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We're at 11,000 ft and loving it.  The team did strong work this morning getting out of camp by 5 AM and onto the now familiar route.  Packs were heavy but our sleds were lighter than yesterday. We made great time and everyone seemed in high spirits to be leaving the Kahiltna and getting to where we could see out.  The great weather continued. We were in bright sunshine for building our new camp at the foot of "Motorcycle Hill".   Tomorrow we'll drop down to retrieve our cache at 10,000, which shouldn't take too long.  Then we'll prep for going higher. 

Best Regard, 

RMI Guides Dave, Sam H, Sam M, Nick

The Four Day Climb July 18 - 21 led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Dustin Wittmier reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning under clear skies and a light breeze. The team spent some time on top before leaving the crater rim on their descent. Congratulations to today's climbers!

Friday, May 31, 2019 - 9:22 PM PT Today we practiced the rest day. A day full of reading, listening to music, watching TV shows, sporting eating, napping or whatever you can come up with to occupy your time. Being able to entertain yourself all day while it snows outside is an important skill to have on big mountains. It was a light snow today with limited visibility. But the sun's heat made it through the clouds making it rather toasty in the tents. You mix heat and being on the glacier for nine days, you get a pretty stinky tent. Lucky for us though showers are in our near future with a potential for flying off the glacier tomorrow. The forecast is looking better, so hopefully we can here the otters in the morning and catch a ride. Otherwise we will continue to practice resting for another day. Let's hope for blue skies, RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

Today we carried ten days of food and fuel along with some personal gear to 15,500’. Our intended goal was Camp 1 but strong winds forced us to cache lower on the mountain. The route out of base camp follows a narrow choke with the Relinchos Glacier on the right and a large rock buttress on the left. Once through the choke, we rambled on through the scree covered glacier with great views of the surrounding peaks. From here we have one more large scree slope to switch back up and Camp 1 sits on a flat bench. The mountain is holding more winter snow then I have seen in the 13 years I’ve been coming down here. Unfortunately the wind was too strong to allow us out on the snow. The entrance to Camp 1 is through a steep and narrow drainage that funnels wind on the best of days let alone when we are having trouble standing on flat ground. We compiled our gear and food, covered it with large talus and headed back to base camp. The Team preformed well on their first heavy carry and their downhill walking was excellent, even with the high winds. We will rest tomorrow and hope for the wind to ease off. RMI Guide Mike King

Cumbre! Today we successfully summited Cayambe, our first big objective of this seminar. We woke up this morning (last night?) at 11PM and were greeted with the closest thing to ideal climbing conditions: clear skies, no wind, and cool temperatures. Whatever sacrifices were made to the weather gods last night clearly worked out for us! After a quick breakfast in the hut, we geared up, turned on the headlamps, and began our long day of climbing. We started our climb with about an hour of scrambling over rocky terrain, making our way to the toe of the glacier. Once there, we donned our crampons, ice axes and climbing ropes to begin the technical climbing. Unlike most mountaineering routes in the United States that utilize many switchbacks to ease the pain of ascending steep slopes, the route on Cayambe is fairly direct, cutting straight up "the gut" of the slopes. You gain altitude quicker, but the climbing is bit more strenuous. Our team persevered, however, and as we neared the summit ridge, we were ready to tackle the crux of this climb: a steep, exposed traverse through a maze of seracs and crevasses. Although the traverse is relatively short, gaining roughly 200 feet of vertical elevation, managing that type of terrain at 18,800' above sea level is never easy. This team handled it in good style, though, and we gained the summit ridge just after sunrise this morning, giving us stunning views of Antisana, Cotopaxi, and Chimborazo as we walked the final 15 minutes along the ridge to the summit of Cayambe. We successfully made our way down, and we are now relaxing at the oldest hacienda in Ecuador, giving our bodies a chance to recover as we prepare to move tomorrow to the base camp of Antisana, our second objective of this trip. I'm sure the entire team is looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight! Until tomorrow, RMI Guides Nick Hunt and Steve Gately, and the rest of the Ecuador team

On The Map

This morning we headed for Villarrica to go for a ski, knowing that the forecast was probably not conducive to going to the top. We managed to hide from the wind for 3,000' of mostly skinning, edging into frozen snow with our ski crampons. Above us, a lenticular cloud was growing over the summit. Below us, we had clear views of Lago Villarrica's azure waters, the bustling town of Pucon on its eastern shore, and Llaima and Sollipulli in the distance. We had a nice long run back to the van, where our driver Juan was waiting with his usual warm greeting. The weather looks better tomorrow, and we're going to take another crack at Villarrica... stay tuned! RMI Guide Tyler Reid and the Chile Ski Team

June 15, 2015 11:27 pm PT Some great timing, a bit of luck, and our mountain skills payed off! The team woke early to a blustery morning, had a breakfast of oatmeal and coffee and prepared our warm weather clothing and climbing equipment. We then delayed about an hour to see if the wind would lighten up and the Sun's solar rays would help the cool nip of the early morning air! We set out on our summit attempt at 9 am and headed off to the shady slopes of the Autobahn which are the slopes that lead to Denali pass at 18,200 ft. The wind was still gusty, but relatively warm temps (about 10 degrees) allowed us to keep the digits warm and continue traveling upward. Then beyond the pass we enjoyed full on sunshine as the wind slowly diminished to a light breeze. Smooth traveling on the upper slopes accompanied by a perfect day put us on the summit around 4:00pm. Stellar views of the lower slopes of Denali and the rest of the Alaska Range were enjoyed by all. After plenty of photos and high-fives we spun around and made the return trip to camp. After a quick dinner and hot drinks everyone is is tucked away in their tents enjoying some rest after a hard days work. Great work today team! RMI Guide Tyler Jones

On The Map

June 3, 2015 - 10:10 am PT Yesterday proved to be a bit bitter sweet for all of us. Despite having the almost euphoric sense of accomplishment for summiting Mt. McKinley, the work left to be done is astounding. Many people may think that when the top is reached it is all downhill from there. In a literal sense that is true, in the big picture that is like saying once you plant a garden food will just appear on your plate. Nothing is easy at 17,000', especially motivating to pack up the entire camp after only getting six hours of restless sleep coming on the heels of what most of the team considered the hardest summit day they have ever experienced. But as always they impressed me with there drive, attitude and willingness to do what needed to be done. That fact right there is why they all succeeded in this climb. So after camp was broken, the long tricky climb back down Washburn's ridge began. After those obstacles were over we then needed to descend the fixed lines, stomp down the remaining slopes to camp, dig up the cache and then rebuild a new camp. All while being sleep deprived, hungry, thirsty and utterly exhausted. On top of all that, it is supposed to snow two feet by tomorrow. Ahh, the true colors of this mountain are being revealed. We will keep you posted on our progress. Liam, daddy is on his way home soon. I can't wait to see you! RMI Guide Adam Knoff

Christmas Day was a little different for us this year than the usual gift giving and big meal with the family. We moved into our new home for the next several days, Plaza Argentina, our base camp. After a great three-course dinner of soup, lasagna, and rich dessert, we discussed some of our holiday traditions including fondue donuts and chocolate coins. We miss you all back at home and hope you had as happy a Christmas as we have had. RMI Guide Walter Hailes

On The Map

The Four Day Summit Climbs Teams led by RMI Guides Seth Waterfall and Mike Haugen reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Seth reported clear skies, no winds and a super nice day for climbing. The teams were starting their descent from the crater rim just after 7 am today. They will return to Camp Muir for a short break before continuing down to Paradise. We look forward to seeing the teams at Rainier BaseCamp later today. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams!