After several long days of travel, the team has fully arrived. The glowing Argentinian sun has welcomed us with open arms. With bellies full of steak, the team has enjoyed the slow pace of life here. Everyone is in high spirits as we finalize our packing for the expedition ahead.
Richie, my love, I am so happy to hear you made it to camp 2!!! It sounds like it was a really tough push, but the view is well worth the journey (of course!). So happy that you have an awesome team to support you and celebrate with through these milestones. I’m with you every step of the way, sweetie! Our fur babies and the whole family send their love. Rest well with the team today. Love you so very much <3
The Five Day Climb July 23 - 27 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Pete Van Deventer and teams reached the summit around 6:30 am under calm winds and warm temperatures. The teams will return to Camp Muir where they spend the afternoon to relax and recover after their efforts today. The teams will descend the remaining 4,500' to Paradise tomorrow morning.
Acclimatization has been going well thus far here in Huaraz. Not only have we been sleeping at 10,000', but yesterday, we went for a hike a few hours round-trip walk from our hotel to the "Puca Ventana" or "Red Window" which overlooks the city. Today, we went up to 14,700' on another hike to the beautiful turquoise Laguna which sits in front of the 18,000' "Nevado Churup." After packing for the week ahead, we all enjoyed another delicious meal at the Hotel Andino. Early to bed for some rest before we begin the 6-day adventure that awaits in the Ishinca Valley where we will set up our basecamp and attempt our two objectives (Nevado Ishinca, and Urus Oeste). Stay tuned!
The Four Day Summit Climb July 28 - 31 led by Jason Thompson along with the Five Day Summit Climb July 28 - 1 August led by Linden Mallory reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today! The teams reported windy and cold conditions from the summit with a slight cloud cap descending on the mountain. They began their descent from the summit at 7:00 a.m. en route to Camp Muir and then will continue down to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!
Today, for the second time, Dave, my Dad, and I climbed up to the first ladders of the Khumbu Ice fall. After a delicious breakfast and saying goodbye to some good friends we've made here at Base Camp who were heading home, we set out on our climb at around 9:30am and got up to the first ladders around 11:00am.
Two days ago our team did the same climb. It took my dad and I nearly two and a half hours to get to our high point, (about 18,000 feet) and when we did we were whipped. Standing next to the first ladder this time around I felt significantly stronger- I wasn't breathing nearly as hard and I actually got a chance to pick my head up and look at the amazing views of Base Camp and the valley below. Even climbing in an Ice fall the temperatures can get very hot, and this morning there wasn't a cloud in the sky. About half way through our hike, clouds finally began to gather about the tops of the peaks surrounding us and we were sheltered from the blazing sun which is much stronger at these altitudes.
Our team is encouraged by our performance today. We feel much stronger, skilled, and acclimatized then we did even two days ago, and with this can get through the rest of the ice fall much more quickly and safely in the days to come.
Lastly, our thoughts and prayers are with all of our friends and family back home. I think my Westminster Varsity Lacrosse teammates are playing a big game today, and I wish them all the best! As for how we're spending our spare time, we're meeting lots of new people, and becoming almost professional dart, horseshoes, sudoku, and card players.
Thanks for following our blog!
Sara McGahan
keep up the great work!Today my dad changed a light bulb which is the highest he will climb this year. I LOVE YOU and MISS YOU! Love, Sophie
Posted by: Sophie on 4/17/2011 at 7:51 am
SAYY!! i miss you so much, ive emailed you alot but you cant get your emails…. anyways, i dont want to leave a super long message but you rock so much and we are all thinking about you!! i LOVE YOU AND YOU ARE SUCH AN INSPIRATION and hurry home!!!!!!! (im gonna text you later)
Hey RMI and everybody back home. This is Casey checking in from the Cho Oyu Expedition.
Just wanted to let everyone know that today we officially decided to pull the plug and not continue to climb on the upper mountain. The snow conditions continue to exist. It's a relatively high level of avalanche hazard as well as no one has been on the upper mountain in the last few days. We are certainly not going to be the first team to be up there and stick our necks out. Add that to the forecast that we have, which is some high winds and cold temperatures as the jet stream approaches and we are actually even seeing that today with some winds and some clouds building. The majority of the expeditions here have all packed up and are heading home currently. There are a few individuals left that may stick their necks out and give it a shot, but again, we think that it is foolish for our team to take that risk.
Everyone's doing great. Today we actually hiked up to Camp 1 and picked up most of our gear that we had left there. We got the majority of that stuff back to Advanced Basecamp here. Our plan is to relax here for the next day and then our yaks come in on the 3rd to pick up all of our loads to carry that stuff back to the main road, which is about a day-and-a-half trek. Our plan is to leave on the 3rd and try to get to the road and hopefully catch a ride on the 4th. Then we'll drive from Basecamp to Zangmu, on the border of Tibet and Nepal. Our plan then on the 5th is to possibly arrive in Kathmandu if everything goes well.
I'm happy that everyone feels good with our decision and we look forward to coming home and seeing everybody and telling you all about our adventure. Thanks a lot you guys.
