RMI Expeditions Blog

Hello again everyone back home.

It was another enjoyable day here in the Khumbu Valley, the team woke up to bright beautifully clear skies, and mountains in every direction. We had a nice relaxing breakfast and then decided to visit a Monastery in Thamo. It’s home to female Buddhist Monks that are Tibetan refugees. They apparently escaped over the boarder which is only a few miles away and have made this home like the Sherpa community did some 500+ years ago. When we arrived the nuns were milling about and tending to their greenhouse that they use to grow their vegetables. We purchased a few prayer flags and prayer beads to help support them and then made our way back to Namche for lunch.

Then evening was spent exploring Namche and doing a little bargaining for a few gifts. 

All is well and everyone is doing great.

Casey and Crew

Greeting everyone,

When on trips like this a team develops routines. Our daily routine begins with copious amounts of tea and coffee. The favorite flavor thus far is anything lemon ginger. After our bodies were filled with our hot beverage of choice, we hit the trail. Before we got too far into the trail (all a few hundred feet) we stopped at a bakery. The apple strudel has been said to be the best a team member has had outsode Austria. Loaded up with goodies we begin our journey for the day. We followed crystal blue water as we made our way uphill. Long bouncy cable bridges zig zagged us across the river. The stretch of the trail should be called the trail of stairs since we climbed what seemed endless amounts of them. But with every step we took we went higher and got closer to the mountains. Halfway through the day we got our first glimpse of Everest...man is she beautiful. This sneak peek gives the team motivation to push uphill.

After sharing the trail with fellow hikers, mules and zyopkyo (half cow, half yak) we arrived in Namche. Colorful buildings and stone walkways greet us. Souvenirs outside the store front capture our eyes. Puppies scamper about. Namche has a majestic feel. Hotel camp de base welcomes us with more tea, snacks, and Wi-Fi. The team has earned them all. Naps and shopping occupied our afternoon before sitting down for dinner with not tea this time but hot cocoa. Tired eyes and bodies are welcomed by comfy beds as we settle down for the night.

Today has been a good day. Tomorrow brings more adventure and more pictures. 

Goodnight, all,

RMI Guides Casey, Hannah, and Team

Namaste! 

Greetings from Nepal!

The team has finally arrived after some incredibly long flights and a 12hr time change.We spent our first day get acquainted and discussing the necessities to our upcoming adventure.

We then headed out to visit a few famous temples here in Kathmandu. First up was the Swayambhunath, also known as the "Monkey Temple", that overlooks most of Kathmandu. Then we visited the massive Boudhanath Stupa, which is one of the largest in the world. We wrapped up the evening with getting all our gear packed and an amazing meal at a restaurant call “Le Sherpa”. 

Today the team left Kathmandu and flew to Lukla, our starting point to the trek. Thankfully it was a rather uneventful flight to one of the world’s most famous airports. After arriving had breakfast then waited at a tea house for all the porters to be chosen and then hit the trail. We hiked for about 3 hours to reach our first camp of the trip in a small village called Phakding. The weather was perfect, and everyone did great on the hike. 

Team is doing well and oh so happy to be in the mountains!

RMI Guides Casey, Hannah, and Team

It is with heavy hearts that we share with you that our fellow RMI Guide, colleague, and friend Luke Wilhelm died on Sunday, March 6th. Luke was climbing with a friend and fellow RMI Guide in the North Cascades when he fell. His climbing partner was able to safely descend. A search and rescue flight was able to locate and recover Luke the following day.   

Luke began his guiding career with RMI in 2018 and quickly impressed all those he met with his passion, skill, love of life, and contagious enthusiasm. He will be missed.  Our hearts and thoughts are with Luke’s family and with all of you. 

Luke – Your smile lights up every room you enter. You have impacted all of us at RMI. May your smile, compassion, and zest for life continue on in each of us.

