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Posted by: James Bealer, Dominic Cifelli, Chase Halbert, Stephen Inman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 12,500'
The Kautz Seminar, led by RMI Guide James Bealer, was stopped by route conditions this morning. They reached 12,500' before making the call to abort their ascent. The team is currently working their way back to high camp. They have had a full week of training and will spend one more night on the mountain before concluding their program tomorrow.
Our first rotation up the hill is completed. We came down the Icefall this morning in fresh falling snow, which muffled sound, concealed crevasses and greatly reduced traffic. Normally, after three nights acclimating at Camp One, we'd have gotten up a little earlier and come down a bit sooner in the morning, but daybreak at close to 20,000 ft was a bit different this time around. We had received a foot of snow in the past 24 hours and listened to avalanches running almost constantly down the steep faces of Nuptse and Everest West Shoulder. We weren't terribly anxious to run out and test our luck at finding the path through the icefall, but a few things began to work in our favor. Although no Sherpas were breaking trail from below on such a day, a few teams at Camp One were more anxious to get down than we were. We actually contemplated sitting another day to let things settle and improve, but once a few bigger teams had plowed a trail down and a short break in the storm materialized, we decided to capitalize and descend. We packed and closed our tents up tight and began walking toward Basecamp at around 9:30 AM. It wasn't a quick descent, we were quite careful stepping through the concealing powder and onto shaky ladders as the snowstorm returned to make things interesting. We were all stunned to see that the "horseshoe hotel" had fallen. This was a massive free-standing cube of glacier which we'd been passing under with a fair amount of trepidation. It came down all at once... luckily with no one in the vicinity, and we were amazed to see that the massive chunks of debris had fallen in several directions... But they hadn't bulldozed away the climbing route. The intervening crevasses had done their work and swallowed up a whole lot of hotel. The snows kept falling and we kept working our way down in a quiet cloud. Eventually we came out from under the clouds just as we reached the less hazardous features at the bottom of the Icefall. We weren't able to do everything we wanted on this rotation; it certainly would have been nice to have hiked up and touched ABC (Camp 2) but it would have been foolish in the snowstorm, so we mostly sat in our tents yesterday... But that also can lead to good acclimatization when the tents are high enough.
Now we'll enjoy the relative comforts of Basecamp (although the snowstorm has seemed to follow us down) First; tables and chairs and food served up by the plateful... Later showers and shaves and the freedom of walking around without worry of crevasses and cliffs.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
This is Dave Hahn with the RMI Vinson Expedition, V1, we are starting the Vinson season. Myself, Seth Waterfall, Billy Nugent along with our climbers have had a run of good luck now. We flew from Punta Arenas last night. At quarter to midnight we left the ground after a day of stop and go, hoping for a flight and being stopped short earlier in the day. And then finally, late last night we departed Punta Arenas and arrived in Union Glacier around 5 am. Things were great there, it was nice and calm and our good luck continued. During the day the staff at ALE managed to get us all out to Vinson Basecamp and that is where we are sitting right now, on the Branscomb Glacier below Mt. Vinson. We are at about 7,000', it's partly cloudy and again calm.
We are excited, after a few days in Torres del Paine, which was not that bad of a delay being in a National Park in Southern Chile, to come on the very next day and already be on the mountain. Everything is looking good now.
More when we can,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
RMI Guide Dave Hahn checks in from Vinson Basecamp.
Posted by: Peter Whittaker, Dave Hahn, Jake Beren
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guides Peter Whittaker and Dave Hahn led their teams to the Mt. Rainier summit this morning. Both teams had left the summit by 8:30 a.m. and reported light winds and a very pleasant day on the mountain.
Jake Beren is currently leading the Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz on their summit bid. He checked in at 8:15 a.m. from the Wapowety Cleaver on the Kautz Route and will radio us when he reaches the summit.
It was great to climb with all of you, even the silly bit..
Way to go Marshall and VJ. Awesome job Brad, Andy and Matt. Really fun to climb with you Franz and Anna…makes me want to bring my own daughter seeing you guys have such fun together.
Great guides makes great trip.
Thanks RMI.
Erik
Posted by: Erik Meyers on 8/13/2012 at 4:05 pm
Congrats Andy and Brad! Mary has been sharing your travel adventures with me. What an amazing accomplishment!
