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RMI Guide Dave Hahn calls in from Advanced Basecamp.
On The Map
Posted by: Emma Lyddan, Hannah Smith, Lily Emerson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 12,800'
The Four Day All Women's Climb August 6 - 9 was unable to summit due to weather. RMI Guides Emma Lyddan, Hannah Smith and Lily Emerson turned the climbers around at 12,800' due to lightning, ice and rain. The teams returned safely back to Camp Muir. They will descend the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise later this morning and conclude their program at Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon.
Photos: Hannah Smith
Great job everyone! Glad to hear the group is safe and sound. I love you Ashley!
Posted by: Brian Battaglia on 8/9/2022 at 10:36 am
Posted by: Brent Okita, Christina Dale, Ben Luedtke, Erika Birkeland, Josh Geiser, Trevor Katz
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four-Day teams reached the summit this morning at 5 am! RMI Guides Brent Okita and Christina Dale reported great route conditions and no winds on the summit. They are currently finishing their descent to Camp Muir for a quick break before packing up camp and starting their descent to Paradise in the summer sunshine.
Congrats team!
Congratulations to everyone! Special thank you to Lead Guide Christina, and to Trevor for all his help with me on the descent. So very proud my son Christian Rainier Culbert summited a 2nd year in a row with RMI. On an even more beautiful day this time when they got to see the sunrise from the summit. I’ll always remember (rue?) the unique challenge of Disappointment Cleaver. Pre-dawn on the Ingraham Flats with Gibraltar Rock looming behind us in that early light, a canopy of stars just beginning to fade above us…a moment I will treasure. Appreciated everything so much; RMI you are a credit to your stewardship of our beloved Mt. Rainier.
Posted by: Geoff Culbert on 8/8/2022 at 7:35 am
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Mike King, Dominic Cifelli
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Elevation: 7,200'
Tuesday, December 28, 2021 7:47 pm PT
When we met for breakfast at seven this morning, we were optimistic…about COVID test results, about weather in Antarctica and about a thousand moving parts and plans meshing perfectly. Turns out our optimism was warranted; this was a great day. We fired up the Gulfstream 7 at 12:30 PM and flew out of Patagonia headed South. We watched out the windows as sea ice began to appear and then mountains and massive glaciers. Our pilot slash climber extraordinaire, call sign -Sniggy- landed the plane ever so gently on the ice runway at Union Glacier just after 4 PM. We got out, marveling at our new world, unloaded our gear and then watched pilots Kurt and Rob lift the G7 off the ice and back into the sky bound for Punta Arenas.
We boarded two ski equipped Twin Otters and took off just after 5 PM for Vinson Base Camp. It was a clear and sunny day, so we could see thousands of the jagged and angular peaks comprising the 200-mile-long Ellsworth Mountains. We landed uphill at 7000 ft on the Branscomb Glacier a little before 6 PM. We met Hannah, Scott and Forrest, the excellent ALE guides we’ll be partnering with for this trip. With Superstars like Conrad Anker and Ed Viesturs on the team, there were plenty of outgoing climbers anxious for handshakes and pictures. Then it was an easy and pleasant evening of getting settled in camp and sorted for moving up the mountain tomorrow. We ate a fine dinner in the comfortable basecamp dining tent and attended to chores, some jogged in the snow around the 1/4-mile perimeter of basecamp for a little exercise. All of us spent a fair bit of time with our mouths hanging open, just staring at gigantic and precipitous Mt. Vinson a few miles East of basecamp. And then we called it a day. But a great and memorable day.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team
This is the best, informative, dispatch I’ve read in a while. Please keep them coming; I am a fan. As you keep moving forward it is a true inspiration to me. Keep reaching for sky!
