Most Popular Entries
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 10,550'
We all slept under the stars last night. No tent, just a sleeping pad and sleeping bag. You feel like a cowboy. The moon shone so bright you didn't need a headlamp to see anything. The morning came, we packed up, and continued our walk down the Vacas Valley. An hour into our walk we saw our first guanaco, the Llama of Argentina. After walking for a handful of hours we arrived at Casa de Piedra. We set up our tents and relaxed in the sunshine or down by the river until dinner. With the sun down and well fed we are all turning in. Tomorrow is big, we finally arrive to basecamp where we get to settle in for a few days.
Hasta luego,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Jess Matthews, Taylor Bickford
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Friday, June 1, 2018 - 10:30 PM PT
We're falling into the rhythm of Denali. After a big day yesterday, it seemed appropriate to take a rest day and avail ourselves of the comforts of 14,000' Camp. It was a stellar, beautiful day and we rested for most, taking a brief reprieve to practice and train for the fixed lines tomorrow. We'll take our first spin on those and everyone is excited to get on the West Buttress and some exciting terrain!
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
On The Map
Happy Birthday to your mate on the mountain!
Rich hope all is going well! Can’t wait to hear all about your trip when you get back home
Posted by: Susie and the kids on 6/2/2018 at 7:51 pm
Happy birthday to Hank Huntington! -Thomas
Posted by: Thomas Huntington on 6/2/2018 at 11:38 am
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Jess Matthews, Taylor Bickford
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 7,300'
It took us an extra try, but ultimately our patience prevailed and the very talented pilots of K2 Aviation were able to thread us through some funky clouds and get us in to Kahiltna Base Camp. We made our first run at 12:30 PM and made it almost all the way before a bank of fog turned us back. We landed back in Talkeetna to heavy rain, took off our boots, and settled back in to our waiting game. Then at 5 PM there seemed to be a break and we got the green light. The flight in was spectacular as always, flying right through the rugged peaks and walls of the Alaska Range. Since we weren't in until evening, we decided to put up camp, make dinner, and spend the night here. Tomorrow we will hopefully have the conditions to move our camp and all of our gear to our Camp 1 at the base of Ski Hill.
We are happily tucked into sleeping bags for our first night on the mountain, glad to finally be here!
RMI Guides Pete, Jess, Taylor, and team
On The Map
Good luck Magnus & All of you! Take care!
Johan, Åsa & Frida
Gothenburg, Sweden
Posted by: Johan Ivarsson Blechert on 5/25/2018 at 11:36 pm
Posted by: Mike King, Jenny Konway
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
The Team packed up at the Altzomoni Hut this morning after a big breakfast and casual start to the day. We hiked up to High Camp, located at 15,500' over three hours and benefited from cloudy skies and a cool breeze. As we were leaving the Third Portillo, the clouds began climbing past us and soon snow was falling. The group did great today, carrying heavy packs in rocky terrain at high altitude. We'll spend the day resting and keeping our fingers crossed for clear weather. Tomorrow will be our one shot at Ixta and she can be cruel when conditions are stormy. The climbing itself is straight forward and we'll hope to be calling in from the top shortly after sunrise. Thanks for following along, we all continue to eat amazing food and are enjoying the beautiful scenery.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
Posted by: Tyler Jones, JM Gorum, Bryan Mazaika
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
May 30, 2017
The weather yesterday evening was a pleasant break in snow showers, but only for a few hours! We had heavy snow over night that wound up only stalling our progress for the time it takes to whip out 100 silver dollar pancakes with blueberries. The morning snow dissipated just as we stuffed the last few items in our packs.
We began our climb today in a brisk wind which we welcomed with the hard work of trail breaking. The team did an amazing job getting to our previous high point, where we loaded our personal food and equipment in our sleds.
We have "Friends in High Places". Big thanks to our other RMI team lead by Brent, Christina, and JT. They helped us by bringing some of our group food and fuel from our cache yesterday during our storm rest day at 7,800 camp.
With the climbing done for the the day, we entered the second half of the work day building camp and a mighty fine job our crew has done. We finished our day with loaded quesadillas and relaxing in the cook house. We are happy to have full bellies and the kit all here ready to rest and acclimatize at camp tomorrow. With weather on our side the team will deliver groceries to 14 Camp on Thursday!
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
On The Map
Posted by: Mike King, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
The team is back at Aconcagua Camp 1 after a successful carry day. Mike is currently fueling up for a nap with some Pringles and Tang. Most of the crew are a step ahead of him. We take our siestas quite seriously in the Southern Hemisphere.
We enjoyed perfect weather today on our carry, with just enough of a breeze to keep us cool, but not enough to even call it wind. On top of the weather's cooperation, we also found excellent route conditions. Firm snow made for quick travel, and gave us an opportunity to use some of the heavy, sharp objects that we've been lugging around.
On the way to Camp 2, climbers crest several ridges, each time gaining a slightly more complete picture of the Andes. I could pile on as many adjectives as I could think of, but I would still be unable to communicate the scale of the terrain. It is big out there.
Given the weather, we spent about an hour up at Camp 2. Taking in the views, securing our cache, and, you bet, napping. The trip down was quick, with sun softened snow and motivated climbers. Before they all went to sleep, the team sent their best to friends, family, and anyone else following along.
