Entries By mike king
July 13, 2022
Posted by: Mike King, Alex Halliday, Ellison Boord, Bo Torrey
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons Team with RMI Guide Mike King reached the summit of Mt. Rainier via the Emmons Glacier Route, the team had a great view and a great route.
This team has spent four days on the mountain learning and practicing various mountaineering skills such as crevasse rescue, anchor placement, ice climbing, fixed line travel, and self-rescue techniques. In the evenings they enjoyed lectures in camp included discussion on mountain weather, medicine for mountaineering, altitude wellness, and equipment.
Congratulations Team!
July 2, 2022
Posted by: Mike King, Dustin Wittmier, Lauren Macklin, Mike Bennett, Jackson Breen, Trevor Katz
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb with RMI Guides Mike King and Dustin Wittmier were on the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Above this heavy marine layer, team had clear skies, sunshine and mild winds. The climbing was great with a with a direct route and it took the team 5 hours to get to the top.
Congratulations team!
June 24, 2022
Posted by: Mike King, Abby Westling, Roland Scott, Sam Hoffman, Henry Coppolillo, Nicole De Petris
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Climb for Clean Air Team along with their RMI Guides Mike King and Abby Westling reached the summit of Mt. Rainier Early this morning. Mike King reported a good route, clear skies, but strong winds on the summit. The team spent a short time on top celebrating before starting their descent.
The funds raised by these climbers will support the American Lung Association’s mission of saving lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease.
Congratulations team for your success on and off the mountain!
Congratulations! You all did fantastic and you put in the work! So proud of your fundraising and climbing efforts.
Posted by: Brittany Groh on 6/24/2022 at 2:00 pm
YESSSSSS!!!!! Now, unlike myself, come down gracefully…;)
Posted by: John Pasikowski on 6/24/2022 at 11:09 am
June 17, 2022
Posted by: Mike King, Augi Fleer, Evan Sather, Nick Sinapius
Categories:
Elevation: 9,000'
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons led by RMI Guide Mike King has had a successful week of training and Denali Prep. While weather and route conditions kept the team on the lower slopes of Mt. Rainier, they were able to take advantage of the time to hone in on their mountaineering skills. The team trained on and discussed the following topics; avalanche forecasting, route finding, crevasse rescue, camp building, and various glacier travel techniques.
Congratulations Team!
June 9, 2022
Posted by: Seth Burns, Mike King, Josh Geiser, Grayson Swingle, Ellison Boord, Sam Hoffman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,080'
The Four Day Climb June 6 - 9 spent a windy night at Camp Muir last night. High winds and deteriorating weather kept the group at Camp Muir and unable to make a summit attempt. RMI Guides Seth Burns and Grayson Swingle reported consistant winds 30-40 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. The teams started their descent from Camp Muir around 8 am and will be returning to Rainier Basecamp later this morning.
June 1, 2022
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Mike King, Dominic Cifelli
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 19,348'
Tuesday, May 31, 2022 - 6:39 pm PT
This day won’t be forgotten soon by our team. It was longer than most, to begin with. We were drinking coffee at 10:30 PM and loading the buses at 11. The rough road took us plenty high, but then we were out and trudging uphill by headlight for hours. It was cold and a little breezy, but we were looking at stars… and Jupiter and Neptune. We stopped in a hut long enough to put on helmets and harnesses and then marched up to the snow, where we donned crampons and ropes. The walking got easier on the snow, except it was all getting to the kind of heights that are just plain hard to climb and breathe in. We transitioned onto a glacier, still in pitch darkness. By daybreak the team had reached above 18,000 ft. All of the magnificent volcanoes of Ecuador were lined up for our viewing pleasure. There were plenty of clouds at different levels but it was evident that we were going to get lucky. Things steepened for the final 800 ft to make the team dig down deep for energy. But by 8:40 the gang was on the summit of Cotopaxi at 19,347 ft. 13 of our 18 climbers made the top, along with 6 of our excellent Ecuadorian guiding staff. The team was back at the lodge by midday and packing for departure. By 2 PM we were in our buses and headed for the jets. Now -at 6:30 PM- we’re high over Cuba, pointed toward Miami and a celebration on the water. A big day indeed, much of our team shattered personal altitude records and found inner strength they hadn’t imagined.
Best Regards
May 30, 2022
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Mike King, Dominic Cifelli
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 12,300'
Today was nice and easy… a chance to sip coffee and stare at the big volcano out the window. It changed every few minutes, with clouds and light increasing, decreasing and doing just what clouds and light always do.
We took it easy to enhance our acclimatization and to prepare for tonight’s climb. There was a small and easy training and gear session out in the grass. But that was balanced by naps and meals.
We’re ready! Awake in just a few hours for our Alpine start.
May 30, 2022
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Mike King, Dominic Cifelli
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 18,818'
Sunday, May 29, 2022 - 6:33 pm PT
Today we climbed Iliniza Norte to it’s quite pointy summit at 18,818 ft. The entire group made the top in a mere two and a half hours from the hut. We began at 6:30 AM in partly cloudy conditions. It was a little cold and windy at first, on icy and slippery rock and dirt, but things improved. We got amazing views of Cotopaxi and Iliniza Sur, but the rugged rock scrambling required to get up Iliniza Norte kept us well focused on the task at hand. We hit the top at 9 AM and spent 30 minutes before beginning a careful descent. The team moved well, with excellent help from our local guide staff, and we were at the base of the mountain by midday.
We enjoyed a celebratory steak lunch at a restaurant on the way to Cotopaxi National Park and then made our way uphill and into the park to the Tambopoxi Lodge. Clouds cleared from the mountain at sunset and we had amazing views of our big objective of the next few days.
Best Regards,
May 29, 2022
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Mike King, Dominic Cifelli
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 15,500'
May 28 5:15pm PT
Checking in from Nuevos Hortizantes Refugio!
The entire team, 20 of us plus 5 local guides, are in place for a summit attempt on Iliniza Norte. This is an important part of our preparation for Cotopaxi. Today we climbed three hours and 2700 ft under cloudy skies to reach the hut. We'll set out at 6 AM to go toward the 16,818' summit. Hoping for clear skies and grand views. Perhaps we'll get some good exercise.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn and Team
May 28, 2022
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Mike King, Dominic Cifelli
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 15,696'
Our team made it down to Ecuador yesterday and this morning. By midday we were together in Quito and ready to stretch out after travel. We need exercise and altitude to get prepared for our climb of Cotopaxi in a few days. We took a bus ride through the bustling and vibrant city to the tram onto the slopes of Rucu Pichincha. The teleferico got us way up to 13,500 ft in a hurry. It was cloudy, so we only had glimpses of the bases of the great volcanoes, but conditions were just fine for strolling along the trails. We enjoyed seeing Caracaras (colorful hawks) and went close to 14,000 ft in altitude. By then the hour was getting late and we decided to call it good for a big first day in Ecuador. We had an easy walk down, a few coffees and donuts for the tram ride, and then a trip back to the hotel. We finished with a fine dinner and a plan for setting out for further altitude training in the morning.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn and Team
Woo hoo! Way to go Kelly and Janette! I’m super proud of you both. Can’t wait to hear the details and celebrate. Have fun sliding down! :)
Posted by: Jerry Verhoff on 7/3/2022 at 9:26 am
Congrats Kelly & Janette! So proud of you- woohoo!!! Love you both!
Posted by: Christina on 7/2/2022 at 5:05 pm
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