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Hello from the
Dik Dik Hotel! We have made it off the mountain. Today we awoke to clearing skies and warm temps. After another great breakfast we were honored to give our support staff their well-deserved tips. They have done an amazing job keeping us healthy and happy for the summit push.
After that we headed down the trail. The group moved well over the trail. Yesterday's rain had left a slick surface but we didn't have any mishaps.
Once we reached the Kilimanjaro National Park Gate the guys set out a lunch platter and then we made the drive back to the hotel.
Everyone is showering up and cleaning gear right now. We're meeting up for dinner later and then its off to bed. Safari starts tomorrow.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli & Jack Delaney led their Four Day Climb May 10 - 13 to Ingraham Flats this morning. Route conditions prevented the climbers from going further, they were able to take advantage of the nice weather to do a bit of training before returning to Camp Muir. The teams have packed up and are descending to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them back in Ashford this afternoon.
Hi Everyone,
We had a windy eleven miles into Lago Dickson today. The trail takes us through the appropriately named windy pass. The group enjoyed the scenic views of Lago Paine and the glaciated mountains that surround Lago Dickson. We are enjoying the trek and having a lot of laughs along the way. Watching the clouds move quickly over the mountains now.
RMI Guide Mike King & Team
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Torres del Paine Trek, February 3, 2024
RMI Guide Mike Walter and Team reached the summit of Mt. Shuksan today with beautiful weather. They climbed the
Fisher Chimneys route and didn't see any other climbers on the route. They enjoyed having the mountain all to themselves.
Congratulation to the team!
Hello from Tanzania!
The last two members of our team have arrived in good spirits and with all their luggage. So, it's all systems go. A late dinner after a long flight was eagerly taken after their 24 hour flight from the States. Any residual stress from the day was completely eased out of the system by the exceptional South African wine Darren generously shared with Bill and me.
The rest of the group got here at different times today, with the Craig, Patti, and Joe arriving on the 4:00 AM flight. Mary, Shavran, and Liz arrivied from a nearby hotel just after lunch, having wisely chosen to arrive earlier to adjust to the time zone and relax a bit before the climb. It was great to catch up with my friend Craig, along with Joe and Patti today at breakfast and lunch. The later group joined us at the lunch table when they arrived, allowing us to get to know each other better. I think we have an exceptional group of individuals that will become a fun team in the days to come.
Once again I'm exited to be back in Tanzania. Stepping off the plane and breathing in the wonderful smells of this country bring back good memories. I'm constantly reminded that it's the people, as much as the mountain, that makes this such a special trip.
Tomorrow morning we get busy as we get together to discuss our
upcoming climb of Kilimanjaro, including checking and organizing our gear.
Well, I should get some rest too. Good night for now.
RMI Guide
Brent Okita
RMI Guide Mark Tucker checked in from their last trek camp. After reaching the summit on Saturday morning the team returned to high camp, the following day they descended to
Aconcagua Base Camp. With a good nights rest in the thick air of 13,800’ they packed all their gear, loaded mules and retraced their steps through the Vacas Valley. Tomorrow they will complete their trek and arrive at the end of the trail. By afternoon they plan to be showered and ready for a hearty dinner celebration in Mendoza.
Congratulations to the team!
It has been a nice leisurely day here at
Aconcagua Base Camp. We started out the day by putting a good dent in the 72 eggs we brought in, yummy. The majority of our day was spent gearing up for a load carry to Camp 1 tomorrow. On these expedition style climbs we take a portion of our food and equipment up and cache it, then we return back to Base Camp. It is just too much to carry in one push since we stay for an extended period up high on the mountain it also helps our bodies to acclimatize. We took a short hike after lunch in big boots with light packs to fine tune our systems for a smooth ascent tomorrow. Our team is looking good. All is well here in the high country.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
June 10, 2017
Good evening from Alaska. It shouldn't be raining on the glaciers of this Range. But it is. We've been confined today to our tents and kitchen tarp to stay dry, as a wet cloud and on and off rain took over most of the day. No climbing or outside training we could do, but for the hour or so that we got a break, we moved camp, as our tent platforms became 1 foot tall pedestals due to the high temps. We're all looking forward to an improvement on the forecast, and continue to climb on this sanctuary of alpine dreams that
Little Swiss is!
