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The Mount Baker Easton Team stood on the summit this morning with all climbers!

It was a perfect climb with a slight breeze and some clouds to keep us cool on the way down. We’re back at Sandy Camp watching a beautiful sunset and will walk back out to the trailhead tomorrow morning.

RMI Guide Jess Wedel and Team 

How often do you get to lounge in the warm sun on a boat as you zip across the Straights of Magellan? We went out to see the penguins and sea lions today and couldn't stop taking pictures. Not a cloud in sight on this hot summer day so we mirrored the sea lions and laid out in the sun. The penguins make everyone smile as they waddle around awkwardly on land and smoothly dart through the water. This afternoon we made it to Puerto Natales where we tasted the Calafate beer which has a sweet almost blueberry flavor. Legend has it if you eat some Calafate berries you will return, and if you eat a lot then you will just stay in Patagonia. I think right now, we are all happy to eat some. We just completed a group gear check and pack and are off to explore this funky town for the evening. Tomorrow we hit the trail! RMI Guide Christina Dale

Thursday, June 14th - 4:36 pm PT We aren’t getting restless yet! We had a beautiful but gusty morning at camp that allowed us to improve our storm walls and batten down the hatches. The summit has been displaying quite the cap over it with long tails indicating the strong winds up high on top of the frigid temperatures. The forecast has finally confirmed that beginning tomorrow and through the weekend will bring heavy snow. We are going to catch the tail of a tropical surge coming off the Pacific, some words to describe it have been a cyclone or Pineapple Express. We will keep you updated on the snowfall amounts! Yesterday, we had a greeting party to welcome Mike King’s team at 14 Camp. We are glad to have some additional company as we wait out this storm. Thanks for the blog comments from our family and friends, keep them coming! RMI Guide Tyler Jones

Monday, March 27th, 10:00 pm PST Hey, everybody this is Casey Grom checking in from Everest Base Camp. Just wanted to let you know that the Base Camp Trek team finally made it into camp yesterday afternoon. We had a nice climb or hike of Kala Patar, which is the high point of our trip, a little over 18,000 feet and then dropped back down and made a three-hour hike into Base Camp behind a long line of about 150 yaks bringing in all the gear and food and things necessary for the expeditions over here this season. Last night the phone was really cold so it didn't hold a charge. I had to get it fired up this morning so we could reach out to you guys and let you know we're doing great. A beautiful sunny day, a little bit windy here today as you can probably hear. The team's doing great, and we just wrapped up a big breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and plenty of coffee. Thankfully our base camp crew just got the nice hot shower operational, and so we're going to take our take our time and let everybody get washed up, cleaned up. If we can we're going to do a short little walk here around camp, and then if all goes well our plan is to have dinner here tonight, spend one more night, and then head back down hill tomorrow. RMI Guide Casey Grom

This morning the team woke again in Quito, had a short breakfast provided by the Hotel Mercure Alameda and meet in the lobby at 8:30AM. Today's agenda took us a short distance from downtown to the Quito Teleferico where we would take the Gondola to 13,200ft and begin our acclimatization hike to the summit of Rucu Pichincha. The old extinct volcano sits at a height of 15,700ft and offers an excellent opportunity for our team to begin its acclimatization.  The acclimatization process consists of climbing to a higher elevation, in our case 15,700ft and only spending a short amount of time there. This provokes the body into producing more blood red cells to help carry more oxygen throughout the body. We then return to a lower elevation to sleep in order to recover and allow our bodies time to readjust.  The day started off slightly overcast with a few sprinkles but by the time we made it to the top of the gondola the weather was dry and cool. Perfect for hiking! We enjoyed a short glimpse at the Northwestern flanks of the stratovolcano Cotopaxi, which is still currently closed to climbing due to recent activity. The trail takes us over rolling terrain and a few short but exciting easy rock steps before climbing moderately to its summit block. From there the trail dissipates and we begin picking the path of least resistance through blocky terrain. At this time the clouds descending upon us and a light rain began falling. We summitted Rucu Pichincha at around noon in a white out. The team did fantastic with the new altitude and enjoyed getting out of the city, seeing more of the country and stretching the legs. We're now back from dinner feeling a little guilty about the amount of pizza we just all consumed and are looking forward to some sleep. Tomorrow takes us a few hours out of the city where we will enjoy another acclimatization hike up Fuya Fuya (13,980ft) and a night in the city of Cayambe.  Thanks for following along. Stay tuned for more! RMI Guide Steve Gately

