Entries By daniel may
Monday, January 9, 2023 - 6:08 pm PT
Hello hello,
Well me made it out of Mendoza. We were patiently and anxiously awaiting two duffles. Thanks to using the apple air tags we knew they were in flight and confirmed to be at the Mendoa airport. A pit stop to grab the goods and we were on the road towards Aconcagua Provincial Park. Two hours following the Mendoza River brought us to Uspallata. Tummies were rumbling so we picked up some empanadas and checked into the hotel. Before we could lay down for a nap we had some work to do. Everyone sorted their gear into a day pack, a trekking duffle, and a basecamp duffle. The duffle shuffle is a big part of the game these first handful of days. With everything organized we are ready to get back in the van and begin our hike. Tomorrow will start Day 1 of our mountain days. Everyone is itching to hit the trail and get some miles behind us. It helps that tomorrow we get a delicious Carne asada dinner cooked over a fire...it is finger licking good. We did enjoy some thunderstorms this afternoon. The rumbles in the sky made for great background noise for the evening nap. Hopefully mother nature got it all out of her system and we have dry weather.
Good night and talk to you from the trail!
RMI Guides Hannah, Ben, Dan and Team
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Ben Luedtke, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 2,449'
And we are off! RMI's second team of the Aconcagua season has officially begun.
Everyone has arrived in Mendoza feeling well. It's been a busy couple days sorting gear, grocery shopping and locating duffels. We are ready to hit the dusty trail, but first we needed to do some introductions and toast a glass of wine to celebrate being a team with the same goal of having fun, learning something new, and hopefully standing on top of this tall, tall mountain.
No good night ends without something sweet, so the team enjoyed some yummy Gelato before sinking into their beds. Only one more night in a bed before we take to the sleeping pads and sleeping bags. Tomorrow, we hit the road to Uspallata where we will do more gear sorting for the mules and our journey to basecamp. A 3-day hike up the Vacas and the Relinchos valleys will bring us to basecamp where we will gear up for the upper mountain. For now, we rest our heads on our comfy bed enjoying the simple comforts.
Buenos Noches,
The Mt. Shuksan Sulphide Glacier Team led by RMI Guides Joe Hoch and Dan May reached the summit on Thursday, September 22, 2022. The team had great weather, smoke free skies, and a great climbing route. With incoming rain, the team descended a day early to beat the deteriorating forecast.
Congratulations Team!
Posted by: Matias Francis, Henry Coppolillo, Daniel May, Ellison Boord, Nick Sinapius
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,080'
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir September 8 - 13, 2022 enjoyed a great week of training at Camp Muir. RMI Guides Matias Francis and Henry Copolillo led the team with instruction on ice climbing, crevasse rescue, student led glacier navigation, fixed line travel, intro to multi pitch climbing, rappelling, alpine bouldering, nightly talks about altitude and avalanche awareness. The team is doing a bit more training this morning before starting their descent to Paradise later today. They will conclude their program this afternoon at Rainier Base Camp.
Nice work team!
Posted by: Joe Hoch, Henry Coppolillo, Daniel May, Michael Murray, Mira Schoeberlein, Lily Emerson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb August 27 - 30 led by RMI Guides Joe Hoch and Henry Coppolillo reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 6:15 am today. It's a beautiful and clear day on the mountain. The teams enjoyed an hour in the summit crater before starting their descent. They will return to Camp Muir for a short break before continuing down to Paradise. Their program will conclude this afternoon at Rainier BaseCamp.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Posted by: Jack Delaney, Abby Westling, Leif Bergstrom, Daniel May, Charlie Harrison, Nick Sinapius
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Five Day Climb teams July 30 - 3 August led by RMI Guides Jack Delaney and Abby Westling made a sunset climb to the summit yesterday evening. The teams reached the crater rim around 8 pm and quickly began their descent as fairly strong winds accommpanied them the entire climb. The climb went well and the team was stoked to summit even with the constant winds. As of 7 am the climbers were sleeping in at Camp Muir with plan to start their descent to Paradise around 10 or 11 am.
Congratulations team!
Posted by: Avery Parrinello, Lauren Macklin, Daniel May, Nicole De Petris
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
After several days and lots of hands-on training, our Emmons seminar team successfully reached the summit of Mt. Rainier yesterday. RMI Guide Avery Parrinello reported beautiful weather for the climb. The team enjoyed several days of great weather during their training days and ascent from camp to camp before their climb yesterday.
