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Hello from the tiny mountain village of Azau. Today was our transfer day so we've been up and on the move since before 5:30am. We rolled out of Moscow just as the hard core partiers were finishing up their night and it was funny to see people dressed up for going out mingling with other people starting their Saturday morning. The traffic was light, the check-in and security lines were smooth and the flight was just under two hours. The only major events of the day had to do with our spirited Russian driver and cows in the road. Tomorrow we'll get some hiking in and I think the whole team is looking forward to some exercise and fresh air. That's it for now, RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

On The Map

May 23, 2015 - 11:00 pm PT In the real world the saying goes"the early bird gets the worm". This season on Denali, the early bird gets the weather window. Now I've never been a bird before so I'm not gonna judge on how good a worm must taste, but I have been here before and I can tell you that moving camp in clear weather is much tastier than moving in a storm. So, with a clear but windy morning we scarfed down a warm granola breakfast cached some unneeded gear and quickly broke camp. Our team is getting very proficient at this skill so we were rolling by 9:15. Nick led the team out and in 2.5 hours of sustained up hill travel had us all sitting at 11,200 feet. It wasn't long after we began building a fresh camp that the weather had enough of being nice and took a quick turn for the worst. It held out just long enough to get camp built and then really started snowing and blowing. The forecast is calling for up to a foot of snow by the end of tomorrow so we feel blessed to be in a good spot to wait things out. Everyone sends big hugs to those following the blog and little hugs to those who aren't. From from Camp three. RMI Guide Adam Knoff and team saying goodnight.

On The Map

Buenas tardes from Huaraz! What a day we had! We were greeted by a sunny morning in Huaraz, with excellent views of the Huascaran and Copa mountains right from our hotel. After breakfast, we headed without hesitation to the "Laguna Churup" trailhead for a morning stroll (which by the way, felt really good after two days of flying and riding a bus.) It was the perfect acclimatization hike, since we were taken from 0' to 10,000' by a bus, so exercising a bit at this elevation we found very beneficial. From the trailhead at 13,000' we hiked a good 2 1/2 hours towards this glacial lake at around 14,400' (oddly enough, similar height of Mount Rainier) and we all got a better chance to start getting to know each other a bit better. Governed by "Nevado Churup", a small but steep peak on the southern end of the Cordillera Blanca, the turquoise of its waters, inspired the better picture moments of the day. After a short snack, we began our descent to the trailhead. Once back in town, we run the logistics of buying some extra snack food, a couple gear items and final arrangements with our outfitter to hit the trail towards Ishinca Valley tomorrow at 8am sharp. Our next dispatch will be from Base Camp and from our satphone. Best regards to everyone back home! RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos

After waiting at the airstrip in Talkeetna all morning due to socked in conditions at basecamp, the sky cleared and off to the mountain we flew. We arrived to beautiful weather at our basecamp on the Kahiltna Glacier. We set up camp, did some crevasse rescue practice, ate dinner, and prepared our sleds. Currently, we are tucked away in our tents trying to sleep through the midnight sun before our very early departure up the frozen glacier to 7,800 ft. RMI Guide Mike Haugen

On The Map

Namaste everyone, Today was our third and final day in wonderful Namche Bazaar. We had an early breakfast and headed out the door for a hike that was part exploring and part acclimatization. The weather was calm and clear and allowed us some of our first views of Everest and other Himalayan giants. It was breathtaking to say the least. Even though Mt. Everest is still miles away it looks really BIG! We climbed up to somewhere around 12,000' so that's only 17,035' more to go. Our adventure took us to two villages called Khunde and Khumjung. Khumjung is famous from Sir Edmond Hillary having built one of the first schools in the Khumbu Valley and their delicious bakery. Along the way we stopped off at the Everest View Hotel and had a quick drink and enjoyed the view the hotel is famous for. Everyone is doing great and we are looking forward to moving further up the Khumbu Valley.

