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Hello again everyone. All is still well here in the Khumbu as the team members made our way back into Namche. It was a super busy day on the trail with climbers, Trekkers, yaks, and porters all bound uphill to Everest Base Camp. We slowly made our way through the maze of traffic and enjoyed one last good view of Everest. Along the way we ran into several old friends from my past trips and stopped to wish everyone good luck. Tomorrow we'll be moving out early on our final leg of the journey back to Lukla. Please keep you fingers crossed we have good weather and can make our flight back to Kathmandu the following morning. RMI Guide Casey Grom

June 11, 2015 11:17pm PST What a day! We woke early to begin the day's nowcasting (real time weather) to see if it was workable to put a cache higher on the mountain. Motorcycle Hill stayed more or less visible throughout breakfast, so we decided to give it a shot. As we climbed higher the weather smiled upon us. Little wind and some good reports from our friends up at 14 Camp and we just kept on trucking. Arriving at 14 Camp was a real treat. Hugs from the other RMI teams as well as a pre dug cache hole made for a solid foray to our future home. Thanks again guys! Now back down in camp at 11, we are about to sleep. Tomorrow we plan to rest. With any luck our forecast for improving conditions (thanks guys) verifies and we hope to move higher soon. June 12, 2015 3:52pm PST Ahhhh. It has been a great day today. So far we have had a leisurely brunch followed by some excellent chatting in our kitchen tent. Then some spice sampling followed by headstand yoga practicing. Now the team is napping and reading. The weather has been quite pleasant here in camp, but sure looked windy up high this morning. All in all a perfect day to sit tight and recover after a few big days of climbing. With any luck Denali will let us up a little higher tomorrow. If so, we'll be ready. RMI Guide Jake Beren & Team

July 11, 2014 - 11:04 pm PT There wasn't much reason to get up early for climbing this morning at 14,200 ft. It snowed throughout the night and continued through the morning, piling up to about 8 or 10 inches. Luckily there wasn't much wind with it though, so we slept well. Our radio conversations with the folks hanging at 17K revealed that they hadn't gotten snow, but had gotten plenty of wind. The consensus seemed to be that if the weather eased, folks would be bailing out of high camp and quitting the climb. We made the best of calm conditions at our camp to get out for some exercise. The gang built snow walls and dug tunnels and watched wind and cloud buffet the upper mountain. Things did ease in the afternoon and our friends on high began descending. Ben Liken counted 43 climbers eventually making their way down the fixed lines. That number represented five different guided teams from three different companies. They'll head for the airstrip tomorrow, leaving us alone at 14,200 and virtually alone on the mountain. One guided team of three (two guides, one climber) remains at 17,200 hoping for better luck, it would be great if we could get up there to keep them company. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

The Four Day Summit Climb August 30 - 2 September led by RMI Guides Chad Peele and Andy Bond were unable to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier. The teams were forced to turn around at approximately 12,100' today due to very high winds and returned to Camp Muir safely. As of 7:00 a.m. PT strong winds were still gusting at Camp Muir. The teams are expected to depart from Camp Muir at 10 a.m. PT en route to Paradise.

Our first day on safari brought us to Lake Manyara. A small national park that boarders Lake Manyara known for its tree climbing lions. The team spent about four hours driving around the park and saw a fair amount of wildlife. Zebra, Cape buffalo, hundreds of baboons, Vervet monkeys, Blue monkeys and lots of exotic birds. Everyone had a great day and enjoyed just relaxing while taking in the views. 
We then headed to our home for the next two days at an amazing lodge called The Plantation Lodge.

The team just finished a wonderful meal and are off to bed as we are headed out early hoping to see some big cats!

RMI Guides Casey Grom, Jess Wedel and the Safari crew  

It was a little tough leaving the Plantation Lodge this morning -it is a very comfortable place and we’d enjoyed our two nights there, but it was time to be moving on. Tarangire National Park beckoned, and we were excited to see what we could see. There were a couple of important stops to make on the drive over, one of which was a visit to a Maasai village. The Maasai are just one of many tribes in Tanzania, but they stand out because they choose to continue living in a traditional style, forgoing modern conveniences. We witnessed singing and dancing and a demo of how to rub sticks to make fire. We went into the sleeping dwellings and asked our tour guides a million questions about polygamy, arranged marriages, education and building materials. The team did a little gift shopping when the women of the village presented their handmade craftwork. We then headed for the park, excited to see the wildlife. Tarangire is a series of parallel rivers and shallow valleys separated by rolling hills and broad savanna. Before too long we were spotting birds and impala, warthogs and waterbucks. It took a bit before we saw giraffes and elephants, but then things quickly got interesting. A bull elephant pointed himself directly at a couple of lounging lions and not only disturbed their date, he chased the male lion and stood trumpeting on the ground they surrendered. A high point for many of us was seeing elephant families that included a number of one month old babies. One family of 20 took to a pond to cool off and splashed, wrestled, drank and rolled for no other logical reason than that it was just plain old pachyderm fun. We found big and solitary bull elephants and watched their behavior... all serious and food focused, in contrast to the matriarch ruled families. Some of the day’s best cruising was done in late afternoon as the sun got low on lush green fields, gigantic baobab and skinny palm trees. We finished up in friendly Balloon Camp -a rustic hideaway hotel in the bush. We’ve got one last morning to see leopards and cheetahs. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

RMI Guide Nick Hunt and the Five Day Summit Climb reached the highest point in Washington State, the summit of Mt. Rainier, this morning. Nick's report from the summit said today was a beautiful day with light winds. The team left the summit to begin their descent just after 7:00 a.m. PDT. The will return to Ashford this afternoon. Way to climb!

June 17, 2015 9:24 pm PT Good evening from High Camp on Mt. McKinley! Here we are, poised and ready after a smooth move to the high country. The team did great and we are in bed on a beautiful, clear night on the Great One. With any luck we will try our hand at matching ourselves to this stunning mountain if the weather holds tomorrow. Wish us luck! RMI Guide Jake Beren

On The Map

We are at Aconcagua Basecamp safe and sound. I just wrote an elaborate blog and as our team was telling stories I got involved and wouldn't you know it, my entire blog was erased! The team is safe, sound and having fun. The weather now is horrible up high. I don't mean to brag but we made the summit on the best day. Now the mountain is angry. But we are happy here in Basecamp. We are hiking out tomorrow and will be in Mendoza for New Year's Eve. This is officially our last blog post. Thank you so much for following along. RMI Guide JJ Justman

On The Map

It is often said that to be an expedition climber, you must learn patience. Today was an exercise in just that. Early this morning as we walked empty streets from the roadhouse to the K2 Hangar, clouds hung in what was once clear skies. On the southeast fork of the Kahiltna, those clouds would prevent pilots from landing at base camp. Still, we worked hard at packing for an early afternoon flight and as our departure time came and went, we spent the day training on the K2 front lawn. Knots were learned exhaustively, tents set up and tonight we will gather for another night of stories and laughter. Spirits are strong and tomorrow is another day! RMI Guide Leon Davis