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Tuesday, May 10, 2016 - 10:00 p.m. PDT Our team had another productive day today, climbing up to 13,700 feet with a cache of supplies. It was great to be engaging some steeper terrain with crampons and ice axe. The constant 15 - 25 mile an hour wind (in our face as we ascended) increased the challenge. With a six hour round trip, we were back in camp in time to re-hydrate and rest before dinner. We are entertaining the notion of moving camp to 14,200 feet if we have good weather tomorrow. But, likely, we'll remain here at 11,000' as there is a high wind warning and near-blizzard conditions expected tonight and tomorrow. We'll keep you posted. RMI Guide Mike Walter and team

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Hi everyone. This is Solveig calling in from the Piedra Grande Hut on Orizaba. Our team arrived around 3 p.m. We have beautiful skies and light winds; we're all really excited about our climb tonight. We are going to have a delicious pasta dinner and then tuck in early and get ready to go climbing. We'll touch base tomorrow when we return. Ciao. RMI Guide Solveig Waterfall

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Hello from Mt. Elbrus - Our team is back from a great acclimatization day. We reached 15,300 feet and every team member did a great job! We are back now at camp with full bellies after lunch. This afternoon we are going to relax in the sunshine! RMI Guide JJ Justman

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RMI Guide Andy Bond and the Five Day Summit Climb July 20 - 24 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning around 6:30 am. Andy reported warm temperatures and sunny skies. The teams will return to Camp Muir and continue their descent to Paradise. Congratulations to today's Five Day Summit Climb team!

Our longest day yet saw us climbing to a high point of 15,200', an altitude record for most of us. Thankfully, ours was a gradual ascent of the Shira Plateau until Lava Tower (15,200'), which made our progress a little easier than it could have been. Dropping 2,000ft to Barranco Camp at 13,000ft is allowing us to feel pretty darned good here at camp and giving us a perfect acclimatization program. Upon walking into camp our mountain staff greeted us with a couple of wonderful folk songs. Not only are they talented singers, but most notably, everyone is incredibly nice, generous and they all bend over backwards to make us feel welcome. The challenge for our group, and all climbers here, is to just deal with the altitude and keep from getting a gut bug. So far so good. 'Pole pole' is the oft heard refrain in Swahili reminding the world, or at least the folks climbing Kili to 'go slowly.' And that we are, to great effect. To say that this is an outgoing and social group would be an understatement, but perhaps that can be expected since we're all family. It's fun hearing the roars of laughter coming from the mess tent as folks play a round of cards before turning in for the night. Tomorrow, the Barranco Wall, a steep one and a half hour climb that should be fun and exciting for us. Not technical, but the steepest climb we've done yet. It'll be a shame leaving the Barranco Valley, with its steep walls hanging spectacularly above camp, but on we climb towards the summit. Next up, the Karanga valley. Good night, RMI Guide Brent Okita

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At 7:45 this morning, RMI Guide Dave Hahn radioed as he and his team crested the Mt. Rainier crater rim. He reported a 10 mph breeze from the Southwest and a great day to be on Washington's highest point. His team as well as RMI Guide Christina Dale's team began their descent to Camp Muir at 9:00 a.m.

The team woke this morning after a few showers last night to clear skies. Our first obstacle of the day was to cross the Vacas River. Having to get an early start for our big day and it still being very cold, we opted to ask the Arrieros to ferry us across on their mules. One by one the team slowly accumulated on the other side of the river until only myself (Steve) remain. The Arrieros waved me over to my mule and I jumped onto the back of the animal. Just at that time something spooked the front mule (there was three tied together) and all three took off in a sprint, first through the river and then turning there attention up valley. At the time it was actually quite comedic as I tried to calm the lead mule from the center position. It became clear that he wasn't going to give up until I got off his back. So I began looking for my exit and humming the Indiana Jones theme song to myself when I swung one leg over the mule and leapt off to the side. The mules stopped and we reunited with their cowboy. I rejoined the group and we all had a good laugh! The team is now all settled into Basecamp (13,800ft) after a fantastic trek into the high country. Everyone did well with the workload and the new altitude. We'll enjoy a well deserved dinner tonight, prepared by our wonderful basecamp staff, and look forward to our first rest day of the trip tomorrow! Thanks again for following. More to come tomorrow! Adios, RMI Guide Steve Gately

On The Map

First, congrats to Casey Grom and his team for making the summit of Chimborazo! As for our Aconcagua team, we made our move to Camp 2 at 18,000 feet. It was a tough day but the team did great! Tents are up, sleeping bags are laid out and the guides are busy making water. The wind was a little more kind to us today and we sure hope it will continue to get better. The forecast is calling for stronger winds and all we can do is hope for calm seas and continue to enjoy this beautiful mountain. Tomorrow we are hoping to do a carry day and an acclimatization day to Camp 3 at 19,600 feet...weather cooperating of course. Stay tuned! RMI Guides JJ Justman and Christina von Mertens

On The Map

Hola from Ecuador! After some very long flights and a little bit of sleep the team is doing well. We started our day with a team meeting where we did our usual round of introductions and discussed the game plan for our upcoming adventure. After the meeting we headed out on the town to explore this beautiful historical city with our tour guide Foulsto. We first headed north to visit the Equator from which Ecuador gets its name, then headed to the older part of town where we visited several old cathedrals, and the colonial town square. Next we headed up to a small hill called La Panacia that over looks this beautiful city before returning to the hotel for a little break. We wrapped up the day with a quick gear check to make sure everyone has all the gear needed for our climbs. Then it was off to dinner at a nice restaurant where we enjoyed getting to know each other better. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Hello RMI Blog followers. Team Mexico is coming at you live from high camp on Ixta. It was a beautiful day. It was a tough day; however, the team did awesome getting to 15,400 feet. We are busy setting up camp and the name of the game is recovering with a good meal and some hot drinks. We will depart tomorrow at 3 a.m. for the summit so wish us well! RMI Guides JJ Justman and Mike King

On The Map