Most Popular Entries

Mt. Baker: Grayson & Team 100% Summit Success

August 15, 2021

Posted by: Grayson Swingle, Josh Hankin, Tatum Whatford

Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades

Elevation: 10,781'

RMI Guide Grayson Swingle and his Mt. Baker team all reached the summit this morning! They will descend from the mountain today.

Kilimanjaro: Hahn & Team Enjoy Thick Air at Last Mountain Camp

August 22, 2022

Posted by: Dave Hahn

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro

Elevation: 10,000'

It was a relief to sleep “low down” at 10,000 ft last night. The air had oxygen and humidity and everything we’d been missing up high on Kili. We ate breakfast at 7 AM and got walking downhill through the rainforest at 8 AM. The trail was in better-than-expected condition. It can be slick and muddy, which can make the 4,000 ft descent treacherous, but today we found it pretty easy going. The team flew down the track at a record setting pace, making the Mweka Gate in just two hours and fifteen minutes. Hot showers can be a powerful motivator. A short distance from the National Park, our Barking Zebra staff treated us to one final picnic lunch. We then thanked each of the 46 men who’d put so much effort and kindness into helping us climb the mountain. After tips were passed out, the staff sang a few very fun and traditional songs while pulling us in to dance along. We then said our goodbyes and got on board the bus for the two hour ride back to Usa River. We checked into the Rivertrees Hotel and sprinted for the showers. When we next met to plan our four days of Safari, the team was nearly unrecognizable in fresh clothing and shampooed hair. We enjoyed a dinner outside under the big trees and wished our climbing partner Rob a safe journey homeward since -as planned- he’ll head home and come back for Safari on a future trip.

Safari starts in the morning!

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Leave a Comment For the Team

Mt. Rainier: Grom, Bealer & Teams Unable to Climb due to Winds and Weather

June 16, 2022

Posted by: Casey Grom, James Bealer, Jackson Breen, George Hedreen, Joey Manship, Charlie Harrison

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 10,080'

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

Leave a Comment For the Team

Kilimanjaro: Team Simba Sita Completes The Big Five at Tarangire

February 23, 2012

Posted by: Jeff Martin

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro

Hello from Kikoti Camp, We had a bit more leisurely start to our day today and we were on the road by 9:00 heading to Tarangire National Park. En route there was a huge downpour, but all the rain stopped by the time we reached the entrance gate. From there, we worked our way south, stopping at every opportunity to view the animals. After yesterday, it seemed like we were in a dry spell because nothing can really compare to the amount of animals you see in one day in Ngorongoro Crater. In Tarangire, you have to find them! The usual suspects were all present, but the day was coming close to an end and we had still not seen a leopard. Then our safari driver decided to take a little detour, and 15 minutes later we were stopped in front of a tree with a leopard resting on a branch about 10 feet off the ground. Our viewing of the "Big Five" was complete. The last sighting of the day was a baby elephant, just a week old, with his mother spraying water on the both of them to help cool off in the afternoon sun. It was incredible. Now we are at the Kikoti Camp, sitting out on the porch, looking out over the African landscape and listening to all the sounds around us. We're going to take a short hike before dinner and go out and watch the sun set, and take a few customary "sun downers" to enjoy as the sun dips below the horizon. Unfortunately, this adventure comes to an end tomorrow, and we start to make our way home. It has been a great trip and we have enjoyed it. Thanks to all of you who posted comments and gave your support for us safely reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro. RMI Guide Jeff Martin & Team Simba Sita

Kahiltna Seminar: Gorum & Team Enjoy Day of Crevasse Rescue Training

May 30, 2021

Posted by: JM Gorum, Grayson Swingle, Henry Coppolillo

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar

Elevation: 7,300'

Saturday, May 29, 2021 - 10:52 pm PT

The wind died down for us last night, but in its place the snow ramped up. Our hope was to try to climb one of the peaks surrounding camp, but lack of visibility and new snow avalanche concerns kept us away from big steep slopes. Instead, we opted for plan B, which was to head east out of camp and do some ice climbing on an exposed part of the main Kahiltna Glacier. It turned out to be a great venue.

Twenty minutes of walking out our front doors put us on top of a few different 60-80 foot climbs. We lowered in from the top and climbed back out. Everyone got a handful of laps in. We even put up one notable first ascent which earned the name, I Just Need a Minute to Rest(MFA), AI4, 60 feet. Due to the long approach and shifting nature of the glacier, we do not expect this route to become a classic. That’s a real shame, because it got five stars in our book. We wrapped up the day with a bunch of macaroni and cheese with bacon, and some surprisingly deep and affirming kitchen tent talks. The only way this day could have possibly been better is if we could have seen a single thing all day, but living in a whiteout is part of being in the Alaska Range.

