Entries By seth waterfall
The team has arrived safe to our third camp. We are in the beautiful Barranco Valley. Today we set high points for everyone on the trip. We spent the morning climbing up to the 'Lava Tower' at 15,000' and then descended the trail to camp. We spent just under seven hours hiking today so the group is all a little tired. We should all sleep well tonight!
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
Greetings from the Kili team!
We are up above 12,000' at the Shira Plateau. It's not very crowded on the mountain and our camp is set nicely to the side of the main sites. The trail was a little slick today but not too muddy and the team handled it well. The weather was warm again so the five and a half hours we spent hiking was pleasant. The food has really been excellent so far and everyone has been really surprised at how good the whole operation is here on Kilimanjaro. We are all relaxing now before dinner and then we'll get fueled up for a big day tomorrow.
That's all for now.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall & Team
On The Map
Hi there, this is Seth checking in from 10,000 feet on Kilimanjaro. Everyone is doing well after our first day on the trail.
We started early at the hotel, with breakfast at 6:30 this morning. I arrived a few minutes early but I was still one of the last ones to arrive. This is a motivated bunch of folks.
The drive to the trailhead was relatively uneventful but checking in at the national park entrance took a little longer than usual. The small delay was quickly forgotten after a few minutes of hiking. Everyone agreed that it felt great to stretch the legs after all the traveling.
The weather was great for the hike and we are hoping that carries over for the rest of our time on the mountain.
That's all for now.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
Glenn enjoy your adventure! Saw your wife today! Take care and we cant wait to hear all about the climb!
Your fans,
Frank and Margie
Posted by: margie grillo on 1/13/2015 at 7:03 pm
I’m glad to hear of a successful first day. Looking forward to following your grand adventure through the blog each day. Hike on!
Posted by: Shirley on 1/13/2015 at 5:34 pm
Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Jambo! Our first Kilimanjaro trip of 2015 has begun.
Everyone came in on the same flight late last night and most of us slept in a bit this morning. We all managed to get together before lunch for a team meeting followed by a gear check. In the afternoon we all packed our stuff to get ready for the mountain. We had some thunder in the afternoon as well but it never rained at the hotel. The temperature is nice and warm and that bodes well for a nice hike tomorrow.
I'll check in from our first camp tomorrow.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Chris
Looks beautiful. Have fun and take lots of pictures.
Looks like a nice set-up.
Mom
Posted by: Diane Sadler on 1/16/2015 at 1:07 pm
Happy everyone made it there safely. Looking forward to the daily blogs. Stay safe and enjoy the adventure. Take lots of pictures!
Posted by: Barb McAllister on 1/12/2015 at 5:42 pm
Posted by: Steve Gately, Billy Haas, Caleb Ladue, Pete Van Deventer, Seth Waterfall
Categories: Guide News Guide Grant
I remember when I first stepped into the mountains. I was 11 years old and I had never seen a mountain before, let alone thought of climbing one. My father, older brother, and I traveled to the White Mountains of New Hampshire to climb Mt. Washington (6,288’). I remember finally standing on top of the boulder pile that comprises the summit and feeling the accomplishment. "I did it, I'm on top!" It was windy—a wet cold cloud had moved in during the final hour of tedious boulder hoping to the top—and even at that age I remember quickly coming to the realization that I needed to turn around and walk back down! Mt. Washington is unique in that it has a paved road to the summit along with the world’s first mountain-climbing cog railway train. My brother insisted that we descend via the train. Luckily for me, my father obliged and shortly after the train started it's descent it began pouring. Although I was cozy in a train cabin watching the rain patter off the windows, I didn't soon forget my realization: the summit is only halfway.
You hear this quite often in the climbing world. The ability to efficiently descend is a crucial skill in regards to staying safe in the vertical world. Just as with standing on top of Mt. Rainier, Denali, or Mt. Everest, getting down off of a rock climb requires the same amount of focus and effort as climbing it, and in a lot of ways requires much more.
Days 5 and 6 of our Rock Guide Course were focused on becoming proficient in our technical descent systems. I was paired up with RMI guide Pete Van Deventer and former RMI guide and current AMGA instructor Jeff Ward, and we traveled over to the Bunny Face Wall of Smith Rocks. On the easy and moderate multi-pitch sport climbs this area had to offer we discussed and practiced rappelling and lowering our climbers: the pro's and con's of each, when and why to use one over the other and a myriad of ways to be more efficient and provide the best experience possible for our climbers. Over the course of the next few days, we climbed a number of different routes and really got the opportunity to apply these techniques in mock guiding scenarios.
When you practice these skills for the first time—or any skill for that matter—it's usually done so in the "best-case scenario.” You start out easy so you can concentrate on the learning. In rock climbing the "best-case scenario" is pretty straightforward and easy to mitigate. Over the next several days of climbing, we learned that the best scenario rarely occurs. As guides, we need to always be prepared for the difficult scenario, and we had the benefit of climbing into some terrain that posed plenty of guiding challenges. This allowed for lots of hands on learning and problem solving. As guides, it's important that we keep our skills sharp and this course was a great reminder that that process truly never ends. 16 years ago I learned that getting to the top is only half way and 16 years later I'm still being reminded of that fact!
