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Entries from Denali


Denali Expedition: Cifelli & Team Ascend to 11,000ft Camp

Sunday, June 18, 2023 - 9:54 pm PT

After an early wake up of 0330 and a quick breakfast the team began the ascent toward 11,000' Camp. The brisk morning air called for thick gloves and layers that were quickly shed as the sun broke over the peak, illuminating the lower Kahiltna Glacier. The suns rays consistently beat down on the team and in combination with the still air caused an almost equatorial heat, despite the ambient air temperature being near freezing. The vastness of the Kahiltna cannot be understated. While sitting on the top of Ski Hill we speculated we could see nearly 15 miles to where the glacier took a turn out of view. Outside of the vibrant, tropical colors worn by the climbers, the only other colors were the icy blue of the sky, white snow, and black rocks jutting out from cliff sides. Despite the lack of other visual stimuli the shear beauty of this area strikes the team with awe every morning when they rise from their tents.

RMI Climber Travis Sturckow

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Beautiful shot!  Good luck Joey and team!

Posted by: Jenni on 6/20/2023 at 6:16 am

this is incredible. WOW. it’s as though you all are on the threshold between worlds! you all are AMAZING! and props to whoever is taking these epic photos.

sending good vibes to all and a big hug to Saurabh!

eagerly awaiting the next expedition update :)
-Lucy

Posted by: Lucy on 6/19/2023 at 10:32 pm


Denali Expedition: Bond & Team Carry Above the Fixed Lines

Sunday, June 18, 2023 - 7:32 pm PT

The entire crew wishes everyone a happy Father’s Day! It’s probably not how I envisioned spending my first Father’s Day as a dad, but I can think of worst places to be than 14 camp. I’m sure over the years I’ve given my dad many grey hairs and stressful nights during my adventures in the mountains. I’m sure my boy will do the same if he chooses to spend time in mountains. I know everyone up here appreciates the sacrifices our loved ones at home have made so we can be up here on Denali.

After avoiding the logjam yesterday up the fixed lines, we had the route up to the buttress to ourselves and cruised up to the top of the fixed lines to stretch the legs and get to a higher altitude. After getting back to camp we listened music while having a block party (aka building walls around our camp) in anticipation of significant snow and wind in the coming days. We probably have the best camp at 14! Our team is really firing on all cylinders and has become a family. There’s already talk about a reunion in the coming years.

I can’t thank Bleys, Mike, Steve and Kerry for all their efforts in weather forecasting and the conversations I’ve had with them. It’s admittedly a weird position to be in without internet and see for myself what the weather models are saying. So I can’t thank you enough for keeping us safe. We were holding out hope that our friends launching for the summit today would get it in but high winds and a cloud cap thwarted their efforts. It’s been a challenging season with stormy weather on Denali this year and our trip has been no different. Unfortunately for our loved ones at home it’s going to be a while longer before we make it off the mountain. Stormy weather is expected through Thursday with a possible summit window Friday and Saturday. Our team remains positive and everyone is feeling strong if and when our window comes. 

I promise though we’ll be home before July hopefully with a summit!

RMI Guide Andy Bond

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Denali Expedition: Bond Girls Survive another Day at 14k

June 17, 2023 11:04 PM PT

Day 12 of our Denali climb.

Today we had a sleep in at Camp 3 and woke up in beautiful sunshine and 15cm (6 inches) of fresh powdery snow. We looked at all the climbers who went up the fixed lines to get to 17k camp for a summit push on Sunday, but we all agreed the night before that we need more time at 14k camp before our summit push. We hope for another weather window at the end of next week (fingers crossed). No worries, big strong Andy still has two pounds of cheese left and will be safe.

Instead of climbing, we hired lovely Lenhardt for an intense yoga session to get mentally and physically ready for this mountain. After that railroad, Jeff improved our eating tent to make it comfier for the following days and Katherine worked hard to make Joey's long hair cut more functional and fashionable for the mountain.

The focus of the afternoon was listening to music, chill outside, eat snacks and hydrate, and let our bodies adjust to the new altitude. We also improved our sleeping tents, so the polar bear can sleep well at night and doesn't attack his tent mates. In the evening, Heidi gave us a call to come to the edge of the world for the first round of Denali's Next Top Model. We stretched our legs and walked over to this stunning place where the mountain drops 7,000 feet to the northeast fork of Kahiltna. We had great views of Mount Foraker and the valley. We had a good photoshoot, and all the Bond girls made it to the second round. Heidi was very proud of us. When we came back to our camp, Mr. Bond had already prepared a nice dinner for us.

To finish the day, a short German "th" joke for you . The captain of a boat is calling the German coast guard "Help, we are sinking, we are sinking". The German coast answers "Ok, no worries, what are you thinking about?".

Stephan Schiffer aka Polar Bear

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Wow! You are going to summit soon!! What a thrill and what an amazing achievement - so proud of you!

Posted by: Mary McKinley on 6/19/2023 at 7:05 am

Praying y’all get good weather for your next push! 17K! I can’t believe it! Good luck guys! Stay safe y’all!

Keep killing it Mikayla!!

Posted by: Mack Thompson on 6/19/2023 at 5:12 am


Denali Expedition: Hahn & Team Have Hopes Squashed by Weather

June 17, 2023 10:50 PM PT

It was snowing again at 4 AM when we hoped to get up for climbing. We checked it repeatedly in the following hours but didn't feel good about what we saw.

