Entries By dominic cifelli

Thursday, December 30, 2021 - 8:38 pm PT

Our run of perfect weather continues on Vinson Massif!  We got out of the big sleeping bags at 10:15 this morning when the shadow loosened its cold grip. We weren’t interested in a quick and hectic start or jumping out on the climbing route immediately.  Scott and Hannah -our superb ALE guides- cooked up a sumptuous breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon.  We ate, we looked each other in the eye, we polled the gang as to how the night had gone and how each climber felt about pushing higher.  And then we pushed higher.  We put on our crampons and got ice axes in hand and headed for the fixed ropes.  This section would be the “meat” of the day, roughly 2,000 vertical feet on steep and firm snow slopes, protected by a continuous line of rope, anchored every 200 feet or so.  We spent a good three or four hours on the wall and a few more on the lesser angled glacier above it.  The lead ropes pulled in a little after 8 PM and got busy building camp for those who would follow.  We climbed in fine weather, but things are on the cold side, with our estimates centering on about -30 F.  It was quite challenging to climb safely in such conditions with the odd 3 mph breeze coming through.  The team rocked it.  We ate a long dinner and drank hot beverage after hot beverage to rehydrate and regain energy.  It is 1:30 AM now, the sun is still beaming on the tents and everybody has turned in, excited to be here -close to 12,500 ft- and excited for a rest day on the final day of 2021.

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Wednesday, December 29, 2021 - 7:19 pm PT

We seem to be into a stretch of very fine weather.  Today was nothing but sunny, calm and beautiful.  Our first morning on Vinson was pleasant, but quite full with getting everybody up to speed on glacier travel and packing and prepping for moving up.  Even so, we took a midday break for a sit-down hot lunch of vegetable soup.  We got walking at 1:40 PM.  Four rope teams traveling in formation up the Branscomb Glacier.  Recent snows made the footing a little more insecure for the first few hours out of camp, but conditions improved as we got a little higher.  There was less new snow and easier to walk on packed trail by the time we hit the big turn in the glacier below Vinson’s west face.  We came into 9,200 ft “Low Camp” just after seven in the evening.  A fine time to arrive as the sun hits from a great angle and intensity at low camp during the evening hours.  We built tents and moved in to giant walls of snow bricks constructed against big winds by previous inhabitants.  Our evening was windless.  We ate dinner and talked over possibilities for tomorrow.  Perhaps we’ll move higher in the morning, perhaps we’ll spend the day training around low camp.  It all depends on how folks feel in the morning.  It is wonderful to be up in this wild setting, looking straight up at Vinson and at the jagged peaks just to the North. 

Although it is after midnight now, the sun is still strong on the tents, making them almost warm and comfortable.  The sun won’t go behind the mountain until about 3 AM, at which point things will feel a bit colder until it reappears around 10:15 AM. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Tuesday, December 28, 2021 7:47 pm PT

When we met for breakfast at seven this morning, we were optimistic…about COVID test results, about weather in Antarctica and about a thousand moving parts and plans meshing perfectly.  Turns out our optimism was warranted; this was a great day.  We fired up the Gulfstream 7 at 12:30 PM and flew out of Patagonia headed South.  We watched out the windows as sea ice began to appear and then mountains and massive glaciers.  Our pilot slash climber extraordinaire, call sign -Sniggy- landed the plane ever so gently on the ice runway at Union Glacier just after 4 PM.  We got out, marveling at our new world, unloaded our gear and then watched pilots Kurt and Rob lift the G7 off the ice and back into the sky bound for Punta Arenas.

