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Jake Beren, Gabriel Barral, and our Four Day Summit Climb Teams reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. They reported a beautiful day with great views and not a breath of wind. Congratulations to today's Teams.

When we woke up early this morning we found clear skies stretching the length of the Kahiltna Glacier but in the distance banks of clouds hung behind the ridges and peaks. Making another early start to take advantage of the frozen surface conditions on the glacier, we were leaving camp by 4am. Whereas yesterday was a mostly flat walk up the Kahiltna Glacier, today we started climbing a few hundred yards out of camp, tackling Ski Hill right away. The trail was straightforward, zigging and zagging up the incline in order to cross the few but large crevasses that stretch across this part of the glacier. The first two hours of climbing were hardwork as it was the first significant climb and we were hauling big loads, our sleds doing their best to pull us back down the hill, but the team did well and took to the terrain and challenge with determination. Soon we crested the steep first pitch of Ski Hill and began ascending the long rolling benches that lead towards Kahiltna Pass - a saddle sitting at the head of the Kahiltna Glacier that spans the watershed divide of the Alaska Range and separates the Kahiltna Glacier running to the south and the Peters Glacier that runs off the other side down to the north slope of Alaska. The upper stretches of Ski Hill can be very frustrating as the glacier's size plays with your perspective, making hills and small features appear close although it takes hours to reach them. So perhaps it was fortunate that the cloud banks which had remained reclusive when we woke ventured out and engulfed the glacier because we couldn't see how far we still had to go. The flip side, however, was that we were soon climbing in a whiteout with snow falling all around us. Climbers liken this to "walking in a ping pong ball" because you are surrounded by white and even your sense of flatness is skewed - everything is a world of white. We climbed like this for the last two hours, reaching our camp at 9200' with the snow still falling. After probing out camp for hidden crevasses we got to work setting up camp, erecting the tents and building large snow walls to break the wind that is notorious for blowing through Kahiltna Pass. Despite the poor conditions our climbers resisted the urge to climb into the tents and took to the task with energy, building an impressive snow wall around the tents and digging a big kitchen tent for us to eat and cook in. We spent the afternoon hanging out in the tents, catching up on sleep since we have spent most of the nights walking since arriving on the mountain. The snow let up but the clouds have yet to lift here. We're hoping that they lift by tomorrow so we can catch the amazing views back down the glacier. Tomorrow we are planning to move to 11,200' Camp where we will spend a few nights while we acclimatize and move loads further up the mountain. We will check in tomorrow after we set up camp. RMI Guide Linden Mallory

On The Map

Well it was an amazing last day to a great adventure on Elbrus. The group left the hotel early this morning if different directions as there are so many sites to see. Some went to the famous Hermitage Museum that houses more art than any other single exhibit in Europe. Others went to St. Isaac's Cathedral, The fifth largest cathedral in the world, and other palaces that are throughout the city. Everyone enjoyed the day and we finished the evening off with a city tour on a boat. St. Petersburg was built with Dutch influence and is similar to Amsterdam. There are rivers and canals that tie this beautiful city together and there is no better way to see the city then from the water. Most of the team heads home tomorrow. Thanks for following along.

RMI Guides Joe Hoch, Sam Marjerison & Tom Skoog led a team of skiers and climbers to 7,500' on Mt. Baker.  Although the snow conditions were good, poor visibility with whiteout conditions prevented the team from going any higher.  They were able to do some additional skills training and enjoyed the days spent on the mountain and skied really fun powder back to camp.

RMI Guide Hannah McGowan met her Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise team on July 29th for a day of Technical Training and gear checks. The next day they drove to Paradise and began their climb. The team moved slowly up the mountain setting up camp, learning new skills and practicing new techniques. Yesterday they moved into Camp Muir and prepared for their summit attempt. With an early alpine start this morning, the team left Camp Muir enroute to the summit. With blue skies and light winds they reached the summit of Mt. Rainier and after enjoying the views, began their descent to Camp Muir around 7 AM PT. Once back at camp they will pack up and continue their descent to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon to conclude their week of training and climbing. Congratulations to the Paradise Seminar Team!

The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Kel Rossiter and Bryan Mazaika reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Kel reported that the team climbed for about 6 hours and 15 minutes to get to the summit. Today they had cooler temperatures and winds from the Northwest as they were climbing. The team has started their descent and are en route to Camp Muir. Congratulations Team!

Hello there. It's Eric Frank calling in from Bolivia. It's about 1:30 in the afternoon (BOT Time) and I'm at 17,400ft here on Illimani. Unfortunately, we decided this will be our high point for the climb. It's a combination of recent storm snow, and the forecast, which has made us decide to head down hill. So at this point we're going to move back to our base camp and spend our last night in the mountains. Tomorrow we will pack up, head back to La Paz, and in two short days, be back at the airport. We look forward to seeing all of you soon. Bye. RMI Guide Eric Frank

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 basecamp. 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. So please keep you fingers crossed we have good weather and can make our flight back to Kathmandu the following morning. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

On The Map

RMI's 2015 Denali climbing season has started. Our team is assembled in Talkeetna and is preparing for our expedition. Yesterday we started with our National Park Service orientation, and then spent the bulk of the day packing...double and triple checking every last detail of equipment for our trip. Now that we are packed and ready, we are hoping to fly in to Base Camp on the Kahiltna Glacier today. We are about to head down to K2 Aviation to load out gear onto the single propeller airplanes that will fly us into the Alaska Range. We will keep you updated on our expedition's status. RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

Hello RMI Blog Followers!! This is our last blog from Mexico and I am going to be a writer with no words. Instead...take a look at our summit video of Orizaba. Our team were absolute rock stars!!! RMI Guide JJ Justman