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The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Walter Hails and the Five Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Zeb Blais reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams enjoyed warm, sunny skies on the summit before beginning their descent around 7:30 am. We look forward to seeing the teams back in Ashford this afternoon. Congratulations climbers!

The weatherman was spot on. By morning there were wind sculpted space ship clouds stacked over all the peaks and the ridge above us began to sprout streamers of snow flying out into the air. Not a whole lot of choice for us but to stay put. The teams at high camp were able to get moving downward before things strengthened at midday. We greeted and congratulated our traveling companions as they did a quick reshuffle of their gear and got hauling sleds down to basecamp. And we went back to cutting snow blocks and building stout walls to protect our tents. Before long, the winds were visible reaching all the way down the fixed lines and it was blowing pretty hard -perhaps 40 or 50 mph- on the glacier just a few hundred meters from our camp. We’re considering ourselves quite lucky that it stayed relatively calm and even sunny in camp all day. The jealousy for the victorious teams that hit the narrow two day weather window perfectly has passed and we are now a little excited to have the entire mountain to ourselves. It feels a little more “Antarctic” in some way. What better way to commemorate that Antarctic feeling, than with burrito night in the cook tent. We are each confident and motivated for climbing Mt. Vinson just as soon as the wind drops. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Buenas tardes from Camp 2 on Alpamayo! We woke up with the sun today, and made the ascent to high camp in a mere three hours, leaving behind the maze that the east glacier of Alpamayo has become by now. Our porters came up sharp at 6 am to Camp 1 at the moraine from Base Camp, and brought us fresh banana pancakes cooked two hours prior by our cook Emilio. They helped us tear camp down, and clipped in to our ropes to head up. All of us together were happy to have beat the crowds and the sun that by our arrival before noon was already too hot. We are doing very well and we feel very positive about going for the summit tonight! The French Direct up the SW Face of Alpamayo awaits with it's 450m of steep ice. Stay tuned for our progress tomorrow. RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz team led by RMI Guide Kel Rossiter climbed to the summit of Mt. Rainier via the Kautz route this morning. The team has spent the week on the mountain training in various alpine climbing techniques. They will continue their training tomorrow before descending to Paradise in the late afternoon. Congratulations to the Kautz team!

May 14, 2017 - 9:35 am PT The May 12th Denali Team is loaded and ready to climb. We spent yesterday in town packing, repacking, sorting food, and enjoying the Talkeetna restaurant scene. Our bags are weighed, sorted, and now we just need weather to fly. Rain moved in overnight, but the news this morning is that weather in the range is good, so once things clear out here, we should be ready to launch for base camp. Hopefully that's sooner than later. We'll give another shout this evening and let everyone know how it went. RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

Hello once again everyone. We have arrived back in the digital world after another very enjoyable safari. We spent yesterday touring Tarangire National Park which is known for its elephants, in fact, it has more per square mile than any place on earth. And I can easily say it didn't disappoint! We saw hundreds if not thousands of elephants and even managed to take a break with a family, while some of them slept. There were plenty of other animals too- giraffe, zebra, hartebeest, bush bucks, Nile monitor, and many others. It was very surreal to be so close to them, and we were simply amazed at the abundance that were near the river, which runs though the park. We never did see the cheetahs, or leopards, but perhaps that had something to do with all the lions we saw. It's been a memorable experience for everyone and it's going to be sad to part ways with such a great bunch of folks. But now it's time to head home and share the stories. RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kilimanjaro/Safari crew

All is good at Artesonraju Base Camp. We rested today to get used to the new altitude, as we saw the many trekkers of the Santa Cruz go by. We're headed to bed now excited for tomorrow! RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos

This morning RMI Guide Brent Okita led his team to the Mt. Rainier summit. With a forecasted freezing level over 15,000' and sunny skies, the team began their ascent from Camp Muir in the early morning hours. After spending some time on the top, the team began their descent at 6:40 a.m. Congratulations to Brent and his team!

We are all ready to head uphill but Aconcagua has other plans for us. Last night freight trains of wind rolled down the mountain rattling our world. This morning there was no sign of the winds letting up so we decided to take another rest day here. This has proved to be a wise decision because moving to a higher camp with these cold temperatures and high winds would not be a safe and productive plan. We are all hunkering down with hot tea and good books for today with hopes of a good move tomorrow. Spending time here is making us all stronger and more acclimatized for our summit bid in a few days. The team is doing well with the variables here on the side of the mountain. Everyone is healthy and happy and sends hellos to all back home. RMI Guides Christina von Mertens and JJ Justman

On The Map

The last two days have been a whirlwind. We had a long drive to Puebla after climbing Ixta. The team rallied out that night for a much needed meal and then hit the racks for some well deserved sleep. The Hotel Colonial in Puebla was built in 1865 and is located on the historic square among several massive cathedrals. We spent the day off exploring historic Puebla. Some of the group got massages while others wandered the various markets and narrow streets lined with colorful buildings. We are recharged and ready to head towards Orizaba this morning. The ride to Senior Reye’s climbing hostel takes us hours hours East towards the Gulf of Mexico. From there we will pack our mountain gear and head up in 4x4 trucks through the dry grassy slopes and dense pine forests that cover the lower flanks of Orizaba. Once at the Piedra Grande hut we’ll get a walk in to stretch our legs and get some rest for the main objective, Orizaba’s 18,400’ summit. The group is doing well and surprised how fast the trip has gone. RMI Guide Mike King

On The Map