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Hi this is Seth along with the group. We are on the way to the airport after a great last day on Safari. We awoke this morning in Kikoti Camp and after a great breakfast we hit the road. We traversed back through Tarangire National Park and were lucky to catch a few more glimpses of a pride of lions. After that we made our way back to Arusha, did some shopping and came back to the Dik Dik Hotel. Everyone has had a great trip but after two weeks away, I think most everyone is excited to return home. As for me I am sticking around for another trip and I am really looking forward to heading back up on the mountain. I'll be checking in again soon! RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

Last night we hit the sack early and rested long and hard in the tranquility of our rural Ecuadorian hacienda. The quiet and darkness of the mountains was a welcome contrast to the past couple of nights' hustle and bustle of the city. The fireplaces in our rooms didn't hurt either. This morning we explored the work famous Otavalo market and now we are heading up to the Cayambe climbing hut. We'll sleep there the next two nights and, with an early alpine start, attempt the summit tomorrow night. The weather has been good and looks favorable for an ascent. We'll keep you posted. RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

This morning we awoke to stars above and stars below (no clouds whatsoever), a welcome change from the pattern we've experienced in our time on the mountain thus far. A light but steady breeze at the level of our camp was telling of the wind we'd encounter up high, but we went with optimism. At 4 am we were cramponing above Pastukhov Rocks, and the sunrise came quickly, illuminating dramatic Caucasus peaks we've yet to see on this trip. By the traverse at 5000m we were in the wind for real. It came in waves. Sheets. Rapidly approaching freight trains threatening to knock you off your feet if you didn't acknowledge them with the brace position. Then it was fine for 30 seconds. Then another train. Snow blowing everywhere. Spindrift filling in the trail, and any open zipper, backpack, or jacket cuff. Carrying skis on your back was another matter. Somewhat ridiculous feeling, climbing in the wind carrying sails. I think we made other climbers feel as if maybe they didn't have it so bad. At least in relative terms they were aerodynamic. But it was warm. Slow going, but sunny and not as threatening of a situation as it may sound. Just some strong, annoying wind. The wind took it easy on us for a short window of time that we stood on the summit. Much appreciated wind! The ski down was not effortless for the first few thousand feet - I'd describe it as typical high altitude ski mountaineering. You don't do it for the snow. More a game of dodging bare ice patches that aren't supposed to exist until August, and finding smooth ribs of sustrugi to rail slide. Maximizing efficient elevation loss. The aerodynamic climbers were all of a sudden jealous. Then it got good. We hit the corn line around 14,500' and the skiing became fun. And all of a sudden we were back at camp. Proud effort team - everyone brought it today. Not a casual Elbrus ski ascent, but well earned. RMI Guide Tyler Reid

On The Map

As promised, the storm hit Araucania last night. After a nice evening sunset on Villarrica, the rain came. We retreated from our camp this morning with heavy wet snowflakes falling from the sky, very happy to not be high up on Lanin. Now we are on our way to Peumayen, a beautiful lodge and termas (hot springs) outside of Pucon. This is our last night in Chile, and one to celebrate - this trip has been top notch. Great crew, great skiing conditions, a lot of great weather... Every year I'm always amazed how fast this trip goes. Tomorrow we head for the airport and home to the US. Thanks for following along! RMI Guide Tyler Reid and the Chile Ski Crew

Hi this is Seth. Solveig Waterfall and I just wrapped up the first RMI ski trip of the Spring season here on Rainier. We had a great five-day trip with a really fun group. We based out of the Paradise area for our days on the mountain and were treated to some of the best ski conditions of the season. this was our 'Intro to Ski Touring' course and as the name implies we spent the majority of the time focusing on the necessary skills to plan and execute several days of backcountry skiing. We had a clear day to establish our camp followed by two days of precipitation with steadily cooling temperatures. This resulted in fantastic powder-skiing conditions with really good snow stability. The final day was cool but the skies were mostly clear and we were able to get break our camp and some more good skiing. The team was great, the laughs and smiles were non-stop and the days flew by. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

Congratulations to our team of climbers on their climb today! It wasn't easy, in fact far from it. We started the day with a 10:30 pm wake up call that no one ever enjoys, but everyone made it to breakfast relatively quickly and seemed excited as the weather looked to be in our favor. We then hoped into our 4 wheeled vehicles and drove about 20 minutes to the start of the climb. The weather continued to improve as we made our way to the the start of the glacier where we put on our crampons and roped up for the rest of the climb. The initial part of the glacier was mostly bare ice which made for rather easy climbing and slowly increased in angle and crevasses. Everyone did a great job of taking care of themselves and stayed calm even though the terrain was challenging. After several hours of climbing we reached the final headwall that looked to be too much, but with perseverance the team surmounted the last steep slope and made our way to the top of Antisana. All in all it took 9 hard hours to reach the summit where we enjoyed the views and took a few photos. The descent was no easy task either having to reverse the climb, but we all made it back safely in a couple of hours. Everyone is in good spirits and maybe just a little tired ;) Special thanks to Sally for the wonderful Sahale mixed nuts that were sent along, we enjoyed them! RMI Guide Casey Grom and a happy albeit tired crew

