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Fresh snow and deep drifts greeted us this morning as we lay in the tent listening to the wind blow. Without being able to differentiate up from down, we decided to take a rest day and stay in camp. Our job became rest and recovery, which our team much appreciated. We are hoping for better weather and a move to Camp 2 tomorrow.
RMI Guide Eric Frank & Team
Around midnight last night the winds began to pick up here at Camp 1. Sweeping down off of the mountain's scoured glaciers, they would come barreling through camp, howling as they relentlessly shook the tents. Needless to say, sleep was intermittent as the tents shook and flapped throughout the night. Although the winds had yet to abate by morning it was clear and the sun soon found us, warming us quickly.
Because of the wind we dragged our feet a bit during breakfast before departing, escaping the gusts by retreating to a nearby hut used by our outfitter where we could enjoy our hot drinks with a little more protection. Thankfully, the deterioration in the weather didn't affect us much since we descended back below camp to our cache where the morraine deflected most of the winds coming down off of the mountain.
We made a quick descent to our cache carrying only light packs, reloading them with all of the gear we stashed there on Tuesday. Our improving acclimatization and growing comfort with the trail was evidenced by how efficiently we climbed back up to Camp 1 through the loose rock and scree, everyone clearly showing their strength as we made good time through the difficult terrain. Back at camp the winds had lessened but continued to blow as clouds began to settle in. As we traded stories over lunch a wet groppel began to come down, lightly at first and then in sheets, covering the rocks around us in an uneven dusting of white. We retreated back to the tents in the afternoon to relax and rest and escape the weather outside.
The groppel has since stopped and the storm seems to be lessening at the moment. As we head off for dinner the occasional sun beam breaks through the clouds and illuminates the tent walls. Our plan tomorrow is to make an acclimatization climb towards Camp 2, hopefully leaving another small cache up there in preparation for our summit bid. We will check in tomorrow and let you know if the weather cooperates.
High winds kept the Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Bryan Mazaika and Matias Francis at Camp Muir overnight. The guides repoted an upper level cloud deck at 11,000' with a lower level cloud deck just above Paradise at 6,000'.
The team has started their descent and will be back at Rainier Basecamp in Ashford this afternoon.
Well, despite Mother Nature's best efforts 100% of our team stood on the summit of
Aconcagua, South America's highest point, at approximately 1:00 pm local time. We were accosted by moderate winds and cold temps most of the evening at Camp Colera so we decided to push back our departure to 5:30 a.m. We were hoping to avoid subjecting the team to too much cold. Well, despite our best efforts to mitigate the weather, we were thoroughly brutalized by wind and cold for the entire climb except for the last 2 stretches of the descent. Our climbers all did a terrific job taking care of themselves and preventing cold injuries. They climbed so efficiently that what is normally a 12 hour summit day we accomplished in 10! Maybe it was the short/lack of breaks, maybe they all possess mutant strength...
Regardless, we're heading for Aconcagua Basecamp tomorrow!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
Still at 14,200', I'm afraid. There was a cloud cap sitting on Denali at 7:45 this morning when we started checking weather. The cap meant snow and wind were working over the camp at 17,200' and so we weren't anxious to head that way without some improvement. That cap dropped lower as we ate breakfast and eventually it mingled with some clouds from below to put us in the soup. By midday it was snowing and we had to write off our chances for going high on this day. On the bright side, our team members that were suffering from minor colds yesterday had kicked those ailments by today... Vitamin C and bedrest. The gang put on climbing gear and walked up the first hill over camp, despite the steadily falling snow, just to get some exercise and some time out of the tents. Our forecasts call for more snow, unfortunately, so we had to do a bit of contingency juggling of supplies today. As we mentioned a few days back, we can't afford to be separated from our cache at 16 by avalanche conditions as our food supply at 14 Camp dwindles. This afternoon three of the guides broke trail up to the fixed lines and then ascended to 16,200' to retrieve the cache. There was plenty of recent snow to plod through and there were scars and debris piles from a few avalanches, but today things were stable enough and the mission was a success. The entire team greeted the cache raiders enthusiastically upon their return at dinner-time. We'd certainly hoped to use the cached supplies for our summit bid... and we cling to that hope. But now we have that food and fuel safely within our grasp should we need to retreat instead. The team is upbeat and optimistic... and realistic. We know we need the weather to improve in the next few days, defying the forecasts.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
And boom. We went to over 14,000' today. To be honest, gondola-assisted, but we still logged a few thousand human-powered vert. Warm sun, mild temps, and a calm, steady breeze from the east kept things comfortable. Clouds slowly built throughout the day as we ascended, but never threatened anything more than the occasional chilly gust. The bright orange Chuquiragua flowers, also known as the “the flower of the climber” that grows at over 9,000 feet, were in bloom along the trail and grew thicker as we ascended. We’ll take it as a good omen! Satisfied with our solid effort, we snacked and took in the panoramic views of Quito over 5,000’ below us from our perch on the flanks of Pichincha before heading back downhill.
