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Posted by: Adam Knoff, Ben Ammon, Camille Leininger, Taylor Bickford, Leif Bergstrom, Seth Burns
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guides Adam Knoff and Ben Ammon led their Four Day Climb teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier today. The weather is clear and cold and the climb took approximately 6 hours from Camp Muir to the crater rim. After enjoying some time in the crater and getting all the photos, the team will return to Camp Muir to pack up and then continue their descent to Paradise later today. They will end their adventure with a celebration at Rainier BaseCamp.
Congratulations to today's climbing teams!
Be safe, climb strong and get r dun!! Drinks are on me next time you’re in Seatle!!
Posted by: Craig Stevens on 5/25/2012 at 8:09 pm
Friday, February 16, 2023 | 5:38 PT
This morning everyone reported having slept soundly. As it turns out, even climbing half of Antisana is still hard. We're recovering and now looking forward to Chimborazo, which has been giving us quite the show this evening. We're staying at the Chimborazo Lodge, an historic mountain lodge run by Marco Cruz, a climbing legend in Ecuador. It sits at about 13000' right at the base of the southwest flank of the mountain. There is no cell reception and no wifi, giving us a chance to unplug and hone our focus towards the task at hand, climbing another massive volcano. With any luck and a lot of trying hard we may have a chance to visit a truly majestic summit. Stay tuned!
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Ecuador Seminar February 6, 2024
All the Best Dustin and Team!!! Climb Strong!! Climb High!!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 2/17/2024 at 2:00 pm
Posted by: Adam Knoff
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche
Elevation: 13,950'
Today was officially a rest day. Our team had different definitions of what that means but all in all we are going to bed content.
If you haven’t already guessed we had breakfast at 7:30 am, drank tea and coffee until 9 then prepared to go on a short walk. Being a lazy day, three out of the five departed by 10:15 while two others stayed back to enjoy some down time in the lodge. The weather started cloudy but improved by late morning offering new views of Makalu, the world’s fifth highest mountain and the north side of Ama Dablam which we have been viewing from its more popular side on the west.
Two members of the team hiked to a small summit at 16,600' for some extra acclimatizing while the others went back to the lodge for lunch.
Overall it was a pleasant day here in Pheriche which should set us up for our next stretch to Lobuche tomorrow.
We hope all is well back home.
--RMI Guide Adam Knoff
Following from Wisconsin.
Posted by: Paul Knoff on 3/28/2022 at 7:39 pm
Weather looks wonderful!! Enjoy your updates very much! Best as you walk on!!
Posted by: Jane on 3/28/2022 at 12:29 pm
Posted by: Matias Francis, Seth Burns, Henry Coppolillo, Roland Scott
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,080'
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir September 16 - 21 led by RMI Guides Matias Francis and Seth Burns have wrapped up an excellent week of training at Camp Muir. The team enjoyed stellar weather and were able to complete their seminar training, ice climbing up to AI6+, alpine bouldering and candy bar snow protection tests (you will have to ask them) and more. The team will descend from Camp Muir today and return to Rainier BaseCamp for a final celebration. Nice work everyone!
Photo: Matias Francis
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos checks in from high camp on Alpamayo.
We just got word that you successfully summited! Way to go team. We are in awe of this magical experience. Can’t wait to celebrate over Face-time with you. Now focus on getting down safely.
Posted by: Rhea Campbell & Alex Lickerman on 7/24/2014 at 10:05 am
Posted by: Adam Knoff, Hannah Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche
Elevation: 16,950'
This morning came as both a blessing and a curse. Most of our previous evenings have transitioned nicely from our enjoyable group dinner into bed time which we naturally gravitate towards around 8:30 or 9. On paper this trip offers yak loads of down time and should, if played right, give each of us a solid 9 hours of shuteye.
But we all know plans, as perfect as they may seem, play out far differently than the spreadsheet says they should. Just ask Vladimir Putin about that.
But thankfully none of us are crazy, demented humans and simply get a bit sidetracked with issues such as stomach funkiness, altitude weirdness and in the case of last night, a pack barking dogs. There were only four of them, I know because I chased them around the village of Lobuche at 2 am with rocks and a ski pole, but nothing would make them stop. We were sleeping at an altitude of 16,000 feet so it wasn’t the easiest anyway but never had I heard nonstop dog shouting for 8 hours straight. So this morning was a blessing because they finally shut up when the sun hit but a curse because I was tired and cold and just wanted to stay in bed. But we had miles to cover!
