June 29- July 8th 10-day Course Checks In

After a thorough gear check and introductions at the Seattle office yesterday, the 10-day group packed up the van and headed to the North Cascades. They spent the afternoon hiking into camp in Boston Basin, a beautiful location for learning and practicing mountaineering skills. The guides called in this morning and said the weather is beautiful and the group is in good spirits. They are starting their snow school training today and are enjoying the views.

Rainier 3-day June 28-30

7 climbers and 4 guides on the summit at 5am!!! We are going to catch the sunrise from the summit!

8-day Emmons Course checks In

All is well with the 8-day Emmons course. The group is motivated and psyched to learn new skills, making for a fun learning environment for all. The weather looks good for their upcoming summit attempt in another day or so, and in the meantime the group will continue learning and practicing to get ready for their push for the summit. Tomorrow two additional guides will hike up to Camp Schurman and will be there for the summit attempt.

Rainier 3-day June 28-30

We are at Camp Muir getting ready to leave for high camp. The Climbers are doing Snow School learning new skills to help them be ready for the climb tonight. We had a rain and thunderstorm last night which turned around all the groups who tried to summit last night. Windy now with mostly clear skies. Hopefully the nighttime will calm the wind a little. 

6/26 3-Day Muir Climb

Our 3-Day Muir climb just checked in a from Camp Muir.   They are finishing up snow school and are getting ready to rope up and head up to High Camp.  It's a warm day but a breeze is picking up to cool things off a little bit.  As you can see, it's another gorgeous day up on the mountain.  Summer has sprung!

Baker summit climb: to the top!

The crew summited this morning at 7:00, after an unseasonably warm ascent. We were treated to a spectacular sunrise on the way and tremendous views of the Puget Sound, Mount Olympus, the North Cascades and Canada from the summit. The team was safely back in camp at 9:45am for some ramen and a short nap. Looking forward to a hearty meal and refreshments in town this afternoon. 

Sunrise on Sherman Crater

The shadow of the mountain in the distance

Happy to be on top!

Selfie time ;-)

Photos: Devin Bishop 

6/25 8-Day Mountaineering Course

Our 8-Day Mountaineering Course just checked in from the Winthrop Glacier on Mount Rainier.  It's a warm day on the mountain and everyone is doing well!  They are working on skills that will help them reach the summit later in the week. Good luck team!

Baker summit climb: day two

Another warm and leisurely day, we covered walking skills, self-arrest and rope travel. Everyone is resting now for an early morning summit bid. Good night!

Another spectacular view from high camp 

Nik and crew practicing cramponing on snow

 We even found running water!

Photos: Devin Bishop 

Baker summit climb: day one

A warm but beautiful day - we took a leisurely pace so not to overheat. The views were spectacular and everyone made a strong push to camp at 6,500 ft. Dinner was Nik's special Bangers & Mash (secret ingredient was two sticks of butter). We watched a spectacular sunset over Puget Sound before bed.  

Mount Baker and the railroad grade 

Soaking it all in at Sandy Camp

Dinner view  

Photos: Devin Bishop 

6/23 Kautz Climb Summits!

Our 6/23 Kautz team just checked in from their camp at 10,400' on the route.  They summited this morning at 9:30AM in gorgeous conditions.  They enjoyed three pitches of ice and mixed climbing. The whole team is stoked!   Now they are kicking back and enjoying a victory dinner at camp,   They deserve it.   Congratulations team!

6/25 8-Day Departs for Rainier

After a successful gear check, our 8-Day Mountaineering Course left Seattle for Rainier.  Everyone is super excited to learn skills and hopefully summit via the Emmons. Good luck team!

Rainier 3-day June 24-26

We had great cloud cover to keep us cool on the hike up to Camp Muir yesterday. Everyone made it in good time. Today, we woke up to sunny skies and beautiful views. Everyone is having breakfast now. Then we will do snow school and then take off for high camp around noon. Yahoo!

6/23 Kautz Climb

Our 6/22 Kautz team just checked in from about 11,000ft on the route.   Everyone is doing great!

June 21 Emmons Summits!

The team had a great day and successfully summitted Mt. Rainier! They are all now safely back down at Camp Schurman, cooking dinner and enjoying the gorgeous views. They will spend the night at Schurman and in the morning they will pack up and start their descent and return to Seattle. Congrats!

