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The big day finally arrived. We woke at a reasonable time, fired the stoves, and began sorting through the required items we would bring on summit day. As we left camp you could see the pyramid shadow of Aconcagua as the sun rose and created a beautiful view. Thus began our 12 hour day. There were hard stretches and harder stretches, but the team gritted their teeth and persevered. They gave it everything they had and came out on top. We couldn't have asked for better weather the entire day. After taking our summit photos and relaxing a little bit we made our way back down to camp. As promised, everyone ate dinner because if you don't eat your dinner you will not feel good tomorrow morning. Now it's time to let our bodies relax and recuperate for another big day tomorrow as we make our way back down to Base Camp. Thanks for all the well wishes, RMI Guides Hannah Smith and Team

Hello Everyone: The team got off to a moderately early start this morning leaving behind our beautiful lodge and have headed to the mountain towards the start of the climb. We left around 8am and drove along the rural country side and small villages for two hours to reach the park entrance. Most of the area surrounding Kilimanjaro has been cultivated and primarily used for coffee production and for a variety of other agriculture needs, but there are still some areas that have been untouched and resemble more of a savannah that Tanzania is known for. The base of Kilimanjaro is more forested and looks more jungle like and is called a cloud forest. Once we arrived at the gate we had all of our gear weighed and divided into loads for our 48 porters and other staff to carry before hitting the trail. Once everything was in order we started our climb slowly making our way up the winding trail that ascends continuously through the thick forest. The canopy is quite dense thankfully, which provided some cover from the rain that arrive around midday. The team hiked for a little over five hours and managed to not get too wet before we reached our camp for the night that sits around 10,000ft. After settling into camp and getting situated, the team was served a nice warm meal for dinner consisting of soup, rice, potatoes and steak. Everyone is doing well and looking forward to a good night's rest. RMI Guide Casey Grom and Kili crew

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The Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise August 13 - 18 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning with clear skies and an overall gorgeous day. RMI Guide Jenny Konway reported that her team members were 100% successful to the summit. This team has spent several days on Mt. Rainier gaining mountaineering skills in preparation for their summit attempt. They have gained instruction and expedition style climbing skills which will prepare them for future expeditions to Denali or other big peaks. Today is the final day of their program. Once they return to Camp Muir they will pack up and continue to Paradise. Congratulations to the Paradise Seminar team!

This is Christina with the RMI Volcano Mexico team, and we are currently eating tacos, chicken tacos, in a hut at 14,000 feet on the side of Pico de Orizaba. The weather is in and the peak above us has a new blanket of snow that reaches all the way down to our camp for the night. After our extreme weather on Ixta, we're hoping for calmer winds and clear skies. We'd even settle for clouds at this point. The two-hour jeep ride up here to our high camp today was the perfect illustration of our group this week. We found ourselves laughing at David's stories and turning to Rob for his pop culture references. Craig was there with his ever joyful spirit and always had M&M's to offer around. Lorenzo made sure everyone was comfortable and happy. Steve constantly amazes us with his strength inconsistency. Then there's Patty who rocks at everything she does and always enjoys a good laugh. Somehow this group was able to make a bumpy dirt road fun. JT and I feel so lucky to have spent this week with these wonderful people and climbing in the high mountains of Mexico. Orizaba tomorrow. Hope for good weather. Thank you. RMI Guide Christina Dale

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The Four Day Summit Climb July 29 - 1 August led by RMI Guides Eric Frank, Hannah Smith and Dustin Wittmier reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 5 am this morning. The team enjoyed the views from the crater before beginning their descent. They will take a short break at Camp Muir before continuing down to Paradise. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb team!

Summit! RMI Guide Mike King was on top at 5:00 a.m. this morning. The warm temperatures are making for early alpine starts as the team left Mt. Rainier's crater rim at 6:00 a.m. They are progressing well on their descent back to Camp Muir. Congratulations Team!

We left Everest Base Camp today after a very comfortable and enjoyable stay. The team has enjoyed the trek through the Khumbu Valley, but without a doubt, our Base Camp set up had the nicest dining room, cleanest bathroom, and most enjoyable shower we've experienced. The team enjoyed a few last views of the glacier and surrounding mountains as we retraced our way back down valley, pausing occasionally to allow the Yak trains to pass with their important cargo that will help the Mt. Everest Expeditions succeed. We hiked for seven hours today and descended more than 3,000' back to Pheriche. Needless to say the team is feeling good and enjoying the thicker air. RMI Guide Casey Grom

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The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Nick Hunt reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Brent reported 45 mph winds on the top. The team has started their descent and are en route back to Camp Muir. Congratulations to today's team!

Hello from Paria high camp at 5000 meter.This is a satellite peak of Artesonraju we've decided to climb to acclimatize. So far it's a Mars like landscape. All is good, stay tuned for our summit dispatch. RMI Guides Elias de Andres Martos & Eric Frank

Sometimes the stars just align, and they did for our climbing team on Cayambe this morning. Yesterday we traveled from Otavalo to the town of Cayambe where we transferred from a bus to four-wheel drive vehicles. A beautiful drive up into the Cayambe-Coca National Park soon became a unique cultural experience as the 4x4s were stymied by wildly rutted and muddy roads en route to the climbers’ hut. We got out of the vehicles and began harvesting “paja”, or tall straw-like grass from the roadside to through onto the road for added traction. After about 45 minutes all three of our vehicles made it through the troublesome areas and we continued on to the climbing hut at 4600m. Light rain turned to blue skies and we got some great views of the next day’s objective. We were cautiously optimistic about the changing weather pattern for Cayambe (we had seen Cayambe from various peaks over the previous week, and it always looked windy and stormy). I woke up this morning (actually last night at 10:30pm) and checked the weather. I was psyched to see a starry night without a single cloud in the sky, and very little wind. We ate a light breakfast, packed up, and left the hut at 12:15am. It took us about an hour to approach the toe of the glacier where we donned crampons and iced axes. We ascended moderate slopes up the Hermosa Glacier, avoiding the heavily crevassed peripheries. After tackling the Bergshrund and ascending a short pitch of steep ice, we found ourselves on the summit eight hours after we set out from the hut. Stunning views of the high peaks of Ecuador greeted us: Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, Antisana, and the Illinizas, all stood tall, unobstructed by clouds. The descent went smoothly and three hours later we were back at the climbers’ hut. The clouds kept threatening to cover up Cayambe on our descent, but they held off until the last 20 minutes before we hit the hut. After an early wake-up call and a long day in the mountains, we are now settled in to our home for the night, Guachala, the oldest hacienda in Ecuador with history back to the 16th century. Our team will head back to Quito tomorrow for a celebratory dinner and our last night together in Ecuador. RMI Guide Mike Walter

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