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The Four Day Climb June 10 - 13 led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Mike Haugen has reached the summit of Mt. Rainier.  The teams were walking into the crater rim at 7 am.  They plan to spend an hour in the crater and then will begin their descent to Camp Muir.  The teams will continue down to Paradise later today and return to Rainier BaseCamp to conclude their adventure.

Congratulations climbers!

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and the All-Women Four Day Climb reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Hannah reported sunny skies and breezy conditions on the summit. The team began their descent at 7:00 AM. The will return to Camp Muir to refuel and repack before descending back to Paradise. Congratulations climbers!

Wednesday, June 27, 2018 - 10:11 PM PT Hey from 14K. We got an excellent day for moving up. When the 6 AM alarm went off down at 11,000', we peered out to see clear skies and no signs of wind. We pounced on the opportunity, hitting the trail at 9 AM. Hannah Smith led the charge today, bringing the team expeditiously up Motorcycle Hill, The Squirrel Hills and then the Polo Field. Just like when we carried, it began to cloud up as we approached Windy Corner and to snow as we went around. We moved right on past our cache site, which appears to be resisting the ravages of the ravens (we buried it deep in the snow). Hannah got us into camp at 14,000' in a very respectable 5 hours and 45 minutes. The tents went up fast and easy and about the time we’d completed setup, the snow quit. As we ate dinner, the clouds melted away and when we emerged from our deluxe dining shelter, we were treated to new and spectacular views in every direction. Foraker and Hunter, the other two giants of the Alaska Range were visible -for the first time- in all their glory. But it was the view of Denali, rising straight up in front of us for a vertical mile and more that took our breath away. Our world is now bound on the left by the West Buttress and on the right by the West Rib... which covers a lot of fascinating and historic... and slightly intimidating terrain. Just before bedtime, we listened to the weather outlook, broadcast via radio from Basecamp and more importantly to the trivia question for the night. Did you know that there are 21 bears for every human in Alaska? Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Despite some menacing afternoon clouds we woke up again to clear beautiful skies. A late breakfast and a short drive brought us to the Otovalo Market, a huge local market full of a wide variety of textiles and food. The team spent an hour and a half exploring the markets many corners, buying gifts for loved ones before meeting for lunch at Buena Vista. From there we headed back towards the town of Cayambe to meet our transfer vehicles that would carry us and our belongings to the Cayambe Climbers Hut at 15,300ft. An hour or so of exciting driving down primitive roads perched on the side of a volcano brought us to our final destination. The team is doing a great job getting readjusted to life without so much oxygen and are patiently awaiting what will no doubt be a wonderful dinner served by the huts cook staff. Thanks for following. Tune in tomorrow for more! RMI Guide Steve Gately

On The Map

June 29, 2016 - 11:03 pm PT After an evening of snowfall and a lot of talk of stormy weather on the way, we were just a bit surprised and pleased to wake up at 11,000ft to cloudless blue skies. But we knew just what to do with such an opportunity... pack up and head for 14K. It was a great day of climbing on the way. Even though we'd come much of the way on our carry two days back, the team hadn't yet seen the scenery. It was all out and spectacular today, especially when we got around windless Windy Corner and could see the lower Kahiltna Glacier -our world from a few days back- far below. Mounts Foraker and Hunter were gigantic and beautiful as well -again, made more spectacular because our team hadn't seen much besides clouds for a few days. We made pretty decent time, reaching Genet Basin and 14 Camp in six hours. It was a treat to meet up with Mike Haugen's victorious RMI team just below 14. They'd obviously done quite well and were moving lower with big smiles on their faces. We reached our new home at 4 PM and began the now familiar routine of digging in, building tents and getting a kitchen going. Dinner in the spacious dining room (read -snow pit with snow benches and a snow table) we inherited was quite comfortable. The entire team seems happy to have arrived at the foot of the real mountain... the approach is nearly over. Tomorrow morning we'll drop down to recover our windy corner cache. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Buenes dias. This is the Aconcagua team checking in from Camp 2, aka Guanacos Camp. After moving from Camp 1 to Camp 2 yesterday, today was perfect conditions for an acclimatization hike toward Camp 3. We are planning on moving to Camp 3 tomorrow to take advantage of the favorable weather forecast. We'll update after the move. Adios until then. RMI Guide Zeb Blais and Team

On The Map

A little wind today was no match for our crew as we made short work of our move up to Camp 2 @ 18,000'. Tomorrow will bring our last rest day before we make a concerted push for the summit. Thursday will see us move up to Camp 3, a.k.a. Camp Cholera at just under 20,000' - such a cheerful name. If the weather cooperates we will be making our summit attempt on Friday morning. We'll continue to keep you posted on our progress. Much love to everyone back home!

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz, led by RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer, just radioed from the Mt. Rainier summit. It is a clear day with some winds gusting to around 30 mph. The team will descend to their high camp and then continue down the mountain tomorrow to celebrate here at Rainier Basecamp. Congratulations to the Kautz Seminar crew!

Monday, July 2, 2018 - 10:17 PM PT A fine summer’s day in the Alaska Range. The gang slept late today, but when we emerged, the views were amazing. We could see clear down to Mt Spurr and the Tordrillos. Some clouds were still playing around the South Peak of Denali and it appeared to be a little windy up that way, but as we had a slow and yummy pancake breakfast, nobody had complaints about the weather at 14,000' Camp. This rest day was just as relaxing as we could have hoped for. Even so, we weren’t totally relaxed... everyone is getting keyed up for the summit bid now. We prepared for moving up tomorrow and we hydrated, rested, ate, read and sorted gear (again). We’ll see what kind of morning we get tomorrow. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Saturday, January 20, 2018 - 8:45 pm PT Checking in here from day one of our Mexican adventure! The mood was very well set as the group met and shared introductions interluded by frequent laughter under the majestic arches of our hotel in the vibrant Zona Rosa of Mexico City. What an interesting group with lots in common in addition to our passion for mountains. After our fun round of intros and a quick overview of our itinerary, we had our first sample of the country’s cuisine over mostly traditional dinner dishes before hitting the hay early. We hope to be rested in order to be ready for our day of travel and first acclimatization hike tomorrow up on the slopes of the much colder and higher La Malinche. Buenas noches, RMI Guides Jessie Poquerusse, Walter Hailes & the Mexico crew