Hello everyone this is the Aconcagua team coming at ya safe and sound at base camp! This will officially be our last blog. So instead of blabbing on about the same old same old...I'm going to pass the electronics around so our team members can give their own shout outs. JJ Justman Hi Mom and Sam and Giulia. We both are alive and recovering from a successful summit with beers. Love you, Dad and Jenny Hey Morgan, Mom and Dad. Had a great time summiting ! Miss you guys a lot. Love Adam! Hi Vera Kim likely Cary. I got to 21,000ft so no summit but am now at base camp very difficult so 31 miles to walk out then back to Mendoza. In 2 days very burnt out, but ok. Bye -David P Jenny and I give a shout out to all the Hines' and Gazzolas. We conquered Aconcagua 22,841 feet. I didn't quite make it to the summit but sure am enjoying the experience! Hi to Mom and Dad, and thanks to Linda for holding the fort down...Sue

On The Map

The Four Day Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides Geoff Schellens and Adam Knoff reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today under sunny skies. The teams spent a little time on the crater before starting their descent around 7:30 am. Once at Camp Muir the teams will take a short break and continue down to Paradise. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!

Hello again everyone. The team is finally back safe and sound in Quito after a very wet two days. Unfortunately we didn’t make the summit, but as Lou Whittaker used to say, "Sometimes you eat the mountain and sometimes the mountain eats you" and today the mountain was tougher. Yesterday we hiked up to the Refugio on Cotopaxi in some of the windiest and wettest conditions I’ve seen here. We settled into the climber's hut and discussed our game plan for the climb with hopes that the weather would dissipate, then enjoyed a nice warm meal before heading to bed early. We woke up at 11pm and got dressed and all of our gear ready before a very quick breakfast and then headed out to give it our best. The team climbed for about two hours in a sideways rain before it turned to ice and encased us in our waterproof clothes. To be honest it was pretty miserable, but the team kept a positive attitude as we battled the weather. It didn’t take long for us to realize that climbing in these conditions was far less than ideal. So just short of 18,000ft we called it good. Then quickly descended back to the hut to escape the maelstrom. The team is currently relaxing in our comfortable hotel and looking forward to another nice meal before catching our flights back home early tomorrow morning. Thanks for following! RMI Guide Casey Grom and the soggy but happy crew

A Vinson climb in the heart of Antarctica begins with a heck of a lot of airplane and airport time. Over the past two days my team assembled in Punta Arenas in Southern Chile. Today, the five of us met after breakfast and began to go over the details of how we’ll get from South America to the Ice. It was an easy day of packing personal gear and resting in hotel rooms. Outside, the weather swirled and cycled in a typical late November Patagonian mad mix. The wind generally howled and white caps were everywhere out on the Straits of Magellan. Rain showers alternated with intense sunshine and blue sky. In the early evening, we walked a few blocks along the busy streets to a trusted restaurant and enjoyed a casual dinner while discussing colder places. We’ll have tomorrow to complete our preparations and these last two nights to get over our jet lag. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Namaste! Another great day of terrible weather and awful landscapes... Just kidding. We are having an incredible time, as everyone's physiology is adapting seamlessly to the altitude of the Himalaya, and that allows for a better enjoyment of the trail, the views and cultural experience. We just arrived to our lodge in Gokyo at 4800m, and next to the Dudh Pokhari, a turquoise lake that bears the same name, and with Cho Oyu in the distance, the sixth tallest mountain of the world, a magical stay is guaranteed. That's all for now! RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and team