Entries By dominic cifelli
November 3, 2022
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Seth Burns
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 15,300'
Your first night at 15,000ft, you almost never sleep well. The team slept like babies last night. We woke up for five minutes, went to sleep for 15 minutes, tossed and turned for another five, until it was time to get up. Today is a training day, we’ll walk up to the glacier to review some glacier travel, rope, and crampon skills prepare us for our climb tomorrow. Time to make our summit bid!
November 3, 2022
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Seth Burns
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 15,300'
Wednesday, November 2, 2022 - 7:10 pm PT
Today was mostly a travel day. We woke up, ate breakfast, and packed out of the hotel at a leisurely pace and headed to the Otavalo market to enjoy some local wears. This market is bustling on Thursdays and Saturdays, but seeing its Wednesday, we enjoyed a nice, quiet peruse through its pathways. A few food stops and a couple hours of driving later, we're moved into the hut at the base of Cayambe, gearing up to start our climb. Tomorrow we review and practice our glacier travel skills to prepare for our summit bid.
November 1, 2022
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Seth Burns
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 13,986'
Today we left the comfort of Quito to start our travels toward the main objective of the trip, Cayambe.
While the trip is originally a Cotopaxi Express the team had to pivot to a new itinerary after Cotopaxi showed too many signs of activity for mountaineering. We're going to trust the scientists on this one and not go take a peek into the crater ourselves.
Today was another day of acclimatization. We climbed the hills outside of Otovalo to summit the second objective of the trip, Fuya Fuya. The weather treated us to cloudy, moody views that kept us the perfect temperature during our climb. While shorter in stature than Rucu Pinchincha it still serves as a great opportunity for acclimatization and sets us up well for Cayambe. Tonight, we enjoy our final night in town.
We ship off to the base of climb tomorrow. Wish us luck!
RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli, Seth Burns and Team
October 31, 2022
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Seth Burns
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 15,696'
Today was the real first step of the adventure. We woke up early to catch one of the first rides on the gondola and we’re glad we did. The team enjoyed beautiful views of the surrounding volcanoes, Rucu Pichincha itself, and the cityscape of Quito to start our morning up in the hills. The weather out here in Ecuador is notoriously unpredictable though. Shortly after we set out, we were surrounded by clouds and a breeze that chilled us for the remainder of the climb. Still thankful for no rain, we climbed on and reached the summit in style. The best part of the climb? Well of course it was the coffee and donuts that awaited us at the top of the gondola. The Euro-style café there has sprawling views of Quito and coffee that tastes extra good after a hard day’s work. The team is headed back to Quito for our last night here before we head out to our next peak, Fuya Fuya.
Just do it! Happy trails!
Posted by: Ruby on 11/4/2022 at 1:39 pm
Go Joe Go !!
Daryl
Posted by: Daryl on 11/2/2022 at 7:36 pm
October 31, 2022
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Seth Burns
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 9,350'
Sunday, October 30, 2022 - 7:08 pm PT
The members of the team arrived safely in Quito with all our luggage. Today, we ventured out into Quito for a city tour. At an elevation of over 9,000 ft, this was the perfect acclimatization activity for Day 1. The first (and generally favorite) stop on the tour was at the Mitad del Mundo museum, which means "middle of the world". This museum is located on the equatorial line and the tour guides show us some cool demonstrations along with some interesting history of the region. We balanced an egg on a nail, got our passports stamped and went off to tour Old-Town Quito to see the historic churches and buildings the city had to offer. Tomorrow we are looking forward to a warm-up hike on Rucu Pichincha!
Hope all is well. Miss my walks with you. Be safe ❤️ Jane Marlana Nicole Gazzy and Calum
Posted by: Gazzy on 11/4/2022 at 1:08 pm
Go Joe Go !!
Posted by: Daryl on 11/2/2022 at 7:37 pm
September 25, 2022
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Dominic Cifelli, JT Schmitt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches
Hey,
This year, the monsoon has not been kind to the climbers on Manaslu. Snow, rain, and more snow have prevented most climbers from going higher than Camp 3 (22,000’). Fortunately, we were able to fit our second rotation in between two storm fronts and have some beneficial days on the mountain. Though our plan for rotation 2 was to cache gear at Camp 4 (24,000’) in preparation for our summit push, we were happy and fortunate to reach Camp 3 in good weather.
Two long nights were spent sleeping at 21,000’. We saw every hour come, and every hour go. Getting a good night's rest becomes more difficult as you go up the mountain, but it’s all part of the process. We have to let our bodies adjust to the new altitudes we’re asking it to rest at, which often involves climbing higher than we sleep at night. Climbing without supplemental oxygen takes more time and patience than climbing with. The body is highly stressed; it needs more time to acclimate and more time to recover. We’re trusting the process and our bodies as we prepare for the summit push.
