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Yesterday was a big day for all of us up on Chimborazo and thankfully the near perfect weather allowed us to stand on top! All in all our summit day took 13 some hours round trip including a deceptively difficult two-hour walk across the summit plateau from the Veintimilla summit to the barely higher Whymper summit. Riddled with deep trenches and fantastic snow mushrooms, what should have taken no more than an hour was a brutal two hour jaunt back and forth. We were fortunate enough to enjoy perfectly calm winds and clear skies on top, which made it not so bad. We even got to peep some views of Cotopaxi smoking in the distance before gearing up for our descent. We were greeted warmly back at the Estrella de Chimborazo where we ate a celebratory dinner and promptly crashed in their cozy beds. Right now we are on the bus headed back for Quito where we hope to have one last celebratory dinner as a team before at least half of us head for the airport to catch a red-eye flight home. All in all it was a quite an adventure and I'd like to thank the team for rolling with the punches the whole trip and hanging in there til the end. And I'd also like to thank the other guides, Chase, David, and Diego along with Victor, our driver, for all the help along the way. Until next time... RMI Guide Billy Nugent

The Four Day Summit Climb Team led by RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos & the Five Day Summit Climb Team led by Walter Hailes reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams climbed well with good conditions. As of 10:30 am PT both teams had descended back to Camp Muir. They will continue down to Paradise and then return to Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams!

Onward and upward! 

The team begins its transition into the high alpine, leaving behind the comforts of city life as they begin their first climb of Cayambe. After a casual morning enjoying the Otavalo market, the team drove to the lower Cayambe hut where they sorted gear for the climb and did final fit checks on all the technical gear. After a freshly prepared Ecuadorian dinner, the team is settling in for their last full night of sleep before moving up to the high hut to begin their climb. 

RMI Guide Mike Bennett

After a well-earned siesta and with bellies full of mole, we are off to Orizaba! We left this morning and have arrived in Tlachichuca. We are carefully packing and unpacking and repacking, making sure we have everything we need. After enjoying another nice lunch served by the wonderful Servimont staff, we are ready to hit the 4x4 trail up to Refugio Piedra Grande.

Upon arrival, we will go out for a "light" hike, enjoy dinner, and be off to bed early in preparation for an alpine start on Orizaba.

¡Hasta Mañana!

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and Team

Saturday, June 2, 2018 - 7:25 pm PT All is well on Denali at 14,000 ft camp. We climbed for approximately five hours today after quickly breaking down camp at 11,200 feet. The air was crisp all day but we had full sunshine keeping us comfortable. This day on Denali is always tough and today was no exception. Thankfully we are all in camp now relaxing with our boots off resting up for a big tortellini dinner. I am sure it will be an early night to bed and we will enjoy a well earned late wake up in the morning RMI Guide Walter Hailes

On The Map

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 10:19 PM PT We awoke to falling snow and a whiteout this morning. Luckily, the temperatures were cold enough that everything stayed dry, and we were able to pack up camp and move uphill to 11,000' Camp. We walked through the clouds with near zero visibility until we got above the weather, and pulled into camp around 1 PM. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and snacking. We're enjoying our new home, and the sunshine that has come with it. The team is feeling great. Everyone sends their best. RMI Guide Walter Hailes

On The Map

It has been cloudy all day but that made for a very comfortable hike up to the Shira Plateau, 12,200', and our second camp on Kilimanjaro. The hike out of camp was steep for a couple of hours with a beautiful traverse to top out the day. En route to camp we encountered a short section of rock scramble which had everyone paying attention and will get us ready for our climb up the Barranco Wall in a couple days. Here at over 12,000', we were greeted with a camp fully set up and a hot lunch. We are hopeful the skies will clear and we will be able to enjoy the sunset and get a peak at the upper mountain from tonight's camp. The team is in good shape snacking, exploring and resting and hoping for clear skies tomorrow. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

June 10, 2017 The sleep of the dead finally hit me this morning just after my last post. An hour later JT asks, "Should we get up? It's 1:04 am and the alarm on my phone hasn't gone off!" The night hadn't brought the hoped for cooling, but it was time to leave and make that trip to Base Camp. Breakfast and hots were served in the remains of our old Posh site, sans the actual Posh, then we were off. As we turned the corner at 10,000' heading down the Kahiltna we were treated to the amazing view down glacier of the jewels ad the Alaska Range. Hunter, Foraker, Crosson and other peaks were starkly defined in shades of black and white, along with some other hue that seemed hard to place. Unusually dark clouds prevented the pinks and reds we often see at 3:30-4:00 am, but this view I've never seen before, and may have been even more spectacular. 6+ hours of hard walking finally brought us back to Base Camp. Reflective of the poor snow year in the Alaskan mountains this year, there were a number of sketchy crevasse crossing to be negotiated. Then white out conditions kept us from seeing the landmarks that would otherwise tell us exactly where we were, but the track in the snow of others gave us something to follow. Then, low and behold, the tents of Base Camp popped into view and we knew we were done. Unfortunately, these same clouds have prevented planes from flying and landing here, so we are again captive of the weather gods and just waiting to be released from Denali to return to civilization where we might wash the twenty one days of toil off us and sit in chairs at a table and eat food that requires more than just a spoon. I just hope that, when we do get to that restaurant, some social graces return to folks and we don't see them licking their bowls clean in anticipation of the next course. I'll of course advise everyone to bring a pee bottle to their hotel room, and perhaps even a CMC (clean mountain can), because some habits might just be too difficult to break after these twenty one days. Goodnight from 7200' camp, where I hear the snow hitting the tent walls in increasing intensity. Oh well, at least we need walk no more, for now. RMI Guides Brent, Christina, JT & Team

At daybreak today, we could finally get a look at our spectacular surroundings. The clouds were gone from overhead, and it seemed that the ones under us were miles below. Machame Camp, nestled within the giant heather, seemed a fine place but we were anxious to go higher. We got on the move a little before nine and quickly found ourselves on a steady and steep hill climb. There were plenty of big steps through broken volcanic rock but eventually we crested a ridge and followed that toward the majestic upper slopes of Kili itself. At about 12,500 ft we deviated from the ridge and moved north, traversing toward a new horizon on our left. We crested that at 12,800 ft and caught our first views of the Shira Plateau stretching out to the West. We then dropped a few hundred easy feet to our new home... already built and waiting for us at 12,600 ft. The afternoon was spent resting, eating and drinking. Each time out of the tents we were a little startled by the gigantic views... of Mt. Meru standing at 16,000 ft to our west and of Kili standing at 19,000 ft immediately to our east. We'll head straight toward Kili tomorrow morning. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

June 6, 2016 - 11:12 pm PT D- Day 2016 The team launched at dawn, storming the Kahiltna, avoiding the pillbox seracs overhead and the minefields of crevasses below. After a few hours on the offensive the team took the hill at 10,000 feet and moved into a classic flanking maneuver to set up for our assault on 11K. Once the initial defenses were breached, we dug our foxholes and hunkered down to await the next wave. A reprieve came in the afternoon and the team was able to enjoy a hot meal of Mac and cheese before bedding down for the evening. We suffered no casualties and took no prisoners. RMI Guide Jake Beren