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July 16, 2022

We began our morning with another alpine start and left basecamp under the stars at 2:00 a.m. for our summit attempt of Urus Este. We climbed the steep rocky approach in the cool night air. With frosty packs the team made the toe of the glacier and donned our crampons, ropes, and axes just before the skies became purple and pink. Reaching the summit of Urus Este in style, 100% of the team was all smiles!

More to come!

RMI Guide Alan Davis and team

After making great progress on their descent, RMI Guides Dave Hahn & Melissa Arnot and team are safely at Camp 2! It was a long day but sleep will be so nice with the thick air of 21,000'. I will continue to send updates as the team makes their way back to Everest Basecamp. RMI Guide and Everest Basecamp Manager Mark Tucker

On The Map

Things are looking good for the team. The wait should prove itself worth it, the weather window and the overall health of the team is like having the pole position at the Indy 500. An early breakfast, and six plus hours of climbing should put the team at Camp 2 tomorrow. We enjoyed a great pizza dinner send off tonight. Some last minute packing, and early to bed. Go team go! RMI Guide & Everest Basecamp Manager Mark Tucker

On The Map

Today's RMI Four Day Climb with guides Steve Gately and Jackson Breen climbed to Ingraham Flats to enjoy the sunrise. The high heat, and current route conditions prevented the team from safely going any further onto the upper mountain. The team enjoyed the morning climb and are now descending to Paradise.

The Five Day Climb August 20 - 24 reached the summit of Mt. RaInier on Tuesday, August 23rd led by RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli and Joe Hoch.  The teams were able to spend time in the crater enjoying the beautiful morning.  After taking all the photos, the teams started their descent to Camp Muir.  Climbers enjoyed some rest and a final night on the mountain.  They plan to start their descent to Paradise around 9 am.  We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp early this afternoon.

Congratulations team!

