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We awoke in Mexico City this morning to clearing skies, warmer temperatures, and relatively quiet streets. Leaving town early on the Sunday morning of a holiday weekend has its benefits! The team enjoyed a delicious traditional Mexican style breakfast provided by the hotel, and after efficiently transferring our mountain of luggage into the vehicle to go to the actual mountain, we stole a few extra moments prior to loading our bus to make a final run to the closest Starbucks. This last minute luxury is one which instantly triggers my Seattleite soul into an irrepressible mental fist-bump! We sailed through the streets of District Federal with ease, making quick work of our exit from the metropolitan area. We had discussed the need to "roll with the punches", so to speak, at our evening meeting, as the logistics of traveling in this part of the world can sometimes be an exercise in patience. Soon after we left the city center behind we were met with our first mental challenge of the trip! Our driver pulled off the highway, jumped out of the bus, and made a break for the nearest field and distant buildings in what at first appeared to be either a desperate trip to get to the restroom, or an oddly-timed opportunity to get in a quick jog...either way we all followed suit and hopped off to snap a few quick selfies and capture the views of Ixta and Popo. To our delight, our driver returned, with tools and additional man-power, and we soon discovered we were not being abandoned, but rather beginning the process of repairing a punctured tire. After an hour of relaxing roadside, we re-boarded and continued toward La Malinche, eagerly anticipating stretching our legs on the slopes of the long-extinct volcano. Once we arrived here at the La Malitzi Resort, we quickly moved into our Cabanas, organized our day packs, hit the trail, and hiked at a casual pace ascending to our high point of just over 12,000ft. Back at the resort just before dark, we are enjoying a beautiful sunset here at 10,000ft, awaiting our dinner reservation and a hot shower to wash off the trail dust. Tomorrow we head to Ixta to continue the acclimatization process and prepare for our first summit bid in a few days! Buenos Noches! RMI Guide Solveig Waterfall and the Team

Hey There this is Seth calling in from Kikoti Camp. The internet is down here and there is no cell phone coverage, so I am calling in from the sat phone. We have had a great day on safari. Right after getting into the park we just happened upon three lions one male and two females. Literally within 30 seconds of being inside the National Park. We've seen about 150 to 200 elephants today and a bunch of giraffe. We got so close to an elephant, I could almost reach out and touch it! It was a great way to wrap up the trip. Out here at Kikoti camp it is nice and secluded. We've got the whole place to ourselves. They have accommodated us nicely, great folks out here. We looking forward to catching the sunset at the fire pit and saying goodbye to this trip. Everybody is going to be flying out tomorrow. We have a little bit of safari going on in the morning and then it is off the the hotel in Arusha, the Dik Dik. Everybody will get cleaned up, have some dinner and then all catch our flights home. Great trip, good times! I'll check in again tomorrow. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

Okay! First off...ARGENTINA...ARGENTINA...ARGENTINA!!! Yes, yes, the first 2014 RMI Mount Elbrus expedition is underway. Everyone arrived, everyone is cool, everyone's bags arrived, we are all going on a gorgeous city tour tomorrow of the Red Square and The Kremlin...but C'mon man! Argentina beat Belgium to enter the semi finals! I can't wait to produce a video of tomorrow's city tour. Moscow is a beautiful place with beautiful people rich in history and culture. Stay tuned! But for now...for all my brothers and sisters in Argentina...Te Amo!!! RMI Guide JJ Justman

Dave Hahn reporting from Today was our planned rest day. All is well and all are feeling good. We enjoyed a calm night with a huge moon that kept Jake Norton out snapping pictures until quite late. There were a few minor headaches reported and some of the normal insomnia that comes with a first night at real altitude, but for the most part our team was bright-eyed and ready for action today. That action consisted of a relaxed breakfast and then a few sessions of organizing gear and supplies for going higher. The event of the morning was Seth Waterfall's arrival with the last of our cargo. Production people dove into cases full of new gadgets and guides sorted a few more bags of upper-mountain gear and all were happy to see Seth who'd come in at an accelerated pace to catch up with us. Basecamp is a fairly elaborate village of tents with a few semi-permanent structures thrown in for park and medical personnel. There are about five outfitters here with independent "kitchens" and communications set-ups along with dining tents and latrines for their customers and staff. We set up the RMI tents within a stone's throw of our own outfitter -Grajales Expeditions, and they've been taking great care of us. Peter, Ed and Chad worked today to help our climbers choose what to carry higher while Melissa made contact with the park rangers and finalized the permitting process. We became aware of an intense and sad story which had played out high on Aconcagua during the days of our trek in. A team of five had apparently been caught out in the open near the summit and had needed to endure several days of extremly bad weather before a rescue party could reach them. From what we are hearing, the rescue effort was massive, with perhaps fifty people trying to get to the stranded team from both sides of the mountain. Ultimately, there were three survivors and tragically, two deaths. Our entire team was saddened and sobered by this news, but our guide team was particularly saddened to learn that we'd lost a friend and colleague in the accident. Federico Campanini guided his own programs internationally, but on Mount Rainier he'd become one of RMI's hardest working and most dependable guides over the past three summers. We have each spent the past days and nights thinking of his skill, strength and competence as a guide... but also of his unfailing good humor and friendly nature. He will be missed. Our best wishes go to his family. Our plan for tomorrow is to carry loads to 16,000 ft and to then return for a final night at basecamp before moving up. We'll hope the weather improves some as today finished with a fair bit of cloud and and some light snow on Basecamp. All for now, we'll let you know how things go tomorrow... new heights and new sights.

