Most Popular Entries
December 2, 2014 - 6:08 pm
Today the team said goodbye to the hustle and bustle of Quito and headed south early in the morning. Once outside the city we made our way through the rural countryside and headed for our next acclimatizing hike on the Illiniza's. They are the remnants of an old volcano that erupted long ago and left two nearly twin peaks. Our goal was not to climb them, but reach the saddle that separates the two beautiful mountains. The team made good time up to the saddle where we took a short break in the climbers hut and had some well deserved hot tea. After our short break we made our way back down the mountain to our waiting bus and quickly headed to the wonderful Chilcabamba hacienda. The team made good use of the hot showers and enjoyed sporting around in the ponchos provided by the hacienda. We wrapped up the evening with a wonderful meal, plenty of good stories, and one amazing view of Cotopaxi.
Everyone is doing great and enjoying the Ecuadorean hospitality.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Posted by:
Categories: Guide News
On the morning of Saturday, the 27th, I had been pined down at Camp 3 by high winds for two days. Camp 3 in is in a wind-exposed location, and for the previous 48 hours I’d had to go out and dig out every two to three hours from the wind-drifted snow that built up around my tent. In the morning the wind had finally died down, and I had decided to push on to Camp 4 and started packing up to make the move up to Camp 4 -- but then I got an updated forecast that predicted heavy snow later Saturday and through Sunday morning. With the delay at Camp 3, I was running low on provisions, so if I couldn't make the peak push by Sunday morning I would be forced to turn back. The forecast for the rest of the week, though, looked very promising... and I made the reluctant decision to retreat to base camp, with the plan to start back up again re-provisioned on Sunday morning.
So here I am Saturday evening, back at Manaslu Base Camp. The forecast is now for the winds to stay relatively calm and for clear skies for the rest of the week So my plan is start back up the mountain in the morning and make my summit push on Wednesday. I'm beginning to wonder how many times I'll have to climb this mountain before it allows me it's summit.
RMI Guide Alex Barber
Posted by: Billy Nugent, Chase Nelson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
.jpg)
June 19, 2014 - 10:41 pm PT
We have arrived at 14,200'! The weather today was marginal with moderate winds, occasionally heavy snow, and sometimes even hot sunbreaks. A little bit of everything made for an interesting move. McKinley's 14K camp is uncharacteristically empty; lots of snowed in abandoned camps to choose from but they were all pretty crummy. We ended up digging out some old platforms and quarrying new blocks to rebuild some delapidated walls to protect our tents from the wind. We did find a great pre-dug posh that must have been abandoned by Jake or Tyler's crew as they moved up to 17K today. Thanks guys! Our team is racked out already after our big day and eating a hot meal. Tomorrow's plans call for an easy back carry and hopefully some rest in the afternoon.
Talk soon...
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall, Steve Gately
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,200'
Once again the weather has been nothing less than spectacular for us up here on Denali. After a breakfast of smoked salmon, cream cheese, and bagels to start the day, we headed back downhill to retrieve our cache of gear at 9,500'. We arrived back at the 11k camp a few minutes after 2pm, with plenty of time to rest in the afternoon. As well as resting, eating, and drinking, we had a couple of chores to accomplish, namely building snow walls to fortify our camp and sorting our gear to cache up higher, which we anticipate doing tomorrow. The weather forecast looks good for tomorrow, so if it verifies we'll take advantage and get a cache in up high, likely at Windy Corner, around 13,500'.
All of us on the first RMI Denali expedition would like to wish a very happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers in our lives.
Thanks for keeping track of our progress. We'll keep you posted with updates as we continue this awesome adventure.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Posted by: Casey Grom, Drew O’Brien, Mike Bennett, Charlie Harrison, Jackson Breen, Roland Scott
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,200'
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Drew O’Brien reached Ingraham Flats on Mt. Rainier this morning. New snow from recent storms, avalanches, and route concerns kept the team from continuing up hill.
The team enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and started their descent from Camp Muir.
We had a great day of training today. We practiced ice axe arrest, cramponing, glacier travel, rock scrambling, steeper snow climbing techniques and efficiency skills. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed a great day in a spectacular location in the North Cascades.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
After a soggy morning of pushing through wet brush in the forest we emerged into the open slopes of Boston Basin. Our team setup camp in a beautiful location at about 5,600' in Boston Basin. Grand views of the Boston Basin peaks and Johannesburg Mountain made for a beautiful sunset under mostly clear skies. A cloud layer has the valley socked in, but it is an overall perfect night higher up. Tomorrow we will be doing some training for the climb the following day. The team is in good spirits and generally happy to be surrounded by the rugged landscapes of the North Cascades.
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier
Posted by: Tyler Reid
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Chile Ski
Greetings from Temuco, Chile! The whole crew has arrived after traveling from Washington State, New Mexico, Illinois, and all the way from Sydney, Australia. All is well and we are excited to go skiing tomorrow. Stay tuned...
Cheers,
RMI Guide Tyler Reid
The Mt. Shuksan Seminar, led by RMI Guide Geoff Schellens, reached the summit today. The wildfire smoke obstructed some of the views but the team had a great time on a spectacular route! Some photos from the team above.
The Four Day Summit Climb team led by RMI Guide Kel Rossiter reached to summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Kel reported a great day of climbing with beautiful clear skies. The team has started their descent and are en route to Camp Muir
Congratioulations to today's team!
Congrats Jacob. Way to go.
Posted by: Scotty on 7/26/2017 at 7:42 pm
Dude!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Kyle U. on 7/26/2017 at 5:40 pm
Hi Deepak and team,
I’m glad to hear that the weather has been good. Sounds like you’ve been eating well, too.
Have fun, and make some music on the mountain!
Laura
Posted by: Laura on 5/12/2014 at 10:25 pm
Steve and team,
Glad to hear that all is going as planned. When the weather is great on the mountain life is great!
Hike well and be safe.
Dad
Posted by: Bill Gately on 5/12/2014 at 5:00 am
View All Comments