2010: On the Summit of Pico de Orizaba, Mexico. Lance is holding the RMI flag. ---- In honor of our 50th Anniversary, we are featuring stories of first climbs. Stories from guides and stories from climbers. Today we are excited to share Annette Berg’s story of her late husband, Lance’s first climb of Mt. Rainier. Annette will be climbing Mt. Rainier on a Five Day Climb later this month in honor of her 25th wedding anniversary and in memory of her husband, Lance. Find out more about having your first climb featured on our blog! ---- When we were married in 1994, RMI was 25 years old. This year would have been our 25th wedding anniversary, but unfortunately my husband, Lance, passed away three years ago. So it seems befitting, with RMI’s 50th and my 25th anniversary, to share our story – mostly Lance’s climbing journey, which played a huge part in our life. It all started with a hike up Green Mountain in the Glacier Peak Wilderness of Washington State in August of 2000. Family members wanted us to hike this mountain. Our shoes were all wrong, the packs were terrible, and we did not have enough water. In the days following this monumental first hike, both of us opted to crawl up the stairs in our house. The soreness was ridiculous and lasted for days. Once we recovered from Green Mountain, we decided we actually enjoyed the pain and suffering. So we bought proper hiking gear and started hiking regularly. It got a lot easier with time. 2010: Lance at Plaza Argentina, BaseCamp on Aconcagua. One afternoon in 2001, we found ourselves on the Skyline Trail of Mt. Rainier. On that afternoon everything changed. We ran into groups of descending climbers. This was new! We both knew nothing of the climbing world and we both were instantly fascinated by them. Somehow they were like mythical creatures. They looked cool and had the coolest stuff attached to their big backpacks: ice axes, crampons, helmets, ropes. They had seen places that truly not a lot of people get to see. Earthly folks on the Skyline Trail made way to let them pass. It was impressive. Suddenly hiking took on a whole new dimension. It was still just hiking, but we started to educate ourselves about Mt. Rainier, Mt. Everest, mountaineering equipment, Camp Muir, Ed Viesturs, etc. We figured out that RMI existed in Ashford. We attended the first Rainier Mountain Festival that RMI had (even before there was the Bar and Grill). Ed Viesturs was there and we had our picture taken with him. He was our new idol. Annette Berg at Rainier BaseCamp in Ashford, WA. All along we heard stories about the Muir Snowfield. We heard about the dangers of it. In our minds, only those mythical creatures could walk up the Snowfield to get to Camp Muir. One day, we hiked up to Pebble Creek and dared to walk onto the Muir Snowfield. We probably went up about a quarter of a mile and then, for no apparent reason, became freaked out by our own boldness and returned promptly to Pebble Creek. We did however, feel quite accomplished with our quarter mile venture. Throughout the years, the hiking continued. The mountaineering knowledge increased. We actually dared to go to Camp Muir many times, sometimes a few times a week. We still admired all the mythical creatures that were at Camp Muir ready to climb the Mountain. Then in 2008, Lance decided he would climb Mt. Rainier and become one of those mythical creatures. He went all in and signed up for a climb with Ed Viesturs and Peter Whittaker in August 2008. I guess I was his base camp manager. I helped him with all the packing, repacking, and food selection. We combed through the agenda and checklists for hours to make sure he had everything. It was exhilarating. 2008: Mt. Rainier. From L to R: Peter Whittaker, Melissa Arnot Reid, Lance Berg, and Ed Viesturs. On a hot and sunny morning, when the Viesturs/Whittaker team went up to Camp Muir, I was at Pebble Creek taking pictures like paparazzi as they passed by. I wished them luck and waived them off. By the time I returned to Paradise, it was noisy and very busy. I had binoculars and from the parking lot I could see the upper end of the Muir Snowfield. I think that was the moment I fell in love with the Mountain. I saw the groups of climbers, like centipedes, silent and graceful, above all the commotion of Paradise. Up there the centipedes seem to be one with nature and worshipping the Mountain. I was convinced that the tourists down below had no clue about what goes on up there. Lance made his first summit. Then mountaineering became a passion. He loved climbing with RMI. He loved the adventure and the social aspect. He preferred to climb with RMI rather than privately because he knew a lot of the guides. If a jacket, shirt, or hat had the RMI logo on it, he had to buy it. If I wanted to be seen in his company, I had to have items with the RMI logo. I was part of all his training and planning. Heck, I have seen so many orientations at RMI, I could give that presentation. Every summer, RMI BaseCamp in Ashford was our happy place. We would drive the two and a half hours to Mt. Rainier many times for a day of hiking, or to go up to Camp Muir, and then returned to RMI for food and beer. We attended many more Mountain Festivals. 2012: Lance celebrates his 6th summit of Mt. Rainier. This summit was via the Emmons Route. Lance ended up climbing Mt Rainier seven times with RMI. One of the climbs was the Emmons route. Every time he came down, I was waiting for him at BaseCamp with a beer ready and sandals so he could free his feet from his climbing boots. One day, there were even a few of the Seattle Seahawks Cheerleaders at BaseCamp, but that’s a different story entirely. Lance’s other RMI climbs included Mt. Shuksan, Cotopaxi and Cayambe in Ecuador, Ixtaccihuatl and Pico de Orizaba in Mexico, and Aconcagua in Argentina. 2010: Lance on the summit of Aconcagua. Just to make it clear, Lance’s death in 2016 was not due to mountaineering. Since then, I have continued to return to Mt. Rainier and RMI BaseCamp in the summers to hike. Sometimes I’m alone, sometimes with family or friends. The Mountain will always be one of the most amazing places I have been to and it holds a special place in my heart. This year with our 25th wedding anniversary, my plan is to summit Mt. Rainier in Lance’s memory. I want to take Lance’s picture to the summit. The Mountain has brought him and me so much happiness. I need to stand on top so I can feel closer to the mythical creature my husband has become. Annette Berg

