Entries By mike walter
August 1, 2014
Posted by: Leon Davis, 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 this morning around 6:30 am. The Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise led by Leon Davis also made a successful climb to the summit today after several days of training on the mountain. Both teams began their descent around 7:30 after enjoying the sunrise and views from the crater for almost an hour.
The teams will return to Camp Muir for a short break and to re-pack their gear before continuing the descent to Paradise. We look forward to seeing both teams in Ashford later today.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
July 25, 2014
Posted by: Mike Walter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 9,127'
July 25, 2014 8:26 am PT
We took advantage of nice weather today and climbed to the top of the Fisher Chimneys. We will turn around here, climb back down thru the Chimneys and hike back to the trail head today...still many hours ahead of us.
July 25, 2014 10:35 am PT
We are back at our camp (lower bivy site below Fisher Chimneys) after successfully climbing up and down the Chimneys this morning. We're packing up camp right now and will be headed down hill shortly. We should be at the trail head in a few hours.
RMI Guide Mike Walter & Team
July 23, 2014
Posted by: Mike Walter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 5,700'
Hi Everyone,
Yesterday we hiked past Lake Ann and climbed 3rd and 4th class terrain to our bivy site at 5700'. The weather was generally cooperative, with light to moderate rain showers coming in and out.
The weather today is less accommodating; after a pleasantly dry breakfast we got back in our tents as heavy rain moved in. So, we're taking advantage of some down time to rest and hopefully we'll have a crack at climbing tomorrow.
This rain event is very unusual for July in the Cascades, and we're hopeful that we'll get back to the standard fare of sunshine.
RMI Guide Mike Walter & Team
July 20, 2014
Posted by: Mike Walter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 7,000'
The weather hasn't cooperated with us the past couple of days, and we're getting ready to pack up and descend through the Fisher Chimneys, and return to the trailhead. It's still raining here, and we have a lot of climbing ahead of us just to get back to the approach trail. We'll enjoy the climbing, but we're also looking forward to a warm shower!
We've done the bulk of the climbing on this route already, and only about 2000' stand between us and the summit. But there's no way we can move upwards in these wet conditions.
We'll touch base when we're back at the trailhead.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
July 19, 2014
Posted by: Mike Walter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 7,000'
After a great day of climbing yesterday, we had high hopes for a summit push today. Unfortunately, the mountain had other plans and the weather kept us in our tents all day as it has been consistently raining and windy. Things are seeming to ease up a bit this evening, and the forecast shows an improving trend. We'll see how the situation progresses, but right now we are hoping to go for the top early tomorrow morning.
Either way, we'll be climbing back down through the Fisher Chimneys tomorrow and headed back to the trailhead. Hopefully we'll get a chance to climb up before we climb back down.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
July 18, 2014
Posted by: Mike Walter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 7,000
We had a great day of climbing today on Mt. Shuksan. We started at the Lake Ann trail head (4700') and climbed up through the Fisher Chimneys, which consisted of a couple thousand feet of 3rd and 4th class rock climbing. The weather and climbing conditions were perfect for us, and we climbed at a leisurely pace, making it to high camp in a little over 6 hours. Our spectacular camp is at just below 7000', on a rock ridge nestled in between the Upper Curtis Glacier and the White Salmon Glacier. We've got views southwest to Mt. Baker and north into Canada; it is truly a stunning alpine setting.
We're hoping the weather cooperates with us (the forecast is calling for some rain) and let's us climb to the summit tomorrow. We'll be in touch tomorrow to let you know how it goes.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
And i will work on my stumbles & try nor to ‘strumble’ so much. :o)
Climb on!
Posted by: Mary on 7/19/2014 at 5:35 am
I strumbled across your blog post & found the climb intriging but ‘no photos?’
I need visuals. Safe travels.
Posted by: Mary on 7/19/2014 at 5:32 am
July 12, 2014
Posted by: Mike Walter, Solveig Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb Teams led by RMI Guides Mike Walter & Solveig Waterfall reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Just after 7 am the teams were approaching the top of Disappointment Cleaver on their descent.
They will return to Camp Muir for a short break before continuing to Paradise later today.
Congratulations to today's summit climb teams!
Congrats to the team!
Posted by: Suzanne on 7/12/2014 at 9:55 am
Our team is safely back in Quito, reacquainting ourselves to city life. We had a great trip here in Ecuador; we enjoyed the country and culture, the delicious cuisine, and the friendly Andean people. We also enjoyed a safe and successful climb of Cotopaxi.
Our trip is coming to a close now. We will get together this evening for a celebration dinner before we part ways and travel in different directions. It has been a pleasure to spend time in the mountains with this group of climbers.
Saludos…
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Friday, July 4, 2014 – 10:32 AM PT
We took advantage of great weather and climbing conditions yesterday to summit Cotopaxi (19,348')! We started climbing a little before 5 am, summitted around 1 pm, and were back at camp by 5 pm. Twelve hours of ascending and descending the glaciate slopes of Ecuador's most famous volcano, Cotopaxi. Although we were greeted by gusty winds as we approached the glacier, the sky was clear and the temperature was comfortable. By the time we strapped our crampons on, the wind had died down and the weather and climbing conditions could not have been better. The snow was perfect for cramponing, winds were about 10 mph all the way up to the summit, and the views of the surrounding peaks were stunning.
After a long day of climbing we settled back into the climbers' hut and enjoyed a warm meal before crawling into our sleeping bags for a full night's sleep. This morning, after a leisurely breakfast, we visited a small pre-Incan archaeological site within Cotopaxi National Park before heading south to the Hacienda La Cienega. Now we're all set to enjoy showers, some more food, and comfortable beds.
Nice work team, on safely climbing up and down a very impressive mountain. We'll rest here at La Cienega tonight and then head back into the capital, Quito, tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Wonderful job. So glad you made it to the summit - sounds like a wonderful trip. See you in Quito.
Posted by: Gayle on 7/4/2014 at 12:47 pm
RMI Guide Mike Walter and his team of climbers reached the summit of Cotopaxi on July 3rd around 11 am PT. They descended to camp and will head to La Cienega today.
Congratulations to the team!
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Awesome job bro! im so proud! I bet it was amazing! GO JARYD U
Posted by: Parys Michelle Unangst on 8/1/2014 at 8:50 pm
Congratulations Jaryd & team on this tremendous achievement!! So happy you had the opportunity for this wonderful adventure Rad! Grampy wants to know what peak is next? Can’t wait to see you to hear all about it and see pictures. Be safe and love you! G’Pa and G’Ma
Posted by: C & C Mills on 8/1/2014 at 7:26 pm
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