The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Mike Soucy reached the Summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The Team reported strong winds, clouds and deteriorating weather. They have started their descent and are en route back to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to Today's Team!
RMI Guide Brent Okita and Four Day Climb July 14 - 17 climbed to 13,300' this morning before poor weather and conditions forced them to turn around. The group will continue their descent to Paradise later this morning.
Wednesday, July 4, 2018 - 9:14 AM PT
And we came out! We finished our trek and arrived into Cashapampa, where we unloaded donkeys, grabbed a drink and celebrated that once more, the mountains provided adventure, challenge and the unexpected. But more so, that we're safe, back and ready to plan the next adventure.
Thanks for following!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
The Five Day Summit Climb team led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Andy Bond reached 11,800' feet this morning before weather and route conditions forced them to abort their summit attempt. The team has had two great days on the mountain, they are back at Camp Muir and will return to Rainier Basecamp in the early afternoon.
Congratulations to today's team!
I was part of this climb and was honored to meet, get to know and climb with some truly amazing people.
Cannot say enough good things about the most terrific guides on the planet earth. Intelligent, focused, superb situational awareness, competent and capable. They worked incredibly hard to try to make it possible for us to summit, despite all that nature and the mountain threw at us. Hats off to them.
Survival was the very most important goal, and I always felt their every move started and ended with that as the ultimate objective. I would trust these folks any where at any time. I have learned that when you out someone under intense stress, the true qualities of their character are revealed. The RMI guides showed they were flawless gems that shone brightly under the pressure. Many thanks for going up and being able to write this from back home.
Greetings from the Cotopaxi Refugio just shy of 16,000'! The team awoke this morning extremely well rested at Hacienda Guachala. "Slept like the dead" and "I fell asleep with my book in my hand" were common conversation points during breakfast. After getting our fill of fresh fruit for the day we loaded Viktor's trusty Hyundai bus and began our journey towards Cotopaxi.
We took a pit stop at the San Luis Mall to stretch our legs, grab some snacks, and get our last taste of the thick air at 9,000'. Another hour and a half on the bus brought us to the gates of Cotopaxi National Park. As always Viktor navigated the steep, rutted roads with ease and we soon found ourselves in the parking lot during the middle of an afternoon snow squall. As we quickly loaded our bags we enjoyed watching and listening to the joy of locals playing in the drifted snow of the parking lot. Snow rarely accumulates so low.
A 45-minute walk up switchbacks brought us to the newly remodeled Refugio. After stowing our gear and pleasantly noting the fleece sheets and pillow cases that each bed was made with we went outside for a short walk to check the route and see if we could catch some views with the lifting clouds. We were not disappointed and were treated to beautiful views of Cayambe and Antisana bathed in evening light and the mountain shadow of Cotopaxi. Grinning from ear to ear the team returned to the Refugio for some R&R before dinner. Tomorrow will take us up to ~17,000' where we hope to get in some ice climbing and continue to sharpen our mountaineering skills. Thanks for tuning in!
RMI Guide Jordan Cargill
May 30, 2017
We woke up to an unexpected foot of fresh snow this morning and unable to see the Buttress above us, let alone many of our camp neighbors. Our initial plans to head uphill became questionable at best, but we crawled out of our warm tents for some breakfast burritos and hoped for a change in the weather. The skies eventually cleared and the sun began to warm the basin, but the winds persisted up high long enough to set our sights on tomorrow.
Anxious to stretch our legs, we took advantage of the warm afternoon with a short walk to the "Edge of the World" for some spectacular views of the Alaska Range. The sun brightened spirits and kept folks lingering outside their tents all afternoon to soak it up before dinner. It was a much needed lift to prepare us for our uphill push tomorrow to 17 camp and on to the highest point in North America.
RMI Guides Jess Matthews, Jenny Konway, Pete Van Deventer and team
This is Mike with RMI's Aconcagua Team 2. We are currently standing on top of the tallest mountain in the Western and Southern hemisphere. The team did great, we reached the top in 7 hours from High Camp. We are going to hang out just for a little bit and then head on down. We have about 20 mph cold winds all day. The team is ecstatic and we will check in from Camp once we get back down from the top. Thanks. Bye.
RMI Guide Mike King
RMI Guide Mike King calls from the summit of Aconcagua.
It may have been a holiday in North America, but down here at the lower end of South America, it was a big work day. Meeting after breakfast in our hotel, the team got to know one another a little better and then got right into the details and mechanics of how the trip might proceed. We discussed the protocols for arranging gear for the ride down to the ice... the peculiarities of dressing in summer on one continent to take off, and of then landing in perpetual winter in the middle of another continent. We talked over how it might just go smoothly and right on schedule from one flight to another culminating in Vinson Basecamp... and of how it might get weird if bad weather delays flights at some point along the way. We reviewed the necessity for checking our gear and clothing for dirt and vegetation that has no business being transported to Antarctica. And then the team endured a series of nosy and tedious equipment checks by the leader. The afternoon then got easier with lunches and strolls about town. We got together for another fine dinner and then a good walk up the shoreline of Magellan's Straight, checking out old shipwrecks and even an odd dinosaur or two along the way. The endless twilight and the Patagonian wind sculpted clouds kept us mesmerized for our return to town..
The gear needs to be packed and ready by tomorrow morning. It will get stowed in the big plane and things will start to get real.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
We enjoyed more fine game viewing as we exited the park and our Safari guides continued to impress spotting out cats all over the place this morning. Things went as smooth as you could expect even on 4 wheel drive roads. Our great drivers and local support assisted us as we continued focusing on some of the things we do best, eating and shopping. After a quick stop at the Dik Dik Hotel to gather our climbing gear and have a quick dinner, it was off to the airport. We said our good byes happy to be heading home but still smiling from our grand adventure.
Happy October, it's time to come up with my Halloween costume.
Until the next adventure.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Another day of nice weather...YEAH! A few hours of hiking and here we are at Barafu Camp at 15,000 ft. The team got busy upon arrival preparing for the early morning departure from here toward the summit, sorting through the stay and go gear since we will come back thru this camp on our way down from the summit. We all pooled together our favorite treats and made up some tasty looking lunches. We took a short hike up to get familiar with the start of the climb that will confront us with our alpine start from High Camp to the summit of Kilimanjaro.
It's nap time now before our early dinner then we will take another short rest before starting our summit attempt. The team continues to do well, wish us luck!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker & Team
Best Wishes to you My Friend
Posted by: James ( Spud) on 7/27/2019 at 12:22 am
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