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Steve Gately grew up in Boston, MA, and found his love for the mountains in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. In 2012, Steve combined his passion for teaching, climbing, and the mountains when he started guiding for RMI. Steve now guides year round for RMI, from Argentina to Alaska. Steve will be guiding not one, not two, but three trips to Aconcagua this winter!
Posted by: Billy Haas, Caleb Ladue, Pete Van Deventer, Seth Waterfall, Steve Gately
Categories: Guide News Guide Grant
Day three of the AMGA Rock Guide Course started a little less comfortably than we had hoped. Our course’s venue was located in the heart of central Oregon and early November often offers a mixed bag of weather. For the four of us who were camping near the park, this meant we awoke to find ourselves shivering and scraping a light layer of frost off of the inside of our tents.
As mountain guides, we often deal with inclement weather, but even our familiarity with discomfort didn’t stop all the grumbling that morning as we made coffee. Luckily for us, our instructor team was equally apprehensive about climbing in freezing temperatures and had called a quick audible. The day’s goals shifted to learning rescue techniques and skills in the ‘comfort’ of a covered cooking space.
After just finishing my first year with RMI, I was excited to see how our in-house rescue training would compare to the official AMGA equivalent. As the morning progressed, the instructor team grew equally excited as it became clear that much of the rescue curriculum was review, albeit, made a bit more difficult by the vertical orientation and the small working zones that the rock environment demands. Despite the cold temps and biting wind, we were able to fly through hauling techniques and knot passes. That morning’s training concretely highlighted for me how well RMI trains their guides. Because of our familiarity with many of the techniques, we were able to open the book and learn a couple new tricks and subtleties that may have otherwise been lost on a less experienced crew.
Once we had mastered new slack management tricks and practiced the variety of haul systems, we changed venues and tried to warm ourselves up with some rope ascending. Ascending is one of those skills that any basic crevasse rescue course will teach you, yet even our most experienced guides were able to walk away with a new trick or two. This again speaks to the level of experience and expertise that our instructors brought to the course.
The day’s training finished with a variety of skills that we will be tested on in our next course. A large part of the AMGA course curriculum is a series of examinations that aspiring guides go through to prove their proficiency. For many, these examinations can be stressful and difficult. However, this course has shown me that as long as I continue to work with the incredible fellow guides and instructors that make up the AMGA and RMI, this will be a process I am excited to continue on.
With my first year at RMI finished and my first AMGA course completed, I am more enthused than ever at the prospect of continuing my education. Without a doubt, my most profound take away from this course has been how much of a pleasure it is to work with professional mountain guides. In all my time in the mountains, I’ve never found a group who equals the enthusiasm and commitment to perfecting their craft that RMI guides have.
Finally, I want to echo Seth’s thanks to RMI for investing in their guides and allowing these courses to happen. I’m already looking forward to my next AMGA course and my next season with RMI!
_____
Caleb Ladue just finished his first season guiding with RMI. He grew up in Vermont, where he learned to love the mountains for all that they offered, and that passion has taken him throughout the US and to the Peruvian Andes. He'll be hanging his hat in Jackson Hole this winter, and will return to Mt. Rainier in the Spring, excited to share his passion with many more climbers!
Posted by: Steve Gately, Seth Waterfall, Pete Van Deventer, Billy Haas, Caleb Ladue
Categories: Guide News Guide Grant
In late October, RMI guides Pete Van Deventer, Caleb Ladue, Billy Haas, Steve Gately and myself took part in a Rock Guide Course conducted by the American Mountain Guides Association. The course was contracted and sponsored by the RMI Expeditions/First Ascent Guide Grant, and the instructors included former RMI Guide Jeff Ward, RMI and Colorado Mountain School Guide Mike Soucy and CMS Guide Mark Hammond.
As a guide staff, we felt very fortunate that both RMI and the AMGA instructors were able to plan the course during a timeframe that allowed us to work a full summer schedule on Rainier and still have a few weeks to prepare and train in the rock realm after a long season of alpine climbing in the Cascades. After completing my Ski Exam and becoming a Certified Ski Mountaineering Guide in April of this last year, I am personally very grateful to RMI for sponsoring the course, which allowed me to complete a second financially committing segment of my
continuing education and progression toward full IFMGA certification.
The 10-day course took place at Smith Rock State Park near Bend, OR. Over the years I have spent a fair bit of time climbing at Smith and I knew the venue would provide some unique challenges from both a climbing and guiding perspective. While Smith is known for it’s high quality sport climbing, on this course we would be dialing our focus more towards traditional climbing. Lucky for us, many of the ‘trad’ routes at Smith are notorious for having less than stellar rock quality, adding another complex element to the guiding objective.
