After a couple of big days, today was a good one to rest. The sun decided to show too, and we could finally see the awesomeness of the peaks of the Alaska Range around us. Until now we've moved around in relative murk with the peaks above obscured. The scene around us is stunning and humbling, and for much of the day we could see clear to the summit of Denali. The sun also warmed the tents and us, giving us a nice dose of heat after a couple days of pretty chilly weather, even for Alaska. Some yoga, napping, and reading was most if the day's activity. Tomorrow we plan to move to Camp 1, rested and ready to climb this stretch one more time.
Tuesday, June 4, 2019 - 6:16 PM PT
Last night was probably the least comfortable night of the trip. We had strong gusts throughout the night that rattled our tents, and kept us all far from sleep. We spent the morning hiding from the cold and sipping on hot drinks. The winds were too high to make a summit attempt. Eventually things calmed down, and we ventured forth into the world. It has turned into quite a nice day up here, with winds near the summit diminishing as well. We’ve had some amazing views looking down at our previous camps and the Kahiltna glacier winding out of sight. The forecast looks promising for tomorrow. Once again, we’ll wake up in the morning and see what the mountain gives us.
RMI Guide JM Gorum
When you’re already in twenty four hours of sunlight, it can be a little slippery declaring that this day is longer than the others. But of course the summer solstice means something more to us at 80 degrees south latitude. For my gang of climbers, the day would have had far greater significance if it had been the start of our travel homeward. Not so much, as it turned out. There was a chance though. It started out snowy and grey and windy and progressed to partly sunny and windy by afternoon. The Ilyushin Captain was giving the day a thorough revue, but in the end he decided that the amount of blowing snow he’d have to find his way through to reach the runway threshold was unworkable. The call was made as we sat down to dinner. By that time we’d done our usual day-long routine of napping, reading, going to lectures and watching the sky. Of course the announcement was a disappointment, but we are glad the logistics folks are trying so hard to find a hole in this storm.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
The December 4th Ecuador Volcanoes Team reached the summit of Cayambe (18,997') today. The entire team was able to top out and everyone is back down safely.
We expect to hear more from Casey later today.
Congratulations to the team!
Another sparkling and clear start to the day. Mt. Meru, our 15,000 ft volcanic neighbor to the West seemed close enough to touch in the early morning air at Shira Camp. Kibo stood out in all its glory with bunches of recent snow on her flanks. We got walking at around 8:30 AM heading directly toward the central peak. The trail was a good deal easier than yesterday’s rock hopping. We gained altitude steadily, but without getting on any steep terrain. It took a few hours to work up the broad plateau through juniper and low sage-like shrubs. Clouds had begun to form and by the time we reached our highpoint for the day, the 15,200 ft “Lava Tower” we were robbed of any views by fog and murk. Even so, we sat for a pleasant half hour eating lunch in the clouds, having broken altitude records for about three quarters of our group. Just as we began our descent toward camp in the Barranco Valley, it started raining and so we quickly covered up. The storm lasted about an hour, but didn’t give us much real trouble in our descent. Just before we reached camp, as we came into a fabulous garden of Lobelias and Giant Senecios, the rain quit and things dried out a bit. We rolled into camp at 13,000 ft at precisely 3:30... just ahead of tea time. Chef Tosha dazzled us with another fine dinner in our dome tent to finish this big day.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
July 16, 2017
Today we all woke up feeling good, had a very nice breakfast and sipped coffee before heading out on our acclimatization hike. At 8:00 William met us and we loaded into a shuttle for a 40-minute ride bumping through small villages to the trail head at 12,300'. We were all eager to stretch the legs and started out of the gates a little fast. Within minutes we settled into a pace more suited for our altitude. After two hours we found ourselves over looking Laguna Churup at 14,600'. With perfect weather we lounged on the granite slabs around the alpine lake occasionally dozing off in the mid day sun. Shortly after noon we started our descent back to the shuttle and then back into Huaraz. After grabbing a quick lunch in town we did a gear check and got our duffle bags packed for our launch tomorrow and then strolled back into town for a casual dinner. Everyone is doing great and we are all excited to hit the trail tomorrow.
Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens and the Alpamayo team
Today marks the 520th time that RMI Guide Brent Okita has reached the summit of Mt. Rainier. Brent now holds the record for the most successful summit climbs to the 14,410’ peak. The previous record holder was IMG co-owner and guide George Dunn.
We are excited for Brent to be holding this record and we will be celebrating Brent and his amazing accomplishment!
Today wasn't a big day, but it was a scenic one. Sunrise down in the cool Barranco Valley was welcome, for sure. We got a leisurely 9AM start at walking, which allowed a couple hundred porters to get onto the narrow ledges of the Barranco Wall before us, just as we'd hoped. Plenty still needed to pass us as we reached for rock handholds and stemmed from precarious stances, but that all worked out fine. We marveled that the tricky moves we were making could be made easily by men carrying loads balanced on their heads. It took us about an hour and a half to get fully up the wall and all agreed it had been the funnest part of the climb, so far. We had weather nearly identical to yesterday's for the first half of things...blue skies above and sea of clouds below. This allowed for uninterrupted views of Kibo's Southern glaciers and ice fields above us as we traversed eastward. Finally we had the abrupt gorge of the Karanga Valley to drop into and climb steeply out of in order to reach camp. We pulled in a little after 1 PM, in time for a hot and wholesome spaghetti lunch and some quality rest as things clouded up for the afternoon. It seems like time has flown by as we are now talking about being at high camp tomorrow and off on a summit bid quite soon afterward. One step at a time though... First we'll make the most of this final night at the civilized altitude of 13,100 ft.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
RMI Guide Mike Haugen and the Four Day Summit Climb team reached the crater rim of Mt. Rainier shortly after 7 am. Mike reported good conditions with a sustained 20 mph wind.
The team will enjoy some time on the summit before starting their descent. They will return to Camp Muir and then continue to Paradise. We look forward to seeing the team at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb team!
July 20th, 2015 I filmed at a distance and took photos of tremendous amount of dust from I’m assuming rock and debris coming off Willis Wall. Lived here all my life, have never seen dust bloom out of there like it did yesterday. I was blowing NE for miles. No news about it what so ever! Camping above Mystic Lake would have been truly frightening yesterday. Any news from your site?
RMI Guide Brent Okita and the Expedition Skills Seminar – Emmons Team reached the Summit of Mt. Rainier Early this morning via the Emmons Route. The team enjoyed beautiful weather this morning. They will descend back to Camp Schurman finish their week of training before returning to Rainier Basecamp Tomorrow.
Our Four Day Summit Climb team Led by RMI Guide Casey Grom and 100% of the team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning, they had great views and enjoyed the sun on the summit before starting their descent.
Congratulations to Today's Teams!
Sounds like everyone is doing great!! Keep up the good work!
Thank you for keeping all of us at home up to date on our friends progress!
Posted by: Jackie Millen on 5/13/2024 at 4:31 pm
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