Most Popular Entries

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

All agreed that it was a pleasure to wake this morning in the garden-like Barranco Valley. The clouds, which had overtaken camp yesterday evening, had dropped far below by daybreak. When the sun hit, mid-breakfast, and our dining tent began to rain down condensation, our alert and resourceful staff simply picked the whole tent up and moved it as we sat buttering toast. We were left at our table for an unexpected but quite pleasant picnic in the great outdoors. The team's eyeballs kept wandering over to the shadowy Barranco Wall and the stream of several hundred porters working up its ledges and paths. We joined the snakelike line and got our hands on the rock only to discover that the wall was pretty fun climbing. We went up about nine hundred vertical feet over a fairly short distance. At the top of the wall, we celebrated with a rest break, along with about a dozen other teams of happy trekkers. Then it was back to business as clouds had formed up again. We traversed a few valleys without great difficulty and then we could see Karanga Camp perched on the opposite side of one last steep-sided gorge. We dropped down through a forest of heather and rest-stepped right back up the other side, making it into camp in early afternoon with the march having taken just under four hours. Miraculously, our staff had once again managed to have a perfectly constructed camp up and ready for us. Within moments they invited us to lunch -spaghetti with red sauce- which all enjoyed. We spent a pleasant and quiet afternoon reading, napping, eating and drinking as clouds came and went. We occasionally got full and majestic views of Kibo's icy flanks hiding up in the cumulus. It is all starting to seem a bit more familiar and accessible. We'll be up there soon. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

We woke at midnight to cold temps and light gusts. After a quick breakfast we packed and stepped into our crampons. Just after one in the morning we left camp and began our traverse across the glacier leading to the start of the technical climbing. After a quick break we pulled out our sexing ice tool and started up the narrow ice runnel. Cold temps, a hand full of other teams, and the altitude made for a challenging climb but everyone did a fantastic job climbing and made good decisions. Shortly after sunrise the team topped out on the summit of Alpamayo to find a strong cold wind out of the east. This made for a short summit celebration before starting the rappels back down the icy face. By 10AM we were all safely back at high camp where we ate, hydrated, and napped all day. We will spend one more night here before descending to base camp tomorrow. I'm very proud of how the team did on this difficult climb today. That's all for now, RMI Guide Geoff Schellens

June 18, 2016 - 8:58 pm PT Remember how yesterday we told ya'll that despite the high clouds and other warning signs of low pressure that the weather was holding? Well, it sure isn't anymore. We delayed our departure from Camp 1 by a few hours and caught a lull that lasted long enough for us to travel to 9,600 Camp comfortably. We established camp and chilled the afternoon away as the winds and snow built. We are well fed, warm, and snuggled in for the night, hoping that the weather allows us to travel to 11,000 Camp in the morning. Only time will tell, but for now the psyche is high. Love to everybody, RMI Guide Mike Haugen

On The Map

June 7, 2016 - 12:10 am PT Yep, patience is an inherent component of alpine climbing. Patience for weather, patience for conditions. Little could we do today with about 1 foot of snow in the last 24 hours. We spent the morning digging camp out, and then made the most of the afternoon with a thorough session of rope skills at camp. A break in the weather motivated a tour of the Pika later, which for about 1 1/2 hours, kept us around its eastern perimeter, below the formations of "The Trolls", which we aspire to climb soon. A hearty dinner of pasta and steak (that's how we roll on the Alpine Seminar) brought us back to warmth, while the laughter was a constant because of the funny music played out of Chase's phone (Will promises to do the Michael Jackson's moves of Thriller after our first summit). Expectant to see what the weather will bring us tomorrow, RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and team

Well, we made it to Base Camp yesterday! The team is moving well and feeling good despite our first abrupt change in elevation since the drive from Mendoza to Penitentes. We are now sitting pretty and all moved in at Plaza Argentina at an elevation of right around 4,200 m or about 13,800'. Anita and Griselda, head honchos here with Grajales, prepared us an over the top welcome dinner complete with soup, veggies, a slab of beef, and tiramisu for dessert! Despite the extravagance of the meal the living still isn't super easy up here and we knew were we are all in for a little bit of discomfort trying to sleep up here on our first night. Today is another sunny and glorious day up here at Plaza Argentina. The gang actually fared quite well through the night and enjoyed a casual wake up this morning. We all hung out and drank real coffee along with enjoying stuffed breakfast burritos complete with prosciutto and grilled veggies thanks to Katrina's solid work in the kitchen. We'll probably burn the rest of the day today preparing both our group and personal loads for tomorrow's carry up to Camp 1. Everyone's hanging out grooving on the Andes and looking forward to tomorrow's foray higher. That and wondering how the Seahawks are gonna do against Carolina. RMI Guide Billy Nugent

On The Map

Today we traveled to Lake Manyara. It was the first day of our four day safari through Tanzania and we had a great day. Here is what the team had to say about our day in the bush. TOP TEN LIST One comment about today? 1. The hippos fighting in the pool - Peter 2. The first sighting of a herd of Zebra right next to our vehicle - Chelsea 3. Observing the silver billed horn bird take a dust bath - Bonny 4. Take off and landing of a huge flock of yellow billed storks - Mark 5. Taking in the sights of land and people on the highway while standing up with head out off open roofed Land Rover - Nate 6. Baby Baboon riding on the back of it's mother, with cute ears - Elizabeth 7. Bargaining skills of local guys trying to sell a necklace - Jonathan 8. Vista of the Great Rift Valley from on top of the escarpment - William 9. Diversity of wild life in the field of vision at one moment - Allidah 10. The over easy eggs at breakfast - Madison

Friday June 12th 10:30 pm PT A blog post brought to you by Kim, Pete and Phillip: We awoke to clear blue skies and stellar views of the Alaska Range. It was followed by an exquisite breakfast of fluffy blueberry and granola pancakes, topped with a wild cherry compote. Then we made a six-feet deep hole and went to "The Edge of the World". Weather is looking better and we are hopeful that we will move up the mountain this weekend. We are looking forward to moving higher up on the mountain, since we are all rested up having slept more in the past few nights than we have in the last month. Clearly we are enjoying the mountain lifestyle, but ready for the next challenges. Viele Grüße vom Berg, cheers The Gang P.S. Hi Sophia! XO love Aunt Kim

May 10, 2014 10:37 pm PT The good weather persists in the Alaska Range! We were fortunate to spend a big chunk of time today training under clear skies and bright rays. By the end of the afternoon, everyone was dialed on crevasse rescue and amped to move camp up the glacier tomorrow. Aside from our attempt in Radio Tower most of our time so far has been focused on training and lectures on mountain related topics. Now it is time to put our training into action and see if the mountains let us get a summit. RMI Guides Leon Davis & Eric Frank

Hello again everyone 

Today the team awoke to beautifully clear skies and views of Kilimanjaro looming above us. 

We started our day with fresh fruits, eggs, porridge and plenty of coffee, before setting off on our second day. 

The trail out of camp slowly ascends through the last remaining trees and makes its way along a rocky ridge that eventually climbs up onto the Shira Plateau. We hiked a little more that 4 hours and have ascended to just over 12,000' to reach our next camp. 

Everyone enjoyed the warmth of the sun and the views of the valleys below as we climbed steadily up Kili. 

We are currently relaxing in our camp enjoying good conversations and stories from team members. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew!