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Thursday, June 20, 2019 - 6:54 PM PT We rose early again today with another beautiful morning to greet us. In the cold we packed up camp and headed up Motorcycle and Squirrel Hills, traversed the Polo Fields and climbed around Windy Corner. After 4 1/2 hours we arrived at our current camp at 14,200' in Genet Basin. It's been a warm and sunny afternoon here as we look down over the clouds and out to Mount Hunter and Foraker to the south. The afternoon was spent excavating and erecting camp. Tomorrow we will go back downhill to Windy Corner (13,600') to retrieve our cache. That will be a short mission, so we'll get the rest of the day to rest and home our skills for the upper mountain. RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

The June 10 - 13 Four Day Climb teams led by RMI Guides Andy Bond and Steve Gately reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Andy reported light winds, sunshine and clear skies. The teams began their descent from the crater rim around 7:30 AM. Once back at Camp Muir they will repack and continue down to Paradise. Their program concludes at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon. Congratulations to today's climbers!

Monday, June 10, 2019 - 8:05 PM PT We broke down camp quickly this morning. As quickly as anything happens at 17,000 ft. We’re in our tents at 11,000 feet now. It’s a long, hot day getting down here with all of our gear, but we’re one step closer to the airstrip. We’ll take a quick nap here, wake up around midnight, and then walk the rest of the way in the morning, hopefully landing us in position for a flight out around 8am. RMI Guide JM Gorum

We had perfect weather for our move today. From the time we got out of our tents, to the time we arrived at 16,200 feet we had blue skies, warm temperatures, and just enough of a breeze to keep us from getting sweaty. Everyone did extremely well, and we were relaxing in our tents by 1:30 pm. I took a nap, so I assume everyone else did as well. The only hiccup of the day occurred later in the afternoon when we realized that two of our tents were in a bit of a damp neighborhood. We took twenty minutes to move them, and any wetness that might have occurred was avoided. The sun goes behind a ridge pretty early here, and once that happens it gets pretty cold. We hung out in the shade for as long as we dared, which wasn’t very long, and have all retreated to our sleeping bags at this point. If everyone still feels good tomorrow morning, we’ll carry to Camp Two. RMI Guides JM Gorum, Hannah Smith and Avery Parrinello

On The Map

Hey, this is Christina calling in with the Mexico climb at 7:45 in the morning, and we are standing on the summit. It is howling wind sideways and blowing snow so everyone's covered in a layer of rime. Everyone did so well climbing and we are all up here in good spirits taking a very quick photo, and then we're going to be out of here quick because the weather is coming in. Tomorrow is our rest day and we are all looking forward to it. Congratulations to our team, we are 100% on the summit of Ixta. RMI Guide Christina Dale

On The Map

Leaving camp this morning to the sounds of sheep being moved into the high pastures we walked along the Inca canal and eventually down a steep valley. The vegetation began to change and soon we started to see several types of wildflowers and a few different species of hummingbirds. After a few hours we arrived at our first Incan ruin, Inkaracay. At the village Wayllabamba (10,000'), the famed Inca Trail joins our trekking route for the remainder of the trip. We said our good byes to the horseman as our porter team joined since we are now in the National Park and horses would have difficulty with the trail ahead and destroy the trail itself. The Inca used llamas as pack animals, they do not have hooves, instead their feet are soft pads like a dogs feet thus gentle on the stone trail. The team is adjusting to the 'Incan steps' and resting after a long day. We are camped on a scenic mountain bench called Luluchupampa (12,300') looking at the valley below, Salkantay in the distance, and the cloud forest all around us. Two more full days of walking brings us to Machu Picchu. RMI Guide Mike King

