RMI Expeditions Blog

The Five Day Climb April 26 - 30 led by RMI Guides Avery Parrinello and James Bealer completed their Mountaineering School on April 27 and made the ascent to Camp Muir on April 28.  The teams spent the last two nights at 10,080' Camp Muir.  Climbers were able to ascend to Ingraham Flats but due to adverse weather conditions were unable to climb any higher. Today the team is descending from Camp Muir to Paradise.  We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.

RMI Guides Grayson Swingle and Ben Liken reported the Five-Day climbing teams enjoyed a beautiful sunrise this morning. The team spent two nights at Camp Muir and enjoyed lots of hands-on training and practice to enhance their glacier travel skills all while ascending to Camp Muir in wonderful spring conditions. The team will descend to Basecamp and celebrate their accomplishments before everyone begins their next adventure home.

After a week of unexpected park closures and a wonderful spring storm, our first Muir seminar of the season has concluded. Despite the less than stellar weather conditions, the team was able to shift gears and make the most of their time on the mountain. Climbers learned important skills like route planning, glaciology, snow sciences and spent several days practicing and honing their crevasse rescue skills.

Congratulations team – we hope you enjoyed your time on the mountain!

On Monday, the Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir was foiled from getting into the National Park by a large Spring snow storm.  We spent the day learning and practicing technical skills like rope ascension and ice climbing.  The team then learned about route planning, glaciology, and snow science. Hopes are high that the team can reach Paradise today.

RMI Guide James Bealer

Day 16-17

Waking into Namche this round through was much different than the first time.  Despite our sizable group, we were by no means the largest on the trail.  

This place is now in full swing with Everest climbers, international trekking teams and yak trains going up the valley towards Everest Base Camp.  

Even though the traffic resembled more of a US interstate than a single-track trail, we were pleased to land back at camp de base where we were welcomed with hot showers, Nepal Ice “extra strong beer” and the comforts of nice rooms with personal bathrooms. The hike was roughly 8 miles from Pangboche consisting of many ups and downs but nothing the seasoned team couldn’t handle.    

After a normal 7:30 breakfast the following morning, we set our sights on Lukla, home of the infamous dead-end runway and gateway to Everest.   Eleven miles and 6 hours after leaving Namche we strolled in with time to spare before dinner so naps all around became the team activity.   The clouds were thick as pea soup by 7 pm so our flight status was a bit unknown.   With fingers crossed we went to bed. When our alarms ripped us awake at 5 am the disheartening presence of this fog was still lingering out the window.  

We made our way anyhow, walking to the airport to check in and hope for the best. After waiting for ten hours to fly on the way in, we were not hoping for a repeat.   Two hours in we were beginning to get a bit worried and then the first plane landed.   Ten minutes later we were loaded up and, in our way, back to Kathmandu!   

Now we are clean, fed and content, celebrating a fun and successful trip. I can’t thank this team enough for a great few weeks in Nepal.   

This wraps up the Everest Base Camp and Lobuche expedition. Thanks for following!  

RMI Guides Adam Knoff and Hannah Smith and Team

It has been a very satisfying past two days as we have descended from high camp with our sights set on Lukla and the flight ready to take us back to Kathmandu.   

On Monday we left our beautiful camp situated at 17,200 feet on the western flanks of Lobuche peak and began our descent towards Pangboche, where we would spend the night.  We passed many other camps of expeditions who will use this mountain as a warmup for Everest in the coming months; acclimatizing enough to hopefully skip a rotation through the dreaded Khumbu ice fall which looks quite treacherous this season compared to years past.  After getting through the valley and back onto the main trail, we were astonished by how much the river had risen due the warming temperatures compared to crossing it just a week previous.  The weather and temperatures are definitely concerning because of the impacts on the glaciers and the volatility it creates in the mountains.  We are glad to have climbed when we did and be finished before things get too melted.   