Tonight looks to be another snowy one, so we’ll see what we can get done tomorrow. At some point we’ll need to start working our way back towards base camp. As always, everyone sends their best and we’ll check in tomorrow.

RMI Guide JM Gorum

Leave a Comment For the Team

Mt. Rainier: Update July 6th - Summit!

July 6, 2013

Posted by: Paul Maier, Lindsay Mann

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 14,410'

The Mt. Rainier Four Day Summit Climbs led by Paul Maier and Lindsay Mann reached the summit at 6:30 a.m. Both teams were able to enjoy the bluebird views for over an hour before beginning their descent at 7:50 a.m. Congratulations to the summit climbers!

Kilimanjaro: Grom & Team Head for the Mountain

August 30, 2022

Posted by: Casey Grom

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro

Elevation: 10,000'

Hello everyone,

Today the we had an early start and left behind our beautiful lodge as we have headed to the mountain towards the start of the climb. We left around 8am and drove along the rural country side and small villages for 2 hours before reaching the Kilimanjaro National Park entrance.

Most of the area surrounding Kilimanjaro has been cultivated and primarily used for coffee and banana production, plus a variety of other agriculture needs. There are still a few areas that have been untouched and resemble more of a savannah that Tanzania is known for. Kilimanjaro’s base is mostly forested and resembles more of a jungle, this area is called the cloud forest.

Once we arrived at the park gate we had all of our gear weighed and divided into loads for our porters and other staff to carry before hitting the trail. Once everything was in order we started our climb slowly making our way up the winding trail that ascends continuously through the thick forest. Thankfully the overhead canopy provided a bit of relief from the hot sun overhead.

The team hiked for about five hours, reaching 10,000' and arriving at our first camp. After settling into camp and get situated the team was served a nice warm meal for dinner.

Everyone is doing well and looking forward to a good nights rest.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

RMI Guide Robby Young Completes the AMGA Ski Guide Course in the Wasatch Mountains

March 7, 2013

Posted by: Robby Young

Categories: Guide News Guide Grant

RMI Guide, Robby Young, recently completed the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) Ski Guide Course, held in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains under the tutelage of IFMGA guide Erik Liedecker and Sierra ski guide, Peter Leh. Over the duration of the 12-day course, a wide array of skills was covered including uphill and downhill ski guiding techniques, technical rope skills, snowpack evaluation, winter camping, backcountry rescue, and risk management in alpine terrain. Despite Utah’s challenging snowpack and over two feet of fresh snow that fell during the course, Robby and his colleagues were able to put these skills and techniques to use in Utah’s easy-to-access alpine world. While skill development was the primary focus of the course, the famous Utah powder skiing made for a very enjoyable educational experience!

Leave a Comment For the Team

Mt. Rainier: July 4th Update

July 4, 2012

Posted by: Eric Frank, Tyler Reid, Seth Waterfall

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 12,600'

The Four Day Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides Tyler Reid and Eric Frank reached 12,600' before turning around due to avalanche hazard. It is a beautiful day on the mountain with light winds and clear skies. The cold temperatures from overnight are dimenishing with the sunshine. The team will be making their way back to Camp Muir after the guides spend some time working on the route. RMI Guide Tyler Reid said it was a difficult decision to turn the climb on such a beautiful day, however, conditions on the mountain were not safe enough for them to continue. The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons led by RMI Guide Seth Waterfall reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today! The team enjoyed a beautiful day on the mountain. They will return to Camp Schurman for their final night on the mountain. They may do some additional training tomorrow morning before returning to the trail head. Congratulations to today's team and Happy Independence Day!

RMI Guides Seth Waterfall, Tyler Jones & Andy Bond’s Summit and Ski Descent!