Comedian Mitch Hedberg once said during a comedy skit, "I just want to be a mountain climber so I can wear brightly colored clothes, hang out at Base Camp, and drink hot cocoa." Today, for the second day in a row, we harnessed our inner Hedberg, and did just that. Our last rest day before the start of our second rotation onto the upper slopes of Shishapangma was filled with nourishment of all forms, and plenty of rest. Some of us practiced our favorite base camp activity, "sport eating." Others took competitive napping to the next level. While another team member continued his rein as supreme cribbage champion of Shishapangma 2016. Regardless of our chosen rest day activities, we all did the best we could to prepare our bodies and our minds for what lies ahead. Our second rotation begins tomorrow with a move to Depot Camp, followed by a return to Camp 1 at 20,000', and finally up to Camp 2 near 22,000' by the end of the work week. We're all feeling great, looking good, and ready for the upcoming challenge here on the 14th highest mountain in the world. We'll check in tomorrow from Depot Camp. RMI Guides Robby, Elias, Adam, and the Shishapangma Team

Over the past four days the Sahale summit team enjoyed perfect weather and excellent climbing in the North Cascades National Park. As we ascended out of the forest on day one the views kept getting better and better until we stopped to set up our base camp at 5,300 feet. Looking up at the spectacular Boston Basin the team was excited to go up high over the next few days. Day 2 was a training day at the toe of the Quien Sabe Glacier; filled with efficiency techniques, crevasse safety, and rock climbing. After a full day of training we went to bed early to rest up for a summit attempt on the classic peak. Summit day went flawlessly and we found ourselves on top at 10:30 am after some really fun glacier and rock climbing sections. Here are a few shots from the trip. Enjoy! RMI Guide Ben Liken

May 24, 2016 - 10:15 pm PT At 6:00am the guides were just wrestling with the thought of unzipping from warm cocoon of down that so wonderfully keeps the cold outside at bay. A cold front had come thru and the winds had picked up as well. At that hour we didn't know what to expect from the weather. Frost was sticking to the ceiling and walls of the tent, making any attempt to get up unpleasant. This was our first cold morning of the trip. As it turned out, the sun had finally come out in all its glory, quite contrary to the forecast. For the first time the Alaska range was out in all its glory. We had a great walk down to pick up our cache, and unlike yesterday, had some relatively light packs to shoulder. We were actually able to put a new cache in above us at 10,000', which will make our back carry in two days pretty easy. Back at camp, with the tortellini dinner behind us, we're back in our down cocoons as the sun has dropped over the mountains to our west and a chill has returned to camp. Tomorrow, 11,200' camp! Cheers from the team at 9600'. We're all doing well. RMI Guide Brent Okita

On The Map

Hello from the La Malitzi Resort! We are snug in our beds nestled on the flanks of La Malinche, a 14,636' extinct volcanic remnant. We spent the day in this Parque de Nacional stretching our legs and lungs for the first time since we all gathered in the city. We were treated to perfect weather and excellent hiking temperatures. However, as is often the case driving in Mexico, we were delayed by an enormous traffic jam. A bottleneck not in the city this time, but instead shortly before arriving at the mountain. Mexico City was recently hit by a large storm that deposited snow at relatively low elevations. Since this is quite a rare occurrence, the local news outlets have been broadcasting a continuous cycle of footage of families up playing in the snow; some touching it for the first time! With all the media attention, there were hundreds of cars trying to access the La Malinche trailhead and things quickly slowed to a halt. After waiting as long as we could, we left our overnight bags with the driver to sit in traffic, and began the journey through the literally thousands of local hikers towards our goal of reaching the upper slopes of the mountain. Given our time frame, we had no chance of reaching the top, but we hiked for 3 hours amidst a herd of parents, grandparents, children and dogs running past us and often stopping to inquire where we were from and if we were going to look for the snow, as well. When we reached our high point, we bundled up and rested for a half an hour or so, allowing our bodies to recover while enjoying the expansive views from 13,300'. Upon our arrival back at 10,000' our driver had finally reached the resort, checked us in, and most importantly made sure the propane water heaters were warming up for a well deserved shower. It was nearly dark as we got settled and we were all anxiously awaiting the fantastic dinner that Rogelio (our transportation coordinator) promised. It did not disappoint! We feasted on steaks, chorizo, tortillas, beans, guacamole, and grilled vegetables resting on small charcoal grills on our table. Everyone is now off to bed for a solid 8 hours of rest, and then tomorrow we begin our journey toward our first objective, climbing Ixta! Well check in tomorrow from the Altizomoni Hut! RMI Guides Solveig Waterfall, Billy Haas and the team

On The Map