Entries By jt schmitt
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
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
July 16, 2022
Posted by: JT Schmitt, Joe Hoch, Ellison Boord, Lily Emerson, Evan Sather, Charlie Harrison
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb July 13 - 16 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today led by RMI Guides JT Schmitt and Joe Hoch. The teams reported winds around 45 mph towards the summit. That means they didn't spend much time on top today. As of 7 am they were on their descent and headed back to Camp Muir. The teams will continue down from Camp Muir later this morning and return to Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon for their celebration ceremony.
Congratulations to the Footprints of Fight climbers!
Congratulations A&R
Posted by: Mk on 7/17/2022 at 7:40 am
July 11, 2022
Posted by: JT Schmitt, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Five Day Climbs led by RMI Guides JT Schmitt and Jack Delaney reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early on this sunny July morning. The teams are on their descent and will be back at Rainier BaseCamp in Ashford early this afternoon.
Congratulations climbers!
Who took this picture?
Posted by: Kevin Murray on 7/12/2022 at 10:41 am
Congratulations team on a successful ascent! Looks like a great day up there, hope you’re still thrilled all the way to base camp! Hooray for all of you!
Posted by: Judy St Amand on 7/12/2022 at 6:55 am
July 6, 2022
Posted by: Casey Grom, Abby Westling, JT Schmitt, Lily Emerson, Jenna Burkey, Cal Seeley
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,080'
Continuous rain overnight at Camp Muir, kept the Five Day climb July 2 - 6 teams from making their summit attempt. RMI Guide Casey Grom reported a slight break in the weather but the rain was continuing. They plan to leave Camp Muir around 9:30 am for a hopefully dry walk down to Paradise. The teams should return to Rainier BaseCamp in the early afternoon.
Thank you Abby, Casey and all the guides for your leadership and hard work to help us all develop our mountaineering skills.
Posted by: Jeff Wrobel on 7/7/2022 at 7:24 am
June 30, 2022
Posted by: JT Schmitt, Christina Dale, Jess Wedel, Tyler Meyers, Jenna Burkey, Roland Scott
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb June 27 - 30 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning led by RMI Guides JT Schmitt and Christina Dale. Christina reported great route conditions and clear skies. The teams were on their descent at Camp Comfort around 7:30 am making their way back to Camp Muir. The teams will continue their descent to Paradise and then be transferred to Rainier BaseCamp.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Congratulations everyone! You must be so proud of yourself! We can’t wait to have to full story of your adventure! ❤️
Posted by: My-Lien on 6/30/2022 at 12:58 pm
Congratulations, you did it!!!!
Posted by: Carole on 6/30/2022 at 9:08 am
June 23, 2022
Posted by: JT Schmitt, Alex Halliday, Augi Fleer, Bo Torrey, Trevor Katz, Tyler Meyers
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guides JT Schmitt and Alex Halliday led their Four Day Climb June 20 - 23 teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier today. JT reported good conditions on the ascent with occasional wind gusts. The teams reached the summit around 8 am. As of noon, all climbers had returned to Camp Muir from the summit. The teams will pack up and continue their descent to Paradise and return to Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Awesome news! What route was taken? DC or Ingraham Direct?
Posted by: Nick Arbogast on 6/23/2022 at 12:28 pm
June 18, 2022
Posted by: JT Schmitt, Alex Halliday
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,080'
Due to avalanche activity, the Four Day Climb with RMI Guides JT Schmitt and Alex Halliday did not climb above Camp Muir this morning. The mountain received 8+" of new snow yesterday afternoon and there were numerous slides on the Cowlitz Glacier with several going over the trail. In the first picture, you can see evidence of avalanche debris that has been deposited along the first steps of the route.
The team has started their descent and will back at Ashford Basecamp early this afternoon.
Happy Birthday to my son Davis!
Posted by: Sherry Yonge on 6/18/2022 at 1:58 pm
8+’ ? Surely that’s in inches! Let’s all hope the weather improves and parties stay safe.
Posted by: David on 6/18/2022 at 11:25 am
June 2, 2022
Posted by: JT Schmitt, Matias Francis, Jackson Breen
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Denali
Elevation: 20,310'
Thursday, June 2, 2022 1:35 am PT
The last two weeks of working hard on Denali payed off today. At 5:30 pm today we stood on top of the highest point in North America!
It was a beautiful sunny day, with a bit of wind but not too much to turn us around. It was a relatively quiet day with only a few other teams trying for the summit. The team performed incredibly well and summited in style! Now we are back at 17 camp, enjoying clear views all the way down to the tundra, where you can see the Alaskan sun shimmering off lakes over 15,000 feet below us.
Tomorrow we start the process of retracing our steps back down the mountain.
RMI Guides JT, Matias, Jackson and the RMI team.
CONGRATS!! It’s absolutely incredible to follow your journey and to see this great news!
Posted by: Ramsay Bader on 6/5/2022 at 9:28 pm
Yay!!! Congratulations!!! I’ve had so much fun following you along your climb. Big congratulations to my brother, Scott - I am SO PROUD of you! Way to go, team!
Love, Julie
Posted by: Julie Joyce on 6/3/2022 at 3:19 am
June 1, 2022
Posted by: JT Schmitt, Matias Francis, Jackson Breen
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Denali
Elevation: 17,000'
Tuesday, May 31, 2022 - 10:08 pm PT
We woke up to a beautiful morning at 14,000' Camp and decided to move to 17,000'! The team did well and the forecast looks good for tomorrow. Stay tuned to see what we get up to tomorrow!
RMI Guides JT, Jackson, Matias and the RMI team
Exciting news! Thanks as always for the updates - sending lots of high-altitude best wishes!
Posted by: Nestor Davidson on 6/1/2022 at 8:38 am
Fantastico! Hola from Spain and best of luck on the summit push!
Posted by: Caleb on 6/1/2022 at 8:14 am
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
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