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Rest day at Camp 2: Our coldest morning of the climb here at Camp 2 on Aconcagua. Our water source is a large snowfield, that lately has been a raging torrent due to warm temperatures and almost zero snowfall this season. The amount of water and ice that has melted at Camp 2 has begun to erode tent sites that have been staple spots at an already cramped camp. We are going for a walk to 19,000' this morning to stretch our legs and lungs. 18,000 ft is the highest our group has slept and the guides are pleased with how everyone is acclimating. We are still anticipating high winds tomorrow and remain flexible in our ability to move up if we see a significant difference in the forecast. RMI Guides Mike King, Steve Gately & Team

On The Map

We are settled in to our camp for the next several days in a situation that in mountain terms is very plush. We woke up early this morning to get our bags packed for the arryaros, and then prepared to cross the Vacas river. Some opted to brave the chilly temps, cold water, and multiple channels, rolling up their pant legs and wading right in. Others took the unique opportunity to ride a mule across. We all learned something new from our Norwegian teammate, who showed up with ultralight waders and cruised across without getting the least bit damp. The sun was shining again today, but the increasing altitude and another welcome breeze kept things mostly comfortable. We saw more Guanacos today (the team no longer believes us when we tell them it's pretty rare), this time either playing or arguing with a game of king of the hill. As we came through the top of the Relinchos valley, we got our first really unobstructed views of Aconcagua and its sister peak Amegino. A dining tent, lemonade, and an assortment of peanuts, crackers, cheese, and olives greeted us when we walked into Plaza Argentina. With tents up, it was time for the afternoon siesta before a delicious chicken dinner prepared by Anita, the wonderful base camp cook. We're off to bed shortly, and after a lot of miles and hours the last three days, everyone is looking forward to a rest day tomorrow. We send our best to everyone back home, RMI Guides Pete, Juan, Alex, and crew

On The Map

Hi all, Not much new to report from our basecamp here at Plaza Argentina. The physical output and exertion on yesterday's carry is hopefully triggering our bodies to take advantage of today's rest and accelerate our acclimation process. We're spending the day eating good food (egg & prosciutto scramble! cucumber, tomato, and melon salad!), napping, and tying up loose ends in preparation for tomorrow's move up to Camp 1. We've been listening to the hippies over at the freelance porter tent jam away on their drums and recorder. While not exactly relaxing it's at least a bit comical. Anyway, hoping for a good night's sleep, provided the porters have jammed themselves out, and don't play another night into the wee hours of the morn... We'll check in again tomorrow evening and let you know how it all went. RMI Guide Billy Nugent

On The Map

Thursday, May 23, 2019, 6:17 PM PT We went to sleep last night surrounded by some of the biggest, most beautiful mountains on earth. When we woke up this morning, all we could see was white. Our blue skies had been replaced by clouds and light snow. Luckily, the change in weather did nothing to slow our progress. We rolled out of our tents, packed up what seemed like a totally unreasonable amount of food and gear, and then headed uphill. We hauled our packs and sleds up to 10,000', dug a hole in the snow, and buried all of our things. In a few days time we will be back to retrieve them, and move them farther up hill. After squirreling away our gear, we boogied back down to camp. The team made excellent work of the downhill, which is always a good sing. We are all dried out and are eating burritos now. Not much else to report from the day. The view were minimal. The work was hard. The plan is to go to bed early and move our camp to 11,000' tomorrow if the weather cooperates. Either way, we are having a great time here on the Kahiltna! RMI Guide JM Gorum

On The Map

Thursday, June 28, 2018 - 10:32 PM PT Our first night at 14,000' Camp was quiet and calm. The tent fabric didn’t stir even once with breeze. We were up at around 8AM even though things are still a little shadowy and cold here then. After breakfast, Avery Parrinello led the day’s carry, or more accurately the back carry, since we were going back down to 13,500 ft to bring home the cache we walked past yesterday. It only took about 20 minutes to walk down, but perhaps 90 minutes to come back up with heavy packs. As usual, it clouded up and began snowing on us before we’d gone too far, but that wasn’t much of a problem. The snow continued through the afternoon, but by then we were lounging in our tents. Just before dinner we did a little training session to discuss techniques we’ll employ to climb the “fixed ropes” that lead to the crest of the West Buttress. Throughout the day we touched base with the only other RMI group on the hill, Mike Haugen’s team who were going for the top. It all made our preparations a bit more meaningful to know we’ll be up there knocking on the door soon ourselves. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Friday, June 22, 2018 - 9:49 pm PT We woke up very early this morning to start checking the weather. We were trying to let the mountain tell us whether to head uphill to cache some gear or to wait another day for conditions to settle down. Denali was cryptic for awhile but finally delivered a confirmation that it was OK for us to climb by clearing the skies up high. We jumped into action and started climbing into moderate winds. The winds stayed with us for most of the upwards climb which kept us cool as the sun finally poked out. The team finally got the view they deserved from our cache site at 13,500'. We have been living in the clouds for too many days! If the weather looks good in the morning, we are going to head up to 14k feet and make our next camp. Fingers crossed for high pressure! RMI Guide Mike Haugen & Super Crew 6

On The Map

The Four Day Summit Climb July 21 - 24 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 6:30 am led by RMI Guide Dave Hahn. The team enjoyed blue skies and good visibility from the crater rim. They will descend complete today and return to Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon to complete their program. Congratulations!

RMI Guides Mike King, Jenny Konway, Jessie Poquerusse and Ben Ammon are leading the Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons June 11 - 16, 2017. The team met on Sunday and spent the day discussing logistics of the trip including an equipment check and some technical training. Their second day was spent on the slopes above Paradise practicing rope travel, ice axe arrest and cramponing techniques. On Tuesday morning they loaded up in the shuttle and drove to the White River Campground where they met the trail head and started their climb. Yesterday they moved to Camp Schurman at 9,440' and have continued their training. This morning they made their summit attempt but due to low visibility and tough walking the team made the tough decision to turn around 11,400'. They have returned to Camp Schurman where they will do some additional training. They will spend their last night on the mountain tonight and start their descent tomorrow. We look forward to seeing them back at Rainier BaseCamp tomorrow afternoon.

RMI Guides Brent Okita & Geoff Schellens led their Four Day Summit Climb teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams were able to spend about an hour enjoying the views on the summit. They began their descent from the crater rim just before 8 am. They will return to Camp Muir to rest and repack before continuing down to Paradise. Congratulations to today's teams!

A conservation area and a World Heritage site, Ngorongoro Crater, a large volcanic caldera is recognized by one private organization as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa- the unparalleled beauty of one of the world's most unchanged wildlife sanctuaries. Teams Top Ten for today- *Infant elephants in a large group doing their thing *Hippos in the pool doing their thing *Our 4th of the Big 5 the infamous black rhino *Serval cat walking along side us for as long as we liked seeing prey on point *Zebra cuddling with head on bum of other *First sighting of ostriches in the wild *The tiny vibrant colored sunbird in contrast with the Kori Bustard the worlds heaviest flying bird *Our great local staff of drivers ability to pick game out of the bush *A warthog that must have been to beauty parlor with beautiful swept back hair and double tusks *Elephant in a tussle trumpeting as we leave the viewing area hearing them for a while after RMI Guide Mark Tucker