We boarded two ski equipped Twin Otters and took off just after 5 PM for Vinson Base Camp. It was a clear and sunny day, so we could see thousands of the jagged and angular peaks comprising the 200-mile-long Ellsworth Mountains.  We landed uphill at 7000 ft on the Branscomb Glacier a little before 6 PM.  We met Hannah, Scott and Forrest, the excellent ALE guides we’ll be partnering with for this trip.  With Superstars like Conrad Anker and Ed Viesturs on the team, there were plenty of outgoing climbers anxious for handshakes and pictures.  Then it was an easy and pleasant evening of getting settled in camp and sorted for moving up the mountain tomorrow.  We ate a fine dinner in the comfortable basecamp dining tent and attended to chores, some jogged in the snow around the 1/4-mile perimeter of basecamp for a little exercise.  All of us spent a fair bit of time with our mouths hanging open, just staring at gigantic and precipitous Mt. Vinson a few miles East of basecamp.  And then we called it a day.  But a great and memorable day.

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

Monday, December 27, 2021 - 5:32 pm PT

The news was mostly about canceled flights and snarled travel as our Vinson climbing team headed to a dozen different US airports to kick off the expedition.  Incredibly, we were able to gather in Miami yesterday evening -With all our climbing gear- and board the Gulfstream 7 for the easy and pleasant part of our journey -a ten hour ride to Punta Arenas in the far South of Chile.  We’ve been COVID testing several times a day now to satisfy immigration requirements and to be extremely careful with regard to going to The Ice healthy.  Even quarantine for the afternoon in our hotel on the shores of Magellan’s Strait was relaxing and beautiful as we looked out at the summer light on the water.  We organized gear and clothing with the high hopes of flying tomorrow morning once glacier conditions and negative test results allow.  Our all star team of 12 includes astronauts, entrepreneurs and some of the world’s most accomplished and acclaimed climbers and guides.  It is a happy reunion in a familiar place for a number of us and a brand new set of  continents and experiences for others. 

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
 

The team was treated to an almost windless summit day on Orizaba to cap off our Mexico Volcanoes trip! We summitted at 9:30 am and got down safely in time to enjoy a delicious home cooked meal in Tlachichuca. The team is showered, full, and ready to see our families when we fly out tomorrow for home. Till next time Mexico!

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

RMI Guide Mike King and the Mexico's Volcanoes team reached the summit of Ixtaccihuatl (17,340') early this morning.  Mike reported a clear and windy day with many climbers on the route.  The team left early from their High Camp and their reward was enjoying the sunrise from the summit.  We will get a full report from Mike once the team has descended.

Congratulations team!

We had a casual start to the day. Our hike took us to 15,400’ on Ixta where we have camp set up for the night. Our plan is to rest a little bit after the hard effort of carrying heavy packs and still adjusting to these higher elevations. This evening we will do some gear and skills refreshers. There are some ravens squawking over head and the sun feels good on the tents. Tonight we will ascend the “knees” of Ixta and gain the long and circuitous ridge line and hopefully be on the summit around sunrise. Spirits are high and everyone is healthy and enjoying having the heavy packs off their backs.

RMI Guide Mike King

RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli and Jack Delaney led the entire Mt. Baker - Easton Glacier team to the summit of Mt. Baker today! Dominic reports it was a super nice day on the summit and  that "things are going great!" The team is spending one more night at camp before making the rest of their descent tomorrow.

This climb wraps up our 2021 North Cascades climbing season. We loved climbing with all of you this year and are excited for the climbs to come in 2022!

Congratulations climbers!

The Four Day Climb August 29 - 1 September was unable to reach the summit today due to route conditions.  RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Dominic Cifelli lead their teams to Ingraham Flats at 11, 200', they enjoyed the views as the sun came up.  The team is now back at Camp Muir and will begin their descent to Paradise later this morning.

We had a short day getting to our camp at Lake Ann on Tuesday. The Fisher Chimneys were too wet for us to ascend any higher.  So we woke up early  to make our attempt at the summit. Starting in the dark and ending in the dark meant we had a very long and very hard but successful summit day yesterday. Today we will descend to the trail head and complete our program.

Thanks for joining us!

- RMI Guide Alex Halliday