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The Five Day Climb July 13 - 17 led by RMI Guides Nikki Champion and Jess Wedel chose today as their summit day.  The teams reached the crater rim this morning with clear skies but windy conditions.  The teams will return to Camp Muir for a well deserved rest and enjoy another night on the mountain. They will descend tomorrow to Paradise and return to Rainier BaseCamp.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Avery Parrinello and the Four Day Climb May 11 - 14 were unable to leave Camp Muir for their summit attempt due to high winds.  Dave reported winds gusting 60-70 mph.  The teams waited, ready to climb, for the winds to dissipate, but no such luck.  

The teams will return to Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon to conclude their climb.

Good morning,

I am happy to report that on a beautiful morning the team made the summit of Cotopaxi.  Sunny skies and light winds made for great climbing conditions.  The local guides have departed and the team is headed back to Quito for an afternoon of relaxation and a celebration dinner.  This trip has thrown some curveballs, but I'm proud of the team for sticking with it and being flexible along the way.  Everyone, regardless of whether they went to the summit of Cayambe or Cotopaxi did a really fine job pushing themselves towards goals they have worked so hard for.  Cheers to this team!

Thank you for following along with our blog and please continue following the final RMI Ecuador trip of the season which starts next week!

RMI Guides Dustin, Avery and Team!

The June 13 - 16 Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Casey Grom & James Bealer were unable to make a summit attempt due to high winds overnight as well as avalanche conditions.  The Camp Muir telemetry shows winds over 70 mph.  Around 7 am the weather had improved, the team was going to do some avalanche forecast training.  The teams have packed up and started their descent from Camp Muir.  We look forward to greeting them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.

Photo: James Bealer

RMI Guide James Bealer and the Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons July 8 - 13 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning around 8:30 am.  It's a beautiful day on the mountain with a bit of wind.  The team left Camp Schurman with an alpine start and will return their this afternoon.  Climbers have spent the last several days training with cramponing, rope travel and ice axe arrest techniques and additional alpine skills.  They put it all together to reach the top. Once back at Camp Schurman the team will spend a final night on the mountain.  Tomorrow they descend to the trailhead and will return to Rainier BaseCamp in the afternoon.

Nice work team!  

RMI Guide Mike King reported clear, calm, and beautiful views from the summit of Mt. Baker this morning. Congrats to the team for their summit of a classic climb of the Cascades!

The team will spend tonight at camp basking in their success before descending back to the trailhead tomorrow.

We were up before the sun at Lokisale, our tented hotel in the outback of Tarangire.  It was wonderful to sip coffee as the baobab trees took shape with the rising sun.  Some heard a lion passing near to camp.  The great staff put out a fine and fast breakfast for us and then we said goodbye and hopped into the Landcruisers for one final morning of safari.  We cruised the “swamp” -a vast expanse of grass- with no other cars around.  There were herds of zebra and elephant, wildebeest and Cape buffalo stretching for miles and miles. Eventually, Saiman and Izach pointed our vehicles toward the distant park entrance, but on the way, we saw the good stuff… a leopard climbing a tree, a lion hunting, hyenas crunching the bones of a kill… some final scenes to sustain us during endless airplane travel homeward. 

It was a few more hours back to Rivertrees Inn, and then showers and packing for travel.  We had time for a last dinner together out under the big trees, and then we were headed to the airport and a million lines and our goodbyes to each other. 

It has been a fine two weeks of seeing the world together.  Thanks for following along. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn and Team

We got an early start after breakfast today. Eventually we made a short stop in Amecameca for some last minute provisions and a light lunch before riding up to Paso de Cortez where the park entrance for Ixta resides. We opted for a five mile hike instead of riding the bus on the bumpy road. While the hike was mostly on a gated dirt road we enjoyed the rolling grassy hills and scattered pine trees. Afternoon clouds had built up and we were able to see the lower portion of our climbing route. 

We’ll spend the remainder of the afternoon setting up tents and getting our gear sorted for the move up to our high camp tomorrow. The Team is doing well and hoping for Popo to put off some ash plumes for some good photos. We will check in tomorrow from high camp.

RMI Guide Mike King

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