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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

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The sun WOULD have hit our tents at 10:40 this morning, but by that time there was a lot of cloud to get through. As forecast, it was good and windy pretty much everywhere except in our camp. We ate breakfast and hung out talking in the cook tent until midday, at which point a nap was due. We passed the day reading, digging, meditating, and kicking back. The winds above and around us quit in early evening -which was good- but the clouds had increased. It became a world of murk with the lightest of snow falling... the kind of crystals that can come down for hours without adding up to an inch. We did a late dinner from 9 PM til 10:30 and then retired to the tents, this time without the sunshine to make for the warm and easy end to the day that we enjoyed yesterday. The forecaster, back at Union Glacier, suggested some improvement for tomorrow. If we get that we’ll endeavor to carry a load up the fixed lines toward high camp. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Sunday, July 1, 2018 - 6:57 PM PT Greetings from Alpamayo Base Camp. We descended today and arrived to our tents and good meals from our cook. We're bummed we couldn't climb, but it was the right decision. We're headed to bed soon in hopes of hiking out tomorrow. We'll check in when we're in Huaraz. RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos

Friday, June 1, 2018 - 5:01 PM PT A good weather window appears to be forming right now, and lasting through the weekend. Our plan is to take advantage of the good weather and move camp to 17,000' tomorrow and, hopefully, summit the following day. We'll keep you posted with our progress. RMI Guide Mike Walter

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It is crazy to think our team has been together for over ten days now. We have accomplished much, seen a lot, bonded well and now seem more like family than strangers gathering in a hotel lobby meeting for the first time. This is the only time I can remember, on any trip, that all nine climbers arrived as individuals. There are no couples, no family groups, just adventurous souls coming to Ecuador to climb mountains and learn some skills. Until now I think things have gone quite well. Good climbing and good culture has defined the past ten days. Now the plot thickens. Today we arrived at Chimborazo. This mountain is the highest point from the center of the earth and an overall giant of sheer prominence. Today though was great. After enjoying the latest wake up call of the journey, a nice late breakfast, a casual four hour bus ride and a home cooked meal in Chimborazo's Refugio, this was as close to an honest rest day as we've had since leaving Quito. Which, after climbing two big mountains in the last four days is a good thing! This mountain is known for its challenging climbing, cold conditions and steep slopes. It will take every bit of energy to reach its 20,564 summit. Currently the team is feeling mostly recovered from Cotopaxi and is excited to move to high camp tomorrow located at 16,400 feet high on Chimborazo's western flanks. We will let you know how the move goes tomorrow. Sending hugs to all those following along. Wish us luck. RMI Guide Adam Knoff & Team

Different day... but same old weather. Our team went to bed last night inspired by a film shown in the dining tent. Austrian extreme skiers in camp played their award winning film on a pioneering adventure to the mountains of Siberia. The night was calm, but cloudy again... as was the morning. Chances for flying never seemed to increase as the day proceeded, so we concerned ourselves instead with reviewing our rope rescue techniques and checking out our avalanche beacons. In the flat light after lunch we borrowed fat-tired bikes and rode the 10k loop in order to get heart-rates up and leg muscles pumped. In late afternoon we simply rested and read books, biding our time -along with the forty or fifty other folks that were on our Ilyushin flight from Punta. This isn’t exactly a new phenomenon when it comes to mountaineering in Antarctica, so we are just rolling with it, relaxing and enjoying the hospitality and comforts of Union Glacier Camp. Weather sounds a little worse out at the Vinson end of things. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Hey! Dave Hahn & Team calling from the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro! We are at Uhuru 19,340'. We got up here at 6:49 in the morning, nine of our ten climbers. Everybody is doing really well, everybody is happy and healthy. It is an absolutely beautiful morning. It is way clear above us, and it's way clear down below to about 4,000' and then there's a sea of clouds below us. It is a really great day up here. We're going to do a dispatch when we are back to our camps to let you know we are all safe. Bye now! Sunday, September 10th 10:57am PST Greetings from Mweka Camp, down at 10,000 ft, down in the forest, down from the summit of Kilimanjaro. We got walking out of high camp at just after midnight on a perfect night for climbing. It was clear, calm, moonlit and sparkling with stars. As expected, things got progressively colder as we got farther up the hill and into the night/morning. We kept adding clothing and tried our best to keep moving. Eventually, a good chunk of the team had "everything" on and the sun was still hours away. We might have stressed over the cold, but the altitude was kicking in with new stresses with every step higher. The entire team surpassed previous personal altitude records today, so it was very much a voyage of discovery. We hit Stella Point on the crater rim just before 6 AM and caught a magnificent sunrise when we were part way to Uhuru -the true summit. We tagged the top at 6:45, spent a glorious 30 minutes up there... surprised to be in perfectly comfortable temps already. The descent to Barafu took three hours, and we commenced our further descent to Mweka at 12:15, reaching this delightfully low camp at 3:45. All are safe. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

June 21, 2017 It snowed a couple of inches overnight at 9500 ft but skies were clear by morning. A cool breeze kept us in bed for a little while, but we were on the trail by 9:30 and making slow and steady progress toward the head of the Kahiltna Glacier. We could almost see all of its forty-seven mile length stretched out below us as we turned East at Kahiltna Pass. The cool breeze was nowhere to be found as we worked up steeper hills at midday. We made it into 11,000 ft Camp at 1 PM and were happy to see our friends on Mike Haugen's team. They kindly helped to shovel tent sites for us and gave us some "starter water" to make us feel at home. The day had turned out to be stunningly nice... Which is always a good thing on the solstice. We gazed in wonder at the bright clean angular chunks of glacier hanging all around us and at the formidable rock of the NW and West Buttresses. Camp went up smoothly and quickly and we crawled in the tents to beat the heat for a few hours. Evening was a social whirl as guides and climbers from all over the world had reunions and wished each other well as they went in opposite directions. We will take a much deserved rest day tomorrow and look forward to catching up on sleep, reading, and hydration. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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Down and clear as we say in the ski patrol world when everybody is off the mountain. We are now showered and rested. What a climb it was. It is such an amazing experience in so many ways. Climbing Kilimanjaro is a great challenge both physically and mentally. The skills you learn, the people you meet along the way, the one word that comes to mind is enrichment. A big thanks to Barking Zebra and its mountain staff, a job well done men - you all are top of the heap. We start our journey back home tomorrow but the team's flight isn't till the evening so our team is going to visit the local game park at the base of Mount Meru. It takes 19,000' to slow these guys down. They have the right attitude ....Get Out While You Can! RMI Guide Mark Tucker

May 14, 2017 It took some patience, but we made it onto the glacier! The clouds hung low this morning and took their time lifting. In the meantime the webcam at Kahiltna Base Camp showed bluebird skies and a beautiful day. It's hard to wait patiently to start something that we've been building towards for so long, but it paid off. At 3:00 pm or so we got the green light to fly and we were off. The pilots at K2 Aviation are the best and we had a smooth ride into Base Camp with our noses pressed to the windows ogling the steep spires and knife ridges of the Alaska Range. With the late departure we decided to spend the night at Base Camp and get things sorted for the walk to Ski Hill tomorrow. So we're headed to bed, excited to finally start moving towards our objective tomorrow. We send our best from the land of the midnight sun, RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Jess Matthews, Jenny Konway, and team

On The Map