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Posted by: Brent Okita, Zeb Blais
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb Led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Zeb Blais reached the summit of Mt. Rainier Early this morning. The team climbed into a cap with 30 mph winds. They spent a brief time on the top before starting their descent.
Congratulations to today's team!
Its a storm day for Team Elbrus. We actually had good weather this morning and got out to do some more practice with the ice axe and crampons. We then moved into self arrest practice. By the time we finished that it had started to snow and then that turned to rain for a minute. The wind really kicked up for a few hours after that and we had a real storm for a while
We all hid from the weather and watched a movie this afternoon. Thanks to Brett for supplying the iPad. It's about 5:30PM now and there's not much wind and some sun at camp. The upper mountain is covered in a large cloud and it looks like there are more clouds moving our way. Because of that we have decided to stick to our original plan and go for the summit either tomorrow night or the next.
I'll check in again tomorrow.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
You guys are great!! Its so much fun to watch your progress…..Cant wait till I get the news that you’ve reached the summit and are on your way down! I wonder how long it takes to get down???Carol
Posted by: carol Latz on 6/29/2016 at 7:22 am
go john go
Posted by: Jill on 6/28/2016 at 12:41 pm
Posted by: Tyler Jones, Caleb Ladue, Blake Votilla
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
June 1, 2016 - 10:36 p.m. PDT
Today was one of the more work intensive days of the trip thus far. Up at 6:00 a.m., the same time as yesterday's move, we were tasked with a little more effort to break down camp and hit the trail. The slight overnight cloud deck a few thousand feet above us had kept some heat locked in and today's wake up did not feel nearly as chilled as yesterday with the clear sky. One of the days highlights was seeing the shadow of Denali painted on the thin cloud deck above us, the cloud was thin enough to let a bit of light through but just thick enough to keep the heat in. So cool. The unique lighting didn't end though, as we made our way up into the Polo Fields we chased the shadow all the way to our second break. Snowflake flurries continued as wispy clouds moved over the high ridge and the morning sunlight barely cresting over Denali made walking today especially enjoyable.
Before we knew it we were at 14 Camp, making even better time than yesterday. Quite impressive considering it was our second big climb at altitude in a row! The real work just begins though as we still need to claim our homestead. A nice parcel with beachfront views of Hunter and Foraker will do! Tents stacked tight: 3 in a row, our cook tent, and finally guide tent at the edge of the hill. Plenty of old lots were available as most groups moved up yesterday to high camp. We chose to stake out our own - away from the crowds and with our own custom landscaping! We are settled in here at 14,200', looking forward to tomorrow's rest day and we'll see what opportunities the weather brings us. Stay tuned!
RMI Guide Blake Votilla and team
On The Map
High places are only for those brave enough to follow their dreams! You guys will never be the same walking this close to the heavens. We hope the wind stands still and the snow is light on your summit day. Looking forward to a safe return and some well deserved beach time in the OBX! We can tell from the blog and pictures that achieving your goal is close. Be safe and stay focused.
Carter and Kay Adams
Posted by: Carter Adams on 6/2/2016 at 4:27 pm
haha very good question—has the chocolate supply run out?
Posted by: karina on 6/2/2016 at 1:30 pm
Posted by: Billy Nugent, Katrina Bloemsma
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
Ground control (RMI base) to Major Tom (our intrepid Aconcagua team)...
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on...
We are eating up on our last rest day here in Base Camp and making our last minute preparations.
Ground control to Major Tom...
Commencing countdown engines on... Check ignition and may god's love be with you...
Wish us luck as we blast off up onto the beast. Tomorrow's plans call for a move up to Camp 1 which has the team excited if a bit nervous. Lots of work lies ahead but we are poised and ready for the challenge. The weather has been stellar and we hope it continues to cooperate for us as we step out of the capsule that is Plaza Argentina not to return until our bid for the top has culminated. Of course we'll keep checking in along the way.
Bowie lives!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
Doug S,
We are all pulling for you! CPLs and TRs send their best!
Arland
Posted by: Arland Fagerstrom on 1/19/2016 at 12:53 pm
HI, Craig,
I’m so glad the weather is good! All our thoughts are about the A-team having THE BEST CLIMB EVER!
Love, SAF
Posted by: Sally Falkenhagen on 1/19/2016 at 10:54 am
RMI Guide Brent Okita and the Four Day Summit Climb team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Brent reported a great climbing and a beautiful day.
Congratulations to Today's Team!
Posted by: Mike Walter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Our Ecuador Volcanoes team has all arrived in Ecuador without complications. We started our first morning in country with a team breakfast and then departed on a city tour of the historic, colonial are of Quito and a trip to Mitad del Mundo (literally the middle of the world), or the Equator.
We had good views of our climbing objectives, Cotopaxi and Cayambe, from El Panecillo, a hill in southern Quito that looks out over the city. From there we toured around “old town” Quito, visiting churches, parks, and the presidential palace, all while learning about the rich cultural history of Ecuador.
The last stop on our trip was to the equator, where we visited an ethnographic museum. In addition to information and exhibits about the many different cultures of Ecuador, we stood on the equatorial line, with one foot in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern.
We’re headed out for a team dinner before getting some rest in preparation for our first acclimatization hike of the volcano Rucu Pichincha, which sits on the flanks of Quito. We’ll check in tomorrow to let you know how our first venture into very high altitude goes. Thanks for checking in!