Posted by: Ellen on 8/12/2012 at 2:53 pm
Posted by: Walter Hailes, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 14,500'
Today the weather continued to improve as we awoke to sunny skies and the lightest winds of the trip thus far. We headed uphill for our final carry to Camp 1 to set the stage for our time on the upper mountain. The wind wasn’t done with us yet though as we experienced several “drop you to your knees” gusts on our way up. After making it to Camp 1 and successfully caching our gear we headed back to base camp where we relaxed in the group shelter, swapped stories and enjoyed the beautiful evening alpine glow on the mountains.
RMI Guides Walter Hailes & Jack Delaney
Well done guys. Such a great adventure. I’m living Vicariously. “I can make it two more steps” Wishing you the best.
Posted by: Saxby on 1/20/2022 at 2:27 pm
Posted by: Christina Dale
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche
Elevation: 13,950'
We are finally using some of our warmer layers as we pull in to 14,000' here in Pheriche. The day went super smoothly with the team feeling strong, eating well, and chatting along the trail. We made a morning tea stop in Pangboche to visit the oldest Monastery in the valley and see the yeti skull and hand. We can't wait to have a live yeti spotting hopefully high on the glaciers of Lobuche Peak.
RMI Guide Christina Dale
It wouldn’t be a climb without one of Michael’s “calendar” shots! Loving the updates!
Posted by: Katie F. on 3/24/2019 at 7:07 pm
And it is a wrap up!
The last two days have been probably the quickest to go by. Descending from Ama Dablam Base Camp was an easy task, enhanced by every step we took, as every foot of elevation we lost, made our bodies invigorate.
Joining the main Everest trail was a colorful experience of different nationalities, which we almost forgot in the relatively isolated expedition we had.
Arriving in Lukla definitely provides a sense of accomplishment, closing the trail loop we started nearly one month ago.
Now we are at the mercy of the weather to leave the mountains behind in our airplane tomorrow.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Wow! This is on my bucket list.
Posted by: Richard Henry on 11/20/2018 at 7:55 am
Posted by: Adam Knoff
Categories: Mountaineering Fitness & Training
Today I was surprisingly asked a question that, as far as I can tell, is as old as human curiosity, parental affection and plain ol’ sibling rivalry. This may seem strange because I only have one child, and my somewhat unhinged three wingnut dogs can’t speak and honestly don’t care about the answer as long as they are fed and played with. As you may have guessed, the question so abruptly put on me this morning was: “daddy, who’s your favorite?” Harder to guess was, who asked it?
Things started normally enough; I made breakfast for my kiddo before packing him up and carting him off to preschool. I fed my dogs and chickens, cleaned the kitchen, and prepared for a day of light recreating before my afternoon duties began. It was when I entered the garage, home to my all important man cave and location of all my beloved fly fishing and climbing gear that things took a bizarre turn. Standing in front of me (I kid you not!) side by side, with puppy dog eyes looking up, stood my 12’6” Echo spey rod and my carbon fiber, oh so beautiful, Cobra ice tools. These sorts of things don’t just happen so I double checked my reality button. Dreaming? No I don’t think so. I have been up for three hours, had my coffee, and still felt the throb in my left big toe where I slammed it into the chest at the side of my bed. Ok, I’m awake. Drugged? No, I quit taking hallucinogens in high school and my wife, I think, genuinely cares about me. Then what? My two favorite activities in life, swinging flies for big trout with my spey rod and ice climbing, which is now doable in Bozeman, Montana, have come to a head. With a few free hours, my fishing rod and ice tools came alive and wanted me to pick favorites. Sheeesh! What’s a guy to do?
As time stood still, I began to reflect on the week long steelhead fishing trip I took just two weeks prior to the Grand Rhond, Clearwater, and Snake rivers. Ohhh, the joy of that trip made me quiver. It made me want to reach out, grab my spey rod child and declare my love for him. 28 inch ocean run rainbows on the swing, the thrill of the next hook up, not wearing a heavy pack; the reasons almost overwhelmed me. Yes, yes, you will always be my favorite!!! Then I saw my ice tools. Hyalite Canyon is in! I can’t wait for the thrill of running it out on newly formed thin ice over a stubby ice screw, waking up before the sun, and realizing this day was bound to hold everything but the predictable. Ohh, ice tools, you are my favorite, “let’s go climb something!” I think you understand my dilemma.
Parenting has taught me much in the five years that I’ve been at it. Love, patience and compassion are always at the forefront of dealing with children. Frustrations always arise. Liam spills my wine on the new rug, my spey rod whips bullets at the back of my head leaving welts the size of cheese curds on my scalp, ice tools rip out unexpectedly and send waves of sudden panic through me that make me want to puke. All part of the landscape I guess. So how did I answer the question, “who is your favorite”? Here I leaned on the invaluable lessons gleaned from seven years of blissful marriage. I compromised.
