June 1, 2016 - 11:47 p.m. PDT
Summit days don't get any better than what we had today. There wasn't a breath of wind, and the warm temperatures let us leave early and get out ahead of other teams. It was the warmest summit day any of the guides remember, and the team did spectacularly. Seven and a half hours of climbing had us standing on the summit taking photos, and then we boogied back to camp. It was well worth the wait and we certainly did our penance and deserved a day like today. With the summit achieved, everyone is more than ready to get back to town and home. We'll pack camp tomorrow and get down to warmer, thicker air, and with luck be at the airstrip first thing the day after tomorrow. But first we'll sleep tonight, and dream of the highest summit in North America.
Best,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Robby Young, Jess Matthews, and team
May 25, 2016 - 11:47 p.m. PDT
The morning sun never showed at all, rather than views of "The Great One," all we saw was the inside of a ping pong ball.
Blowing snow and midday brunch, spinach and egg burritos took us well past lunch.
Life at 14 is cut and dry, we've prepped, we've cached, and we're ready to fly.
Our eyes are fixed on the buttress above, we were surprised this evening by a tent dwelling dove.
Coming high pressure may not be our best friend, but at least we'll have some views again.
Toasted pop tarts keep our spirits light, we hope the summit is soon in our sights.
~~A poetic collaboration of RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Jess Matthews, and Robby Young
Hello all,
We have just pulled in to Plaza Argentina, our base camp for the rest of the climb. The team did very well getting up here, and everyone is feeling great at almost 14,000 feet. We have enjoyed some tasty snacks, and are now kicking our feet back, listening to some Waylon Jennings, and soaking in the views. We have a much-deserved rest day tomorrow, and we'll talk to you then.
RMI Guides JM Gorum and JJ Justman
That’s from Steve and I…mostly Steve lol. hope the climb is going well bro, be safe and have a great time!
Jon and Steve
Posted by: Jon on 2/5/2016 at 12:38 pm
Hi there, Mike,
We’re following your blog. It looks like it’s really cold and very windy there with gale force winds and above. Take care and be safe.
Mom and Dad
Posted by: Joan and Spence Vigneau on 2/2/2016 at 5:23 pm
Update 7:15 pm PT
Hi all...
We are safely back at camp after a long descent down a very wet and snowy central gully on the summit pyramid. The team stayed strong the whole way through and rounded out a great day after putting the whole team on the summit.
Now, it's just a walk through the woods tomorrow morning and we'll be back in Babylon!
2:07 pm PT
Hey everyone. It's Billy checking in from the summit of Mount Shuksan with our whole crew! Give a shout you guys,"Yeah!" I will give you guys a call when we are back down at camp , safe and sound. We are about to begin our descent.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
RMI Guide Billy Nugent calls in from the Mt. Shuksan summit!
Never seen a mountain goat like that! During our hike today, off in the distance, on a ridge, it was not that animal. It got one of the camera crew to push uphill hard for a bit to get the awesome shot. We had settled for some other great footage in all kinds of tough weather conditions. We continue to go through loads of batteries and will probably get that Emmy in the end. The team continues to do well and with the help of some great local guys, are capturing these beautiful mountains to share with you all on the big screen. That's a wrap for today; lots more tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Today's blog is brought to you by the team:
July 27, 2015: Peru, South America with a group of Americans...
Our rest day today proved to bring out the restlessness in these children (yes, us). Promptly following coffee in bed and a two course breakfast, the team took to sun bathing. Once the Vitamin D production quotas were met for the day, the team selected their bathing suits and headed for the lake! A quick 20 minute hike led us to the alpine lake and picturesque view. Testosterone quickly kicked in when the team hit the rocky beach and noticed the glacier that was feeding ice into the lake. It took mere minutes for the team to jump in. Robert took a little convincing but peer pressure won the day. After an unforgettable day of bonding, we all feel blessed to have each other's company and grateful to be sharing this experience in such a majestic place. What happens on the mountain...gets posted to the blog.