April 28, 2011

Posted by:

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 14,410'

The Nisqually Glacier is the most easily viewed of all the glaciers on Mt. Rainier. Facing the Paradise Visitor Center, it runs four miles from the 14,410-foot summit down to about 4,500 feet in the Nisqually Valley. At about 12,500 feet the ice forms a giant cliff where the glacier breaks apart over a large rocky step and smashes itself back together 1,000 feet below. Usually unskiable, the heavy snows this winter have filled in one side of the cliff and a continuous line appeared, begging to be skied. My friends Tyler Jones, Andy Bond and I had a random convergence in the Northwest after being on separate agendas for the winter. Tyler had been ski-guiding in La Grave, France, Andy spends his winters in British Columbia, and I had just returned from a trip to Haines, AK. Andy had recently been bombarding me with emails about how the ski conditions on Rainier were about to 'go off' so we all met up in Ashford, WA, to wait for some good weather. After a few days in town, the necessary conditions stacked in our favor, and we took the opportunity to pull off a big line on Rainier. In the Northwest, a full winter of storms on an endless conveyor belt had been pounding the mountain with snow. Now, with an approaching high pressure system, we had a few days of guaranteed sunny weather. So on Thursday, April 22, we left Paradise in a snow storm hoping that the forecast would pan out as advertised and once at Camp Muir the weather would break. Typically we could each do the trip to Muir without the aid of GPS in any conditions. We have over 200 summits of Rainier between the three of us. But this year every landmark is covered in snow, making navigation impossible without the aid of electronics. A quick consult with the GPS was all we needed to find our way to Muir. Once there, we packed into the tiny RMI hut that normally sleeps two. Poor Andy had to sleep on three coolers; it was either that or the snowy floor. The weather was pretty cold most of the night so there was no rush for us to start climbing until the sun came up. To our surprise there was another party climbing that day. They had left about an hour ahead of us and it was nice to follow their track for the first part of the day. We climbed up towards the Gibraltar Ledges route. This gave us a great vantage point of our desired ski route and I was able to take some pics in case we needed to use them as a quick-reference guide on the descent. Once we caught up to the other party, we took our turn breaking trail towards the summit. Conditions were great and we were able to make quick progress to the top. Our total climbing time from Camp Muir was four hours on the dot. Not bad for carrying skis on our backs! On top we spent some time checking out the different aspects of the mountain and taking photos of the gargoyle-like features of rime-ice; created as water vapor from the recent storm cycle beat against the mountain, freezing instantly. The wind was howling, so soon after, we clicked into our skis and started downhill towards the top of the ice cliff. The upper part of the mountain skied nicely. Rainier is like a big dome and the upper reaches aren't extremely steep and the snow was firm but edge-able. Once we dropped about 1,000 feet, however, the slope angle increased dramatically and the snow became even more firm. At 13,000' we could see directly down the glacier to the top of the ice cliff. From here we were committed, and any slip could result in a long slide off the cliff. Precise, controlled ski turns were necessary and we skied one at a time in pitches to keep an eye on each other. The line through the ice cliff was fairly straight forward. We trended gradually right, through an ever narrowing gap between big rock cliffs and the edge of the ice. The snow conditions steadily improved as we dropped lower on the mountain. In total we skied about 3,500 feet of terrain in what we considered a "no-fall" zone. The stress of all the exposure relented bit-by-bit as we descended, and by the time we exited the ice cliff section we were relaxed enough to fully enjoy the pitch out from under the cliff. We then threaded our way out of the large amphitheater formed by the ice cliff and through a myriad of crevasses onto the benign slopes of the Muir Snowfield. There were several groups of skiers there enjoying the fresh powder and sun. We stopped to chat before continuing on our way and they congratulated us on our journey. The snow was so good from here that we decided to drop below the elevation of the parking lot all of the way to the Nisqually Bridge at 3,500 feet. We knew that this could mean a long wait for a hitch hike back to the car but the day was going too well to worry about that. Plus, the lure of getting the longest ski run in the 'Lower 48' on top of a new route on Rainier was too much to resist. I think we waited for a total of 15 seconds before a really nice guy from Fort Lewis Army Base gave me a ride back to Paradise to get my car. Our luck was good all day!

Check Availability

Most Popular Entries

Mt. Baker: Grayson & Team 100% Summit Success

Kilimanjaro: Hahn & Team Enjoy Thick Air at Last Mountain Camp

Mt. Rainier: Grom, Bealer & Teams Unable to Climb due to Winds and Weather

Kilimanjaro: Team Simba Sita Completes The Big Five at Tarangire

Kahiltna Seminar: Gorum & Team Enjoy Day of Crevasse Rescue Training

Mt. Rainier: Update July 6th - Summit!

Kilimanjaro: Grom & Team Head for the Mountain

RMI Guide Robby Young Completes the AMGA Ski Guide Course in the Wasatch Mountains

Mt. Rainier: July 4th Update

RMI Guides Seth Waterfall, Tyler Jones & Andy Bond’s Summit and Ski Descent!

Contact Us

Privacy Policy

Translate

Log In

Register With Us

Check Availability

Most Popular Entries

New Post Alerts:Expedition Dispatches

New Post Alerts:
Expedition Dispatches