Entries By jordan cargill
The
Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons July 7 - 12 led by
RMI Guide Jordan Cargill reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning via the Emmons Glacier route. The weather is beautiful with clear skies and calm winds. The team was able to enjoy some time on the summit before beginning their descent. Jordan and team will return to Camp Schurman for their final night on the mountain. Tomorrow they will continue their descent to the trail head and then return to Rainier BaseCamp.
Congratulations to today's Emmons Seminar team!
June 16, 2018
Posted by: Steve Gately, Jordan Cargill
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb team led by RMI Guides Steve Gately and Jordan Cargill reached the Summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Steve reported clear skies, light winds and very cold temperatures with some thunderheads building in the east. The team will spend some time on the summit before heading back to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to Today's Teams!
June 11, 2018
Posted by: Jenny Konway, Jordan Cargill
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,200'
The
Five Day Summit Climb June 7 - 11, 2018 made their summit attempt of Mt. Rainier this morning but were turned back at 11,200ft due to poor weather and route conditions.
RMI Guides Jenny Konway and Jordan Cargill reported several inches of new snow at Ingraham Flats. The teams returned safely to Camp Muir and will descend to Paradise later this morning.
Today's mixed bag of weather didn't dampen anyone's enthusiasm to train in and around the crevasses near
Camp Muir. If anything, we were all smug in the knowledge that we took advantage of fantastic weather when we could to summit and would deal with less than ideal weather for our training.
Even the blisters and sore feet of the climb seemed to go away with our great night of sleep.
I was impressed with how the group really learned the skills to effect a rescue of a partner from a crevasse, then jumped at the chance to get back in the hole to ice climb out. Most even got in seconds on the ice climbs.
Our evening talk in the bunkhouse covered everything from altitude illness, mountain medicine, expedition life,
Denali and
Everest to things better left unmentioned here. I apologize in advance to all of you if your partners on this seminar come home with ambitions to climb more and bigger mountains in the future.
Tomorrow, sadly, is our last day. However, a morning of training will be followed by excitement to get down off the mountain, have a beer and burger and get back to our loved ones and the comforts of home.
It's been a great week and we hope to be able to climb together again sometime soon.
Au revoir from Camp Muir.
RMI Guide Brent Okita
This morning we awoke just before 2:00am hoping to take advantage of some favorable weather on the mountain. We were rewarded with an incredible morning. Calm winds and clear skies! A full moon and stars everywhere confirmed that we had made the right call to climb. Leaving just a little later than we would on a regular summit climb allowed us minimal exposure to the coldest part of the night, yet still get down before it got too darned hot out. We reached the summit just before 8:00 with no wind and the sun's rays beginning to warm us up. After an hour on top we started our descent, which our team rocked.
We're all back at
Muir now, relaxing in the sun or catching up on some sleep in the sleeping bags, taking a well deserved rest. But the day's not over yet. This crew is still psyched to hone their mountain skills, so later on we'll be learning about anchors, belaying and anything else they are interested in. This will get us ready for our day of crevasse rescue and ice climbing tomorrow.
All for now,
RMI Guides Brent Okita, Jordan Cargill, JT Schmitt, Gloria Roe, and Ross Morgan
The
Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning around 7:30 AM.
RMI Guides Brent Okita and Jordan Cargill chose to make their summit attempt today due to the nice weather. Brent reported no wind and a perfect day on the mountain. The team will return to Camp Muir and continue to their training until Friday when they will descend to Paradise. The top photos are from today's summit climb, the bottom two photos are from Tuesday's training above Camp Muir.
Congratulations to the climbers!
May 29, 2018
Posted by: Brent Okita, Jordan Cargill
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,060'
The
Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir May 27 - 1 June led by
RMI Guides Brent Okita and Jordan Cargill met their team on Sunday for a day of Technical Training at Rainier BaseCamp. They spent their first day reviewing the plan for the week, working on some technical skills and completing a thorough equipment check. With backpacks proficiently packed they ascended to Camp Muir on Monday under blue skies. They will spend the next several days working on mountaineering skills and preparing for their summit attempt later this week.
January 23, 2018
Posted by: Adam Knoff, Jordan Cargill
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 9,350'
Muchas Gracias to everyone who followed our team as we set out to climb two of Ecuador's highest mountains.
The RMI
Ecuador Volcanoes climbing adventure wrapped up yesterday back in the city we started in but our day was anything but ordinary. On Sunday morning we all packed up at Chilcabamba eco lodge after a great day's rest. From there we made our way up to the Jose Ribas Refuigo located at 16,000 feet on the northern slopes of Cotopaxi.
