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Today we woke up to another beautiful day in Ecuador. After breakfast our team, now complete with our outstanding local guide Jaime, headed for the teleferico (gondola) and began our first acclimatization hike on a beautiful ridge overlooking Quito. The entire team styled our climb to Rucu Pichincha, breaking a couple of altitude records along the way. After some time on the summit enjoying just enough weather to make for dramatic light without spoiling any views, we headed back to Quito to rest and pack up for our move to Fuya Fuya and Otavalo tomorrow. The whole team was happy to get up in the mountains today and are feeling great, we hope our streak of great weather continues! RMI Guide Chris Ebeling

May 31, 2018 - 5:28 pm PT Less than twelve hours after arriving at Kahiltna Base Camp, we woke early, ready for the first leg of our ascent. After quickly breaking down camp and eating an even quicker breakfast, we loaded the last of our gear into our already over burdened expedition sleds and began the walk down heart break hill towards the vastness of the Kahiltna Glacier. The morning was cold and crisp. Perfect conditions for the route to our camp at 7,800 feet. Snowshoes would not be necessary today as the snow was firm and smooth. The skies were clear with only minimal clouds capping the summit of Mount Foraker to the west and a bit of haze blocking our view of Denali to the north. Our group of hopeful climbers looked like a freight train as our three rope teams chugged along with our sleds in tow towards our objective for the day, moving one step closer to the slopes of the West Buttress. After several hours of hard walking, we arrived in camp at the base of Ski Hill and set up our temporary homes for the next few days. Today was easy compared to what lies ahead, but our group of climbers looks strong and ready for the challenge. RMI Guide Tyler Jones

On The Map

The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer reached the top of Cathedral Gap last night before having to turn back due to high winds of about 60 mph. The team is safely back at Camp Muir. They will wait for a bit of a break in the weather before starting their descent. We expect the team back at Rainier Basecamp in the early afternoon.

The Five Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide JJ Justman along with the Four Day Summit Climb led by Leon Davis reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. After spending some time on top enjoying the views both teams began their descent from the crater rim shortly after 7 AM. JJ reported that it was “an absolutely beautiful day”. Once the teams return to Camp Muir they will have a brief stop and then continue their descent to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later today. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams!

The team here in Ecuador got their first taste of altitude today, on the hills that surround Quito. This morning we rode the teleferico to 13,000 feet and began our trek up Pichincha on the rutted trails that wind up to its rocky 15,000 ft summit. It was a day to pressure our bodies into absorbing the thin atmosphere and although the typical afternoon clouds obscured our view from the top, we were able to stretch our legs and lungs in the mountains. This evening our team met with our Ecuadorian guide, Jaime, and he took us to a new Ecuadorian restaurant where we enjoyed a fantastic dinner of local cuisine. Tonight is our last night in Quito as we depart for the Illinizas early in the morning. RMI Guide Leon Davis

On The Map

Adam Knoff, Billy Nugent and the Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir made the summit of Mt. Rainier in the mid-morning on Thursday, September 15th. The team was 100% on top and Billy Nugent completed his 100th summit on Mt. Rainier! The Team also spent the week on the glaciers surrounding Camp Muir honing their mountaineering skills in ice axe use and cramponing techniques, anchor placements, various self and team crevasse rescue techniques, belays, rappelling, knots, route finding and fixed rope travel. The team will finish up their training today and descend to Paradise this afternoon. Congratulations team, and congratulations Billy on your 100th summit!

The Expedition Skill Seminar - Muir has had a great week of training at Camp Muir thus far. They have experienced every kind of weather Mt. Rainier has to offer from blizzard conditions to warm and sunny. They have done a lot of training and have climbed above Ingraham Flats twice this week. They made a summit attempt this morning but were turned back at 11,200' due to high avalanche conditions. The climbers are doing great and they will continue their training this afternoon. The team is considering making another summit attempt tonight weather permitting. They will descend to Paradise tomorrow afternoon and complete their program.

Hey gang, this is Billy checking in for our McKinley expedition on our fourth day on the on the mountain. We moved up from Camp 2 to at 9,600' up to our Camp 3 at 11,200'. The team moved incredibly well. We were only 2 and a half hours from camp to camp, single carry, so no back carry in the future for us. We spent a lot of time this afternoon, digging out camp and building walls and building a pretty elaborate cook tent. It's been a very low snow year up here in Alaska. So with barely a meter of snow on the glacier definitely made for some creative cook tent construction. But our walk up was really nice. It kind of alternated hot and cold. We arrived in camp with perfect, sunny weather and we're sitting pretty at this point. Tomorrow's plan calls for a rest day. So, wish us luck. It's gonna be a trying day laying around the tent tomorrow. That's about all for now, and checking out from Billy, Solveig and the rest of the crew. Have a good one. RMI Guide Billy Nugent

The team is at 17,000' right now. They were going to head down to 14,000' this morning but a snow storm moved in so they are just waiting. Dave was glad they headed to the summit when they had their small window of opportunity. Weather dependent, the team will descend further down the mountain. With the snow storm it is more likely that will be tomorrow. July 10, 2010 - SUMMIT! Dave Hahn and team reached the summit of Mount McKinley, North America's highest peak, yesterday evening. They had some wind up high but everyone was doing well. Congratulations!

The team is resting and acclimatizing in Lobuche today. They took an acclimazation hike and are enjoying their last night in the tea house before reaching Everest Basecamp tomorrow afternoon. The RMI Island Peak climbers trekked back down through Lobuche today on their way from Everest Basecamp. They enjoyed afternoon tea with our climbing group before continuing down valley. It was nice to see some familiar faces and chat with them about their time at Everest Basecamp. Mark Tucker and I arrived at Everest Basecamp yesterday to help organize the gear and loads that have been arriving here. We are working on the communication tent so the group will be able to send dispatches and emails once they arrive. Our Sherpa team and Basecamp Staff have been working extremely hard to get our area of Basecamp established and things are looking good and we are ready for the team's arrival. We are looking forward to seeing the RMI Everest Climbing Team arrive at Everest Basecamp tomorrow.