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RMI Guide Mike King called in from the Orizaba summit! "This is Mike King with Team Mexico. We are standing on top of el Pico de Orizaba, the third highest peak in North America! Light winds and visibility all the way out to Ixta and Popo. It was a great climb. We will check back in with you when we get back down to high camp."

On The Map

Yet another nice weather day here on Kilimanjaro. We are looking down at a sea of clouds below us but it's all clear up here at 15,000' Barafu Camp, our high camp. After a nice breakfast the team took yet another big bite out of the mountain. After just a few hours of walking we are situated less than one vertical mile from the top of the "Roof of Africa". We have been eating, lounging and trying to not get too excited about the adventure ahead tonight. We spent some time this afternoon readying for our climb, putting fresh batteries in the head lamp,a gallon sized lunch bag, boots dried to perfection, special saved pair of summit socks pulled out and put in position. We are planning for an 11:30 pm wake up call. A lot of preparation and sacrifice has gone into getting us all here. Thank you all back home for the support on this great adventure. We will have an early dinner then it's into the tent for a few more hours of rest before we begin our summit attempt. The mountain has been very friendly so far and a we have a high level of confidence for it to continue for another 48 hours. Wish us luck! RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

Planes trains and automobiles, well almost anyway. We traveled all day and have finally arrived in one of the most beautiful cities of Europe--St. Petersburg, Russia. Things went relatively smooth except for the one bag that wasn't able to join us here in St. Petersburg. Hopefully it'll find its way to us tomorrow. We got checked into the hotel here and then ran out for dinner at this little eccentric place that serves up the most delicious meals. The service was a little slow, but very much worth the wait. After dinner we took a quick stroll around and then made our way home. Everyone is very excited to explore and see this city in the daylight. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Hello from our beautiful camp in the Ishinca Valley. This morning the team packed up our gear, and bussed two valleys to the north of Huaraz to the Pashpa trailhead. There we loaded the equipment onto our trusty little mountain burros and hiked along a turquoise blue stream to the very top of the valley at 14,200ft. After multiple hours of hiking at altitude to get to camp, the team was ready for a solid dinner and our cocinero (camp cook) didn't disappoint. We were treated to a hearty meal of beef, potatoes and rice, plus desert! Currently we are tucked into our sleeping bags being lulled to sleep by a nearby glacial river and anticipating a full day of training tomorrow. Thanks for following along. RMI Guides Robby Young, Eric Frank and the Peru Seminar Team

May 15, 2016 - 9:39 pm Greetings from base camp, This morning we were not greeted with the sunny cloudless skies, but a low cloud ceiling. The precipitation fell as snow but behaved like rain once on the ground. That did not stop us from fortifying camp with snow walls which the team dispatched of quickly. It's a fast hard working crew we have here. A few folks ran some crevasse rescue drills in the fog while the rest of the team did some training around camp. Tomorrow we plan to explore the southeast fork and try to climb something while getting some real field immersion training. Rain or shine we will be getting some real Alaskan expedition training in. That's a goodnight from us here in midnight sun country. RMI Guides Leon Davis, Mike King & Megan Budge

Greetings from Huaraz! The team finished the expedition yesterday, arriving safe and sound to the capital of the Ancash district of Peru, but also the capital of Andean climbing. Our descent to the trail head at Cashapampa, with the help of horses, was an extraordinary experience. We took our time to enjoyed for the last time the views of the massively snow fluted peaks and turquoise lakes down valley. Right on time for a shower and a celebratory dinner, the arrival at the hotel marked the end of our climbing adventure. We'll spend the day today relaxing in Huaraz and enjoying a Pachamanca, typical Peruvian meal cooked underground, with our local guide and outfitter's family, before packing for tomorrow's departure to Lima and flights back home. Thanks to all for following and cheering for this team during our climb! We just say bye now until next year's expedition, wishing best of luck to Geoff's Schellens' team, who's currently starting the 2nd RMI Alpamayo climb this season. RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons team led by RMI Guide Andy Bond reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. Andy and team worked their way up the to the summit via the Emmons Glacier and were standing on Columbia crest. The team will enjoy the views from the top before starting their descent. They will spend more time training at Camp Schurman and return to Ashford Basecamp tomorrow! Congratulations to the Emmons Team!

This morning the Five-Day Mt. Rainier Summit Climb, led by RMI Guide Jenny Konway, reached the summit. The team spent two nights on the mountain in spectacular clear skies before they began their ascent. Presently they are on their descent back to Camp Muir and then will continue on to Paradise.

Our Five Day Summit Climb team led by RMI Guide Andy Bond reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. They enjoyed calm winds and clear skies during their climb. The team will descend to Camp Muir, rest and pack their bags, before continuing their descent to Paradise. Once at BaseCamp they will gather for a presentation of certificates before concluding their program. Congratulations to today's Five Day Summit Climb team!

Jambo from 9,900 ft on Mount Kilimanjaro. We are happily bedded down at Machame Camp after a great day of walking. The day began with the team shuffling duffle bags back and forth in the dark on the grounds of the Dik Dik. We were eating breakfast at 6:30 AM and then we actually drove out of the hotel compound at 7:28 AM...An unbelievable and unprecedented two minutes ahead of schedule. Our mighty Mercedes truck/bus carried food, gear and a huge number of climbers and staff. It was quite cloudy, so we didn't get to see the mountain during the two hour drive. But we saw plenty of interest along the highway, from villages to towns to cornfields, banana and coffee farms. At the Machame entrance to the National Park, there was the normal hurry up and wait process of getting the team registered and the porter loads sorted. By 11 AM it was all done and we got to start walking. Naturally -in terms of altitude- this was our low point for the day...6000 ft, but all agreed that it was an emotional high point. It just felt so good to start walking uphill through a forest after all the planning, preparing, travel and jet lag. The team did well with Filbert -one of our local guides- setting a perfect "pole pole" pace. (Slow in Swahili). After a couple of hours, we were out from under the clouds and all were surprised and pleased to see Kibo -Kilimanjaro's main peak- through a break in the trees. The forest transformed as we got higher and at 4:30 we pulled into a well built camp in the giant heather. We moved in -grateful at all the work our staff had put in. We sat for an excellent three course dinner just after sunset and told stories into the darkness. We finished with a round of "lala salamas". (Sleep well) and turned in for the night. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team