Sunday, May 18, 2025 - 11:35 pm PT

Cache retrieval complete! It was an in and out snowy day, at time hot, at times cold, but winds stayed light so we bopped back to 13,500ft and retrieved our goodies. The rest of the day we rested and took stock. Most realized they have some work ahead to catch up on lunch food eating. Tomorrow looks snowy so we’ll take a full rest day, probably build some walls, and Ben has a short seminar called “get your fix” to get everyone ready for the fixed lines above. And though this will post tomorrow morning, Brian wants to wish Lacey a very happy anniversary (and we wish the same to them both!). 

Best from 14,000' Camp to everyone at home,
RMI Guides Pete, Ben, Nick, and team

Summit Success on Orizaba!

Our week of soggy climbs and long walks up closed access roads paid off yesterday. Around 9:30am, we all walked onto the summit of Pico de Orizaba!

When we woke around midnight, the gusty winds pushing us around in camp made a summit seem iffy. But as we left camp the winds died and we climbed under beautiful starry skies. The sun rose as we made our way up the Jamapa Glacier toward the summit, and gave us the classic pyramidal shadow of Orizaba over the valleys and towns bellow. 

Everyone pushed hard as we passed 18,000 feet, and as we walked onto the summit, we were alone in the sun to take photos and take in the spectacular views of many of Mexico’s large volcanos. 

Congratulations to Norbert and Etienne on their strong work this week, and a successful summit of the third tallest mountain in North America, and the tallest of Mexico’s impressive volcanoes!

RMI Guide Joe Hoch

Jambo from Barafu Camp, 15,200', where we're getting ready to go to the summit tonight! 

We enjoyed our shortest walk of the week this morning with the route being direct and quite enjoyable. Traversing around a significant bit of the mountain has allowed us to enjoy Kili from many aspects. And now we can finally see the route that will take us to crater rim, and from there, the summit! 

The team is feeling well and we're all primed for tonight's midnight start. The weather has been incredible and I don't see it changing any time soon. 

A hot lunch in half an hour will be followed by an early dinner then bed as we prepare ourselves for the big climb. 

Wish us luck tonight and we'll follow up tomorrow. 

RMI Guide Brent Okita

Wednesday, May 15, 2019 11:00 PM PST After a good night's rest the team had early start and a quick breakfast before meeting at K2 Aviation to finalize our departure. Weather was looking great and by 8AM we started loading up the planes. Before we knew it we were airborne and on our way. A couple hours spent reorganizing gear at KIA (Kahiltna International Airport) and we donned the weight of a 22 day trip and took off down the Southeast Fork. It's such a pleasure to be able to travel through this stretch of terrain with good visibility and weather. The Alaskan giants of Hunter and Foraker are staring you down and making the turn North up the Kahiltna glacier Denali slowly reveals itself. The team did great handling the heavy weight and readjustment to life on the glacier. We are now camped at the base of a major feature known simply as "Ski Hill" at a popular interim camp at 7,800ft. Tomorrow we will bring a cache of gear to 9,600ft, bury it and return to 7,800ft. This will help get all of our food and equipment further up the hill without having to carry it all up at once. I didn't have to do much convincing! Thanks to everyone whose following along! RMI Guide Steve Gately

On The Map

You do you muffin, you do you, is how I would describe today. We all enjoyed different activities to recharge our mind and body before we make our move uphill tomorrow. Two of us went scrambling on some not so quality rock, while others went up the rolling grass hills above Base Camp. Some enjoyed a relaxing day listening to music, reading books, making jewelry or braiding hair. This afternoon we all gathered to sort out a game plan for our climb on Sunday and for the handful of days after. We have to schedule for porters to come up and help us break down Base Camp before we head uphill. We are all rather excited for the coming days. We have been waiting for this moment to climb something for roughly two weeks, with one of those weeks spent at Base Camp. Tomorrow everyone will make their way to the High Camp at their leisure and settle in before we climb the next morning. Talk to you all at high camp, RMI Guide Hannah Smith