After our standard breakfast, complete with dog stories, admissions of no sleep and an eagerness to get on the trail, we slung our packs and followed our Sherpa leader Dawa. The path started easy but soon steepened and became a lot more rugged when we began to cross a small glacier. Our objective was the last village of Gorak Shep, before getting to Everest Base Camp tomorrow. A steady three hour stroll landed us on target with views of Nuptse and Everest dominating the views up ahead. The day was perfect and we knew our hike up a ridge line to a small summit called Kala Patar was going to be stunning.
We powered down some lunch and headed out. The trail head was conveniently located two minutes from our lodge so before we could say yak cheese we were head up. The summit sits at 18,500 feet which we achieved an hour and a half after leaving. The vistas were as good as advertised and no matter how man times you see it, one can’t help but to be blown away by the size and power of the Everest cirque. We could also see Base Camp far below and got excited to go there tomorrow.
By 3 the clouds began to move up the valley, like they do every day at that time so it motivated us to descend and go get some tea.
Now we are resting before dinner and our schedule horizontal time. This isn’t planned, it’s a product of challenging days and a demanding environment. Plus it keeps us healthy.
Stay tuned for our journey to EBC tomorrow.
Adam, All the best to you and your group. Amazing pics!
Posted by: Uncle Chris on 3/31/2022 at 11:01 am
Wishing a peaceful night and good weather. Looking fantastic from your reports! Thank you each day for the update!
Posted by: Jane on 3/30/2022 at 10:33 am
Posted by: Jake Beren
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Guide News Everest
Posted by: Adam Knoff
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche
Elevation: 12,325'
Today was a special day. If you listen to enough Tony Robbins you will learn that every day is a special day but for us, me in particular, this day was one I have looked forward to for fourteen years.
Before we get to why that is, I will say the team is doing great going from point A to point B and enjoying every bit this place has to offer along the way.
Today we did our standard packing, breakfast and launch with the starting point being Namche Bazaar and the ending point being Phortse village. The trail was a bit more difficult today with many ups and downs but in the end, we only gained 1000 feet. Our weather was cloudy so no mind-blowing views but the temps were good for walking, and we could see a long way up the valley so everyone was still in awe of the complete magic of this place. After a solid seven-mile jaunt, we landed at the Phortse Guest House which is owned by an old friend of mine and the reason this day is meant a lot.
18 years ago, Conrad Anker asked me to be an instructor for a school in Nepal he had planned in the Khumbu region of Nepal during the month of January. Back then I knew very little about this place but couldn’t pass up an opportunity to join Conrad Anker, John Krakuer and three other world class climbers to help create a vocational school at the base of Mt. Everest teaching local Sherpa and Nepali climbers more formal skills helping them peruse a career in expedition work.
Three years later I became the program director of that school but unfortunately passed the torch on when my son was born in 2009. It has been 14 years since my last visit which seems like an eternity. But reconnecting with old friends, seeming the new KCC building and sitting around a table eating bahl bot and drinking tea with all the Sherpas makes for an emotional reunion. I could not have asked for a better day.
Tomorrow we unfortunately leave Phortse and walk a solid 5 hours to Pheriche, our next village.
Thanks for following.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff & Team
I am so glad you are all having such a good time. Wish I could be with you!
Posted by: Catherine Symonds on 3/26/2022 at 1:46 pm
So very happy for a wonderful reunion!! Memories remaking !!
Posted by: Jane on 3/26/2022 at 12:19 pm
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Walter Hailes, Henry Coppolillo, Daniel May, David Shuer, Keeley Rideout
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,200'
Today's Mt. Rainier Summit Climb teams, led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Walter Hailes, turned due to hazardous route conditions. The teams ascended to Ingraham Flats to watch the sunrise before descending back to Camp Muir where they had breakfast. They left Camp Muir around 9:45 a.m. and are working their way back to Paradise.
Great job! Congrats!
Posted by: Ben Olson on 5/20/2021 at 2:43 pm
Congrats team! I’m coming August 20th…..training hard and can’t wait!
Posted by: Erick Mida on 5/16/2021 at 6:48 am
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