Entries from Mount Rainier
The Mt. Rainier
Four Day Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Mike King turned at the top of Disappointment Cleaver this morning. The team made the prudent decision to call Disappointment Cleaver their high point after assessing the snow pack determined the avalanche danger to be high. The team will descend back to
Camp Muir before continuing their descent to Paradise later today.
Due to high winds and snow the
Mt.Rainier Summit Climb was unable to summit this morning. The team, led by
RMI Guide Casey Grom, traveled to the Gap (10,600') on the Disappointment Cleaver Route. Their planned departure from Camp Muir is 10:00 a.m.
The
Five Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Leon Davis reached the summit of Mt. Rainier on a cold and windy morning. In addition to the weather, Leon reported great route conditions. The team will descend back to Camp Muir for their last night on the mountain.
Today's climb also marked
Leon Davis' 100th summit of Mt. Rainier. Way to climb, Leon!
Congratulations to today's climbers!
The
Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide
JJ Justman reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. JJ reported cold, windy conditions on the summit. Despite the weather, 100% of the team reached the summit! The team will descend back to Camp Muir before continuing their descent to Paradise and on back to Ashford later today.
Congratulations climbers!
The Four Day Summit Climb June 9 - 12 led by RMI Guides Mike Walter and Zeb Blais reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning around 8 am. Mike reported clear conditions with moderate winds as they were making their ascent above High Break. The teams were able to enjoy some time on the summit. They began their descent from the crater rim at 9:20 am. The teams will return to Camp Muir for a short break before continuing down to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams!
The
Mt. Rainier Summit Climb teams, led by
Mike Haugen and
Mike King, turned at Ingraham Flats this morning after a rough night of snow and high winds. The guides reported an ominous cap over the mountain after checking in from Camp Muir. Shortly after 8:00 a.m., both teams began their descent to Paradise.
The
Four Day Summit Climb team led by RMI Guides Seth Waterfall and Nick Hunt were unable to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams turned back at Ingraham Flats this morning.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall called from Camp Muir shortly after 7 am, reporting 8-10” of fresh snow at the Ingraham Flats and very cold temps. Both Summit Climb teams have begun their descent from Camp Muir to Paradise.
The
Four Day Summit Climb teams led by
RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Ben Liken made their summit attempt this morning but turned back after reaching 12,500' due to increased winds and cold temperatures. The teams have returned to Camp Muir were they will have a short break before continuing to Paradise.
We look forward to seeing the teams at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon. Good work teams!
On Tuesday, June 7, 2016 at 2:02 p.m. PDT,
RMI Guide Brent Okita reached the summit of Mt. Rainier for the 500th time, becoming only the second person to reach this exclusive milestone.
Brent; along with RMI Guides
Leah Fisher and
Christina Dale, Peter Dale and Aaron Mainer; ascended Mt. Rainier via the Disappointment Cleaver route. It was a windy day on the summit but the team took time to celebrate at Columbia Crest. After many hugs and photos were exchanged, they traversed to Liberty Cap for their ski descent of the Edmunds Headwall. Brent described his 500th summit and ski descent as “one of the coolest days of my life!”
To put this in perspective, Brent has logged over 9,000,000 vertical feet on Mt. Rainier throughout his 30-year career. “Brent is a mentor, leader, and above all an inspiration to all mountaineers,” said Peter Whittaker, owner of RMI. “The fact that Brent has challenged himself on this mountain for 30 years and successfully summited Rainier 500 times is extraordinary. Even more amazing, Brent continues to climb at the pace of a 20-year-old guide and will likely climb Rainier another 20 times this summer...his endurance and fitness are unmatched.”
Brent, 55, has worked at RMI since 1986 as a professional climbing instructor and guide, leading teams of climbers on ascents of Mt. Rainier. In that time, he has also reached the summit of Mt. Everest (via the North Side) and led over two dozen RMI guided parties up 20,310’ Denali in Alaska, the highest mountain in North America. Other ascents to his credit include Vinson Massif (Antarctica), and several expeditions to the French, Swiss, and Italian Alps (Mont Blanc, Matterhorn, Monte Rosa, Jungfrau).
Setting records is not Brent’s motivation; his 500 summits of Mt. Rainier are a natural consequence of his tenure with RMI and dedication to the sport of mountaineering. With no thoughts of retirement, Brent plans to continue guiding climbers on Mt Rainier and Denali for the foreseeable future. In the winter months he pursues his love of skiing, working for Crystal Mountain Ski Patrol. He and wife, Julie, make their home in Enumclaw, WA, where they enjoy bicycling and hiking.
Congratulations Brent!
The
Five Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Mike Uchal and the
Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Eric Frank Reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Eric radioed in from High Break while the teams were on their descent and reported the winds of about 40 - 45 mph on the mountain.
RMI Guide
Casey Grom and Team also checked in from the
Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz, the team is camped on the Wilson Glacier having a great time training.
Congratulations to today's teams!
Hey Team,
Well I was supposed to climb with you guys June 12-15, but I accepted a job and I ended up moving from Washington state to Texas and June 13 was my first day at the new job. I had to forfeit my position to climb, just a few weeks ago.
I know the feeling of training for months and then not getting to summit - it’s a bummer. This would have been my 4th time climbing with RMI on Rainier. I hope my message can reach someone new to RMI and mountaineering. Every climb is different and you learn something new each climb. It’s okay to be bummed for now, but don’t hangup your boots.
RMI is a class act and the more guides you meet, the more you will be inspired to keep climbing.
So, if you have that feeling of disappointment or being upset, know that it is normal and you can still tell your friends with pride, you are a mountaineer and that you will be back on Rainier soon. Happy trails. Matt
Posted by: Matt Stone on 6/16/2016 at 6:00 pm
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