Elias, Chase and team.
May 30, 2017
After a full day packing up, weighing our gear and some serious duffel shuffling we are all set to jet into the
Alaska Range tomorrow! Weather permitting we should head in mid morning and take stock of a most beautiful set of mountains. Our fingers are crossed for a grand adventure and we will keep you all posted on our journey. Take care everyone!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Pawel had previously been a part of the Emmons and Kautz Seminars on Mt. Rainier. Finishing up the ice challenges of the Kautz, Pawel set his eyes on the prize, investigated ambitious alpine objectives and developed a plan. That plan included the North Ridge of Mt. Baker and the North Face of Mt. Shuksan. Last winter he trained for six days in Ouray, CO honing his ice skills to get ready for the task. And, as alpine climbing demands creativity, since then he's trained hard in gym and combined it with a rigorous running schedule, sometimes with a pack, at home in Chapel Hill, NC.
We met up for the planned 3-day climb of the North Ridge of Mt. Baker on a Monday in the face of a grim forecast—rain coming in Tuesday morning. The plan was to establish base camp on Monday and launch Tuesday morning. So, not good. But you can't win if you don't play and a large part of success in alpine climbing is putting yourself in position for it and then letting the cards unfold as they do. We set off toward base camp, hiking along the Heliotrope Ridge Trail, popping with alpine flowers. On the hike in it was clear Pawel's creative North Carolina training had paid off. He crushed it in two hours and—just as the thought entered my own mind—he suggested, “What do you think about going for it today?” Even with the crushing time to base camp, it was still 1p.m.—a rather untraditional start to the North Ridge. While we set up camp, I considered the timeline: We'd be pushing the weather forecast, but we felt comfortable descending the Coleman-Deming route (the standard descent) in poorer weather.
Once on the ice pitches of the route (approx. 9,600') you're pretty committed to the
North Ridge, but we left camp with the caveat that should the weather change or the travel become more complex than planned, we'd turn back for another try later. Later never came. We made it to the ice cap in just over 3 hours, which is just over half the typical time. With a puffy cloud front still way off over the Puget Sound and a few small cells sweeping up over Colfax Peak, we committed. All the moments of consideration up to the moment of commitment in a climb like this is a struggle on par with Ali-Frasier—but once the decision is made, clarity begins—just climb.
And climb we did. Up through the ice cap, onto the upper flanks of the mountain, navigating through the upper bergschrunds, to the top. Descending the Coleman-Deming route to camp we were treated with blazing red sunset reflections on Puget Sound, rolling into camp just eight short hours after leaving camp.
We reconvened a day later for the North Face of Shuksan, a seldom climbed route. Seldom done for many reasons, among them being the formidable approach. After 5 hours of Amazonian bushwhacking and at least a Red Cross pint donation of blood from both Pawel and I, we arrived at the base of the actual climb. Not surprisingly, after that “warm up” the climb was like cake. Pawel's commitment to fitness and technical prep paid off and we stacked pitch after pitch after pitch of climbing until arriving at our lovely bivy atop the ridge.
The next day was an open road with a full tank of gas. We connected smoothly from the Crystal Glacier to the Sulphide Glacier, crisply circumambulated the mountain, ascended the SE Ridge, and then moved out smartly toward Winnie's Slide to camp. Arriving at camp at slighly past the stroke of noon, it occurred to the both of us that a trip out to the trailhead was easily doable, and since Pawel had some good friends in Seattle he wished to visit, we decided to go for it.
Four short hours later, we were at the trailhead. Packs were off, sandals on, sitting down. Life was good. And getting better. We met up for a culmination of the climb at the Chair 9 Bar and Grill. It was a pure pleasure to wrap up this stage of Pawel's alpine journey. In the face of a formidable forecast, we'd pulled off two major North Cascades objectives—a tribute to the power of positive preparation in the face of pure challenge. Well done Pawel!
RMI Guide Kel Rossiter
Looks like your having fun there!!! Looking forward to seeing some pictures..
Posted by: Howard and Brenda on 9/6/2014 at 5:06 am
Congrats to Josh and all the climbers! Enjoy your well-deserved relaxation -
Posted by: Seahawk Doug on 8/25/2014 at 12:28 pm
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