6/22 3DM

Five climbers from the 'Big Climb for Little Hope'team made it to Camp Muir yesterday in cloudy, chilly conditions.  After a grand breakfast feast featuring "the best cooked eggs so far this season," the team is practicing snow travel skills before heading up to high camp.

High camp meal promises to be delicious and crunchy!  Thanks to 'stu'for not crushing the Fritos.

June 21 Emmons climb- All is well

The June 21 Emmons climb checked in this afternoon. The group all made it up to Camp Schurman today. Everyone is doing well, the weather looks good and they can see the route on the upper mountain, which is cool. They are looking forward to resting in camp for the rest of the evening before their summit attempt in the early hours tomorrow.

6/20 3-day Muir

After a cloudy start to the morning, the sun is back out and the team is headed up to high camp!

Going over rope team travel

Setting off across the Cowlitz Glacier

6/18 3-Day Mount Rainier Climb Summits!

The crew summited Rainier early this morning.  They are currently packing up high camp and preparing to make the long walk back down to Paradise.   Congratulations team!

8 Day Rainier: Day 8

Woke up early to a dusting of snow at Camp Schurman this morning. After a speedy glissade down the Inter Glacier, the crew powered their way to White River Campground in style. Some excellent grub and refreshment at the Rainier Bar & Grill in Enumclaw set us right on our drive back to Seattle.

Below the Inter Glacier

Beautiful scenery on the trail to White River Campground 

Corey vs. the Western Bacon Burger

Good times!

Photos: Devin Bishop 

8 Day Rainier: Summited!

A successful summit bid was made this morning at 8:30am. Everyone made a full-on effort and returned to Camp Schurman in fine form around 12:45pm. Resting is in progress. Looking forward to  a casual hike out tomorrow and a celebratory lunch. 

Photos: Devin Bishop 

10-day team pic from Rainier

10-day team Kautz success!

8 Day Rainier: Day 6

Navigated the Winthrop glacier this morning and made it to high camp at Camp Schurman at noon. Everyone is in good shape. Plan is to relax through the afternoon and get plenty of rest for an early morning summit bid. 

Winthrop wanderings

Little Tahoma from Schurman 

Photos: Devin Bishop

6/16 3-Day Mount Rainier Climb

Our 6/16 3-Day Mount Rainier climb just checked in from Camp Muir.  They are enjoying an amazing breakfast of blueberry pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs.  Did I mention the french press coffee?!  They fueling up for a snow school training session in preparation for a summit attempt tomorrow.   Good luck team!

8 Day Rainier: Day Five

Crevasse rescue day arrived! Everyone had a chance to hold a crevasse fall, rescue a climber and be the victim in the "hole". Self rescue was also performed using the Prussiking technique. 

Photos: Devin Bishop

100% Summit Success for 10-day team!

Big congratulations to all the team members on the June 8-17th 10-day course for summitting Mt. Rainier via the technical Kautz glacier route! The group got an early start and had fair weather the whole day, making for a great day to climb. Everyone is now safely back down at high camp and getting some much deserved rest. They will pack up in the morning and descend back to Paradise, and then head back to Seattle after a celebratory meal. Great job!

Three day Muir climb 6-14-15

Great climb! Summited at sunrise on a beautiful bluebird day. Rocketed up from high camp in 4 1/2 hours! Now it's time to head into Ashford for some well deserved burgers. 

Rainier 8 Day Course: Day four

More good weather! Made for a productive day of building snow anchors and learning crevasse rescue techniques. Tomorrow we plan to put our new skills to the test in a real crevasse. 

Rescue practice 

Photo: Devin Bishop

10-day Team Poised for a Summit Attempt in the a.m.

The 10-day course guides called to check in from high camp at about 11,000' on the Kautz route. The weather is looking good for a summit attempt tomorrow. The team plans on an alpine start to give themselves the most time to get on top successfully. Folks are moving well and excited to go for the top.

June 14th 3-day Climb- all is well

The group is at Camp Muir working on self-arrest training and glacier travel skills before roping up and moving up to our high camp at Ingraham Flats. The weather looks conducive for a early morning start for the summit attempt tomorrow. Everyone is doing well and looking forward to the day ahead. Stay tuned!

8 Day Rainier Course: Day 3

Excellent day of skills today. Learning how to walk on snow and self arrest. Camp on the Winthrop is lush. Spent the afternoon exploring crazy crevasses outside camp. Everyone is doing well and good humor abounds. Looking forward to snow anchor and crevasse rescue skills tomorrow. Ciao!