RMI Guide Mike Walter and Team
Posted by: JM Gorum, Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
We got an early start this morning from Casa de Piedras. A quick breakfast of oatmeal, some sorting of gear, and we were moving by seven. It was another cloudless morning for us, and it was fairly chilly in the shade of morning. The first thing we had to do was cross the Vacas River. Usually we ride mules across to avoid the frigid waters in the early morning, but today things were moving a little slow, maybe a side effect of New Years celebration. Eventually everyone decided it wasn’t worth waiting, and we forged the mighty river on foot. This particular section was actually very manageable this year. A few of us took off our pants in anticipation of thigh deep water, but it turns out there was no need. It was about a foot and a half deep, and ten feet wide with a few braids. The most notable feature was the cold. There was ice on the edges of the channel, and the water caused painful numbing almost instantly. We took a moment on the other side to re-warm, laugh at ourselves, and put shoes back on, and we were off.
The rest of the day followed the same rhythm that we’ve grown accustomed to. Walk, drink, eat. We pulled into basecamp in the early afternoon, enjoyed some new luxuries, and set up our homes for the next few days. Tomorrow is our first rest day. We will spend it relaxing, rehydrating, and doing some planning for the days to come.
RMI Guides JM Gorum, Hannah Smmith, Avery Parrinello
On The Map
Posted by: Mike Walter, Robby Young, Alan Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 7,800'
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Sunday, May 20, 2018 - 1:12 a.m. PDT
The squirrely weather persists on Denali. It snowed all night last night, but fortunately we only picked up 4 inches or so. We woke up to more snow, wind, and very limited visibility. After breakfast we slowly started to pack up camp, hoping the weather would improve. Around noon the weather finally improved so we packed up our tents and rigged up our ropes.
By the time we were ready to walk, the weather was back its former, stormy self. We decided to give it a try and if conditions worsened we would make camp down on the Kahiltna Glacier and at least make some progress on the mountain. It was a good call because we made it all the way to Camp 2, at the base of Ski Hill (7,800'). We were in a ping pong ball most of the day -- navigating using the wands marking the route, faint traces of other parties' tracks, GPS, and a little Braille (well, maybe not Braille). Our navigation techniques worked and we cruised into camp in 5 hours flat!
Tomorrow the plan is to carry and cache supplies higher on the route and then return to our current camp. This will make for lighter loads when we move camp later this week and will help our acclimatization process.
RMI Guide Mike Walter and team
On The Map
Thinking about you Alex, Tom, and team. So happy to hear you are safe and making progress, thx for the updates!
Posted by: Sarah Flynn on 5/21/2018 at 7:22 am
Nice action photo, Thank you! Glad to learn that Team Water is now underway. My best wishes to the entire team, and a special Hello to Tom M -you’re all in my thoughts.
Stay safe, stay strong & thrive.
Posted by: Jacquie on 5/21/2018 at 12:26 am
Hello from our cozy basecamp on Antisana! Our second day here is almost finished and preparations are underway for our next big summit attempt of the trip.
We were able to sleep in a little this morning and we had a nice full breakfast with coffee, bread, cereal, and quesadillas. With full stomachs and a full night's rest, everybody was feeling strong and ready for our second training day of the trip.
The lower glaciers of Antisana are literally an alpine playground--with open crevasses, firm ice, steep slopes, and towering seracs--and we made good use of it throughout the morning. We set up a challenging, yet fun, alpine skills course and spent the better part of the day practicing a variety of intermediate mountaineering skills: steep fixed line travel, vertical rappels, and a number of challenging ice climbs. The team is composed of members of a variety of backgrounds and skill levels, but all were able to learn something new today and we had a good time doing it!
We were back at our basecamp by 1pm this afternoon, just in time to beat the afternoon rain storms that have been visiting us these last few days. But despite the marginal afternoon weather, we remain optimistic for our chances of summiting tomorrow! The pattern seems to be afternoon showers that clear in the evening, giving us a good window tonight for our summit push.
With one major peak and a couple of days of technical skills training, this team is more than prepared to tackle a second summit. We plan on an early dinner tonight, giving us plenty of time to pack our bags and get some shuteye in preparation for another midnight start. Wish us luck in our attempt and we'll check back in with you tomorrow afternoon with a full report!
Until then,
RMI Guides Nick Hunt and Adam Knoff, and the rest of the ESS-Ecuador team
Jimmy, sending best wishes for more sucess for you and your crew in the next part of your impressive adventure!!!
Posted by: George on 1/12/2017 at 8:41 am
William, I hope you have a better summit this time than last! The pups and I miss you! Can’t wait to hear from you!
Posted by: Linda on 1/11/2017 at 7:27 pm
October 15, 2016 - 9 pm PT
This is Mike, the entire RMI Mexico team arrived with all their gear and high spirits! We kicked the program off with a good dinner and meeting. Tomorrow we will head 75 miles east of Mexico City into rolling hills of Tlaxcala to the base La Malinche. This is where we begin our acclimatization program with a day hike and spending the night at 10,000 ft.
Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
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Way to go, Jim!! Can’t wait to hear all about it!! Love You, Myra, Darby & Aidan
Posted by: Myra, Darby & Aidan on 7/21/2016 at 10:18 am
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