Posted by: Terri L. Jennings on 12/30/2021 at 6:36 am
Hello Everyone
We awoke early today and left behind the comforts of our beautiful lodge and have headed to the mountain towards the start of the climb. We hit the road shortly before 8am we drove along the rural country side for two hours to reach the park entrance. Most of the area surrounding Kilimanjaro has been cultivated and primarily used for coffee production and for a variety of other agriculture needs, but there are still some areas that have been untouched and resemble more of a savannah that Tanzania is known for.
The base of Kilimanjaro is forested and resembles a jungle or cloud forest. Traditionally it supports a large part of the banana production for this area. Lucky for us it was cloudy, which made for wonderful hiking conditions.
Once at the gate we had all of our gear weighed and divided into 20kg loads for our porters to carry before hitting the trail. Once everything was in order we started our climb slowly making our way up the winding trail. It was slightly busier than last week, but the team made good time.
The team just finished an amazing hot meal and are looking forward to a good night of sleep at a little bit of exercise.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew.
Good luck to all of you - amazing journey! Cory - you better take a lot of pictures!
Posted by: Dennis Quimby on 9/14/2022 at 6:19 am
Have a lovely evening, mountaineers! Sending you good vibes and look forward to updates. We love you, Scottie! Be well. Victoria and the girls. Cheering and the crew on from Oak Park, Illinois
Posted by: Victoria on 9/14/2022 at 4:15 am
Posted by: JM Gorum, Pepper Dee, Cal Smith, Stephen Inman, Jackson Breen, Erika Birkeland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 12,400'
The Five Day Climb June 5 - 9 ascended to Camp Muir on Monday after their inital orientation and Mountaineering School days. Yesterday they enjoyed some additional time working as a rope team and walking in crampons as they traveled above Camp Muir to Ingraham Flats. They were able to explore more of the mountain and see a bit of the route. Today they left Camp Muir hoping to reach the summit. They traveled up to Ingraham Flats and then started to ascend the Disappointment Cleaver. Unfortunately new snow and potential avalanche danger forced them to turn back at around 12,400'. The teams will return to Camp Muir and then continue to Paradise. They will conclude their program in Ashford later this afternoon.
the same thing happened to me in 1969 !!!! That was a long time ago. But over the years, I was successful 4 more times. I will never ever forget those great experiences, so do not give up. Book another climb as soon as possible. bill bussey
Posted by: bill bussey on 8/18/2021 at 11:59 am
Today we got second chair on the gondola and enjoyed a quiet morning on Rucu Pichincha. For many this was the second highest altitude they had reached and a good hike to really get the acclimatization going. Contrary to my previous trips and further proving the unreliability of weather forecasting in the tropics, we did not get rained on and it really did not threaten to rain on us at any point today. Following the hike we enjoyed a team dinner at a favorite local Lebanese restaurant and tomorrow we are headed north towards Cayambe.
All the Best to you and your team Dustin!!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 12/3/2021 at 3:15 am
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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Cho Oyu
Posted by: Casey Grom, Alex Halliday, Jack Delaney, Augi Fleer, Jackson Breen, Josh Hankin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guides Casey Grom & Alex Halliday led their Four Day Climb Teams July 10 - 13, 2021 to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams reached the crater rim at 5:10 am. Skies were clear and winds were calm as the teams enjoyed some time on the summit. They began their descent from the crater rim at 6:30 am. Once back at Camp Muir they will repack and continue the remaining 4,500' to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Way to goooooo!!!!!
Posted by: MaryBeth & DZ on 7/13/2021 at 1:39 pm
Way to GO Dan!! We are following your progress and send our prayers via west winds. Our best to all our Sherpa friends who helped us out at Base Camp Everest this year- we had a wonderful time. Mark- Khumbu Masters?
Posted by: Elsie Bemiss on 5/1/2013 at 6:38 pm
Congratulations Dan on your new milestone. More to come!
I’m trying to keep track of Base Camp trips up and back. What will be the roundtrip total? Five?
-Larry Seaton
Posted by: Larry Seaton on 5/1/2013 at 5:31 pm
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