Entries By dustin wittmier
May 17, 2024
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Daniel May, Lacie Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 7,800'
Ever read or watch that movie about the guy that gets stuck on Mars? I thought it would be a good one to reread on Denali. You know crazy location, far away from civilization, intense weather. Somehow, I completely forgot about the bit where he was stuck for over a year. Too stressful to read in the tent, I think I'll switch to something lighter like Stephen Kings IT.
Luckily Denali and Mars can be quite different. Lots of white here on Denali (you'll likely recall that Mars is mostly a red color). We can also breathe the air without a spacesuit! Lucky us. Oh, and the views! I'd like to say that pictures don't do it justice, but they sometimes can capture some of the majesty. What they can't do is give you the awestruck feeling of watching an avalanche off in the distance, or the feeling of seeing the bluest blue coming from the frozen snowy waves of crevasses one hundred feet to either side of the trail. Quite striking.
At breakfast somehow, I'm already looking forward to dinner -- the guides, Dustin, Lacie, and Dan have been crushing breakfast and dinners. They've been crushing at the guiding too. Every suggestion or advice is gold, and we always know the plan for the following day clearly. Over breakfast a day ago I joked that in addition to being amazing guides they are also chefs and therapists. They joke that they are only somewhat adequate in the latter two. We all think they're quite exceptional at both.
Today we hoofed it to about 10k feet, buried some stuff, and made our way back to the base of ski hill. If the weather is good tomorrow, we’ll make an even longer trek out of our current camp. If it's not so good, we'll hang out here. I know which one my feet would prefer.
Да луны и обратна,
RMI Climber Ilya Dvilyanski
Sign Up For Denali Expedition, May 12, 2024 Emails
May 16, 2024
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Daniel May, Lacie Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 7,800'
Thursday, May 16, 2024 - 12:11 am
We are camped at the base of Ski Hill, planning to carry tomorrow.
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier
Sign Up For Denali Expedition, May 12, 2024 Emails
May 15, 2024
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Daniel May, Lacie Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 7,300'
Tuesday, May 14, 2024 - 9:44 pm PT
Hello everyone! It's been a hectic couple of days packing and prepping for flying on today. We arrived at Kahiltna Basecamp following a smooth and scenic ride from Talkeetna. The team spent the day acquainting themselves with life on the glacier and enjoying this beautiful place. Tomorrow we plan to head for the base of Ski Hill. Everyone still smells pretty good and we are feeling motivated to start moving.
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier
Sign Up For Denali Expedition, May 12, 2024 Emails
RMI's May 12th Denali Expedition led by RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier, Dan May and Lacie Smith have spent the last few days traveling to Talkeetna, Alaska, packing gear and weighing all the gear. They are now at the K2 Aviation hangar and getting ready to fly to the Kahiltna Glacier and get this expedition started.
Good luck team!
Sign Up For Denali Expedition, May 12, 2024 Emails
Good luck and Godspeed!
Posted by: Matt Milford on 5/15/2024 at 8:06 am
Hey Dustin! All the best to you and your team!!!
I ll be following you and sending thoughts of blue skies , calm winds and strong legs and lungs!!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 5/15/2024 at 3:45 am
February 18, 2024
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 20,561'
Chimborazo Summit!
We have now traveled much of Ecuador's "Avenue of Volcanoes", visiting some of the highest mountains in this country and having the fortune to stand on top of a few:
Rucu Pichincha (15,354') - A warm-up hike that often sets a new altitude record for someone on the team
Cerro Fuya Fuya (14,039') - The first agenda item after leaving Quito, another acclimatization hike
Cayambe (18,996') - Wow, the weather almost stopped us and we were the only team to summit that day
Chimborazo (20,561') - A perfect sunrise summit this morning
Tonight, we find ourselves in the city of Riobamba, recovering from a third alpine start within a two-week vacation. As it turns out, even with built-in rest days, that is a demanding schedule. On top of climbing, there are the long bus rides and the never-ending duffel shuffle. Every member of the team has two large duffels full of mountaineering gear and general travel items that are continuously being unpacked, repacked and subsequently toted around. Hacienda and hotel staff always get a chuckle when they see how much stuff we have.
As for last night's climb, the weather worked out perfectly. It has been several days of wind and humidity on Chimborazo, which has been regularly stymying climbing parties' attempts. Even yesterday, right as we arrived at camp the clouds moved in and there was hail off and on for a couple of hours. However, in the late evening the sky cleared and it was a calm, clear night and morning. It was the perfect way to cap a trip that saw us turn around on Antisana for some pretty intense weather. We can go home with a couple big summits and start thinking about our next trips!
