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Tuesday, May 28, 2019 - 6:29 PM PT We took advantage of calmer weather to carry a load up to 13,600 today. We got to the top of Squirrel Hill, and the clouds looked like they might spoil our day. As we approached Windy Corner the weather completely cleared up and left us with light winds and sunny skies. So that was nice. Everyone did really well today, and we’re hoping to move up to 14K tomorrow, weather permitting. We’re currently hanging out in our sun-warmed tents drying out our gear. We’ll do an early dinner, and head to bed soon. Gotta get that beauty rest. RMI Guide JM Gorum

We started our morning with a simple question: coffee or tea? I am a coffee person along with most of the members of the team, so we say coffee, black coffee. Our meanings of black coffee are different. In Nepal it seems all black coffee means sugar water with a hint of coffee...so we take our shot of hot sugar water and prepare for the day (tomorrow morning we will make our own coffee with my MSR windburner stove and Starbucks Via). Today was another day of driving on the windy, one and three quarter lane road. As the bus bumped along the road with horns sounding our presence around the turns, you can't help but zone out. Thoughts of how simple life is here, with minimal distraction from social media and media in general...it seems nice, but then the mind floats to the mountains and what you should climb next. We arrived in the town of Chainpur where we were once again greeted to the town by dance, scarves and flowers. But this greeting was different for this time we got to meet the four Nepali women that will be joining us on our climb. They range from the age of 19 to 25. They have been training for this climb the last four months by trekking into the basecamp and in Kathmandu. They are all very excited and eager to climb and learn some more, just as were are excited to climb, teach and learn ourselves. We took an afternoon stroll to the top of the foothills to stretch our legs before we sat down for a delicious dinner of fried rice. We are definitely eating our weight in rice on this trip. As the evening winds down, we enjoy our last chance on the wifi and get ready for bed. Tomorrow brings our last day of driving and the start of our trekking. Climb on, RMI Guide Hannah Smith

Today we started our full circuit trek of Torres del Paine trek with beautiful blue skies and no wind. We saddled our packs and headed off across the open sage bush landscape. We wandered across glacial fed streams and through beach tree forests. With guannaco and Caracara bird sightings we took lots of pictures. We had hot tea along the trail for lunch and pulled into our camp with a few hours to take a shower and hang out before dinner. After dinner we listened to live music by the local cowboys and even participate in the traditional Chilean dances. After the first day with these packs I noticed people were trying to share their snacks first and offer Cliff bars around to lighten the load. Everyone is in great spirits and enjoying the warm sunshine here in Patagonia. Hopefully, tomorrow brings another photogenic day on the trail as we head around the more remote parts of the towers. RMI Guide Christina Dale

The big payoff starts and the dividends are fabulous. We had a great afternoon at Lake Manyara National Park. We successfully shifted gears from mountain living to wildlife viewing. We were on the road just after 8:30 and a few hours later pulled into the park. We had lunch just inside the gate where we had our first visit with a troop of baboons. They were very interested with our lunch boxes and for good reason, once again Barking Zebra providee us with a fantastic assortment of goodies that fuels the furnace to get us through to our next feast, definitely not starving on this trip. We started the game drive where the roof of our Landcruiser is modified to open up and create great sighting of all the animals which were everywhere. Under an hour drive from the gate puts us at the Plantation Lodge just outside the gate of tomorrow's park. Very, very, very comfortable here. Even if you didn't come down from a big mountain you would feel the same way. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

July 15, 2017 Hello all, The Alpamayo team met this morning in Lima and caught up over breakfast and lots of coffee. Afterwards we loaded our shuttle and began the long drive to Huaraz. As we fought through Lima traffic and broke away to the open roads heading north along the coast the jet lag caught up and we started napping. Soon we turned East and started up the winding roads to the high country. We managed to catch Robby, Steve and the Peru Seminar in a small town for a delicious roadside lunch. Back on the road we hit the switchbacks taking us high. Before too long we got our first glimpse of the Cordillera Blanca and stoped for photos before making our way into Huaraz. Once we settled into our accommodations we met with William, our Peruvian guide, and wandered into town for dinner. We are all feeling great and excited for our day hike tomorrow. Stay tuned for more up dates. Thanks for following along RMI Guide Geoff Schellens and the Team

Greetings from the Cordillera Blanca! As climbers, we learn that things are constantly changing here in the mountains. Our bodies, the weather, climbing conditions, among others. For us, our ability to adapt and change plans was our alpine exercise of the day. In lieu of a summit attempt, we took another day to rest, acclimatize, and watch billowing clouds envelop the surrounding mountains this morning. We traded a climbing day for an educational day. We dove into the depths of crevasse rescue systems, and gave our bodies one more day of R&R before our summit attempts. Tonight, we begin our climb of Ishinca. Anticipation and excitement filled our dinner tent, and we're ready. Stay tuned. RMI Guide Robby Young and your ESS-Peru Climbing Team

The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb teams, led by Eric Frank and Ty Reid, reached the summit at 8:00 this morning. It is a beautiful but chilly morning. After spending some time on top, the teams began their descent at 9:00 a.m. Congratulations to today's summit climbers!

June 1, 2017 4:18pm PST We just received news that RMI Guide Mike Walter and Team have reached the Summit of Denali! Congratulations Team!

June 4, 2016 - 4:47 pm PT What a big 24 hours it has been! As yesterday dragged on in the hangar with an ominous dark cloud over the Range, the team seemed pretty resigned to spend another night in Talkeetna. Suddenly the feeling around the airstrip changed as rumors of a slight clearing at basecamp filtered to town. "15% chance, but never hurts to load up the plane," a pilot friend said. That 15% chance kept improving to the point where our air service, K2, felt confident enough to send a scouting plane toward Base Camp. We launched our two Otters on the heels of the scout and navigated storm cells and clouds into the mighty Alaska Range. It was completely amazing. Both planes landed and we hustled out to make room for teams waiting to get off the mountain. The weather had let us in, but the pilots didn't want to push their luck. It was some real impressive flying that put us finally on the mountain after so much preparation. Way to be K2! Having landed on the glacier, we finalized our rigging and set off to begin the climb. Our late in the day flight put us in an excellent position for lighting out. It was a beautiful evening with some swirling clouds and pleasant walking. Our journey took us up to the base of Ski Hill, where we built camp after a long day. It just began to snow as we put the finishing touches on camp and we slept the sleep of the just. The adventure continues and it feels great to be in the mountains! RMI Guide Jake Beren

On The Map

This is Mike and team checking in from the Andean ski resort of Los Penitentes. We enjoyed a scenic drive through the vineyards of Mendoza and the twisty highway that brings our team into the Andes. There is a lot of snow in the hills and we are looking forward to starting our trek to base camp tomorrow. All the gear is sorted and packed to survive the mule ride to Plaza Argentina. If you are wondering what our gear will encounter just picture your duffel bag in an industrial paint shaker going for 12 hours straight. The team is in high spirits and we will check in from Las Lenas tomorrow evening! RMI Guide Mike King

On The Map