We’re back down at basecamp resting, playing cards, Backgammon and seeing how much caffeine the human body can handle. We’re hopeful for a weather window opening up towards the end of September/early October. The summit awaits. Wish us luck!
RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli, Dustin Wittmier, and JT Schmitt
Hey Dustin! I am sending big pressure breaths and thoughts of a good nights sleep!!!
All the BEST to you guys!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 9/30/2022 at 9:41 am
I hope the team is OK and safe at Base Camp and no one was caught in the avalanche.
Posted by: Mitch Green on 9/26/2022 at 7:34 am
September 17, 2022
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Dominic Cifelli, JT Schmitt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Guide News
Elevation: 16,000'
RMI Guides JT Schmitt, Dustin Wittmier and Dominic Cifelli are in Nepal on an expedition with the main objective to climb Manaslu without supplemental oxygen. They departed the United States on September 1st and are able to check in from basecamp:
Hello,
We arrived at Manaslu basecamp on September 11th after four days of trekking through remote valleys in Nepal. Most days were spent shrouded in a cloudy veil, but we were treated to the occasional view of rugged glaciers clinging to high mountains. Staying in tea houses, we were immersed in Nepalese and Sherpa cultures through conversation and enjoying traditional foods together.
Six days after arriving in basecamp we are well established at 16000’ and have made our first rotation on the mountain. We spent three days moving to as high as Camp 2 at 21,000’, setting up our tent and caching gear. On that rotation we spent two nights at Camp 1, letting our bodies acclimatize to sleeping at 18900’.
Currently we are on our third rest day, waiting out torrential rains; and the report from higher on the mountain is that there is significant snow accumulation. It is beneficial that Wi-Fi is available in basecamp so we can continue to monitor weather forecasts, waiting for a window to make a second rotation.
We are hopeful we will be able to push through some marginal weather tomorrow to take advantage of a small, upcoming window. Our second rotation will hopefully allow us to reach Camp 4 at 24,300’, to cache some gear and set us up for a summit push.
RMI Guides JT Schmitt, Dustin Wittmier & Dominic Cifelli
Stay strong team! Love you Dom. Uncle artie
Posted by: Art cifelli on 9/21/2022 at 4:30 pm
Hey Dustin!!!
This is So Awesome!! You Are Strong!! You can do this!! After all you pulled my old farmer a$$ to the top of Cotopoxi!!!
All the best for Strength and Stamina Dustin!!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 9/19/2022 at 7:17 am
August 24, 2022
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Joe Hoch, Ben Luedtke, Ellison Boord, Nicole De Petris, Charlie Harrison
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Five Day Climb August 20 - 24 reached the summit of Mt. RaInier on Tuesday, August 23rd led by RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli and Joe Hoch. The teams were able to spend time in the crater enjoying the beautiful morning. After taking all the photos, the teams started their descent to Camp Muir. Climbers enjoyed some rest and a final night on the mountain. They plan to start their descent to Paradise around 9 am. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp early this afternoon.
Congratulations team!
Congratulations Team, with a special shout out to Alex and Kristina Beuning. Lots of pride and love coming from this Mom
Posted by: Deb Anderson on 8/24/2022 at 8:08 am
August 18, 2022
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Mira Schoeberlein, Nick Sinapius, Charlie Harrison, Lily Emerson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guides Casey Grom and Dominic Cifelli led their Four Day Climb teams for August 15 - 18, 2022 to the summit of Mt. Rainier today. Climbers reached the summit around 5:30 am. They reported an excellent climb and overall great day. The teams are heading back to Camp Muir where they will take a quick break before continuing the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise. Their program will conclude this afternoon at Rainier BaseCamp.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
July 17, 2022
Posted by: Bryan Mazaika, Steve Gately, Dominic Cifelli, Nick Sinapius, Lacie Smith, Joey Manship
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb July 14 - 17 led by RMI Guides Bryan Mazaika and Steve Gately reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. As of 7 am they were in the summit crater. The cloud deck is below Camp Muir, so the teams were enjoying clear skies and light winds. After returning to Camp Muir later this morning, the teams will continue another 4.5 miles to Paradise. Once back at Rainier BaseCamp they can relax and celebrate.
Congratulations to today's teams!
Congrats to all the climbers! Huge shout out to Samia for getting out there and crushing it! One minute you’re in NOLA, below sea level, and the next you’re at the top of Rainier! Don’t ever stop!
Posted by: Nora on 7/17/2022 at 10:01 am
Congratulations to scott and mike. Great job making it to the top what a great accomplishment. Look forward to hearing about your adventure.
Posted by: Eileen on 7/17/2022 at 9:42 am
Joe
You can hike, but you can’t hide!
You Got This !
Daryl
Posted by: Daryl on 11/3/2022 at 2:46 pm
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