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We are up at the Cayambe climbers hut at around 15,300 ft. The weather is quite windy with alternating rain and snow showers. We're comfortable inside the hut. We have been going over knots and crevasse rescue systems. Hopefully the weather improves so we can head out on our summit bid with an early alpine start tonight. For now we're staying dry and warm inside the hut. We'll touch base again tomorrow to let you know how it goes.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Posted by: Geoff Schellens, Eric Frank
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
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June 8, 2015, 10:59 am PT
After a strenuous day getting to 14 Camp yesterday, we slept in this morning. The sun crept into camp around 9:15 am and we slow crawled out of our tents shortly thereafter. The weather today was pretty good but the forecast is calling for some more snow and wind so we spent the day building giant snow walls around our camp and resting. The team is doing very well and acclimating well. If the weather is good tomorrow we might go do a short walk up the West Rib but either way we are dug in here at 14,200' and are ready for whatever the weather gods allow us to do.
That's all for now.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
On The Map
Hi Kim! We missed you this weekend and are looking forward to hearing from you! Hope the climb starts going better! Love, momma
Posted by: jane Lubow on 6/8/2015 at 6:24 pm
The Four Day Summit Climb team led by RMI Guide Brent Okita was unable to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Low visibility and windy conditions prevented the team from climbing above 13,200 ft. The team will descend back to Camp Muir before continuing on to Ashford this afternoon.
Sorry to hear of the news, but thankful you guys will be coming home safely. Sure wish the weather would have opened up for your summit push. Great job getting that far in that weather.
Posted by: RC on 5/23/2015 at 2:15 pm
Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
It's been another great day on safari. Today we got an early start and headed to Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. This is different from the national parks here in Tanzania in that the Masaai people are allowed to continue their traditional way of life in the conservation area but no one is allowed to live in the national parks.
The entrance to the crater is only 15 minutes from our hotel but then we have to drive around the rim to get to a descent road. So along the way we stopped at a Masaai village where they showed us how they organize the village and what their homes are like. It was all very interesting.
After we got down to the floor of the crater we started to see all of the animals that we came for. We did get the chance to see a female lion and her cubs but it was very hot and they we just relaxing in the shade. After that we got to see two fairly active rhinos fairly close to the road and that was a real treat. But I would have to say the best sighting of the day was a few hippos feeding on grass very close to the car.
Now we are headed back to the Plantation Lodge for the night. Tomorrow we'll sleep in a little and then head to Tarangire National Park and Kikoti Camp which are our last destinations on this trip.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
WOW! Sounds like an amazing experience! Patty, we can’t to see you and hear all about this incredible adventure!! Take lots of pictures… We love you… Be safe…
Posted by: Sally on 2/5/2015 at 4:18 am
Patty—-get as many selfies as you can with ALL of the locals… 2 legged and 4 legged as long as it’s legal, and of course safe! Love you! Regina
Posted by: Regina on 2/4/2015 at 2:11 pm
Sometimes the most difficult part of any expedition is just getting on the mountain. Today, our Elbrus team got one step closer.
We jumped on a flight from Moscow and arrived in Mineralnye Vody and then had a 2 1/2 hour shuttle ride to arrive in Cheget.
We are now sitting under the glistening Caucasus Mountains that surround the valley. Some of our team are exploring the shops in town while others are sorting mountaineering gear.
Thanks for catching up with is and stay tuned for some photos and video of this wonderful area.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
Posted by:
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Hello this is Gabriel checking in with our group in Argentina. We left Mendoza yesterday and traveled closer to the mountain. We spent the night in the small town of Los Penitentes. Everyone is doing well and enjoying the steak, bread and wine of Argentina. Today we will hike to Pampa La Lenas. We are all looking forward to stretching our legs and getting on the trail. The weather has been great and we will continue to update you on our progress.
Posted by: Mike Walter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
It rained over night and we slept in a bit until it stopped around 9 am. The clouds persisted until around noon and then the sun poked out a bit. We fit a very full day of training in despite the rain: snow and ice anchors, anchor systems, crevasse rescue, and belaying and top roping techniques were some of the topics we covered. The weather forecast looks better for tomorrow and we hope to go for the summit. I'll check in from the top!