Eventually, the snow quit, but by then we'd have been pushing up three hours of hill in the hottest part of the day. We decided to call it a rest day instead.

It ended up sunny and hot in the tents and we napped, read and snacked our way through the day.  We'll try again tomorrow.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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Denali Expedition: Cifelli and Team Watch and Wait

June 17, 2023 8:56 PM PT

The weather had other plans for us up here at the base of ski hill. We woke up to wet snow hitting the tent and an ominous cloud staring at us from our intended path.

When Denali speaks, we listen. After a lot of watching and waiting, we turned our move into a rest day. We ate, slept, played cards, and read books to pass the time. Luckily, it’s in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Tomorrow, we’ll try again. Wear your pajamas inside out for us.

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli and Team

Leave a Comment For the Team (1)

Thank you for the updates!!

Posted by: Jenni on 6/19/2023 at 5:56 am


Denali Expedition: Bond & Team Land a Double Pancake Flip on Rest Day

June 16, 2023 11:38PM PT

On this glorious morning, we awoke to partly sunny skies and light snow showers (for those who don't know, this means mostly cloudy.) As temperatures warmed, we all gathered in the posh for another round of pancake Hibachi. Yours truly went for broke and landed a double pancake flip (that is one pancake flipping twice). Unfortunately, the blast wave of this extreme maneuver broke our big strong Andy's fork.

To make the most of our relatively mild weather and rest day, we headed out of camp and practiced fixed line travel and clipping pickets. The team did great and is ready for whatever gloves the mountain throws at them.

Famished, we made our way back to camp to gorge on snacks, mainly cheese. This helped quell our toilet paper crisis for the near future.

After dinner and a sweet treat of Jack's cheesecake the team retired to hopefully sleep deep and oxygen rich.

- Clown Fish/Joey

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Denali Expedition: Cifelli & Team Prepare for Move

June 16, 2023 10:20 PM PT

Day 2 started with a much enjoyed few extra hours of sleep as light snow delayed our alpine start. The skies cleared quickly though, and we were able to begin our work for the day - carrying a load of gear and food to cache just below 10,000’.

Everyone put in a good effort, and we were back down to out tents just as light snow began again. The rest of the day was filled with naps and relaxation in preparation for our move to 11,000’ tomorrow.

-RMI Guides Seth, Dom, Dan & Team

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Denali Expedition: Hahn and Team Beat the Sun to Camp

It was snowing at Kahiltna Base last night when we wanted to get going, so we pushed back the wake-up time to a leisurely 4 AM. Conditions improved as we ate breakfast in the shadows. We were climbing by 6:50 AM. Conditions were excellent due to recent snows and cold temps.

The dreaded crevasse crossings of the lower Kahiltna Glacier were practically nonexistent.  Sled pulling was quite easy (relatively speaking), though everything was heavy as usual.  We reached our intended camp at ski hill in five hours and built a fine home. We dove into tents to beat the afternoon sun.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn and team

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Way to go, Team Hahn! We are thinking about you and praying for each of you.  Mitch, I’m so happy your knee is holding up!  I love you!
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY to all the Father’s up there!!

Posted by: Leslie vance on 6/18/2023 at 8:17 am

Hey Dustin! All the Best to You and Dave and your team! I’m following along.
Farmer Dave

Posted by: Dave Kestel on 6/18/2023 at 3:19 am


Denali Expedition: Hahn & Team Fly to Kahiltna Base, Ready to Climb

Thursday, June 15, 2023 - 9:20 pm  PT

We couldn't hang around Talkeetna long enough for breakfast this morning.  Denali was calling and we heeded the call.  We snacked as we were gearing up to fly. The planes took off at 9 AM and at about 9:45 we were in basecamp unloading.  We built camp.  It is pleasantly cool for mid June.  We made it a training day.   We watched airplanes and helicopters come and go as we reviewed glacier travel techniques.  Tomorrow we're going climbing.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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Denali Expedition: Cifelli & Team Getting Used to Expedition Life

Thursday, June 15, 2023 - 9:20 pm PT

Day one on the climb is always a tough one. The excitement is swirling, the nerves are high, and the bar for entry is even higher. There is a lot to get used to during expedionary life, especially one as remote as Denali. We have to pretend we could lose our gloves at any gust of wind, lose our gear during the next snowstorm, or rip our homes if we’re careless. The mountain is tough, but today proved that we can be just as tough. The first day is one of the only days that you’re carrying everything you brought all at once. The road to Camp 1 is just too long to do the typical; carry and cache, move camps, grab the cache. So we must make the long slog to the base of Ski Hill. With cold temps, clear skies, and crunchy snow we weaved through the crevassed Kahiltna glacier and made camp at around 8:30 this morning. We’re at camp now, waiting for weather updates and refueling for tomorrows effort. We’ll cache up at Kahiltna pass.

Thanks for following along,

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Love the photos - what extraordinary scenery you’re experiencing.  Will be looking forward to each post (would be great to see your team via a group shot, if there’s a chance)!

Posted by: robin & rex on 6/16/2023 at 2:14 pm

Thank you for the update   stay safe saurabh and take care all the climbers

Posted by: Anjali Sharma on 6/16/2023 at 9:43 am

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