After a very good night sleep we woke shortly after the sun kissed our tents and had an elegant breakfast of coffee, quinoa porridge, pancakes, and toast. Once we had had our fill we packed up camp, and started off for the day's hike. A light breeze kept the temps comfortable as we continued up the Santa Cruz Valley this morning. Shortly before noon we broke off the main trail and headed up a series of switchbacks to gain the high valley where base camp was waiting for us. Here we also caught our first glimpse of Alpamayo. We arrived into BC and settled into our tents and relaxed for the afternoon before tea time and then dinner. Our cook Hilario, is fantastic, every meal is better than the last, the team is becoming spoiled. It will be a sad day when we have to eat our freeze-dried dinners.
Everyone is doing great, staying healthy and happy.
Thanks for following along, more tomorrow.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
The first Expedition Skill Seminar - Winter gathered in Ashford on Sunday for a day of technical training and gear checks. With large packs and a daunting weather forecast the team headed for Paradise as soon as the park gate opened. The team camped above Paradise for their first night out with better than expected weather. After breakfast the following morning the team broke camp and made the ascent to Camp Muir. They have spent the remaining days training at 10,000'. Unfortunately the weather forecast did become accurate and the team experienced a full winter storm on Mt. Rainier which prevented them from climbing higher than Camp Muir.
The seminar wraps up tomorrow. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp tomorrow afternoon.
I’m sure the storm was pretty wild because the wind was whipping in Royal City and the pass was getting pretty heavy snow! So the other day I went flying around the mountain to see how much snow she got. She was getting getting wind whipped pretty had and has a pretty good pack. Let me know if you want to see pictures!
Today's blog is brought to you by the team:
July 27, 2015: Peru, South America with a group of Americans...
Our rest day today proved to bring out the restlessness in these children (yes, us). Promptly following coffee in bed and a two course breakfast, the team took to sun bathing. Once the Vitamin D production quotas were met for the day, the team selected their bathing suits and headed for the lake! A quick 20 minute hike led us to the alpine lake and picturesque view. Testosterone quickly kicked in when the team hit the rocky beach and noticed the glacier that was feeding ice into the lake. It took mere minutes for the team to jump in. Robert took a little convincing but peer pressure won the day. After an unforgettable day of bonding, we all feel blessed to have each other's company and grateful to be sharing this experience in such a majestic place. What happens on the mountain...gets posted to the blog.
Oh yea, almost forgot, we rode icebergs in a glacial lake! Who else can say they did that in July?!
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens and Team
Did someone say iceberg lettuce? Sorry, I couldn’t resist the produce pun John. Sounds like an amazing place and a truly memorable experience. Continue to enjoy and be safe! - Kim R.
Posted by: Kim Reddin on 7/28/2015 at 5:23 pm
Stenderup!!! What did you do with the WG Market update? I can’t find it!!! ... just kidding .. :)
Hope you are doing well and having fun! The Gowdy clan is pulling for you and praying for safety for you and the whole team. All the best brother! - Luke
Hello, this is the Peru Seminar and Elías and Robby and Peter with the team at High Camp on Copa. We are currently at 5,200 meters. The crew climbed really well this morning. It took us slightly less than 4 hours to move from Base Camp to here, and we are currently settled in, cooking dinner, replenishing water, and getting ready for what's ahead tonight: the biggest of our objectives, Copa, at 6,200 meters. We'll be checking in tomorrow, hopefully from the summit, and stay tuned for more. That's it for now. Everybody's doing really well, and we wish everything is good at home. Bye!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos calls in from High Camp on Copa, Peru.
Hello,
This is the North Ridge of Mt. Baker Climbing team calling to check in. We are back in our camp here at 6000'. We had a successful climb of the North Ridge today. Everyone in the group made it to the top! We had great weather, almost no wind until we were on the summit, and good temperatures. A in all a very pleasant day. The team just drive back to camp, we are relaxing, taking a little siesta out in the sun.
Thanks for following along!