The course kicked off on the last week of October. The weather looked to be good for the first couple of days, so we postponed the ground-work until a later date, and got right into the climbing. For me, the learning process brought me right back to my apprenticeship days at RMI, when I had to change the filter on my perspective. I quickly learned to transition my thinking from that of an advanced recreational climber to approaching a climbing objective from the viewpoint of a guide. It’s a subtle change, but it makes a huge difference in your mindset, risk management, and the decision making process.
The instructor team did a great job of leading by example. They started right off with a very professional and competent course opening discussion and several demonstrations on belaying and anchoring techniques, as well as various ways to increase both guide and client security. As outdoor professionals, we don’t sit still well or for very long, and so were very thankful when we even got to climb a few pitches at the end of the first day!
The fair weather held on into our second day, but as the forecast looked to be deteriorating later in the week, the instructors opted to keep us in the field climbing in the event that we got shut down by rain and wind over the following days. This strategy worked quite well, as we were able to practice more of the techniques and rope trickery we learned the previous day while spending time off the ground in the vertical orientation.
By nature, guides tend to be kinesthetic learners, and as a group we all commented on the fact that we were able to process and retain the information with higher success if we could get our hands on the rope.
After the first few days, the course continued to ramped up both physically and mentally. For me it just got better as it went on, and the final day was by far the best, culminating in a lead of the aesthetic final pitch of Zebra Zion.
I can’t say enough about the both the quality and caliber of the AMGA instructors, and I’d like to especially thank my co-workers for a great time and creating an environment that was positive and fun, all while staying engaged and eager to learn every day.
Finally, a big thank you RMI, for investing in your guides and organizing this opportunity to allow us to further our professional education!
_____
Seth Waterfall has been guiding trips for RMI for over a decade, and leads trips to destinations the world round. He lives in Enumclaw, WA, were he spends his spare time skiing, road biking, and climbing throughout the Cascades.
Today marks the end of the 2014 Mt. Rainier Season. The final RMI Four and Five Day Summit Climbs Teams reached the summit around 7:30 am led by RMI Guides JJ Justman and Seth Waterfall.
The teams reported great route conditions, a beautiful day with clear skies and a fun climb. After spending some time on top they began their descent to Camp Muir and will continue down to Paradise later today.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams! And a big THANK YOU to our amazing RMI Guides for a safe and successful 2014 season.
Nice achievement, congratulations.
I just wanted to know about current ebola situation and did U guys feel any special effects of that, in terms of special screenings etc. We are planning on doing this early next year. Any information is well appreciated and did the climbers take any special travel insurance and if yes, which one. Thanks in advance
Posted by: Rup on 11/20/2014 at 6:14 pm
Thanks for a great climb! All of the guides were amazing and we really lucked out with the weather.
Posted by: Matt on 10/2/2014 at 2:38 pm
Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Seth Waterfall and the Five Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer reached the summit of Mt. Rainier shortly after 7 a.m. The team spent about 90 minutes on the summit enjoying light winds and clear skies before beginning their descent to Camp Muir. Once back at Camp Muir, the team will rest and re-fuel before continuing their descent. We look forward to greeting them in Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulation's Climbers!
Congratulations. We’ll done. We are sitting in a bar in Moscow with Putin, he wishes he could be with you guys. Dad
Posted by: Donald Norris on 9/21/2014 at 11:48 am
I’m so proud of you all!! What an accomplishment! I can’t wait to hear all of the details.
Posted by: Rina Norris on 9/21/2014 at 11:07 am
Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Safari is over and that means the trip is coming to a close. We are all in a bus headed back to Arusha. We're planning one more shopping mission before heading back to the Dik Dik Hotel to get ready for our flights. Everyone is scheduled to fly out tonight.
It's been a great adventure that was capped off by a wonderful evening last night and a really nice morning game drive. We got extremely close to some elephants and got a great look at a female leopard. Everyone's still having a blast but the idea of heading home to our friends and family is taking hold. Hopefully our travels homeward are all as smooth as the rest of this trip has been.
I would like to give a big thanks on behalf of both my climbing teams this summer to the staff of the Dik Dik Hotel and tour operations and the RMI support team. The program here is excellent and everyone has really enjoyed their time in Africa.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Looks like earlier I posted this message on wrong climb.
Nice achievement, congratulations.
I just wanted to know about current ebola situation and did U guys feel any special effects of that, in terms of special screenings etc. We are planning on doing this early next year. Any information is well appreciated and did the climbers take any special travel insurance and if yes, which one. Thanks in advance
Posted by: R on 11/20/2014 at 6:20 pm
Go McCulloughs!! We’re all pulling for you. Terry, you’re missing all of the fun in San Antonio.
Posted by: Mark, Charlie, Danita, Debra, Martha, Rhonda, Jenn on 1/15/2015 at 6:11 am
Hope you are having fun! We can’t wait to see you soon! Ice cancelled school so did not travel….Lumu!!
Posted by: Angela Chapman on 1/14/2015 at 7:30 pm
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