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier
Sign Up For Ecuador Seminar February 6, 2024 Emails
Hey Dustin! That is So Awesome! Thank you for the Cool pictures!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 2/19/2024 at 3:33 am
February 18, 2024
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 16,564'
Sunday, February 18, 2024 - 7:11 am PST
Summit Chimborazo, walking down from high camp. Another blog and more pictures later!
Saturday, February 17, 2024 - 4:14 pm PST
We are settled in for the night at Chimborazo High Camp. One final climb for the team, wish us luck.
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier & Team
Sign Up For Ecuador Seminar February 6, 2024 Emails
February 17, 2024
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 13,123'
Friday, February 16, 2023 | 5:38 PT
This morning everyone reported having slept soundly. As it turns out, even climbing half of Antisana is still hard. We're recovering and now looking forward to Chimborazo, which has been giving us quite the show this evening. We're staying at the Chimborazo Lodge, an historic mountain lodge run by Marco Cruz, a climbing legend in Ecuador. It sits at about 13000' right at the base of the southwest flank of the mountain. There is no cell reception and no wifi, giving us a chance to unplug and hone our focus towards the task at hand, climbing another massive volcano. With any luck and a lot of trying hard we may have a chance to visit a truly majestic summit. Stay tuned!
Sign Up For Ecuador Seminar February 6, 2024 Emails
All the Best Dustin and Team!!! Climb Strong!! Climb High!!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 2/17/2024 at 2:00 pm
February 15, 2024
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 17.500'
Yesterday morning the wind began blowing from the east around 2am, accompanied by moisture in the form of a light rain at basecamp. It continued in this manner until, well... it's still raining at basecamp. The rain was never too horrible at camp and was often accompanied by sun to the west. We had a really successful time practicing some skills and just enjoying a nice couple of nights up high (14700').
However, today we attempted to climb Antisana and ultimately were turned around at about 17500'. The team climbed strong, but the further we pushed towards the summit and therefore towards the cloud, the wetter and windier it got. It was great experience for the team and we came away from it without too epic of a tale to tell. We now set our sights on Chimborazo, the final climb of the trip. The remainder of today is for resting and tomorrow we continue the drive south to Riobamba and ultimately to the Chimborazo Lodge for one more relaxing night prior to our climb.
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier & Team
Sign Up For Ecuador Seminar February 6, 2024 Emails
Hey Dustin! You guys gave it your best! Best wishes for perfect weather ahead for you!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 2/16/2024 at 3:09 am
February 14, 2024
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 14,700'
Happy Valentine's Day!
We spent the day up here at Antisana Base Camp (14700'). The weather was too mediocre all day to walk to the glacier, so we practiced skills around camp. The main topic for the day was crevasse rescue and we spent several hours dialing it in. The rest of the day was spent physically and mentally resting in quite a romantic locale.
The camp chef made great meals today, which would have made lovely meals to share with our significant others :( Seriously, this place is so beautiful, and the food is so delicious, it's worth booking a couple nights just to camp. Alas, we don't get to enjoy such a civil night in this wonderful place. Instead, our alarms will be going off in the next few hours for another alpine start.
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier & Team
Sign Up For Ecuador Seminar February 6, 2024 Emails
All the BEST!!!! Climb Strong!!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 2/15/2024 at 9:22 am
February 13, 2024
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 14,870'
We are off the grid! Battling through holiday traffic as the bus was continually sprayed with celebratory foam and squirt guns, we made it beyond the hoards. Arriving at Antisana Base Camp was a welcome relief as we showed up to our private camp and pitched tents in the páramo. The mountain was out, and we caught glimpses of Cotopaxi as well. The team spent several hours learning how to rappel safely and added to our knowledge a couple more hitches.
Now we are settled into our tents, waiting for dinner. Tomorrow morning will include more training before we rest in the afternoon in preparation for our climb.
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier & Team
Sign Up For Ecuador Seminar February 6, 2024 Emails
That looks so peaceful!! Rest up!!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 2/14/2024 at 4:19 am
Sending you guys love from Portland. Jazzy says hi, Sarah! <3
Posted by: Hannah on 5/16/2024 at 3:52 pm
Dan!
Way to go snookums, I couldn’t be more proud of you! Keep up the great work!
With Love,
Your Aunt Bon Bon
Posted by: Aunt Bon Bon on 5/16/2024 at 6:21 am
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