RMI Guide Mike Walter and Team.
Posted by: Mike King, Avery Parrinello, Dominic Cifelli
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 17,200'
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Tuesday, June 18, 2019 - 8:55 PM PT
Well, today we finally got out of 14 Camp. We had spent eight nights there and by an early season Denali trip that’s nothing but for us and the weather we have had, it felt like an eternity. Today proved to be no cooler temperature wise, HOT going up the fixed lines and once we gained the West Buttress proper it was some of the figurative coolest ridge walking this group has done. We didn’t get great views due to thin clouds but that’s ok, our entire trip has been good views.
We don’t know what tomorrow holds and we could take a rest day if needed. High pressure is building over Denali and we are hopeful to summit tomorrow. Getting to 17 Camp can be a chore, but once you're there Camp must be built, 6 XGK stoves must be managed to make drinking water and hot water for meals. Camp is situated in a glacial depression and we can see the Autobahn which plagues climbers for the first two hours on summit day. This section gets its name from how fast you can get going if you fall and are not clipped into the running belays. Other than a long day, the Team is doing mostly well. It’s normal to not feel 100% here at 17,200’. None of us are living our best lives physiologically, but we are really excited to have a crack at 20,320’. Thanks for the support and blog comments, I’ve been saving them for an alternative pep talk tonight instead of my traditional surly high school gym coach style motivational speech.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
Go team go! We’re rooting for you Allan and today’s possible summit!!!
Posted by: Bryan C-G on 6/20/2019 at 12:59 pm
Is so amazing what you are doing!!! Keep up the good work!!!
Please send my regards to Boris! We miss him!
Posted by: Laurent Villa on 6/19/2019 at 5:59 am
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Tough start to the day up at high camp as the winds weren’t inclined to give us a break. These weren’t the kind of winds that could rip your tent down, just the kind that make it a little miserable to be outside, say taking down a tent or trying to do up ones crampons. We persevered, with huge help from Patchi and Lakpa Rita, two of ALE’s guides, we carefully got our work done and got walking downhill around 12:30 PM. No surprise, it was tough work getting down the fixed ropes with full packs, but we just kept at it. We pulled into low camp and got back into the world of sleds and flat glacier travel. All were tired from multiple hard days strung together, but we got walking toward Vinson Basecamp (VBC) at 4PM in any case. By this point our radio communications had let us know that an airplane would be on the ground at VBC awaiting our arrival. We couldn’t run, but of course we went down at a business like pace, despite sore feet and worn out muscles. We passed a number of climbing teams headed up the mountain -the next wave- and we wished them all well. We arrived at base around 6:30 and set for some serious and rapid gear sorting. We were busy and motivated, but not so much that we couldn’t connect with ALE’s wonderful staff at VBC to thank them for such comprehensive support and friendship. It turned out that we were sharing the flight with a couple of ALE’s owners and so our Twin Otter pilot, Monica, took the scenic route through the mountains, much to our delight.
We got back to Union Glacier on a calm and sunny -warm, by our standards- evening and life got a lot easier. The camp is chock full of marathon runners who’d flown in this afternoon. We missed that flight as an exit and so it seems we’ll get to be here for a bit longer and who knows... perhaps we’ll run in a little endurance race to stay limber.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 9,127'
What a day!
From the full moon that illuminated our wake up, to the radiant sun that shone all day, we had an incredible climb up the Fisher Chimneys Route, to the Curtis Glacier, to the summit pyramid. Few attempt the entire route from Lake Ann, but determined climbers seemed to push this guide up the mountain, and the long feat, was executed with ease. We're now crawling into our sleeping bags, after our camp dinner that tasted heavenly, since all we had all day was chocolates and bars...
The smoke from fires seems to be fading, and the ambiance from camp is rather idyllic.
We'll hike out tomorrow with hopes of enjoying a hearty brunch in town.
Good evening from Lake Ann!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
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Good luck guys especially Travis!!
Posted by: Kathy Williams on 6/21/2015 at 2:13 pm
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