Entries By chase nelson
June 14, 2018
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Chase Nelson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Thursday, June 14, 2018 - 12:04 AM PT
Good evening again from the little Swiss! Another day, another summit! Or summits I should say... the group split and the 2 rope teams headed in opposite directions, towards the east and west ends of the upper Pika Glacier. On one side, a team surmounted the Munchkin. On the other, the South Face of the Middle Troll, a towering rock formation that, with its splitter granite cracks and balancing boulders, provides delicate yet rewarding climbing and the most radical of the views. The weather has been perfect, and we're now going to bed tired, but accomplished and with a full stomach after a quite good pesto pasta dinner!
RMI Guides Elias de Andres Martos & Chase Nelson
June 12, 2018
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Chase Nelson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - 8:15 PM PT
Good evening from the Pika! We're back from another great day of climbing in Little Swiss. Today we took advantage of the cold temperatures, and climbed a route up "The Witch's Hat", the southernmost formation of the cirque of mountains around our Base camp. Several pitches of steep snow, ice and mixed climbing brought the team to a narrow summit where we enjoyed a well deserved rest to our calves after the endless front pointing with our crampons. All accomplished by another objective tackled in this program, we're about to enjoy a burrito dinner at camp.
Good evening everyone!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Please tell Christina be careful and we love her so much. Christina’s Dad and Mom
Posted by: Guoliang Xu on 6/14/2018 at 12:06 am
June 12, 2018
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Chase Nelson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - 2:08 PM PT
Good evening! What a day we had... Another alpine objective tackled! We had some snow overnight, so we dragged our feet to see what the weather would do. It warmed up enough to melt the light snow from the rocks, so we decided to aim for a rock route. By 1pm we decided to head to the "Throne" one of the biggest formations in the Pika Glacier. We climbed the "Lost Marsupial" route, a long moderate route among the clouds, above some planes that brought tourist to the glacier, and into the evening (that's what we get to enjoy climbing in Alaska, 24h of daylight) a great pasta dinner followed our arrival to camp. After dinner, we went to bed right away, as we're planning an early departure for our next objective.
Stay tuned!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
June 11, 2018
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Chase Nelson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Sunday, June 10, 2018 - 12:56 AM PT
Good evening from the Pika Glacier! Another great day for the team. We started the day shortly after midnight, and headed to the "Guard Tower" formation, about one hour north of camp. Summiting during the permanently lit Alaskan night was special, despite the lack of cold temps we were hoping for in order to have better snow conditions. Back at camp before mid day, we had a good lunch and nap, and the afternoon found us ice climbing out of a nearby crevasse. We didn't seem to be affected by the long hours of activity today, and the conversations prevailed at the dining tent for a while. It seems that the weather is changing, so we'll see what tomorrow brings.
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andres Martos and team
June 10, 2018
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Chase Nelson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Saturday, June 9, 2018 - 9:26 PM PT
Good afternoon again from Little Swiss! We had a great second day on the ice, reviewing more skills, and getting ready for our first climbing objective tonight. We ventured to the top edge of this Pika Glacier, overlooking the tundra, and spent quite some time getting familiar with the transitions and rope work on snow, as well as checking potential routes for later in the program.
We have switched to a night schedule, so we can move efficiently during the coldest hours of the day, as it has been scorching hot here. We are waking up shortly after midnight, and heading down glacier for a mixed steep snow-rock climb. Stay tuned for more!
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andrés Martos
June 9, 2018
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Chase Nelson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Alaska Seminar
Good evening from the Pika Glacier, on the Alaska Range! We had a great first day of activity today. We had a late afternoon flight in yesterday, and the pertinent camp building marathon. Today, with blue skies, we ventured down Glacier to the "Hobbit's Footstool" rock formation for practice; besides some rock climbing-cragging, we reviewed a lot the rope systems that we'll be implementing in the upcoming days. Everyone enjoyed their time on the glacier and rocks, but the hit today was definitely the steak dinner.
We're now headed to bed, waiting for a better day of fun on this incredible area of the Alaska Range!
Regards RMI Guide Elias and the Alpine Climbing Team.
Tell Hugh his mom says be careful
Posted by: Peggy on 6/9/2018 at 1:17 pm
February 24, 2018
Posted by: Chase Nelson, Lucas Haaland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Elevation: 18,491'
Orizaba success!
I'm happy to report that the whole team is back to camp following a successful climb or Orizaba, Mexico's highest point and North America's third highest point. The weather today was perfect for a climb and the team made the round trip from camp to summit and back in eight hours. Good job team!
Now we'll pack up our things and head down for a celebratory dinner in Tlachichuca. It's a long bumpy journey back but I think I can speak for the team that it is well worth the trip.
RMI Guide Chase Nelson
Congratulations TEAM!! Very, very impressive.
Posted by: Dale on 2/24/2018 at 8:11 pm
February 23, 2018
Posted by: Chase Nelson, Lucas Haaland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Elevation: 14,000'
Hello everyone!
It's been another nice couple of days here in Mexico since my last check in. Yesterday the team enjoyed their rest day in Puebla and spent some time roaming the city and eating good food. We reconvened for a great dinner just a short walk from the hotel which was a nice end to our one day in the city.
At 7am this morning we jumped on the bus for a several hour journey to Tlachichuca where we finalized equipment for our climb up Orizaba. We had a late breakfast, were introduced to Dr. Reyes' facility at the Servimont headquarters, and and were soon back on the road to head to the south side of Orizaba. It was a long bumpy ride but nonetheless we arrived early in the afternoon with plenty of time to set up our tents and have a siesta. This evening we had a pasta dinner and are all prepped for our climb tomorrow.
It's time for the grand finale tomorrow, wish us luck and we'll check in upon our return to Tlachichuca! And in only a few short days we'll ending the journey and heading back to our friends and loved ones back home.
RMI Guide Chase Nelson
On The Map
Just wanted to take a moment to share that the team made it down from Ixta safe and sound and are now living the good life down in Puebla at the Hotel Colonial!
We descended in from the summit as the clouds increased, offering a bit of reprieve from the sunshine of the ascent. All in all it was a perfect, albeit taxing, day in the mountains. It’s always so nice to pull up to the summit as a whole group, they really all climbed the mountain in style.
But it’s been a long day and a long climb so everyone is eager for tomorrow’s rest day and a bit of relaxation before heading to Orizaba. I’ll continue to keep you all posted! Here’s a photo of the team at the summit and a view back towards Popo shortly after sunrise on the ascent.
RMI Guide Chase Nelson
What a great looking team—thanks for the pic.
Posted by: Dale on 2/22/2018 at 7:39 pm
February 21, 2018
Posted by: Chase Nelson, Lucas Haaland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Elevation: 17,340'
Hey, this is RMI Guide Chase Nelson calling in from the summit of Ixtaccihuatl. We've got the whole team up here. It is beautiful and calm, and we're just taking it all in and we'll be heading down shortly. We'll check in when we're down towards Puebla this evening alright. That's it for now.
RMI Guide Chase Nelson
RMI Guide Chase Nelson calls from the summit of Ixtaccihuatl.
On The Map
Would love to see a picture of the team!! Be safe everyone.
Posted by: Dale on 2/21/2018 at 6:32 pm
It is so nice that all of you return back safely.
Posted by: Xu Guoliang on 6/14/2018 at 7:51 pm
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