RMI Guide Eric Frank - Mt. Baker North Ridge Summit
Hello everyone!
Today we rose early, before the sun.
It was darn cold out, but we still woke everyone.
We ate blueberry pancakes with maple sauce, Man they were delicious and they were the boss!
We were hoping for good weather, to carry to 17.
But the mountain above us remained unseen.
We chatted with our neighbors and told some jokes, Man those guys are funny blokes!
Tomorrow we'll see what the weather brings.
Hopefully that old sunshine comes out and sings!
RMI Guide Jenny and The camp 14 Hiphopapotomus
The extent some will go to to have such a breakfast -amazing. Frostbite not nice - hope those Koreans not too serious. We also find your waiting game frustrating - maybe tomorrow lots of sunshine, no snow or wind. Current camp is getting crowded - good to share experiences with other teams.Always look forward to your next report. - take care and safe climbing.P andV.
Posted by: Phil and Vonne Calvert on 5/27/2017 at 6:16 pm
Go Rachel and Mark!! We’re cheering you on from balmy Houston, Texas! Thanks for the updates - makes for nice breaks from chasing the tots. You two are amazing!
Good morning! This is RMI Guide Eric Frank calling from Goat Creek Camp right in the heart of the North Cascades National Park. This is the final day of our climb of Mt. Goode. We couldn't get a signal to call out last night, so we're just checking in this morning. Yesterday we actually woke up to a fair bit of snow on the rocks for our final 5 pitches to the top of Mt. Goode. We had a pretty entertaining time climbing up through mid 5th last climbing with snow on it. We were able to rappel off the the opposite side of the mountain drop down and walk about 10 miles out to this camp. Today we have 20 beautiful miles on the Pacific Crest Trail. We will be out this evening and touch base then.
Take Care!
Eric Frank Calling in from Goat Creek Camp - Mount Goode
So much for a lazy rest day yesterday. Instead, we jammed the day full of activities. We spent the morning enjoying the world famous Plaza de Ponchos market in Otavalo, where we had a few hours to roam the streets, haggling with vendors for the best price on many handmade craft goods, from alpaca blankets to paintings to jewelry. After regrouping for lunch we ventured out of the normal tourist confines and explored the local market. Here, locals sell fruits, vegetables, sides of beef, whole-cooked pig, you name it…the sounds, sights, and smells were all exotic and a unique cultural experience.
After returning to our hacienda, we made a quick turn around and went on a short hike to the Cascadas de Peguche, a beautiful waterfall near our hacienda. Ok, we managed to get some rest in also.
This morning we are starting with a leisurely breakfast and then we will head for the Cayambe climbers’ hut. In order to reach the hut we will have to transfer to four-wheel drive vehicles and travel far into the Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve. The climbers’ hut will be our home for tonight as we get ready for an early alpine start for our summit attempt on Cayambe. At nearly 19,000’, Cayambe will test our endurance, acclimatization, and climbing techniques. We will let you know how it goes. Hopefully we will return with photos of summit high-fives.
RMI Guide Mike Walter and team
The Five Day Muir Summit Climb, led by Zeb Blais, was unable to summit today due to the avalanche danger on Mt. Rainier's upper mountain. The team ascended to 12,300' when the guides assessed it was no longer to safely continue upward. Everyone is back at Camp Muir, packing up, to begin their descent to Paradise.
May 26, 2016 - 11:29 pm PT
Tonight's dispatch will be short courtesy of Storm Evans.
Everyone is doing well but very occupied with shoveling out our tents every 45 minutes as the 60mph wind that is ripping through camp fills everything back in with spindrift. Not the most pleasant day, and we certainly didn't even entertain the thought of going anywhere. Hopefully the winds give us a reprieve and let us get some sleep tonight. We'll touch base tomorrow.
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
-(P3).jpg)
.jpg)
Heck Yeah, Team Awesome!! Your souls must be glowing!! Thanks for bringing us along for the adventure!
-Gabi
Posted by: Gabi on 7/27/2016 at 8:17 pm
View All Comments