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It was a long day, although with perpetual daylight and a lot of excitement, we hardly noticed.
Starting at 4:30 AM, we were off to Punta Arenas airport to board our Ilyushin flight to Union Glacier Camp in Antarctica. The Ilyushin is a remarkable plane, capable of carrying huge payload long distances in tough conditions. But, luxury is not its forte. To get an idea, imagine 3 railroad freight cars tied together and sent aloft. Luxury aside, the Ilyushin is an experience of Antarctica not to be missed, and is quite a plane. The pilots dropped us on the 3 mile, blue ice runway as if it were a strip of cotton, and we all excitedly stepped off onto the ice.
The new Union Glacier camp - Antarctica headquarters of ALE - is as nice as it gets in every aspect. The ALE staff, who spend months here on the ice helping people fulfill their Antarctic dreams, do great work making sure every need is attended to. It all started with a gourmet lunch in the toasty dining tent, filling our bellies and putting smiles on our faces. We were all pretty comfy at Union Glacier, and not too opposed to the idea of staying a night there. But, then word came we would continue our journey, flying in an hour on to Vinson Basecamp (VBC).
It is rare to NOT have a delay at some point in the transition from Punta Arenas to Basecamp. Delays of a week or more are actually quite common. So, we weren't going to complain at getting all the way to Vinson Basecamp in one day - especially a warm, sunny one like we had.
Yet again we were off, in a two-part journey to VBC. A larger plane ferried us to the Nimmitz Glacier, where a Twin Otter took us the final 10 minutes to VBC. Kent Harvey and I went first in order to get good imagery of the Otter landing on the snow at VBC and the team's arrival. Unfortunately, after dropping us off, the Otter pilot fell and broke his wrist. Fortunately he'll be OK, but that incident added another 4 hours to the rest of the team arriving.
But, arrive they finally did, and we got camp set up in the stunning cirque of VBC. Jagged peaks soar above us, clad in massive glaciers under a never-setting sun. Seth made a great dinner of Dinty Moore meals, and sent us all to bed. It was 12:10 AM when I finally turned in, sunglasses still on. Welcome to Antarctica.
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides JM Gorum and Ben Ammon climbed above the clouds and reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Ben reported clear skies and chilly temperatures. The team has started their descent and are en route back to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's team!
Great accomplishment for all! Way to go Emily and Phil .. another goal reached for you both.. so proud of both of you!!
Posted by: JoAnn Bolton on 8/18/2019 at 7:36 am
Congratulations to all summiteers. Hope you are suitably proud of your accomplishment. In spite of your bravado, it is a big deal. To the guides, thanks for taking such good care of my son, Nathan and helping him reach one of his goals.
Greetings from Namche Bazaar!
Yesterday we left Kathmandu and had a rather enjoyable flight to Lukla. There was little turbulence and the sky was clear which allowed beautiful views on the Himalayas as well as a brief sighting of Everest. After arriving we waited at a tea house for all of the porters to be chosen and then hit the trail. We hiked for about 3 hours to reach our first camp of the trip in a small village called Phakding. The weather was perfect and everyone did great on the hike.
This morning we left the tea house and headed up this beautiful valley to the toward Namche Bazaar, which is the largest village in this famous valley. It was another nice day for hiking with mostly clear skies and just a gentle breeze to keep us cool. Everyone enjoyed the views and no one seemed to mind pausing often for the endless mules and yaks carrying loads. Crossing the the high suspension bridges was another thing, but everyone persevered.
We wrapped up the evening with a wonderful meal and a little lesson on cribbage. All is well and we are looking forward to tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
The climbing team is at Camp 4 readying for their summit bid on Mt. Everest tonight. For me, that means sleeping in the communication tent tonight. Dave and Seth will get some rest at the South Col. Hopefully a few hours of sleep but very important time for resting, hydrating and self care. Can you believe they are just hours away from the start of the Summit push? Kaji, Tshering and Geldgen our super Sherpa put Camp 4 together before Dave and Seth arrived. Nice work boys! Our Sherpa staff are doing fine as well.
I celebrated another birthday (twelfth time I guess) here on the Big E yesterday. Our wonderful Sherpa staff at Everest Base Camp had all the trimmings for me. I enjoyed a moonlight hike, no headlight needed, a very peaceful and surreal scene surrounding the jaunt. This is a truly amazing place to spend time. The horseshoe pit is still up and it's tough to get the better of me on the home pit advantage.
I'll be sending updates on the team's progress as they attempt to summit Mt. Everest tonight. Good luck!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
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Richie, my love, I am so happy to hear you made it to camp 2!!! It sounds like it was a really tough push, but the view is well worth the journey (of course!). So happy that you have an awesome team to support you and celebrate with through these milestones. I’m with you every step of the way, sweetie! Our fur babies and the whole family send their love. Rest well with the team today. Love you so very much <3
Posted by: Amanda Schimkus on 2/1/2022 at 8:40 am
Go Team! Rest up and enjoy your expedition.
Posted by: Jane on 1/31/2022 at 6:49 pm
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