Most Popular Entries

Tuesday, May 14, 2024 - 7:47 pm PT

We had a stellar day of rest and recovery today at 11,000' Camp. The skies were blue as could be and camp was calm and warm. We waited to leave tents until the sun hit, and lingered over blueberry pancakes and coffee. The midday was time for naps, movies, wet wipe baths, fresh clothes, etc. Then we did a quick hour long practice session of cramponing, arrest, and rope travel practice, before a couple more hours of lounging. We're now properly setup for a carry around Windy Corner tomorrow. Ever higher we go!

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

Happy new year everyone! 

The team finally made to Tanzania despite cancelled flights and some crazy reroutes. Our normal 2 days turned into just a few hours on the ground before heading to the mountain. 

Today the team did a great job of getting everything organized before leaving the beautiful River Trees Lodge. We then made our way to the base of Kilimanjaro to meet our awaiting staff that will assist us along this journey. 

It was an enjoyable ride as we headed northeast of Arusha through rural Tanzania passing many coffee plantation and banana farms along the way. 

We were fortunate to hike a few hours before the rain started and the trail turned muddy. Nonetheless, the team did great and we were all elated to reach our camp and hopped into some dry clothes and have a warm meal before heading to bed. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Persevering Crew!!!

Friday, May 24, 2019 11:19 PM PT After awaking to an uncertain forecast and thick clouds passing through camp, the team gathered for breakfast to wait and see what the day held. After a short wait, the clouds began to break and we were greeted with views of the West Buttress. The day went on to deliver excellent weather and we were able to establish a cache at the base of Washburn's Thumb, around 16,400 feet. With our final cache in position, we are now resting at 14k camp and waiting for a weather window to move to 17k camp and then make our attempt on the summit. RMI Guide Steve Gately & Team

July 4, 2017 Happy Independence Day to all of our readers back home in the USA! We couldn't find any fireworks, so we celebrated with a nice walk around the hills of Cheget instead. Beautiful weather and warm temperatures allowed for a leisurely tone today. We spent around an hour above 10,000 feet, snacking, trading factoids, and testing out some thinner air. Passerby might have called it lounging, but we're going to call it hard work. Whatever you want to call it, today was a success. We headed back down toward tree line for lunch in Cheget. The team considered purchasing matching headwear as a sign of solidarity and unity. Ultimately, the potential headpieces proved to be far too itchy. A good idea nonetheless. Now, gear has been sorted, packing has begun, and we are just about ready to move up to the mountain tomorrow morning. RMI Guides JM Gorum and Mark Tucker, and the Elbrus Crew July 3, 2017 Dobryy vecher!!! That's good evening, to all of you at home. We are writing from the wonderful hamlet of Cheget after another full travel day. We left our hotel this morning at 5:40, packed our 24 duffels and 12 bodies into a van, shuffled through airport security, and departed for Mineralnye Vody. We all made it, and so did our bags. Excellent news! The sun and heat of our more southerly locale had people changing into shorts and flip flops as soon as possible. After checking in to the hotel, the team enjoyed a walk around town, some locale cuisine, wonderful views of Elbrus, and maybe even a nap or two. More relaxing is on the schedule before our first acclimatization hike tomorrow. We will check in again tomorrow. Thanks for following along- RMI Guides Mark Tucker and JM Gorum, and the Elbrus Crew.

On The Map

This morning on Aconcagua we woke up slow as the sun hit our tents.  As the team rolled into breakfast the eggs, onions, and peppers were sizzling on the grill.  We casually sat around and chatted and laughed about the trials and tribulations of the day before.  As the afternoon came, it was siestas all around before our steak dinner.  Now with a lot of rest on board, the team is ready to move higher on the mountain. RMI Guide Ben Liken

Greetings from the beautiful Eco Lodge of Tambopaxi, located inside of Cotopaxi National Park. We are all resting nicely despite our elevation being well above 12,000 feet. In the ten days we have been in Ecuador, eight of them have been spent living or climbing above 14,000 feet so despite this lodge being higher than any staffed tourist joint in the US, we are all feeling dandy. It is amazing how after three days away from civilization the internet can trump even a shower. But now that we all got our fix, 19,400-foot Cotopaxi is taking center stage in our heads and out the window. It is quite a quick transition from mountain to mountain but the team's successful summit of Antisana, the first by any RMI team, is proving a strong motivator to push our tired legs upward one more time. Our legs won't be the only tired things because with the famous Cotopaxi hut closed for the time being, Tambopaxi sits a short 45 minutes away from the trail head, which in turn sits a short 45-minute hike from the mountain's normal starting point so our wake up call will casually be at 9:30pm. We expect a long night and day so resting now is crucial. We will be taking dinner in an hour then getting ready for our final mountain climb. We will report tomorrow with the outcome. Wishing all of our families and friends the best. We miss you all and look forward to coming home soon. RMI Guide Adam Knoff

Hello again Everyone, It was anyone long day of travel here in Russia for us again. We departed Moscow moderately early and flew southward to the town of Mineralnye Vody (which means mineral water) where we were meet by our local guide Alexander. We loaded all of our duffels into the waiting van and continued heading south towards Mt. Elbrus. This part of Russia is very rural and the countryside is mostly used for agriculture purposes, especially sunflowers! It has been heavily influenced by the Turkish and is therefore predominately Islamic. It's beautiful here, but it also seems a bit behind the times when compared to Moscow or St. Petersburg. The team enjoyed the views, had a little fun, but everyone is ready for some exercise! RMI Guide Casey Grom and Crew

Today we climbed to the top of ski hill. We got a good dose of reality as we each hauled over 100 lbs. of gear 2000 vertical feet up hill. The only relief comes from looking around at the huge mountains all around us. Everyone did great on the climb of Ski Hill today, but we were all a bit tired as we pulled into our camp. The routine of living on Denali is starting to settle in for everyone and we’re all in good spirits for the rest of the climb.

On The Map

The Five-Day Climb led by RMI Guides Casey Grom, Tatum Whatford, and Brooks Ordway-Smith reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today at 12:50 p.m. Taking advantage of calm winds and clear skies, the team successfully ascended to Columbia Crest at 14,410 feet. They spent about an hour on the summit soaking in the views before beginning their descent.

The team is now safely back at Camp Muir, where they will spend one more night before continuing their descent to Paradise in the morning. Congratulations to all climbers on a fantastic summit day!

The Expedition Skills Seminar – Muir, May 4–9, led by RMI Guide Seth Burns, successfully reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at approximately 9:15 AM today. The team encountered cold and windy conditions during their ascent from Camp Muir to the top of Disappointment Cleaver. However, upon reaching 13,200 feet, the winds eased, giving way to sunshine and clear skies.

Over the past several days, the team has been based at Camp Muir, where they focused on building essential mountaineering skills. They will spend one final night on the mountain before descending to Paradise tomorrow.

Well done, team!

PC: Hannah Blum