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The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb teams, led by Christina Dale & Robby Young, reached the summit at 5:50 a.m. The guides reported calm winds and warm temperatures. After spending an hour on the summit and crossing the crater rim, the teams began their descent at 6:50 a.m. Congratulations to today's summit climbers!

The Mexico Team is resting comfortably at the Piedra Grande Hut on Orizaba. Yesterday we had a nice day off in Puebla, everyone took advantage of the good food, area surrounding the Zocalo and some visited a car museum. Leaving Puebla this morning we took in more of the countryside and ended up at a century old soap factory turned climber's hostel run by Sr. Reyes. We met his 93 year old father and enjoyed a nice lunch after sorting our gear for the climb. Our drive up here is on a fairly rough road through pine trees and the grassy lower slopes of Orizaba. We are currently at 14,000' sitting in a light cloud with views of the mountain from time to time.The team will wake around midnight and hopefully have good weather to climb. Keep your fingers crossed that we get a chance to summit Orizaba! RMI Guides Mike King & Steve Gately

On The Map

It has been an adventure full of adversity. The weather on Elbrus has been so finicky. We didn't even see the mountain until a day ago! This morning the winds were still howling but certainly not as much as the last few days. Today was our last hope at making the summit. We awoke and headed out at 4AM and the climbing was tough with moderate winds. The winds stayed steady at 35mph and the team simply did an amazing job. It's not easy climbing in less than ideal conditions. At 9:15AM we reached the summit of Mount Elbrus. It has been a long day and we are all very happy to be safely down in Cheget. Tonight certainly calls for a celebration. RMI Guide JJ Justman

On The Map

Before parting ways the team had one last day to see animals. It had been a really busy trip so far so half the group opted to sleep in while the other half got up early in search of some more close encounters. We were not disappointed. First, we spent 10-15 minutes within 10 yards of a huge giraffe. Not bad, but our next big break came when we got surrounded by a family of elephants, including the cutest little baby. These critters were sometimes no more than 5' away. And we were in their midst for over half an hour. Incredible! Then, getting to watch a huge herd of water buffalo heading to the river, again at unreal distances, was darned special. The herd must have numbered around 100. This, in addition to seeing countless other animals made our last day wonderful. The only animal we missed out on that day was seeing a lion. But, wouldn't you know that the sleepyhead crew found a beautiful lioness that hung out right next to their Landcruiser! So we all had a great last day. We then drove back to the hotel, with a short break at a cultural center, to relax and shower before getting our evening flights out of Tanzania. Most of the crew actually built in an extra day or three to maximize their time abroad. Smart people! The two weeks went by quickly, as they tend to do when we're as busy as we were. I think I speak for the whole team when I say what a great time it was. A fun adventure with a great bunch of folks. This is what climbing trips are all about, and what keeps me doing this for as long as I have. I know I'll be climbing with the team again on a new adventure sometime. I hope you've enjoyed these posts of our adventures. Perhaps I'll see you on a climb sometime. Kilimanjaro in 2019 anyone??? Take care and safe travels, RMI Guide Brent Okita

Monday, May 28, 2018 - 11:49 PM PT Hello all, and happy Memorial Day! Everyone is doing quite well adjusting to life on the Kahiltna Glacier. There is a bit of basketball withdrawal going on, but besides that everyone seems happy. This morning we enjoyed a leisurely bagel and cream cheese breakfast, and packed up a bunch of our things to cache up higher on the mountain. The weather was perfect for us today. If anything it was a bit warm, but we'll take all the warmth we can get at this point. Skies were mostly clear, and the views looking back down the Kahiltna went on for miles. The team made quick work of the carry, and we made it back to camp at 7,200 well before dinner time. With a lot of our gear stashed above us, we are in great shape to move camp higher tomorrow. We'll let you know how it goes. Everyone sends their best! RMI Guide Walter Hailes

On The Map

May 22, 2017 We're just checking in from 14,000' Camp again. We're all doing well here, hopefully waiting for a decent weather window in order to try to go for the top. We had some snow last night and today, and winds were strong up above us. It looks like a very strong storm is set to move in here in a couple days, bringing a lot of snow and extreme winds. We're hoping for better weather in its wake. In preparation of the next storm we spent more time today reinforcing our walls. We should be all set to weather the storm. We'll keep you posted. RMI Guide Mike Walter

On The Map

Jambo! I had so much fun on the last Kilimanjaro climb, I decided to stick around for one more. The last of the team arrived this afternoon. Equipment is checked, the group gear is in place and our ride in the morning is all set. Great looking moon on the rise as I make my way to set down for the night. All is good here, hope there as well. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

Hello, this is the Artesonraju team calling from Moraine Camp, (high camp). Unfortunately we cannot celebrate a summit, but we were short of it today. We had to bail 150 meters prior to the summit, that's roughly 450 feet, given the bad snow and ice conditions that we had on the head wall, but we did put up a fight on a challenging climb. Everybody's doing great here. Looking forward to getting down to basecamp and eventually to Vaqueria tomorrow. So stay tuned for our full report on the trip in a couple days. Hopefully all are doing well at home. Thanks for following. Bye. RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos

Today was a big day, we loaded our packs and dawned our climbing equipment and walked away from Moraine camp. Once on the glacier we slowly worked our way around crevasses as we worked upward to the col. About 800 feet shy of the col we encountered to first of the three steeper pitches which the team dispatched with no problems. Everyone climbed very well and just before 3 pm we were all at our high camp. This is also where we caught our first glimpse of the face we will climb. We settled into our tents for a quick nap before tea time and then dinner. As Alpamayo caught the alpenglow of the last light of the day we retired to our sleeping bags, tired but very happy. Tomorrow we rest before we make our summit attempt the following day. RMI Guide Geoff Schellens & Team

Expeditions into the great mountains of the world require an incredible amount of dreaming, planning, preparation, and finally, performing. The preparations our team has made leading them into the Cordillera Blanca culminated today with an alpine climbing school for the ages. We've trained and traveled, and finally put the finishing touches on our skill sets today with thorough instruction for the climbs ahead of us. Tomorrow, we perform. With stable weather building, we're setting our sights on the jagged 18,143' summit of Nevado Ishinca. With stomachs full of Lomo Saltado, we're bedding down early to rest our muscles for the work that lies ahead. If all goes as planned, we'll be calling from 18,143' tomorrow. --Spanish Climbing Word of the Day: Hielo Glaciar - "Glacial Ice" Buenos Noches, RMI Guides Robby Young and Elias de Andres Martos and team