Our team is strong and deposited valuable funds into the
Cotopaxi acclimatization account today. More to come tomorrow as we venture further south through the Avenue of the Volcanoes!
RMI Guides
Peter Whittaker,
Jess Matthews and Team
Good things come to those who wait...
At least that is what we must remind ourselves of. Another day of marginal weather had us scratching our heads about the possibility of a
summit bid while other teams have had enough and are headed down. But with a fortified camp and a weeks worth of food and fuel, we plan to exercise patience and optimism. As storm days stack up, it is all too easy to let altitude and lethargy tear a person down. Exercise is the best remedy, and so this afternoon we climbed the first hour of the autobahn to stretch the legs and open the lungs. With new snow covering the route, we worked hard breaking new trail up to 17,700 feet, and the pickets that protect the steep slopes had to be dug out. To be sure when our time comes to go for the top, our team will be the most acclimated and best conditioned team at high camp.
High and Mighty at 17K
RMI Guides Okita, Davis & Mann
On The Map
We awoke the first time this morning to the entrancing beats of Zivert, from songs of an intrepid hiker's boombox, at 4:30 am. A bit confused and groggy we fell asleep again, waking to bright sunshine at a much more reasonable hour, all wondering if we had imagined the 4:30 episode. After a breakfast spread and fresh artisan drip coffee seemed better than Starbucks by Abby, we packed up our packs with loads of food and climbing gear that we won't need until above Camp 1 and headed uphill to make our first steps towards the summit, get dinner off our weight up to the next camp, and accomplish some acclimatization as well.
Our sunshine lasted for about an hour and a half of walking, and by late morning, clouds had built above us and much of the mountain. It was cooler, and the occasional snowflake sifted down as we continued our upward progress. After just under five hours, we walked into
Camp 1, on the terminal moraine of the glacier. We made a quick cache, then turned and headed down, hoping to drop underneath the clouds. We managed to just around Mushroom Rocks, some unique formations that have been sculpted by wind, rain, snow, and time to resemble giant rock mushrooms. After pausing for photos and snacks, it was all ahead to base camp, impressed to have the weight off our backs and be able to move. We rounded out the evening with naps and a hearty pasta dinner. Our plan tomorrow, assuming the weather cooperates, is to move up to the huts at Camp 1.
Best,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Mike Uchal, and team
On The Map
We woke up in the wee hours of this morning, hopeful to see our summit window open up. The weather, however, had a different idea. As the skies became cloudier and the snow began to come down, we decided that another slow morning was in order. We gorged ourselves on bagels and plenty of bacon while we sipped our coffee. The afternoon was filled with lots of rest. We are steeling ourselves for a move up to 17k tomorrow, if the weather forecast holds true. Everyone is doing well and looking forward to the chance to move closer to our summit goal. Thanks for keeping up with the team!
We will check in tomorrow, hopefully from our new
camp at 17k!
RMI Guide Jake Beren & Team
Led by RMI Guides
Win Whittaker and
Leon Davis, American Lung Association and their Climb for Clean Air reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The team enjoyed sunny skies and gorgeous views from the summit. We look forward to seeing the climbers in Ashford when their return from their descent this afternoon.
Congratulations team!
May the wind be at your back for tomorrow!
Posted by: Maxine Kay on 5/23/2021 at 2:42 pm
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