes around again. (Perhaps it helps that Melissa bet her a fancy Kathmandu dinner post-trip that she wouldn't be able to maintain her weight for the next sixty days). We were up, breakfasted and on the trail out of Namche by 7:30 AM. For the first hour or so, we wound our way along on a traverse across a steep hillside. Far below us, the Dudh Khosi was making plenty of noise as the waters crashed through continuous and ridiculous rapids. Far above one could watch eagles and hawks soaring -provided that one didn't look up for so long that one walked off the edge and fell down to the Dudh Khosi. The trail was busy with yak trains coming and going. This was actually our first dealing with true Yaks as they don't generally live below Namche. We've so far seen plenty of dzokials carrying loads -and while dzokial is not an acceptable scrabble word, it is none-the-less a sturdy animal representing the cross between a low-land cow and a high altitude Yak. Now it is mostly yaks carrying loads to and from Everest Basecamp. They are strong, sure-footed, surprisingly feisty and a little tough to pass when they want the whole trail to themselves. By 10 AM we'd descended a few hundred meters back down to the Dudh Khosi and found our place in the sun. We sat at the tables outside a couple of teahouses drinking milk-coffee, milk-tea and hot lemon. This rest break was a nice time to collect our various camera teams, to make a head count, to people-watch (we watched Ed Viesturs head out at flank speed for his workout on the big hill to Thyangboche) and to eat another plate or two of fried rice. Eventually, we pried ourselves out of our comfortable sidewalk cafes and got busy on the hot and dusty trail going up to Thyangboche. The hillside was mostly covered in pine and rhododendron forests but there were also enough clearings to get a dose of strong sun. Typically, the day had begun clear and bright but was clouding up some as we approached noon. Thyangboche Hill, like a lot of the hills in this part of the world, goes on forever, but our entire group made it up the thing in about 90 minutes. Then it was time for another sit-down for snacks on the majestic hilltop. The place is famous for its elaborate and somber monastery, but also these days for having another last-chance internet café which Peter Whittaker took advantage of to connect once again with his family. We'd begun our hilltop break with views of Ama Dablam, Kangtega, Lhotse and Everest but after a couple more milk-teas the clouds won their battle and concealed everything. Now wrapped up in cozy First Ascent jackets and sweaters, the whole gang trouped on down the shady side of the Thyangboche Hill through a thick rhododendron forest to Deboche... our home for the next two nights.

The September 1 - 5 Five Day Climb reached the summit of Mt. Rainier led by RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli and Sam Hoffman.  Climbers reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 5 am and were able to enjoy some time in the summit crater.  The skies are clear and it's a bluebird day.  The teams left the crater rim at 6:10am and are currently on their descent to Camp Muir.  Once back at camp they will get to rest and enjoy the views and will spend tonight on the mountain. Tomorrow they have another 4.5 miles to descent in order to reach Paradise. There program will conclude tomorrow with a celebration of their adventure.

Nice work team!

Hello everybody back home!

You’ll be glad to know all of your loved ones have safely arrived in Cusco.

We spent the day getting settled in at 11,152 feet. Yes, you read that correctly, 11,000 feet! Cusco is located high in the Peruvian Andes. We were welcomed to town by a parade of people — dancing through the streets in vibrant costumes to the beat of drums, trombones, flutes and more.

Everyone has remarked on how colorful and alive this city is and we are all looking forward to learning more of the culture and history in the next couple days before we begin our trek. After a team meeting, we headed out for our first team dinner. Peru is known for their food and so far it hasn’t disappointed. 

We’re all back at the hotel now, ready for a good night’s sleep after long travel days. Tomorrow we head to the Sacred Valley.

RMI Guides Jess, Casey and team

May 16, 2021 - 11:28 pm PT

We moved a whole lot of our food, fuel, and various other sundries up to about 10k today. Loads were lighter than yesterday by a lot, but the terrain was steeper and it was hard work. The team did great, even when the sun turned on the microwave oven on us and it started to feel more like the desert in July than an Alaskan Glacier in May.

All our work today sets us up well to move to 11k camp tomorrow. We know the trail, loads should be even lighter, and it promises to be a successful day. We'll check in tomorrow from up higher!

RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Chase Halbert, Matias Francis, and team

Hello everyone! We all had a fantastic day down here. This morning was cool and damp as we loaded up the bus around first light with a broken cloud layer just above us at 12,000 feet.

A three-hour drive got us up to the base of Ixta where we went for another quick acclimatization hike up a sandy road. Clouds blocked our view of Ixta and Popo before a squall of snow rolled in and dusted us with about a half inch. We got a good laugh watching 100 runners participating in a 5k having a slippery descent down the road as they pelted each other with snowballs.

Once the snow passed, we got spectacular views of both Ixta and Popo covered in a fresh coat of white snow.

We’re finishing up preparing our equipment for our ascent to Campo Alto (high camp) on Ixta tomorrow. Our local staff is preparing us a Mexican feast. Tomorrow is the first day of forecasted sunshine! 

RMI Guide Grayson Swingle

On The Map