At 11 pm, our final day together began. We knew the weather on this giant volcano had not been good for at least three days so we were hoping by the time we arrived and settled in things would be improving. This hope was dashed even before we arrived at the hut. From the time we stepped off the bus to the time we put on our crampons and readied ourselves for the climb, nothing had changed. The winds blew a steady twenty with much higher gusts. Add on top of that a snow so wet I was calling it white rain, and you have yourself a pretty rough climbing day.
We all left the hut together at 1:30 am along with 25 other motivated but not necessarily optimistic climbers. 30 minutes into the climb we all resembled walking popsicles but our psych remained high. Things quickly began to deteriorate the higher we went. By 17,000 feet, the mountain had made our decision for us. There would be no summit attempt.
Other teams continued on past our retreating group but we saw them back in the hut a few hours later tired, cold and completely encased in ice. They gave the climb a valiant effort but no one came close to reaching the top. I'd like to think we made the smarter choice.
After our short attempt we phoned the magic bus and had Victor arrive early so we could escape the angry mountain. By 9 am were bound for Quito. Waking up at 11 pm always throws the body for a loop so a good lunch led into a nice siesta which then led into one of the most enjoyable final evenings I can remember.
Thanks to our beer loving Iowa boys, we found ourselves in the beautiful old town of Quito, drinking great locally crafted beer at Bandido's Brewery. The pizza was top notch, the setting unique and the beer superb. The company could not have been better. We told stories of our adventure and made plans for climbs to come. This journey could not have ended any better!
Thanks to everyone on the team for being so supportive, flexible and positive. From a guide's perspective we could not have asked for better!
Ecuador Volcanoes Out........
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
January 21, 2018
Posted by: Adam Knoff, Jordan Cargill
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 16,000'
Greetings from 16,000'! The team loaded the bus from Chilcabamba this morning at 10:30 after a leisurely breakfast. After being obscured for most of our stay at Chilcabamba,
Cotopaxi made a guest appearance from
amongst the clouds as we rambled down the rough roads to the park entrance. The brief view of "the Crown Jewel of Ecuador" and the full days rest reinvigorated the team and the psyche was high as we pulled into the parking lot and prepped for the 45-minute hike up to the Refugio. We were greeted with strong winds on the hike and were very excited to reach the shelter of the hut and some hot drinks. The afternoon was spent resting and after an early and delicious trout dinner we are off to bed. The winds continue to howl as we settle into our sleeping bags and we are hoping for a respite when we wake in five hours for the climb. Stay tuned!
RMI Guide Jordan Cargill signing off.
January 20, 2018
Posted by: Adam Knoff, Jordan Cargill
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 11,400'
Hello to those following our Ecuador climbing adventure.
I will begin by saying we did not summit
Cayambe yesterday because of difficult route conditions. The morning started as most climb mornings do. An eleven pm wake up call, a bathroom visit the body doesn't ask for, hot liquid, cold bread and and the ever present feeling of "why the heck am I doing this?"
The weather outside was clear and the temps warm. As we ascended the clouds rolled in giving us light snow and a wet mist.
As we got higher the temps dropped and the snow became more difficult to walk in. The wind was blowing 10 mph and a light snow was falling. With only 400 feet to climb before gaining the summit ridge we turned around because of deep post holing and deteriorating weather.
The team was disappointed but understood the reason.
After the climb we regrouped, packed up and loaded the trucks ready to bounce our way back to civilization. The road to and from the Cayambe Refugio is the roughest I've ever been on. Usually a great way to start and end the adventure of climbing the highest point on the Equator.
Once the adventure ended we met our bus at a gas station where we loaded up on post climb necessities such as Pringles, coke and ice cream. This held us over until dinner.
Five hours after leaving the mountain we arrived at our hacienda called, Chilcabamba, tucked quietly away in the beautiful countryside under the shadow of
Cotopaxi.
After a well deserved shower, beer and honest night's sleep, we awoke to appreciate this lodge's full beauty. Although we couldn't see the mountain, the surroundings offered enough to observe. Hummingbirds floated outside the windows and flowered trees waived in the wind.
The rest of today will be spent resting, drying gear and preparing for the climb to come. There is nothing better than a full day's rest after an exhausting day in the mountains.
Stay tuned for more mountain climbing.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff saying Buenas noches from Chilcabamba.
Tal chen we are all proud of you
Well done!
Ben
Posted by: ben straussman on 7/12/2018 at 8:28 pm
Congratulations Tal-Chen ! Very excited for you and for us.
Kol Hackavod!
All my love!
Posted by: Shosh Straussman on 7/12/2018 at 11:18 am
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