Oh yea, almost forgot, we rode icebergs in a glacial lake! Who else can say they did that in July?!
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens and Team
Did someone say iceberg lettuce? Sorry, I couldn’t resist the produce pun John. Sounds like an amazing place and a truly memorable experience. Continue to enjoy and be safe! - Kim R.
Posted by: Kim Reddin on 7/28/2015 at 5:23 pm
Stenderup!!! What did you do with the WG Market update? I can’t find it!!! ... just kidding .. :)
Hope you are doing well and having fun! The Gowdy clan is pulling for you and praying for safety for you and the whole team. All the best brother! - Luke
Hello again everyone
After a good nights rest and rain all night, we were not sure what to expect after all the rain from the famous Ngorongoro Crater. The crater is roughly 100 square miles and is home to roughly 30,000 mammals that reside here year round, as its one of the few places that has natural springs and water year round. We started early with hopes of catching the big cats as they are more nocturnal animals.
We saw many hyenas, jackles, ostrich, plus countless other huge birds, and even manage to get close to a pride of 12 lions with very full bellies. There were 3 Black Rhino spotted also which was a highlight.
We wrapped up the day with a visit to a Maasai village not far from the craters rim. The Maasai people are a semi-nomadic tribe that exist almost entirely off of their cattle. The team spent time asking questions and enjoyed being shown around their small and simple village.
We have just finished another wonderful meal here at the Plantation Lodge and the team is off to bed after a long, but very rewarding day on safari.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the safari crew
Hello Everyone,
All is well here in Tanzania as most of the team arrived late last night after some very long flights. It was a short and uneventful ride to our Lodge that is tucked in between Arusha and Moshi and not so far from the base of Kilimanjaro. The team had a quick but delicious dinner and headed for bed as the jet lag is in full effect. Thankfully all our bags and essential gear made it too.
Today we had our first official team meeting after breakfast. We did a round of introductions and then discussed the program for the coming days ahead, along with a review of all the necessary gear.
We spent the second half of the day getting our gear organized, packing up, and exploring the grounds of our Lodge, as it’s an incredibly peaceful lodge with monkeys and Dik Dik roaming the grounds. The weather was nice today and we even managed to see Kili off in the distance.
We finished the evening with another delicious meal and enjoyable conversations and are now off to bed to get a good nights rest before heading to Kilimanjaro bright and early tomorrow morning.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Wow! What an adventure of a lifetime! Wishing Darla, Lauren and the entire team a safe climb and return home. You go girls!!! Can’t wait to see your pictures!
Posted by: Bill & Paula Thompson on 1/25/2018 at 7:02 pm
Wishing my beautiful wife Darla and my beautiful daughter Lauren the best of luck of a fun-filled adventure love you guys .
Hello, this is RMI Guide Eric Frank calling from the Torment Basin here in the North Cascades. We are on day one of a seven-day custom climbing trip and we have the most beautiful view you can imagine right now. We climbed up out of the wooded valley up into the alpine and tonight we are going to sleep out on the glacier below the beginning of the Torment-Forbidden Traverse. It is beautiful blue skies probably the most stable weather of the summer thus far. So we're actually up here without a tent, just laying out looking at all of the expanses of the North Cascades in front of us. Tomorrow we're hoping to climb the majority of Torment-Forbidden Traverse, and then probably finish up with Forbidden on Saturday. I look forward to updating you a long the way. Take care.
RMI Guide Eric Frank
RMI Guide Eric Frank calls in from the North Cascades.
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
Lisa - So proud of you! Simply incredible. What a stunning day on the summit, we can’t wait to see you back in NYC!!
Congratulations,
Your Robin Hood Team
Posted by: Megan on 6/4/2016 at 7:15 pm
Congratulations to all on the team, big accomplishment!
Posted by: David Clemmons on 6/3/2016 at 5:55 am
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