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RMI Guide Tyler Reid and the Four Day Summit Climb August 1 - 4, 2015 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Tyler reported light winds from the North and a beautiful day to be on the mountain. The team began their descent from the crater rim at 7:25 am PST. They will return to Camp Muir for a quick break and to repack gear before continuing down to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later today. Congratulations to the team!

Our team left the hustle and bustle of Moscow early this morning and made our way to the mountains. We had a long day of flying and driving to get here and we are excited to be in the Baksan Valley at the base of Mt. Elbrus. Everyone is in great spirits so we are going to just relax thus evening and listen to the thunderstorms roll on through. Tomorrow is another day and sun or no sun...it's great to be in the mountains! RMI Guide JJ Justman

On The Map

Well it took until mid-morning, but we finally had our whole team, with gear, in one place. Ten climbers and one RMI guide meeting at the hotel in Usa River on the outskirts of Arusha, Tanzania. Folks are jet-lagged, but today was actually an easy day of discussing the plan of attack, conducting gear checks and getting things packed and ordered for going on the mountain. That didn’t take the whole day, and so there was plenty of time for napping and strolling the gardens of the Arumeru River Lodge. Kilimanjaro was visible from the viewing tower on the grounds and was looking magnificent with all of the recent snow up high. We got together for dinner and talked climbing (naturally) but also chatted about running and biking and careers and pretty places. We’ll get on the road in the morning for Kilimanjaro. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

The city life is nice, but it's back to the mountains for your ESS-Peru champions. We're back at it again, climbing from 10,500' to 15,000' on our approach to Copa Base Camp. The views here at camp are otherworldly. The looming south face of Copa dominates our view up the hill, fluted with spines of snow and ice as the western glacier spills over the summit plateau into space. Our views back down to the valley are just beginning to glow red and pink as the sun begins its descent on our day. We're going to get a great night of sleep tonight, planning to sleep in to best prepare ourselves for our move to high camp at 16,400' tomorrow afternoon. We can't contain our excitement. We'll keep you informed. Keep following along and send us good vibes for the biggest climbing of our trip. RMI Guides Robby, Steve, William, and your ESS-Peru team

We are back at base camp this afternoon after our carry to Camp 1, located at 16,200'. The Team took advantage of a direct route which included snow and great trail. Years past has seen this day's route made up of loose and steep scree slopes. While packs were heavy the 3.5 hour up time meant they were not on our backs too long. We put in a cache of food, fuel and some personal items. While the wind was gusting in the 40's we enjoyed a clear sky and spectacular views of the Vacas Valley. The team is doing well, all appear to be acclimating well and spirits are high. A rest day tomorrow is highly anticipated before we move to Camp 1 on Friday. The wind continues to plague Aconcagua Base Camp, we will check in tomorrow, until then keep your fingers crossed for calmer weather. RMI Guides Mike King, JM Gorum & Team

On The Map

We woke to a calm and clear morning down at Machame Camp. The sun hit around 7:30 AM, just in time for breakfast. Before we got on the trail, Freddy -our lead guide, introduced some of the key personnel on his forty five person staff and we had a round of jambos and handshakes. We were walking by 8:20 and sweating by about 8:30 as the initial route involved some serious uphill on big rock steps through the heather. The big hazard in our first few hours was that the views were so spectacular I worried that the team wouldn't watch their steps. There was plenty to look at as giant Mount Meru -the 16,000 ft volcano back next to Arusha, was standing tall above a sea of clouds to our west. That sea of brilliant white clouds extended in every direction, beneath us. We had great views of Kibo, Kilimanjaro's main peak, and the rugged heights of Shira, its western satellite. We got to see our first Lobelias and Scenecios as we reached the upper limits of the heather. By then we were traversing left and negotiating small steep lava walls on our way out to the Shira Plateau. We were in our newest camp by 1PM. This one is quite a change from the last as we are now well out of the forest. Kibo never did cloud up today so we got to look at it all afternoon as we rested at 12,600 ft. We'll head straight toward it tomorrow for a closer look at our ultimate goal. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

After a night of distant thunder and periodic power outages, it was a bit of a surprise to wake to relatively calm weather and clearing skies. The team was ready for a 6:30 breakfast and had no trouble making our planned 7:30 departure from the Dik Dik. But more than one person was heard saying how comfortable the place was and what a shame that we actually had to leave such comfort. These thoughts faded quickly as we loaded into the big green Mercedes Benz expedition truck/bus and started heading East toward our mountain. The skies kept clearing as we moved down the highway, giving us some great views of Kilimanjaro. Two hours got us to the Machame Gate of the national park... the end of the road. We got out and got our permitting chores finished as our local guides figured out staffing and Porter loads. Then we got to the good part. We set out walking. We pushed upward from about 60,00 ft through jungle and tall forest. We'd found cloud cover again, but that just protected us from the sun and we didn't mind a little mist and murk. Six hours of slow, steady work took us from the zone of big trees to the land of giant heather. At almost 10,000 ft we walked into a perfectly built camp -our staff had carried more than us, walked faster, and had enough time left over to get camp all ready for our arrival. We were humbled but happy to crawl into tents. Just in time, as it turned out, since the rain began the moment we did so. Still, it was comfortable sipping tea before dinner in our dry dining tent. We had a fine meal and retired to our tents, pleasantly tired and happy to finally be on our mountain. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

After falling asleep to a gentle rain last night, our team woke up to to star-filled skies. The clouds had dropped a few inches of snow up high and the glaciers suspended above camp glistened in the light of the moon. After a hasty 5:30am breakfast we shouldered our packs and climbed uphill three hours to the base of the Ishinca Glacier. The new snow made the hard glacial ice a bit more forgiving, and we used the terrain to train on basic mountaineering techniques such as rope travel, crampon technique and ice axe arrest. After taking a break for lunch and admiring our beautiful surroundings, we got into more advanced techniques like ice screw placement and V-thread anchors. Tonight was the current group favorite dinner- Lomo Saltado, a Peruvian mix with beef, french fries, rice and tomatoes. Delicious! RMI Guide Robby Young

For some, it's a hard thing to understand, that which we do not have control over. Today our team did a carry/acclimatization day in relatively calm, however, freezing temperatures to High Camp at 19,600 feet. Everyone did well despite me not knowing who anyone was all bundled up. All I could see of Stephanie was her nose. The team is now safely back at Camp 2 and we just made an afternoon snack, which warmed everyone up! The weather is changing again as the clouds build and the winds are slowly picking up. Tomorrow is a rest day here at 18,000 feet. Regardless of the weather we are having fun and enjoying the alpine views at Camp 2 on Aconcagua. RMI Guides JJ and Christina

On The Map

Thursday, January 16, 2025 - 5:32 pm PT

I don’t do blogs.  We are on day whatever having a rest day here at Aconcagua base camp.  We went on a “walk” and now we will hang around all day and eat.  We all passed our med check too, so that’s neat. 

But enough of this. Let’s chat about things that annoy you.  Things like Costco, Buc-ees and people that tell you how old their kid is in months.  No one needs a box of 47 microwaveable taquitos, 120 gas pumps and I don’t want to do math to figure out how old your kid is.  I was asking to be nice anyway. 

Tune in tomorrow for a nicely written blog. 

Wait….I thought of more….adults that are obsessed with Disney.  People that don’t use cruise control on the highway. 

RMI Climber Eric Uncapher