Winthrop camp

Snow school 

Crevasse hunting

Rope travel

Photos: Devin Bishop

6/12 8-Day Rainier Mountaineering Course: Enjoys the Sunshine

Our 8-Day Mountaineering Course just checked in from the top of St. Elmo's Pass on Rainier.  They are thoroughly enjoying the beautiful weather.   The guides running the course are impressed about how strong the team is.   The heaviest packs of any of our Cascades climbs or mountaineering schools are on this course.  8 Days of food can pack a punch!   Despite the large loads, everyone is feeling great and moving fast.  Way to go team!

6/8 10 Mountaineering Course Regroups in Seattle

Our 10-Day Mountaineering Course just got back from a great week of working on skills and flying kites on the summit of Mount Baker.

Spirits are soaring (like kites) and everybody is really excited to head off to the Kautz tomorrow. 

June 10th Three Day Muir

Roughing it with bacon, eggs, and pancakes for breakfast. Life is good at Camp Muir.

6/8 10-Day Mountaineering Course Works on Snow Skills

The 10-Day Mountaineering course just checked in from Sandy Camp on Baker.   The team is enjoying the beautiful weather and everybody is doing great.  Today the team worked on snow skills and more crevasse rescue work.  Tomorrow they plan to practice ice climbing and make their way down to camp at the trailhead to facilitate a speedy return to Seattle to shower, regroup, and get ready to climb the Kautz on Rainier.

6/8 Emmons: 100% Success Rate!

Our first Emmons climb of the season kicked off on June 8th.  The team enjoyed beautiful weather, a nice direct route, and absolutely stunning views of the Cascades.   We're proud to report that everyone on the team made it to the summit of Rainier yesterday morning.   Yahoo!  Here's the stellar view from Glacier Basin shot by AAI Guide, Brian Muller.

6/8 10-Day Mountaineering Course Summits Baker!

Our 10-Day Mountaineering Course just checked in from Sandy Camp on Baker!   They were proud to report that they just summited Mount Baker.  Despite the warm sunny weather, they had a cold snap overnight which made for excellent conditions.   On the way back from the summit, they worked on crevasse rescue for a bit.  Everyone is great spirits and a little tired after their long day. They intend to stay at Sandy Camp and work on skills until they come back to Seattle on Saturday to regroup and head off to climb the Kautz on Rainier.

Muir Climb June 5: high camp

Everyone is fed and tucked away. Going for the summit early this morning!

Photo: Devin Bishop 

Muir Climb June 4

Everyone made a good effort to Muir today. Weather was splitter!

Views were stellar! Burritos were awesome! In bed resting up for tomorrow's adventures. 

Hiking to Muir today

Photo: Devin Bishop

5/31 6-Day Mountaineering Course

Our 6-Day Mountaineering Course just checked in from a very hot and sunny Mount Baker.  They are on their way back from a summit attempt.  Unfortunately, the team had to turn around halfway up the headwall.   However, they had a great time and learned a lot!

June 2ed Mt Rainier climb summits with all team members

Guide Brent Langlinais here, pleased to report that our team successfully climbed the Disappontment Cleaver route to the tippy top of Mt Rainier and all team members were in the summit crater shortly after sunrise. The view today was incredible and we could see all the way south to Mt. Jefferson in central Oregon, and north to Mt. Baker just a few miles from the Canadian border. We are back down to Camp Muir now and beginning the walk down trailhead shortly. 

Cheers!

Brent 

10-Day North Cascades Training Course Summits Rainier via Kautz

Our 10-Day North Cascades Training Course just called in from the summit of Mount Rainier.   The conditions were great!  They got in three pitches of ice and now they are basking in the sunshine on the summit.  Congratulations team!

3-Day Muir Climb -- Moving up to High Camp

W Yesterday mostly sunny skies and cooling winds allowed our entire team to ascend successfully to Camp Muir in pleasant climbing weather. 

Our forecasted storm system moved in over night, arriving with some winds, thunder, lightning, and some snow above 10,000'. 

Currently, our team is all in good spirits and practicing snow school this morning while we are planning to move up to High Camp at Ingraham Flats shortly. 

Weather for our summit day will dictate what our team does from there, but we are setting ourselves up to be in position in case the snow and inclement weather allows a good climbing window.

-Jayson