RMI Guides JM Gorum and Mike King
Happy to hear everything is going in your favour keep it up and be safe
Posted by: Mark and Helen walsh on 1/8/2017 at 3:20 pm
Rob, what brings you so high pilgrim ? Watch your top knot. Craig
Posted by: Craig Andersen on 1/8/2017 at 1:07 pm
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
We sent off our Antarctic luggage this morning as planned. By now our gear should be nestled in with a pile of other gear on board the Illyushin 76 transport, awaiting takeoff. We spent the day in a variety of ways, napping, walking, running, swimming, eating and watching hotel TV. Relaxing, in other words.
This evening we gathered at the offices of ALE (Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions) to meet the other fifty or so folks on our flight, to be briefed on procedures, and to be updated on current conditions. The subject of the current weather and expected weather didn't take much time at all to review... it is good and is expected to remain good. The flight is on! We'll be ready for pickup at our hotel by ten minutes after six tomorrow morning. We each enjoyed chatting with the other adventurers on board... climbers for Vinson, folks looking to travel to see Emperor Penguins and people journeying to the South Pole. As well, there will be a number of ALE staff on board the flight, since this is still the kickoff to their 2016-17 season. We mingled and lingered for a bit and then my team came out of the office to walk the streets of Punta Arenas once again. It was quite pleasant out, delightfully cool with clear skies. We had a last South American dinner in one of the fine and eclectic restaurants of downtown Punta. And then we made an early evening of it... a little more personal time to finish correspondence and get good rest for the early and exciting start to tomorrow. Fingers crossed, we'll make our way down to Union Glacier in the interior of Antarctica.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Adam Knoff, Robby Young
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Shishapangma
Elevation: 16,400'
The expansive extent of the Tibetan Plateau dominated our conversation during our approach drive from Lhasa. Today, we put boots on the ground and had the pleasure of experiencing this beautiful wide open space first-hand. An active 'rest' day here at Base Camp started with a 2-hour hike up to the top of a neighboring 17,400' "hill" in order to stimulate our muscles and help coax our acclimatization process along. We spent the afternoon sharing life lessons and enjoying each other's company in the dining tent over an unending supply of coffee, tea, and grilled Nepalese meat snacks. On an expedition of this length and this altitude, our rest days prove just as important as the climbing itself. Tomorrow, we plan to load another 1000 kilos of gear onto yaks and make our way to Advanced Base Camp at 19,400'. 'Progress' as we say. The crew is pumped, and enjoying the beginnings of true expedition life. Until tomorrow.
RMI Guides Robby, Adam, Elias, and your Shishapangma team.
PS- Go Blue, beat UCF.
Sounds amazing already. I can’t wait to read more…good luck to all of you and to Jarrett, xo
Posted by: Trish on 9/11/2016 at 4:10 pm
Hail to the victors valiant!
Posted by: vanessa on 9/11/2016 at 1:13 pm
We enjoyed another nice evening here on Kilimanjaro and the good weather continued today as we approached Barafu Camp, our High Camp. The team climbed well as we made the ascent from Karanga Camp to Barafu at 15,000'. Clouds were rolling in and out this afternoon while we were busy making lunches and double checking our kits for the summit push ahead. After dinner we will climb into our tents and hope to get a few hours of sleep before we are awaken at midnight and start our push to the summit of Kilimanjaro. Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
YayayatayayayayYayayayay
Congratulations !!!!
Well done !!!!!!!
Posted by: Joan Mike John Megan on 9/11/2016 at 7:46 am
Go Marks team
Enjoy this wonderful climb and adventure
Best
Posted by: Joan Mike Megan John on 9/11/2016 at 5:20 am
Things were a little breezy at Shira Camp this morning and it looked like it was nuking up on the crater rim of Kibo, Kilimanjaro's main peak. Our team had enjoyed the sunset at Shira, and the stars in the clear night sky, so a little wind didn't keep anybody from loving the sunrise as well. Our packs were on and we were walking straight toward Kibo by 8:20. As compensation for the breezes, we were granted sparkly blue skies above and a bright white sea of clouds below.
We gained altitude steadily as today's walking was much easier than yesterday's rock hopping. In just a couple of hours we were up over 14,500 ft and breaking everybody's previous personal altitude records. We kept right at it, cresting at 15,200 ft beside the "Lava Tower" at noon. By this point we were right up under the glaciers and giant walls of Kibo. We'd climbed right out of the Moorland Zone of vegetation and into the Highland Desert Zone. The team had no troubles coming down the steep trails beyond the Lava Tower and so we got rid of about two thousand vertical feet on our voyage down into the exotic vegetation of the Barranco Valley. We checked out the Lobelias and the Giant Senecios as we went. It seemed the perfect afternoon for taking in a thousand new sights, from waterfalls to dark caves in the Lava and Basalt. Our new camp was already built and waiting for us just on the edge of the cloud sea and we were again amazed at the strength and speed of our loc al staff. Now we are settled in at 13,000 ft below the intimidating Barranco Wall... but the wall can wait until tomorrow. Tonight we'll watch the light change on Kibo's glaciers, rock walls, icicles and towers.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
I can’t imagine what beauty you are seeing! If the skies are clear I bet the stars are amazing! Look forward to hearing all about it!
Posted by: Pam Bethea on 8/11/2016 at 9:03 pm
Go team! Have a great climb John! Know you are loved.! Ma
Posted by: Jill on 1/24/2019 at 4:23 pm
Jason,
Are you able to wear your ankle monitor and hiking boots? ;-)
Have a great expedition.
Posted by: Darren Angus on 1/24/2019 at 8:50 am
View All Comments