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Our team woke to less than ideal conditions at our high camp on Ixta this morning. Dense clouds, wind and light precipitation looked like it might thwart our summit bid. We waited as long as we could with the time we had for the summit, then it was decision time. The precipitation had stopped but wind and thick clouds remained.
The guide team made the call to begin the climb and see how the weather would pan out. The wind and cloud remained, but our team tougher it out and the weather didn't get worse .
After a hard fought summit, our team is on our way to a well deserved rest day in Puebla.
RMI Guides Zeb Blais, Robby Young and team
On The Map
Posted by: Geoff Schellens, Adam Knoff
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides Geoff Schellens and Adam Knoff reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today under sunny skies. The teams spent a little time on the crater before starting their descent around 7:30 am. Once at Camp Muir the teams will take a short break and continue down to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!
Woo Hoo!! Congrats Patrick and Matt! We knew you could do it. You must be so thrilled to have accomplished your goal. We are so happy for you. Looking forward to seeing the pictures.
Posted by: Mom and Da on 8/28/2014 at 8:26 pm
Congrats Matt and Patrick! Your hard work and determination has paid off. I am so incredibly proud of you guys and can’t wait to hear all about it! :)
Posted by: Jessica Volkman on 8/28/2014 at 2:54 pm
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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
After 17 hours in the air we arrived at the Dik Dik hotel with all team members and bags to boot. A great way to start the trip with nice accomodations and a good looking crew.
Today we have been checking equipment, both personal and group, also going over trip detail and dates for our safari ahead.
It has been overcast so far today, but may burn off later; if so, we may take a walk to stretch our legs and we should have a great view of Kilimanjaro from on top of the water tower located on the hotels manicured grounds. The trail leads us from the hotel passed the huge organic garden we have been feasting out of since our arrival.
The group is safely back at Camp 3 (high camp) after a successful summit attempt today. The weather was clear and overall they had a good, albeit long, day. They will spend tonight at Camp 3 and start their descent to Basecamp tomorrow after a good night's rest.
Hey gang!
Billy and Jake here checking in from the beautiful but dusty Aconcagua basecamp. Our crew rolled in today; climbing strong and feeling great. On our way up today we bumped into the other descending RMI crew and it was good to see some familiar (if not famous) faces. Our walk in from the road has been a long and hot one but the team is in great spirits nonetheless. Tomorrow's plans call for a well deserved rest day.
Everyone on the team would like to send their love to friends and family!
We awoke to another beautiful and clear morning, perfect for our active rest day. After enjoying some street tacos and meeting with our local guide we hopped back in the van to travel to Paso de Cortez. From here our team left the van to walk to La Joya- our camp for the night. Along the trail we soaked in the sun and surrounding nature. It was relaxing compared to our long climb yesterday! Tonight, we trade the comforts of hotels for tents as we prepare for our ascent to High Camp tomorrow.
Posted by: Solveig Waterfall, Nikki Champion
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 10,781'
RMI Guide Solveig Waterfall checked in this morning to let us know the entire Mt. Baker Summit & Ski team reached the summit around 9 am today. All is well and they will descend to camp. Once back at camp they will pack up and continue down to the trail head.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
We got an early start this morning with a few members crossing the cold Vacas River on foot and few other opting for a mule ride. The days hike brought us up the Relinchos River valley with a decent elevation gain during the first two hours. Since we missed the view of Aconcagua yesterday due to clouds and stormy weather the Team was taken back by the size of the mountain and it’s fresh coat of snow.
We strolled down the braided mule paths, walking slowly to allow our bodies to adjust to the change in altitude. This trip has been one of 180 degree different weather patterns. Today was our hottest day of the trek as we were swarmed by horse flies. Now that we are at Aconcagua Base Camp at 13,800’ the Team is setting up their tents and taking some down time after three days of walking. Not much on the agenda except a delicious dinner and enjoying the sunset from our home for the next four nights. Tomorrow will be a rest day so the Team can continue acclimatizing and have a chance to sort gear and food to get carried up to Camp 1. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
Muchas Gracias to everyone who followed our team as we set out to climb two of Ecuador's highest mountains.
The RMI Ecuador Volcanoes climbing adventure wrapped up yesterday back in the city we started in but our day was anything but ordinary. On Sunday morning we all packed up at Chilcabamba eco lodge after a great day's rest. From there we made our way up to the Jose Ribas Refuigo located at 16,000 feet on the northern slopes of Cotopaxi.
At 11 pm, our final day together began. We knew the weather on this giant volcano had not been good for at least three days so we were hoping by the time we arrived and settled in things would be improving. This hope was dashed even before we arrived at the hut. From the time we stepped off the bus to the time we put on our crampons and readied ourselves for the climb, nothing had changed. The winds blew a steady twenty with much higher gusts. Add on top of that a snow so wet I was calling it white rain, and you have yourself a pretty rough climbing day.
We all left the hut together at 1:30 am along with 25 other motivated but not necessarily optimistic climbers. 30 minutes into the climb we all resembled walking popsicles but our psych remained high. Things quickly began to deteriorate the higher we went. By 17,000 feet, the mountain had made our decision for us. There would be no summit attempt.
Other teams continued on past our retreating group but we saw them back in the hut a few hours later tired, cold and completely encased in ice. They gave the climb a valiant effort but no one came close to reaching the top. I'd like to think we made the smarter choice.
After our short attempt we phoned the magic bus and had Victor arrive early so we could escape the angry mountain. By 9 am were bound for Quito. Waking up at 11 pm always throws the body for a loop so a good lunch led into a nice siesta which then led into one of the most enjoyable final evenings I can remember.
Thanks to our beer loving Iowa boys, we found ourselves in the beautiful old town of Quito, drinking great locally crafted beer at Bandido's Brewery. The pizza was top notch, the setting unique and the beer superb. The company could not have been better. We told stories of our adventure and made plans for climbs to come. This journey could not have ended any better!
Thanks to everyone on the team for being so supportive, flexible and positive. From a guide's perspective we could not have asked for better!
Ecuador Volcanoes Out........
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Greetings from Antarctica. Sure enough, we got the call during breakfast to be ready for flying. It wasn’t a “hurry up and wait” morning though, more a “slow down and wait” type of deal. We got picked up from the hotel before 9 AM but it wasn’t until about 11:35 AM that we lifted off from Punta Arenas. The weather picture was fairly complicated today and it took some strategic thinking to figure just when it was appropriate to commit to a flight. Four and a half hours in the cargo bay of a four-engine Russian jet was made endurable by comfy airline seats and “Pretty Woman” playing on the big screen -with subtitles- (the IL76 is a noisy ride). The captain brought us through somewhat murky conditions to a perfect landing on the blue ice runway of Union Glacier. It was cold, windy, cloudy and a little raw with blowing snow. A perfect Antarctic day, actually, but we didn’t spend much time taking pictures down at the runway. A souped-up van with big tires took us on an ice road over to Union Glacier Camp where we were warmly welcomed and given a briefing and tour. After a great bowl of soup and an excellent dinner, we ventured out to build our tents. No flights to Vinson tonight, due to the sloppy weather. Nonetheless, it was a very pleasant evening of chatting with other climbers and adventurers from a dozen different countries and of catching up with acquaintances from mountains far and wide.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
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Looks cold and snowy! But glad you guys made it to the top and back down safely! Good luck on Orizaba.
Posted by: Danika on 11/13/2014 at 3:17 pm
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