Hello again everyone!

We are finally back in Quito after a successful climb of Cotopaxi! 

Today was redemption day for us with the weather. We had incredibly clear skies with moonlight to help illuminate the way. The team hit the trail right at midnight and slowly made our way uphill, and I mean uphill. Seems no one here in Ecuador got the memo that we (North) Americans prefer switchbacks to lessen the steepness and make it easier. Anyway, the team did great and 4 of the 6 climbers were able to stand on top for sunrise this morning. 19,347 feet to be exact. If that sounds familiar it’s because it’s 7 feet higher than Kilimanjaro!

We are all safely back in our hotel freshly showered and catching up on some much needed sleep. It’s been a wonderful adventure and cultural experience here in Ecuador. And I hope the team brings these stories home to share with you all. A huge thank you to our excellent local guide team (Fatima, Gustavo, Ronaldo and Daniel) for keeping us safe, making it fun and enjoyable, and sharing their local knowledge. 

As I have done before, I’ve asked all the team members to share just one word that best sums up their trip. So in no particular order here are our words. 

Grateful 
Nostalgic 
Camaraderie
Ellipsis
Inspiring 
Alive
Awesome 
Educational 

Hope you enjoyed following and if any of this sounded enjoyable, come join us for an adventure sometime. 

RMI Guides Casey Grom and Jackson Breen and the Cotopaxi conquistadors

To all of those who have been following our climb; this is our creed:

There's no room in the dome, but we make a dash,

To secure a spot, for our breakfast hash.

Echoes from strangers across the room,

Embarrassing moments might be our doom.

Blue bags are missing, or so we think,

But the lung juice is dripping, no one dares blink.

All that matters now, is who wins at farkle,

For the highest champion, is sure to sparkle.

Out for a walk, we endeavor with pleasure,

Many photos were taken, that was our treasure.

Back at Camp 2, we rest and we wait.

We ponder our bets, about our own weight.

Back in the dome, we need to recharge,

There goes Nate, he is now at large. 

We spotted some birds, going mach Jesus.

But we finish our night, with pizzas full of cheeses.

 

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke & Team

Slowly camp came alive. Like little forest creatures coming out of their den, people crawled out of their tents. Before you knew it camp was packed up and we were on our way uphill. We continued to follow the river. After an hour or so of walking we emerged from the jungle and got a view of Saipal Peak. It looks beautiful. The southwest face is impressive. There is an American team attempting it as we speak. Fingers crossed for them, for if they succeed it will be a first ascent. For us, however, we are settling into our Base Camp. We will hangout here for a couple days waiting for the rest of our duffels and begin making a plan on what exactly our objective should be. It feels good being at our Base Camp. Snow lightly falls from the sky as people nestle into their sleeping bags before we gather for dinner. It will be a chilly night. Tomorrow should be a nice relaxing day with ample time to charge our devices. Till tomorrow, RMI Guide Hannah Smith

Saturday, August 4, 2018 - 10:02 PM PT Hey, this is Brent with the RMI Kilimanjaro Climb. We just got off the summit of Kilimanjaro here about 45 minutes ago. We are taking a quick break and going to head on down. We have had beautiful skies clear and sunny skies, but a bit of a wind. It has been a little nasty and hard for that part. But the team did really, really, well. RMI Guide Brent Okita

On The Map

Saturday, June 9, 2018 - 5:36 PM PT Day 4 had us up early and breaking down camp. The surrounding area at 2:30 AM with no wind seems like it's perpetually 9:00 PM. We hauled our camp and personal gear to 11,000' Camp over 6.5 hours and the team did great. Some people have sore feet and some have sore hips, those real pressure points a constant reminder of what it's like to do hard work in the mountains. Our new camp is nestled in a basin that is surrounded by large glacial features and the backdrop is Motorcycle Hill and the Father and Sons Wall. Tomorrow we will go back to 9,700' to retrieve our cached food and fuel and then rest the remainder of the day. Weather continues to be great and the forecast inaccurate so when they forecast a clear day we'll probably be battening down the hatches. Until then I am hoping for a forecast of snow that never a arrives and winds that don't materialize. So much in life we can't control, this team is doing a great job of focusing on the things they can control. That's all from 11,000' on Denali. RMI Guide Mike King

On The Map

Today we woke to a windy, chilly morning at Camp 2 on Aconcagua. Snow swirls danced down the mountain and through camp as we waited for our water to boil. We enjoyed hot cups of Starbucks Vias and sugary bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast. Today we rested to let our bodies adjust to our new altitude. The afternoons activity consisted of a casual stroll uphill, getting a glance at our path to camp 3. The tippy top looks cold and windy as we look towards the summit. Fingers crossed Mother Nature gives us a warmer window for our summit bid. For now, we will focus on taking care of ourselves and enjoying the beautiful views. RMI Guide Mark Tucker and team

On The Map