That day I took the ice tools out for their first climb of the season. I packed them up with the rest of my climbing gear all the while psyched I had just promised my fishing rod we would get out tomorrow. It’s a difficult web we weave, balancing work and play. I honestly felt troubled that I had to recreate two days in a row, climbing then fishing, but then again parenting is also about sacrifice.
As readers of the RMI Blog, most of you are probably cracking a smile but are also curious how this story is relevant to the mission of mountain climbing, training, and/or preparing for an upcoming goal. Here is how I connect the dots: Fishing for me is the yin to my climbing yang. It is a glorious mental escape which allows me to shelve my daily stresses and exist purely in the moment. Everyone needs this periodic meditation to reset and clear the mind. For many, exercise accomplishes the same release but regular exercise does not necessarily constitute “training”. The expectations I put on myself when climbing on my own are very high and the specific training schedule I follow can at times be demanding, painful, and sometimes unpleasant. Here is where we tie in sacrifice. Everyone’s life is managed by time. Somewhere on that big round clock is time you can utilize for yourself. If you have a goal of climbing a mountain, running a marathon, or bench pressing a Ford truck, you need to prioritize and then commit! Finding enjoyment and purpose in life comes when these commitments are made. Being a husband and father keep me grounded. Being a passionate climber and guide keep me psyched and motivated, and the hunt for big fish calms me down. In the big picture I think I have found some balance. Remember it takes the black and the white, the yin and the yang, to complete the circle. The web you weave and balance you seek are your own, but seek it with conviction and purpose and you will be just fine.
__________
Adam Knoff is a senior guide at RMI, husband, father, and fish wrangler. A versatile and talented rock, ice, and big mountain climber, Adam has climbed and guided throughout the world, in Alaska, the Himalaya, and in his backyard of Bozeman, MT. Adam is guiding an upcoming Mexico's Volcanoes trip, Expedition Skills Seminar - Ecuador, and will be leading a team on the West Buttress of McKinley next June.
Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!
We woke to a starry sky and calm winds last night, perfect conditions for our summit attempt on Chimborazo. We had altered our plans because the volcano Tungurahua, to the east of Chimborazo, was spitting out ash two mornings ago. So, instead of establishing a high camp in tents, we attempted our climb from the lower climbers' hut. We had our work cut out for us, with about 5,000 vertical feet of climbing, and a circuitous route to avoid the current rock fall hazard on the normal route up Chimborazo. Fortunately the weather cooperated all day for us, and we had a very strong and experienced team, and we were able to summit Chimborazo! We had a very, very long day of hard climbing. We started climbing in the dark, and got back to the climbers' hut a few hours after dark. We encountered steep and firm climbing conditions on Chimborazo, which made climbing and descending particularly slow as we had to concentrate on good cramponing and climbing techniques for hours on end. Our team proved up to the challenge, and we climbed safely the whole day. In the end, it was one heck of an adventure.
We're headed back to Quito now, and we should be at our hotel just slightly after noon. We'll have plenty of time to enjoy leisurely walking around the city (after a much anticipated hot shower!) before we have a celebratory dinner tonight. Then it's back to the old US of A on our respective flights tonight and tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
WOW!! Nice job team! Way to go! Wishing the whole time that I was there with you!
Congrats to all of you!
Sounds like a heck of a climb!! Can’t wait to hear all about it!
Posted by: Anthony Tarantino on 7/16/2013 at 11:48 am
Hey Jeff, congrats on Chimbo! Sounds like you had another tough one, can never take the easy way, huh?!
Nicely done.
Your Argentinean tent mate.
Posted by: Greg Barber on 7/16/2013 at 8:54 am
The Four Day Summit Climb July 28 - 31 led by Jason Thompson along with the Five Day Summit Climb July 28 - 1 August led by Linden Mallory reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today! The teams reported windy and cold conditions from the summit with a slight cloud cap descending on the mountain. They began their descent from the summit at 7:00 a.m. en route to Camp Muir and then will continue down to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!
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Good luck and have fun.
Bruce
Posted by: Bruce2 on 11/21/2011 at 10:10 am
Hey Cheryl! We’re rooting for you here in Beaver Creek and will be thinking of you Wednesday, opening day!! See you soon! xo, lin
Posted by: Lin Bercher on 11/21/2011 at 9:29 am
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