Upon our arrival in Pheriche, we ate some lunch, repacked a few things then hit the dusty trail for a few more hours of walking down to Pangboche.  Feeling happy about our climb and healthy from the thick oxygen of 13,000 feet, the team went out for beers before dinner and enjoyed a couple hours of well-deserved free time resulting in fun conversation and reflection of the trip.  By 8:30, we were mostly in bed resting for yet another day of walking to Namche.   

Come morning we put the ball in motion almost automatically by this point and headed off by 8:15 for our 10 miles to Namche.   This team is now very accustomed to these distances, and we arrived in Camp de Base by 2:00 pm leaving us a solid few hours to shower, rest and shop before needing to eat more food, which is the general past time we all need to indulge in because three meals a day is no joke.   

Now, at 9:00pm on Tuesday evening we are back in our rooms ready for 10 more hours of sleep before biting off the last leg to Lukla tomorrow.   This place is almost indescribable in both beauty and hospitality, but nothing beats home after a long visit.   

Stay tuned to see if we can fly when scheduled.   It is often times the most unpredictable part of the trip.  

Adam Knoff

We are happy to announce that the Lobuche climbing team successfully reached the summit this morning at roughly 10 am.  It was a much more demanding climb than originally thought but everyone pushed hard and gave it all they had resulting in 100% of the team making it to the summit. Because the day was so challenging, we got down much later than expected so we are currently still at High Camp.  We will descend in the morning to hot showers, wi fi and beer!   All of the guides are proud of today's efforts.  Stay tuned for a more detailed description later.

RMI Guide Hannah Smith

Saturday, April 2, 2022 - 6:47 am PT

Good evening all from High Camp on Lobuche.

Today we left the town of Lobuche (I know its confusing) to make our way to our camp on Lobuche. The team hiked in  in great style to 17,400'. Once at camp we made sure our gear was ready for tomorrows climb. By noon our bellies were full from a very large and delicious lunch. With bellies so full it was time for an afternoon nap. The views from camp are amazing! We could not ask for a better place to spend the evening. Tomorrow is the big day we have been looking forward to. An early wake up has us in bed early, winding down and resting up for the big day. Wish us luck and good thoughts!

RMI Guides Adam, Hannah Smith, and team

Friday, April 1, 2022 - 6:02 pm PT

This morning was our first time waking up with thin nylon walls as our shelter instead of the plywood walls of our tea house rooms.  At Everest Base Camp, located almost exactly at 17,500 feet, the eery sounds of the Khumbu glacier popping and shifting, the rock and ice falling from nearby mountain walls and sleep sounds of your tent neighbors were all part of the range of audible noises heard as throughout the night.  

As the first rays of light creeped in we reluctantly began to pull ourselves from the warmth of our down sleeping bags and being careful not to rub the tent walls because of the frost that had condensed on them would sprinkle off and create an small snow shower inside the tent itself.   Estimated outside temps were likely in the high teens last night making it our coldest night yet.   

Once packed and filled with more food than our stomachs could bear, we said goodbye to the wonderful base camp staff and headed back the way we came, retracing our steps through growing camps preparing for their soon to be arriving climbing g teams.   

The days was beautiful and cool making the five hour walk back to Lobuche nice and comfortable.   After arriving back at the hotel eco resort, we began to prepare our bags and equipment for the exciting move to Lobuche High Camp tomorrow.   This shift from trekking to climbing mode has all of us psyched to be headed into the more technical and demanding part of our journey.  I think we are all ready.  

Stay tuned for a report from 18,500 feet tomorrow evening.   

RMI Guide Adam Knoff 

Back safe and sound in Kathmandu!

Managed to get the team out of Lukla with the help of helicopters. It was too cloudy for the planes to fly, but the helicopters are able to fly out following the rivers and avoiding the mountains. It was a first for a few of us.

Everyone is back enjoying the comforts at the Yak & Yeti hotel, hot showers, good food, and the warm temps.

It's been one amazing adventure with a great team and it will be sad to say goodbye, but we are all looking forward to getting back home to our loved ones.

Thanks for following.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and a happy crew