The team is currently on their descent from Camp Schurman back to Basecamp in Ashford where they will celebrate their successful summit. Congrats team!
Posted by: Alex Halliday, Leif Bergstrom, Daniel May, Sam Marjerison
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 12,200'
RMI Guide Alex Halliday called from Cmap this afternoon. The team turned at 12,200', at the top of the Ice Chute, due to deteriorating weather. He reported cloudy condition, some snow but an overall nice day of climbing. Alex mentioned that despite the team turning, that everyone was stoked after their ascent of the Ice Chute.
Their plan is to walk back to Paradise tomorrow and retun to Basecamp in the early afternoon.
Lia & Chris: Congratulations on making the climb. Can’t wait to hear from both you about the adventure! Very proud of both of you
Posted by: Marcella and Bill on 7/6/2022 at 7:34 am
To the most badass climbers Lia and Chris, we are so proud of you! At 12200 ft, we’re sure there was plenty cu-see cu-see cu-see. Can’t wait to hear all about your incredible adventure
Posted by: Ana & Yukichi on 7/5/2022 at 11:34 pm
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Kiira Antenucci, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 348'
Monday, June 27, 2022 - 8:14 am PT
Good morning all!
What a walk we had! Leaving 14,000' Camp with sights on basecamp is a long journey. We woke at 10pm, packed our things, and were on the downward trend by midnight. It felt good to be walking downhill but pulling a sled was less than desirable. But with so much motivation it made it possible. With the help from another RMI team, who dug up our 11,000' cache, we made fast work reorganizing and moving on. The glacier down below has changed a little. We zig and zagged left and right to avoid big crevasses. Hours went by, miles gained, elevation lost. As we got near basecamp we did a quick crevasse rescue scenario, before making our last uphill walk. Heart break hill is truly heartbreaking with tired legs, tired bodies, and tired minds. But as usual the team dug real deep and blew up it.
After a few hours napping at base and some luck the clouds parted in Talkeetna and the pilot took off. The sounds of those Otter planes were glorious music to our ears! A shower, a toilet, a beer, food, and sleep never felt or sounded so good. The team earned every amenity possible from such a long hard day. I am thoroughly impressed and proud of all the team members. It has been a fantastic journey. One for the books! Here's to healing sunburns, chapped lips, and sore muscles.
Congrats team, you made it!
RMI Guides Hannah, Kiira, and Dan
Congratulations!!! Very strong work! So happy for you all!
Posted by: Gina on 6/28/2022 at 1:24 pm
Awesome Job Hannah and Team! Thank you for the posts it was great following along!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 6/28/2022 at 3:08 am
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Kiira Antenucci, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Saturday, June 25, 2022 - 7:46 pm PT
Good evening all,
It's been quite a day and it's not even over yet. We woke to a chilly morning at 17,000' Camp. It made for a slow break down of camp and packing due to cold fingers and let's face it tired bodies from the day before. But with some effort we left camp and made our way to 14,000' Camp. Like usual it got real hot when we got low. By the time we arrived it was hot and we were tired. We opted to stay at 14,000' for the evening. Another RMI team helped set up our tents and gave us water. True team players. After shuffling gear and eating breakfast burritos for dinner we are all laying down for a few hours before we wake to start walking at midnight for the airstrip. It's going to be a long day but we've got this. Lots of motivation to propel us forward. Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon we will be flying back to civilization.
Time to nap,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
So happy for you all, especially CJ! What an achievement - CONGRATULATIONS!! We are so proud of you. Tante
Posted by: Eloise on 6/26/2022 at 1:35 pm
What an adventure this has been! Just a final push now and you’ll be back with lots of stories to tell. Congratulations to you all!
IngaLisa’s Mom
Posted by: Irene Wickstrom on 6/26/2022 at 1:23 pm
Rob, Barry - Following you, wish I were there - welcome the challenge, have fun!
Posted by: Jenny French on 1/10/2023 at 8:44 am
Awesome to see. Very cool to finally be hitting the trail. I would be superstoked to be along. Safe travels and keep the posts coming.
Posted by: Terry Reilly on 1/10/2023 at 4:53 am
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