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Our hopes of the clouds lifting overnight were of no avail and we woke to snow, light to moderate winds, and visibility dropping to less than a 100 yards at times. Despite the snow it was warm enough that we could be out in the elements comfortably and we felt confident navigating the route so we broke camp and prepared to move. The team continues to impress Kel and me as they packed up in great time - not an easy feat when the snow is blowing sideways - and were again ready to go before the two of us. Its an irritating thing for a guide to have the climbers waiting for us to get our act together and today was the second day they have managed to beat us out of camp. Its a trend I'm determined to put an end to, Kel and I are considering hiding snowshoes from them to give us a better shot... Once we finally joined everyone on the ropes we set off up the Kahiltna, instantly plunging ourselves into a world of white. It was slow going as we broke trail through the 6 - 8 " of new snow and route finding was difficult when the visibility dropped to dozens of yards. Yet despite the obstacles we made good time, reaching the base of Kahiltna Pass by midmorning and turning to the east into a shallow valley that ascends the final 1,000' into camp. We were more protected from the wind here but the snow was also much deeper and it was difficult going to climb the final steep pitch into camp. After what felt like ages we saw the tops of tents at 11,200' camp poke above the crest of the hill and we rolled into camp just after noon. Sitting on a bench in a protected spot at 11,200', "11 Camp" saw a lot of snowfall in the past few days and we spent the rest of the afternoon shoveling out tent sites and building our snow kitchen. The team rallied to the cause and constructed another great looking camp. We will be comfortable here over the next few days. The sun finally poked through the clouds just before dinner and we've been enjoying the views for a few minutes. Tomorrow we will descend back to our last camp at 9,200' to retrieve a small cache of food and supplies we left there this morning and we'll haul the remainder of our gear back to 11 Camp. The team continues to do well and sends their best to everyone back home. RMI Guide Linden Mallory

On The Map

The weather was splitter today at Camp 4; cloudless skies, warm temps, and no wind. We took a rest day today and prepared for our carry of food and fuel for high camp, which will hopefully happen tomorrow. The weather forecast looks promising. In addition to resting, we took a fifteen minute walk over to The Edge of the World, a spectacular veiwpoint that is situated at the far south side of Genet Basin. From here we could see nearly straight down 6,000' to our first camp of the trip, some nine days ago. The team is acclimating well to the altitude, and everyone's spirits are high. Thanks for checking in on our trip; we'll keep you up to date with our progress. RMI Guide Mike Walter

Tuesday, May 14, 2024 - 8:42 pm PT

We had great weather today and got a cache established up around Windy Corner at about 13,700'. We are all back at camp now. Keeping it brief. Still lots of work to do tonight before we can get horizontal. We'll check in again tomorrow. 

RMI Guide Mike Walter

RMI Guide Zeb Blais led the Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons to the summit of Mt. Rainier yesterday morning. The team enjoyed sunny breezy conditions during their climb. After celebrating on the summit, the team descended to Camp Schurman for their final night on the mountain. Today the team will spend some time training as their descend to the White River Campground from Camp Schurman. We are excited to welcome them back to Ashford this afternoon. Congratulations!

Namaste everyone We certainly feel blessed with the weather we've been having, as today was another beautiful day. Our daily routine has been breakfast at 7:30 or 8 and hitting the trail generally no later than 9. Then we hike 30-40 minute intervals until lunch, then head back out until we reach camp. Today was a little different as we stopped off to visit Lama Geshe who lives in Pangboche. He is a very high ranking Lama and generally gives blessing to the climbers and Sherpas headed to Everest, most of whom won't climb without his blessing. After our visit with the Lama we finished up our hike pulling into another village that sits along this ever winding path to Everest. Pheriche is where we are and where we will spend a few days to acclimatize as we have finally reached the 14,000 ft mark. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

On The Map

The Four Day Summit Climb Team led by RMI Guide Casey Grom reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. The team was able to spend about an hour enjoying the views from the crater of Mt. Rainier. They began their descent around 8:30 am. The teams will return to Camp Muir for a short break before continuing to Paradise. Congratulations to today's Summit Climbers!

Well, we're all safely out of the mountains after a great week of climbing and training on Mount Shuksan's Sulphide glacier. Our climbing team gained proficiency moving in diverse terrain in the mountains, including crevassed glaciers, steep snow and ice, and 4th & 5th class rock. We also practiced lots of knots and hitches and crevasse rescue systems. We packed a lot into the past week, and the weather was perfect throughout. Our team was strong and cohesive and we all reached the summit Mount Shuksan in good style. It was a pleasure to climb with everyone. Nice work team! RMI Guide Mike Walter

The weather cooperated today allowing us to finally take in the incredible views to be had on the Kahiltna glacier. Which was nice given that we opted to make a single carry up to our camp at 9600', and at least the views helped distract us from carrying loads that were heavy beyond belief. But we all made it to camp by mid afternoon, appreciative of the fact that this was to be our last single carry for the trip. From here on, we'll be making double carries, that is, making two trips to every camp we establish and carrying only half our loads at a time. Tomorrow we'll be moving up to 11,200' and establishing camp there, but we'll leave a fair amount of our food, fuel and assorted other personal equipment not needed for the next couple of days here at 9,600'. We'll pick this gear up the day after tomorrow. This will allow us to spend longer acclimatizing at 11,200' in preparation for our move later in the week to 14,200' camp. Leon, Maile and I were impressed by the group yet again as they took to the job of getting camp set up like pros. And this after a grueling day's climb. What a great team. We are all looking forward to getting up to 11,200' tomorrow! RMI Guide Brent Okita

On The Map

The winds picked up during the night and brought four plus inches of snow to Mt. Everest. Our plan was to move up the Lhotse face to Camp 3 for a day climb/acclimatization and then back to Camp Two for another night of sleep. But after breakfast the weather had not cleared and snow was still falling so we decided to join Dave and Leif (who had climbed to Camp 3 the day before) and head back down to Base Camp ending our second rotation on the mountain. We will start a rest "block" while we wait for better weather and head back up to Camp Two and then to Camp Three once the weather settles.

Thursday, June 6, 2024 6:11pm PDT

Hello readers!

The snow pitter pattered all night. With every tap to the side of the tent snow slides off. It was a winter wonderland. White surrounded us. You could see nothing but white. With visibility being low and tents wet, we decided to lay low and hang tight for the day. The team rested and the snow Fell most of the day. Towards the late afternoon the base of the peaks became visible. An optimistic sign that maybe the weather is letting up. We are Hopeful that we can get still move to 11k camp in an alpine start fashion much like we do on Rainier. So, after dinner we are going to rest a few hours and hopefully the weather is descent, and we can make our move.

Wish us luck and send good weather vibes.

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team