The team met for one last breakfast this morning. Recalling our climb of Pico de Orizaba and our other exploits from the trip while laughing and drinking coffee. Only 24 hours ago we were standing at the summit and oh what a difference a day makes. It’s a great way to end a great trip and seems like yesterday that we met up in Mexico City as strangers. I’m impressed and proud of this group on and off the mountain. I look forward to climbing with each and every one of them in the future, but for now, we’re excited to get back to our families and friends. This is the RMI Mexico team signing off for the last time of the trip and season.

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

100% team success on Pico de Orizaba!! We really had to dig deep for this one, but the months of training, hard work, and discipline landed us on top of the third tallest peak in North America today.
From Piedra Grande we head straight up an old aqueduct turned trail with loose rock and scree covering the winding trail. Ixta had us prepared for this though and the team made short work of the trail and up to the base of a feature called the Labyrinth. True to its name it’s a winding maze like feature made of rock that ascending teams must scramble and navigate in order to gain access to the glacier above. Once there, the never ending descending escalator begins. It takes us about three and half hours to climb from base to top. With no good place to take a break, it’s certainly a marathon. The team dug deep, pulled together and summitted the highest point in Mexico.

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

The team left the comfort of Puebla for the more rural town of Tlachichuca. Here is where we met back up with our climbing equipment and got to work. Packing and sorting for the climb ahead.
We ate a quick lunch and hopped in the 4x4’s for a rough ride. Long, dusty, and hot we swayed back and forth on what seems like the bumpiest road in Mexico. After two hours of that intense discomfort we arrived at Pico de Orizaba Basecamp and are now settled in to our tents, resting for the climb ahead. We’ll eat some carne asada and head to bed. It’s a clear night here at camp and we’re hoping for that trend to continue till we get back down.

Wish us luck!

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

The team enjoyed a well deserved rest day today. We leisurely ate breakfast, sipped coffee, and explored the city. We stay in a hotel close to the main square of the city so everything we could want is within walking distance. Tiny street markets, beautiful churches, old dive bars, and the colors of the buildings make Puebla a true joy to wander in. The team met up for dinner at a local favorite, El Mural de Los Poblanos, where we shared stories of our days and recalled our climb of Ixta. After we walked to my favorite ice cream place in town and enjoyed the sweet treat to end the night. We leave early for Tlachichuca tomorrow, but not before one more good nights rest in our beds.

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

Today was the day, the team successfully reached the summit of the eighth tallest mountains in North America, Ixtaccihuatl. We woke up dark and early at 1230 AM for our alpine start, scarfed our oatmeal, chugged our coffee and we were off.

The route from high camp starts off with most of the elevation gain and a steep scree field to boot. Taking two steps up and one step back, the team trudged up “the knees” of Ixta to gain one of its magnificent ridges. Though the skies were clear, the wind was out with a vengeance. A cutting, constant 30 mph wind greeted us at the top of the ridge and decided to join us for the rest of the climb. With most of our layers on our person and buffs covering all but our eyes, we leaned into the wind and traversed until we dropped down into the ever-receding Ayaloco Glacier. Down and up the half pipe of a glacier, we gained the final ridge and pushed on to the summit. The team moved so well that we beat the sun to the top, but we were able to find a wind break and watch a gorgeous sunrise at the summit. Congrats to the team!

Now we’re off to well-deserved showers and beds in Puebla.

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli & Team

The clear, beautiful skies made for a cool and frosty night down at Ixtaccihuatl Basecamp. The team woke up to flakes of snow hitting our face, courtesy of the moisture from our breath. We ate our breakfast, packed our bags and were on our way.
The sun was strong, but a cool wind kept our temperature regulated quite perfectly as the team worked their way up. Our months of hard work and preparation paid off as the team was strong as ever. Making the move from 13,000ft to 15,400ft is no small feat, especially with the heavy loads of the day. We made short work of it though, getting to our high camp in around four hours flat. Now we need to move into camp, relax for a bit, and talk logistics for the day ahead. I’m proud of the way the team performed today and it makes me as hopeful as ever for our summit day tomorrow.

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli