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The Mexico Volcanoes Team arrived yesterday with all their equipment. Today we left Mexico City for a two and a half hour drive through the scenic country side on our way to La Malinche. Along the way we got great views of Orizaba, Ixta and Popo. In my eight trips I’ve not seen the air quality this clear for such long distances. Which makes having our hike cut short around 12,000’ due to the park police turning hikers around all the more disappointing. This area is known for afternoon thunderstorms and apparently the park is instituting a strict turn around time now.
We decided to listen to the tactically dressed officer with the gun and not end up in a Mexican jail. The group got a chance to stretch their lungs and legs some, we all would have hoped for a longer hike. The remainder of the day will be spent in the former Olympic training center that now hosts tourists and locals. We will look forward to heading to Ixta tomorrow for a hike and gear check.
Thanks for following along,
Bill and Sara,
What an awesome trip and pictures and what an accomplishment. Glad you are having so much fun. Saw Lisa, Morgan and Katie in Conn. last weekend. Lots of fun. Be careful, safe and good luck.
Ed, Marian and the girls.
Posted by: Ed Mule' on 4/10/2011 at 2:52 pm
Sending you lots of positive energy for a great adventure. Love being able to follow you on Facebook. Remembering my trip to Basecamp and wishing I were able to be there now.
Best wishes. ~JEN~
Posted by: Jen Petrik on 4/10/2011 at 12:39 pm
Posted by: Mike King, Pete Van Deventer, Leif Bergstrom, Nick Sinapius, Hannah Blum, Will Nash
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four-Day climb led by RMI guides, Mike King and Leif Bergstrom, reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams were standing on top at around 5:40am after a quick ascent.
They will descend to Rainier Basecamp this afternoon to bask in their success and enjoy a bit of rest after their hard work.
Great job team!
On The Map
Great hearing about the venture. Good luck. Looking forward to photos and hearing about your ventures. Be safe. ABQ Uptown #985
Posted by: Rachael C. Lujan on 4/2/2013 at 9:43 am
I look forward to reading and looking at photos of your amazing adventure. Good luck team. “Mayor” Tucker is a great title. I can just see Mark holding a “town” meeting and getting the good citizens of basecamp rolling.
Posted by: Stephani on 4/1/2013 at 11:57 am
Rooting for you, Mom! I know you can do it! -Tianna
Posted by: Tianna on 12/4/2011 at 12:54 pm
Great luck guys! Li, you’re living your dream! Much love and support from Toronto Canada! d
Posted by: Dean V. on 12/4/2011 at 11:41 am
Posted by: Eric Frank, James Bealer, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Monday, May 31, 2021 - 11:09 pm PT
Sunday, May 30th, started out clear and cold but quickly warmed up as the sun hit our camp. The good weather meant moral was high in 14,000' Camp as everyone who was acclimated and ready to go started to climb towards High Camp at 17,200'. We, of course, being new to this high elevation stayed in camp and watched the conga line turn into a log jam at the base of the fixed lines. We made good use of our day by brushing up on our fixed line and running belay techniques. At the end of the day a well worn trail was stomped in by the uphill traffic and left us feeling optimistic about our own plans to cache at 16,200'.
Today (May 31) the team braved a cold morning in order to get a head start out of camp. We climbed up the fixed lines and cached at 16,250' on the West Buttress. The afternoon turned into a scorcher on the way down as the solar energy made it feel like 90 degrees outside. We returned to camp and had delicious burritos for dinner.
Congratulations Norm and your team! Stay safe and enjoy, can’t wait to see the pics and hear the stories!
Posted by: Linda Hill on 6/3/2021 at 8:55 pm
Elliot - looks like an incredible adventure!! Hope you and the team stay safe and warm. Keep on trucking and enjoy the views!
Alex
Posted by: Alex Thornton on 6/1/2021 at 8:22 pm
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Jeff Martin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
Elevation: 18,510'
On The Map
Well done Johann & all the team.
Posted by: Jackie Melllo on 8/14/2014 at 4:03 am
Job well done Jessie and Team!!!!
Posted by: Len and Cathy Gagliardi on 8/13/2014 at 6:41 am
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Taylor Bickford, Emma Lyddan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 7,800'
Saturday June 11th, 2022 – 9:04pm PT
After making our way from 17 camp to 14 camp, we crawled back into our tents and took a nap. Around 10pm, we woke up for either a late dinner or early breakfast of Ramen noodles and began packing up camp for what we thought would be the very last time. While we had walked into 14 camp in a whiteout, during our nap the clouds had settled below us and it had become a beautiful brisk night.
With camp packed up, we headed towards Basecamp and the airstrip. While we arrived in decent weather, we got word that clouds kept the planes from flying all day. We've now crawled back into our tents and await a weather window that allows us to fly back to Talkeetna.
Think good weather thoughts!
RMI Guide Nikki Champion and Team
Sorry to hear about the bad weather at the end of the trip. The good news is that the mountain has been conquered and that you are all at base camp. Hoping a weather window opens soon. Well done everyone.
Posted by: Robert Edge on 6/12/2022 at 10:25 am
Sunday, December 5, 2021 - 8:26 pm PT
We were back to high camp at 10:45 PM for a round trip time of just under 13 hours. Pretty normal for Vinson. Great views, fine weather. We had dinner back in camp and ran stoves forever to melt snow for water. Now 1:30 AM, the end of another long but magnificent day.
Awesome Dave!!!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 12/7/2021 at 3:28 am
We made progress.
It was definitely colder in a tent at 7,000 ft on an Antarctic glacier than in a hotel room in Punta Arenas, but we were happy and comfortable enough for the night. Local conditions (shadows and breezes) dictate a slower start in the mornings, so we didn’t get moving around until after 9 AM. We ate breakfast and then did a bit of training and review and of course -gear sorting. We took a last COVID test (our sixth in six days) and then roped up and went walking up glacier. We carried loads for two and a half hours, to “half camp” our intended cache point. Most of our journey was in murky glacier fog, but we broke out of clouds near our cache point and could look up on Vinson’s great western wall. We could see neighboring peaks Shinn and Epperly, but they had a few clouds stuck on and around them as well. We secured the food and gear we’d carried and then walked back down into the cold and frosty clouds. Glacier conditions were reasonable and we didn’t sink into the snow too much or slip and slide on ice. There were some crevasses visible here and there, but we didn’t have any openings to step over.
Back at camp in the clouds, we ate dinner and turned in for a well deserved rest.
Best Regards,














Great job dad, keep going. Moms says hi.
Love, Daniel
Posted by: Daniel Kovatich on 11/10/2021 at 6:10 pm
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