My little team began to combine in Kathmandu yesterday afternoon. Jeff Martin met my flight into hot and dusty K-Du at around one o'clock. As my boss at RMI, Jeff has already been over here for nearly a week, chasing down logistical details and getting all the arrangements arranged. My climbers, Bill and Sara McGahan, beat me into town by about an hour, having flown East out of Atlanta, while I circled West from Taos. Long, long flights no matter how you slice it.... a passel of time zones and bad airplane food. I had time for a quick shower back at the hotel before Jeff and I taxied our way over to the Ministry of Tourism. I scribbled my name a half-dozen times and shook a bunch of official hands... swallowed the obligatory cup of sweet tea and voile!! we walked out with an all-important Everest climbing permit. We retreated to the hotel to join Bill and Sara for dinner. Despite the fun reunion, we got yawning and fading fast... hopelessly jet-lagged we stumbled off to our rooms. Linden Mallory is already up in the Khumbu, we'll get together with him about a week into our trek, and Mark Tucker will join us at about the same time to complete the team. For now it is just four of us, which made today pretty easy when it came to a final gear check and packing session. We enjoyed an interview and conversation with Bili Bierling who is helping the legendary Elizabeth Hawley with the monumental task of keeping track of climber statistics in the Nepal Himalaya. Then we each made a few forays out into the streets to track down odds and ends -our version of sightseeing at this busy point in the expedition. We need to be ready to fly good and early tomorrow morning, up from 4,000 feet in Kathmandu to 9,200 feet in Lukla before the air gets cloudy and turbulent. My clock is set for 4:15 and my bags are packed once again... with luck we'll be walking in mountains by mid-morning. RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Tuesday, December 28, 2021 7:47 pm PT

When we met for breakfast at seven this morning, we were optimistic…about COVID test results, about weather in Antarctica and about a thousand moving parts and plans meshing perfectly.  Turns out our optimism was warranted; this was a great day.  We fired up the Gulfstream 7 at 12:30 PM and flew out of Patagonia headed South.  We watched out the windows as sea ice began to appear and then mountains and massive glaciers.  Our pilot slash climber extraordinaire, call sign -Sniggy- landed the plane ever so gently on the ice runway at Union Glacier just after 4 PM.  We got out, marveling at our new world, unloaded our gear and then watched pilots Kurt and Rob lift the G7 off the ice and back into the sky bound for Punta Arenas.

We boarded two ski equipped Twin Otters and took off just after 5 PM for Vinson Base Camp. It was a clear and sunny day, so we could see thousands of the jagged and angular peaks comprising the 200-mile-long Ellsworth Mountains.  We landed uphill at 7000 ft on the Branscomb Glacier a little before 6 PM.  We met Hannah, Scott and Forrest, the excellent ALE guides we’ll be partnering with for this trip.  With Superstars like Conrad Anker and Ed Viesturs on the team, there were plenty of outgoing climbers anxious for handshakes and pictures.  Then it was an easy and pleasant evening of getting settled in camp and sorted for moving up the mountain tomorrow.  We ate a fine dinner in the comfortable basecamp dining tent and attended to chores, some jogged in the snow around the 1/4-mile perimeter of basecamp for a little exercise.  All of us spent a fair bit of time with our mouths hanging open, just staring at gigantic and precipitous Mt. Vinson a few miles East of basecamp.  And then we called it a day.  But a great and memorable day.

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

RMI Guides Casey Grom & Alex Halliday led their Four Day Climb Teams July 10 - 13, 2021 to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning.  The teams reached the crater rim at 5:10 am.  Skies were clear and winds were calm as the teams enjoyed some time on the summit.   They began their descent from the crater rim at 6:30 am.  Once back at Camp Muir they will repack and continue the remaining 4,500' to Paradise. 

Congratulations to today's climbers!

Greetings from Namche Bazaar! Yesterday we left Kathmandu and had a rather enjoyable flight to Lukla. There was little turbulence and the sky was clear which allowed beautiful views on the Himalayas as well as a brief sighting of Everest. After arriving we waited at a tea house for all of the porters to be chosen and then hit the trail. We hiked for about 3 hours to reach our first camp of the trip in a small village called Phakding. The weather was perfect and everyone did great on the hike. This morning we left the tea house and headed up this beautiful valley to the toward Namche Bazaar, which is the largest village in this famous valley. It was another nice day for hiking with mostly clear skies and just a gentle breeze to keep us cool. Everyone enjoyed the views and no one seemed to mind pausing often for the endless mules and yaks carrying loads. Crossing the the high suspension bridges was another thing, but everyone persevered. We wrapped up the evening with a wonderful meal and a little lesson on cribbage. All is well and we are looking forward to tomorrow. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

On The Map