Entries By mike walter
August 13, 2015
Posted by: Mike Walter, Leon Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Mike Walter and Leon Davis stood on the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Mike reported great weather with no clouds and light winds. The teams began their descent at 7:45 am. We look forward to seeing everyone back in Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations Climbers!
August 9, 2015
Posted by: Mike Walter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Mike Walter reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. Mike reported broken clouds in the valley and clear skies above Paradise with light winds from the southwest. The team has started their descent and are now en route back to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's team!
July 28, 2015
Posted by: Tyler Reid, Mike Walter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Tyler Reid reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. While on the summit, the team enjoyed pretty nice weather including moderate winds from the North and warming temperatures. The team has started their descent back to Camp Muir where they will rest and repack before continuing down to Paradise. We look forward to seeing back at BaseCamp in Ashford later this afternoon.
On the Emmons Glacier route of Mt. Rainier, RMI Guide Mike Walter led the Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons to the summit as well. Mike and the team will spend their final night on the mountain at Camp Schurman before descending and returning to Ashford tomorrow.
Congratulations!
July 22, 2015
Posted by: Billy Nugent, Solveig Waterfall, Mike Walter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four and Five Day Summit climb teams led by RMI Guides Mike Walter and Solveig Waterfall reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning via the Disappointment Cleaver route. Mike reported great climbing, light winds and mild temperatures with a few clouds at around 6,500'.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent and his Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz team climbed via the Kautz route and successfully reached the summit of Mt. Rainier in time to watch the sunset. The team will be finishing up their training today and be back at RMI Basecamp later this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's teams!
Way to go Dad! We’re proud of you.
Jackson and Griffin
Posted by: Jackson and Griffin on 7/22/2015 at 8:48 pm
Go Lily go. We are proud of you.
Posted by: john krass on 7/22/2015 at 7:48 pm
July 17, 2015
Posted by: Mike Walter, Leon Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Mount Rainier Summit Climb, led by Mike Walter, and the Expedition Skills Seminar – Paradise, led by Leon Davis, crested the crater rim at 7:06 a.m. The teams reported a beautiful day with 10 mph winds. After spending over an hour on the summit, they began their descent.
Congratulations to today's teams!
So grateful to have had the chance to meet, climb, sweat, overcome and summit with these characters. Big shout out for my rope team…40/50 is the new 18.
Posted by: Jamie Moon on 7/18/2015 at 6:19 pm
Way to go Gabe! So proud of you and thrilled you were able to experience such an awesome adventure. Your hard work paid off. Thanking God, saints and angels for your safety.
Posted by: Judith Apple on 7/17/2015 at 4:01 pm
When I woke up to check the weather at 11 pm I could hear that the wind would not be an issue. I went outside to check the sky; it was perfectly clear and full of stars. I woke our team up immediately and reported the good news. We ate “breakfast” and packed our summit kits and were out the door by 12:15 am. The route on Cotopaxi is in great condition, with a well-worn trail in the snow for most of the climb.
Some clouds moved in and out, but the weather remained good for our summit push. Our team climbed well, and efficiently negotiated the steeper slopes near the summit. We topped out at 6:30 am, snapped a few photos and began our descent. By 9 am we were back at the climbing hut. It was an awesome climb to close out an incredible week of climbing Ecuador’s Volcanoes.
Now we’re in back in Quito and it’s time for a shower and a nap before we meet for our team’s final dinner together in Ecuador.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
After an enjoyable and well-deserved rest day at Hacienda Chilcabamba, we are headed up to the Jose Ribas Refugio on Cotopaxi today. We’ve had some good views of Cotopaxi from Chilcabamba, and the weather forecast looks favorable for the next few days. Our plan is to relax in the hut this afternoon, eat an early dinner, and hit the sleeping bags in preparation for an alpine start (likely around midnight) for our summit bid.
We’re excited for the climb, and hopefully our next dispatch will be with news of summit success!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Best of luck Dad! -Madison
Posted by: Madison Mason on 7/9/2015 at 9:52 am
Good luck today, Dad and Dennis!
Love,
Linds, Daniel, & Wyatt
Posted by: Lindsay on 7/9/2015 at 8:34 am
We had a very long and successful day in Ecuador yesterday. It actually started the night before, with an eleven o’clock wake up call for an alpine start on our summit bid of Cayambe. The weather had improved dramatically, with a starry sky, no wind, and warm temperatures. We set out from the climbers’ hut a bit after midnight and the team topped out on the summit after nearly eight hours of climbing. Challenging climbing conditions were encountered, including steep slopes and large neve penitentes.
Everyone descended safely to the climbers’ hut and soon we were bumping down the four-wheel drive road back to town. Our drive south to our current hacienda, Chilcabamba, was delayed as roads were closed for hours for the entrance of the Pope into Quito. The Pope’s visit to Ecuador is obviously an important event, and heightened security is expected. Unfortunately for us, the timing meant we could not travel from the north of Quito to the south of Quito for hours. Our group of weary climbers finally arrived at our hacienda 22 hours after waking up to go climbing. A hot shower was about all we could muster up before hitting the sack.
After a great (but long) day yesterday, now we’re enjoying a peaceful rest day at the hacienda. Tomorrow we’re off to the Cotopaxi climbers’ hut for another climbing adventure. We’ll be in touch…
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Impressive Chuck! Tell the Pope hello!
Posted by: Jeremy Bates on 7/7/2015 at 1:54 pm
Proud of you, Chuck H.!
Posted by: Jeremy Morton on 7/7/2015 at 1:24 pm
After a relaxing evening at Casa Sol, this morning finds us in the indigenous center of Otavalo. We're spending a few hours strolling the streets and exploring the bustling Saturday market. Saturdays here are a sensory overload of sights, smells, and sounds, as the market is loaded with handmade crafts, jewelry, woven goods, art, and more. Delicious aromas from all of the restaurants and food vendors fill the air.
After lunch we'll head up to the Cayambe Climbers' Hut, where we'll spend the next two nights. It will be our first stint at sleeping up high, above 15,000'.
The plan is to go out to the toe of the glacier tomorrow to review climbing techniques, such as cramponing and self arrest with the ice axe. We'll retire early tomorrow night in preparation for our alpine start and summit attempt of Cayambe, Ecuador's third highest mountain at nearly 19,000'.
Thanks for following our adventures. We'll touch base again tomorrow from up at the hut.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
We packed our bags and left the hustle and bustle of Quito behind this morning, driving north towards the town of Otavalo for our next acclimatization climb. Along the way we had great views of Cotopaxi and Cayambe, the second and third highest peaks in Ecuador, respectively, and our major climbing objectives on this trip.
As for our objective for today, we climbed the ancient volcano Fuya Fuya. The weather couldn't have been nicer as we summited the 14,000' peak in t-shirts. On top we had great views of Cayambe, Cotopaxi, and even the top of the ever elusive Antisana, the fourth highest peak in Ecuador.
Our team did great on the climb today, negotiating steep terrain and a little rock scramble. Now we're at our hacienda, Casa Sol, for the night where a shower, dinner, and a cerveza are on our to do list. After a good night's rest tonight we'll head to the famous Otavalo Market in the morning and then up to the climbers hut in the afternoon.
I'll check in again mañana.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Previous Page
Next Page
What an accomplishment! Congratulations!!!
Posted by: Paula N Walters on 8/9/2015 at 11:44 am
View All Comments