The Four Day Summit Climb June 1 - 4, 2018 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. RMI Guides Mike Haugen and Zeb Blais led the teams and reported high winds at Camp Muir overnight that decreased enough for them to make their attempt. They reported good weather with increasing winds as they reached the upper mountain. The teams will return to Camp Muir and then continue down to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!
RMI Guides Geoff Schellens and Zeb Blais called down this morning at 7:30 am from the summit of Mt. Rainier. They reported 10 - 15 mph winds, cold conditions, and high team morale. Their plan is to spend about 30 minutes on the summit before beginning their descent back to Camp Muir.
The Four Day Summit Climb June 30 - 3 July reached the summit of Mt. Rainier under clear skies and nice temperatures led by RMI Guide Zeb Blais. The team was beginning their decent from the crater rim at 7 am. They will return to Camp Muir and then continue to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons team, led by Zeb Blais, radioed from Columbia Crest on the summit of Mt. Rainier. They are starting their descent and will stay at Camp Schurman tonight. Tomorrow morning the team will pack up and head back to the White River Campground. We look forward to congratulating them back at Rainier Basecamp tomorrow afternoon.
Our team got shut down by weather on our summit push, but that didn't stop us from having an amazing trip. The climbing and views on our way to high camp below the Upper Curtis glacier were worth the hard push getting there.
The Fisher Chimneys is an incredible route- alpine rock, a pitch of easy ice climbing, and outstanding views of Mount Baker and the Curtis glacier make it a classic!
We got out last night and the team celebrated a great, safe and fun trip! Until next year Washington.
RMI Guide Zeb Blais and Team
Our team has made it to high camp after a great day of climbing. We're perched just below the Upper Curtis Glacier with outstanding views of Mt. Baker and the higher reaches of our climbing route, the Fisher Chimneys.
We're hoping the fair weather lasts long enough to give is a shot at the summit. Despite the gloomy forecast, the team is upbeat and fired up from an exciting day making our way through the Chimneys and up Winney's Slide. The Slide is nearly a full pitch of ice at this point and made for a bit of fun right before camp.
We'll check in soon. Wish us luck with the weather!
RMI Guides Zeb Blais, Steve Gately and team
This is Zeb Blais and team checking in from Mount Baker. We had a pretty tough day today. We started out looking at the North Ridge Route. Due to route difficulties and an impending poor weather forecast, we decided to bail on climbing that route. We shifted our focus to the Coleman-Deming and after a long day of climbing, we got back to camp just a few minutes ago. It was a great climb and we only got rained on for a few minutes. We are back in our tents now waiting out some weather. Our plan is to pack up and head out tomorrow morning. That's all for now.
RMI Guide Zeb Blais
This is Zeb Blais and team checking in from our first camp on Mount Baker. We're gearing up to do a little training this afternoon, and then tuck in early to get to bed. We will make our summit push on the North Ridge tomorrow. We're crossing our fingers, hoping that the weather is going to hold out for us. If not, we have some great fall back plans, but until then we're doing some training and resting up.
RMI Guide Zeb Blais
RMI Guide Zeb Blais calls in from Hogsback Camp, Mt. Baker.
We packed up Pisco Base Camp this morning and headed back to the trail head. Everyone is ready for some solid rest and is welcoming the return to civilization, but it's been a fun couple weeks of climbing. The views we've seen and the adventures we've shared are going to stick with the team for a while.
Tonight we celebrate a successful trip and pack our bags one last time. We'll be heading out to catch planes back home tomorrow evening.
Thanks for following along!
RMI Guide Zeb Blais
We are safely back at base camp after our entire team made the summit of our final peak of the trip, Pisco Oeste. Pisco was the third summit of the trip and the team is feeling accomplished with everyone making summits on Ishinca and Urus as well. It was a great effort for the team and the camaraderie put forth to make it a successful trip for everyone was incredible.
While we're all smiles now, this morning was a different story. We woke to thick clouds and light snow falling on our 16,000' high camp. We shrugged it off and began our breakfast routine. By the time we were packed and ready to climb the snow had abated and the clouds showed signs if parting. An hour into the climb and we were staring at beautiful stars and moonlit mountain faces.
For a couple hours we had nothing but blue skies. Then as we neared the top, winds picked up and clouds began to build on the summit. We climbed on bundled up in puffy jackets. On top we were in and out of clouds, the weather parting for summit photos and glimpses of the famous peaks of the Cordillera Blanca, Alpamayo and Artesonraju.
It was an absolutely phenomenal climb and the way down was fast and smooth.
We're grateful for the help of our local guide William, our porters and our astonishing cook Helario, who makes masterpieces out of anything. It's been a great ride and I can't wait for my next opportunity to come back to the 'Blanca!
Cheers!
RMI Guide Zeb Blais
Posted by: Richard Bergey/Bonnie Bergey on 8/18/2016 at 5:38 pm
So glad the clouds parted for the team, blessed! The food sounds fantastic, lucky you are working off the calories. Safe journey back home, can’t wait to hear the stories.
Yes!!!!! Fantastic!
Posted by: Lisa Koch on 6/4/2018 at 8:24 pm
Great job ty. We are proud of you and the team. You accomplished a great fear
Posted by: Kathie and joel gardella on 6/4/2018 at 5:16 pm
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