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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

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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

After a leisurely three course breakfast at 8:30am (read, one final relaxing morning), we're ready to do big mountain things in earnest. We left the lovely confines of the Intiyaya Residences and enjoyed a couple hours in the Otavalo market. Souvenirs were haggled for while Jaime and I enjoyed multiple ice creams, in the form of both affogatos and soft serve. It was our way of celebrating Carnival, which is happening right now through much of the world. I have no plans of fasting for Lent, but a little bit of Carnival indulgence seemed appealing.

This afternoon we made our way to the lower hut on Cayambe and are settled in for the night. We spent some time practicing anchor building skills for those who hope to use this skills seminar as a jumping off point for personal climbs or bigger guided climbs. Things to this point have moved a bit slowly, the acclimatization process is not fast-paced, instead it is methodical and does not pay to be rushed. However, we now are beginning the three-day cycle of big climbs. Tomorrow, we go to high camp, the next day is our summit attempt and the following is a rest day. We will repeat this cycle on Antisana and Chimborazo, making three big summit attempts over the following nine calendar days. And as soon as we know it, it will all be over, so for now we are all just trying to live in the moment and focus on the task at hand!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

The Mt. Rainier Four-Day Summit Climb team, led by RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer, reached the summit around 8:15 a.m. The winds brought in a cap but it was above the summit when they arrived. After spending an hour on top, the team began their descent at 9:15 a.m.

Tuesday, June 4, 2019 - 9:29 PM PT The mountain was surly this morning. Winds were cold and strong when we woke up to attempt a carry to a cache at 13,600’. So we did what all smart climbers would do, and we stayed put and enjoyed warm down sleeping bags and snack food. We put in some serious chill time today, while the mountain continued move the air around until early afternoon. We are definitely feeling rested at this point after two full rest days here at 11,000' Camp, and are looking forward to getting up and attem and moving uphill tomorrow if the improved forecast comes to fruition. Not only are we rested, but we’re also full of macaroni and cheese and bacon from this evenings dinner. Here’s to putting that fuel to work tomorrow! RMI Guides Robby, Nick, Joe and Team ‘All the Cheese’

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What a jam packed 24 hours it has been! After a fitful night of rest at the Altzomoni Hut, the team packed up and made the climb up to our high camp at 15,300ft. Our packs weighed between 35-40 lbs and that always makes the terrain much more challenging. Regardless, the team climbed well and we were lounging in our tents by mid afternoon. Around 4 pm we roused everyone from their siestas and gathered together in the "Refugio Los Cien" to have some soup and quesadillas. Not long after we finished eating, the first ping began. It sounded like a child was throwing small handfuls of gravel at the side of the refugio, but then the sound intensified. In a few minutes we were engulfed in a hail storm that lasted an hour. Pellets of ice, ranging from the size of a pencil eraser to a grape, covered the ground. Slowly the hail turned into snow and we all hustled out to our tents. Over the next three hours the storm turned into an epic thunder and lighting event, making us wonder if the climb would even be possible. At 2 am this morning when the first alarm went off, everything had changed. The skies were clear, the weather warm, the wind was gone and only a few inches of snow on the ground remained to remind us of the previous evening. The climb was flawless. I would say textbook, but it was better then textbook. We summited at 7:45 am under blue skies with small puffs of smoke from a local volcano to keep us company. RMI Guide Eric Frank

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June 23, 2015 9:51 pm PST We had a successful move up to 17,000 foot camp on Mt. McKinley. The weather was perfect for traveling on the fixed lines and above. Climbing on the amazing ridge that crests the West Buttress of Denali is always one of my favorite parts of the climb because of the beautiful rock an the exposure. I think all of the El Siete boys had a good time weaving through the rocks and snow that provide the natural protection on the ridge. As of now, we are planning to try to summit tomorrow. The forecast looks good and the crew is ready. Wish us luck! RMI Guide Mike Haugen

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June 4, 2015 3:05pm PST One of the most famous books of Mt. McKinley lore is of the first winter ascent and it's title is Minus 148. Yes this refers to the calculated wind chill factor the climbers experienced while stuck in a storm at 18,000' feet in the middle of February. While we sit here waiting out this storm which we have been racing for six days, the cold accompanying the snow is bone chilling. Last night after the sun went behind the ridge, we all guessed the evening temp here in camp at 14,000' feet was a balmy minus 15 degrees. Add in the 15 mph breeze and the wind chill here was a cool minus 35! Up at high camp where we just came from, where teams still sit waiting for a summit chance, the air temp was a frigid minus 25 with 40 mph winds. This means the wind chill was roughly minus 50. At these temps skin freezes in seconds and the body can hardly consume enough calories to stay warm without shelter. The morale of the team is really high knowing the high altitude work is done. As I write this on June 4th, the description of June 3rd is identical. Drink coffee, eat lots of food, take a nap, eat more food, have dinner and go to bed. The need to hang outside in the freezing temps is not what anyone needs. As the storm moves through, we are hoping to get this show on the road and move to base camp where planes can pick us up as soon as the weather breaks. Cross your fingers for an opening by Sunday. We will touch base tomorrow. RMI Guide Adam Knoff & Team

February 12, 2015 - 11:56 am PT Update: The team is all safely back at Camp III after a successful summit day! Warm temps and literally zero wind made it one for the record books! RMI Guide Steve Gately 9:20 am PT Hi, this is Mike King with RMI Aconcagua Team 7 stand on the top of South America! We had a challenging day with extremely cold weather, and wind in the morning. We had a lot of new snow and scree on the way up on the upper mountain. The team did great. We're gonna be heading back down in about 20 minutes. A beautiful day, I don't have ever seen a more beautiful day on the top of Aconcagua. We will call or send a posting when we get back to high camp. Thanks for joining us! RMI Guide Mike King

February 1, 2015 6:00 am PT Seth here checking in from our last camp on Kili. We are down at 10,000' and boy does the air feel thick and good. We started our summit push yesterday, technically, with an 11:00pm wake up call. We hit the trail at two minutes past midnight and reached Uhuru Peak (Kilimanjaro's summit) at 6:44am. The climb was pretty cold with a strong wind out of the Northeast. The climbers buckled down though and made a great effort in tough conditions. After returning to high camp we packed up, had a late breakfast and started down to Mweka, our camp. At the halfway point we started to get some rain showers that made the tough trail a bit tougher. True to form though the team rallied and we made camp in good time. Everyone is relaxing now after a late lunch and looking forward to the hike out tomorrow. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall January 31, 2015 8:00 pm PT Hey, this is Seth calling from the top of Kilimanjaro! It's 7:00 a.m. our time. Nine of the climbers went to the summit today. One of our group decided to hang back in high camp and wait for us to return, but everybody else is up here on Uhuru Peak, the very highest point of Kilimanjaro. The tallest peak in Africa and one of the largest free-standing mountains on Earth. It has been one of the coldest days I've had up here. We've had a wind blowing at us and put a little rime ice on our parkas and whatnot. But now that the sun's been up on us a little bit and having fun up here, we're gonna take finish taking pics and swing back down through high camp and to our camp at 10,000 feet tonight. I'll check in from there. That's it from us from the top of Kilimanjaro.

On The Map