Today team Ecuador departed from this countries capital. As stimulating and convenient as things are out the door of our hotel, it was time to say adios to the blaring horns, thick bus exhaust and raucous night life, which we never saw. So this morning we checked out and loaded some 30 giant duffle bags into the mini bus transporting us to our next acclimating climb. I figured if we were to stack everyone's bags on top of each other we could claim the world's tallest pile of mountain climbing stuff. Instead we just put a deep sag into the bus's rear tires. Ecuador is a beautiful country with growing oil wealth which is obvious in many new infrastructure projects throughout the country. They still have a long way to go though so the 100 miles we drove today took almost three hours. Our stopping point was high above the beautiful town of Otovalo, where tomorrow we will buy all blog followers nice gifts at Ecuador's most famous market. We eventually reached Laguna de Mojanda, a beautiful high mountain lake, once a giant crater, and began our climb toward the summit of Fuya Fuya. The trail up led us through gorgeous grasses and flowers to a steep final section before reaching the 14,000 foot summit. Blessed again by fairly clear skies, we had great vistas of Quito in the distance and lush green mountain sides closer to us. The team got goofy for our summit photo so we chose to rename the mountain Fuya Kung Fuya. Seems to fit... After returning to the bus we refreshed ourselves by washing up in the lake (no one took the skinny dip challenge) and headed to our house of sun or Casa Sol where we enjoyed cold beers and a delicious dinner. As of yet, no one is going hungry. Nick and I start cooking for the group tomorrow night so that could change. But for now all is well. We look forward to putting our bargaining skills to use tomorrow and then heading up to our first BIG mountain. Buenas Noches from Casa Sol. RMI Guides Adam Knoff, Nick Hunt and Team Ecuador

Hi this is Seth at Everest Basecamp. The entire group is down at Basecamp now after a successful final rotation on the upper mountain. Everyone is happy and healthy as we begin our resting phase. We are fortunate that everyone has made it through the acclimatization rounds without suffering any illness. The cycles we go through up high are meant to stress our bodies so that we adapt to the extreme altitude, but the trick is not to stress yourself too much and become ill. We've made it through the prep and our next step is to recover from this latest effort and then to begin the summit push. We must be patient and wait for the weather to shape up. I find that to be one of the hardest parts, mentally, of climbing here. There's always the temptation to push for the summit when your body is ready, but maybe too soon for the weather. Everest's height, 29,038 ft, is such that it sticks up into the Jet Stream. It's actually just a few thousand feet shy of the cruising altitude of a trans-continental airliner. The winds at that altitude can exceed a steady 160 mph when the Jet is over the mountain. We'll be waiting in Basecamp until we get a favorable forecast that tells us that the winds will be managable enough for a summit attempt. When will that be? Well, that's the big question. As for now the winds are forecasted to be high for the next several days. But that's ok. We have a great setup here. There is plenty of food and plenty of things to do to keep us occupied so we don't waste precious energy stressing about weather forecasts. Our current diversion of choice is hosting inter-expedition card games. 'Texas Hold-em' is our game of choice and of course the RMI crew tends to dominate the winnings. The games are fun but most of us are already chomping at the bit to get back to the climb. We'll be sure to be rested, healthy and mentally charged up when the opportunity to go back up the mountain arrives. Until then we'll be doing our best to lighten the loads of the other climbers by taking some of their money.

The Emmons Seminar Team led by RMI Guide Mike Bennett reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning at around 8:00 am!

The team has spent the past four days on the snow learning various mountaineering techniques and practicing their technical skills to reach the summit via the Emmons-Winthrop Glacier, the largest glacier in the lower forty-eight states, a feat not to be taken lightly. 

After celebrating their accomplishment at the summit, they descended back to Camp Schurman for some much-needed rest and a warm meal. They will spend one more night at camp, then descend the 5,000' to the to the trailhead tomorrow morning and arrive at our Ashford BaseCamp that afternoon. 

Congratulations climbers!

Tuesday, June 11, 2019 - 9:47 PM PT Greetings from 17,000' Camp! We made great time during a beautiful sunny day moving from 14,200’ to our High Camp here at 17,200’. The team did exceptionally well, and made quick work of building camp in the old confines of JM’s Denali Team. Some afternoon rest was had and some dehydrated high mountain food was tolerated. We’ve got a decent forecast for tomorrow...but we know that this mountain will have the final say tomorrow when we wake up. We’re hopeful for some calm winds and hopeful to make an honest go at the summit tomorrow. The team has put a ton of work into this expedition thus far, and we’re all ecstatic to be in the position we are here at 17 Camp. We’ll let you know how it goes! RMI Guides Robby, Nick, Joe, and Team Prepped’n Ready

On The Map