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After a windy night, the team awoke to blue skies and a relatively calm breeze. We spent the first half of the day reviewing skills like rope travel and self arrest. The remainder of the day has been spent relaxing, prepping gear for our summit attempt of Mt. Elbrus tomorrow morning, and watching some very acrobatic birds fly around camp. We are pretty much ready to go, now we just wait and hope for good weather. You'll hear from us tomorrow! RMI Guide JM Gorum

On The Map

RMI teams, led by Pete Van Deventer and Chase Nelson, reached the Mt. Rainier summit at 5:45 a.m. The weather is nice and at 7:05 a.m. the teams were at High Break on their descent. Congratulations to today's summit climbers!

RMI Guide Mike Walter sent a brief note to let us know the team has reached the summit of Cayambe, 18,997'. They will send a full report after their climb. Congratulations to the team!

On The Map

Greetings from High Camp on Aconcagua! Today was a big move day for the team, as we established ourselves at 19,600 feet in preparation for our summit bid. We battled some gusty, overcast weather getting up here, but as of 5 pm the skies around the upper mountain are clear, if a bit blustery. We are all hoping for an unconditional good break in the weather tomorrow, which as of now is the "big day" for the team. Keep us in your thoughts tomorrow; we're all hoping for a safe and successful summit day. Love to everyone! RMI Guides Mark Tucker & Pepper Dee

On The Map

January 7, 2017 Hello friends and family! This is Nick Hunt, reporting in from the high-altitude huts on Cayambe. I'm the co-leader of this trip, along with Adam Knoff, and I'm excited to be leading another trip down here in Ecuador with another great team! We spent last night in the city of Otavalo, at a beautiful hacienda named La Casa Sol. This trip has been feeling a little more like a leisurely vacation so far, rather than a climbing expedition, and La Casa Sol didn't disappoint. Hot coffee and fresh eggs in the morning, beautiful rooms and a breathtaking view of the mountainous region around us. As nice as it was, though, the team has been getting antsy and everyone was more than ready for our move to the mountains today. After a relaxing morning at the hacienda, we packed our bags and made one last stop in town: the Otavalo street market. This market is the largest of its kind in Ecuador and stretches on for miles with all sorts of crafts, textiles, spices, and souvenirs. It can be a bit of sensory overload at first, but we spent a few hours shopping for friends and families at home, then waved goodbye to the city and headed for the hills. The road to Cayambe is a legit 4x4 road and after driving a few hours, the bus could go no further. We exited the bus, loaded our backpacks and finished the approach on foot. A little more than an hour of walking lead us up in to the clouds and to our home for the next few days at 15,000 feet above sea level. The clouds parted just enough for us to sneak a quick peak of our first serious objective before dinner. Our plans for tonight are simple. We are going to spend the rest of the evening taking care of ourselves, getting a good meal in us, and preparing our packs for a full day of training on the glaciers tomorrow. The level of excitement is growing as our first objective looms overhead. We'll check in tomorrow afternoon as we prep for our first big summit attempt of the trip. Stay tuned for updates! Until tomorrow, RMI Guides Nick Hunt and Adam Knoff, and the rest of the ESS-Ecuador team

On The Map

Saturday, July 9, 2016 - 2:23 a.m. PDT Yesterday was an unlikely summit day. There were clouds everywhere and breezes blowing... But we'd begun to think we wouldn't get anything better. So we went for it, leaving high camp at about 10 AM. Right out of camp though, we were breaking trail... And it went that way all day. Slow going and strenuous climbing. But it mostly went our way. The winds died just before we reached Denali Pass. It was a cold day - by July standards- but our team dealt well with the challenge. Sadly, we never got much in the way of views due to the clouds, but when we topped out at 7:15 PM, no one seemed overly concerned with the things they might have seen on a better day. We made it back to high camp at midnight and had a late late dinner. Breakfast this morning was a rolling thing, with folks wandering through the kitchen one by one as they woke. It was a stunningly nice day... Clear and sunny the way it never seems to be anymore. But we could not have known such a fine day was coming... The forecasts didn't hint at it. In any case it was good for descending. We dropped down the crest of the West Buttress, the fixed lines and the snowy hills above 14 camp. It took time to reorganize there and then we set out for 11,000ft. The route was barely recognizable as there'd been huge snow and plenty of avalanches. We were sinking in deeply and engaging in a great sled rodeo on the steep side hills, but we kept on trudging and finally reached our old home at 11,000ft. We look forward to some deep sleep and recuperation here -6,000 ft below our last home. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

June 10, 2016 - 10:35 pm PT Waking to clear skies and minimal wind was a great way to start our move to 14K Camp. Of course when you walk amongst the clouds sometimes they come say hello. As we crossed the Polo Fields towards Windy Corner, weather set in and the team got their first taste of what Denali can dish out. We managed quite well and rallied through the pass to the calm on the other side, none the worse for wear, but with a few wider eyes to show for the effort. After an easy camp build (Thanks Jonesy!), we dined and toasted our friend Ryan for his Birthday! Katrina even no baked a cheesecake to celebrate the joyous day. That's the news from 14K, stay tuned for the next episode. RMI Guide Jake Beren

Jambo! This is Seth checking in. I finally received my luggage and can now begin to send reports from the mountain. I have to thank the wonderful staff at the Dik Dik hotel for getting my bag delivered to 12,500' on Kilimanjaro. The group is all doing really well. We have had two excellent days on the trek so far. Our camp tonight is at the Shira Plateau which gives us a wonderful view of the summit. The weather has been just fine as well. We had a few drops of rain yesterday but we had already arrived in camp when that started. Everyone is climbing strong. I'll check in again tomorrow. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

On The Map

More wind. Well we’re definitely all out of jokes to share now. Most of the books that we brought have been through at least three different hands. Except no one wants to read the epic tome on the history of oil that I brought. It’s OK that no one wants to trade, as the 1000 pages of ten point font guarantees me weeks of reading. We’re all pretty much in tent mode as the wind is a bit high for outside lounging. A team of climbers tried to go to the summit today but turned around at 18,300’Denali Pass due to high winds. It’s too bad for them as this is their last day of food for staying at 17,000 and they will have to go down. We’re all getting a bit down from all of the sitting. Our group has decided that tomorrow will be our ‘up or down’ day. If we cannot climb tomorrow then we will start heading down. It’s still two full days of work just to get back to the landing strip from here.

On The Map

Thursday, November 27, 2025 - 4:23 pm PT

We had a fine sleep in basecamp, far away from the sounds of the city.  A leisurely breakfast fortified us for yet another round of refining and sorting gear and provisions for our climb.  It was a sunny and calm day, perfect for an afternoon rope-up and rehearsal of the initial climbing route.  Jon, Tim and I went an hour up the glacier.  It was nice to get a little exercise and to re-familiarize ourselves with roped travel.  We had an easy stroll back down just in time for dinner in the comfortable ALE dining tent. 

As things stand now we’ll set off for “low camp” tomorrow. 

Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn