Entries from Expedition Dispatches

5/24 - Our team woke up to beautiful views back down heartbreak hill which we had conquered the day before and cloudy skies up the mountain towards which we set our sights. Breakfast consisted of granola and powdered milk and as much hot coffee as we could get down before rigging our sleds and packs.

With lighter loads than day 1 we slowly made our way up ski hill, eventually reaching our cache site around 9800'. Our guides dug a large 6-foot hole and we piled in bags filled with our extra clothes, gear, and food that we will grab in a couple days for the higher mountain. The cache was then topped with the extra snow and plenty of bamboo pole flags to mark it and we headed back down with empty sleds and lighter packs. 

Cloudy skies when we arrived back at camp broke and we again had some sun. A couple of us started charging our batteries with solar panels we brought and we relaxed, snacked, and dried our gear in the greenhouses of our tents.

We just finished a delicious early dinner of hearty pan fried burritos and cookies. Tomorrow we will cache some of our extra food and used clean mountain cans (CMCs) which we’ve taken turns using after meals here at 8k feet and make our way to 11k camp.

Denali continues to loom large across our camp above us, occasionally peeking out to show off its raw majesty. While we usually can’t make out the top above the clouds, we continue to set our sights there as we make our way closer and closer, day by day.

RMI Climber Climber Treavor

P.S. Hello to all our friends, family, and coworkers following our progress!

5/24 - Today's haiku brought to you by Candice.

Signs of clearing skies

Brings us hope as days count down

May the weather hold.

While we are geared up to move to 14 camp, we sadly woke to another day of poor visibility and light snowfall. We used the down day to prepare camp to move tomorrow, but most of the day was filled with time in the chaos cantina. The favorite Mexican joint around 11 Camp. Where we enjoyed breakfast burritos in the morning, and beef and bean burritos for dinner. We wrapped the evening up to the sweet melody of Gasolina (let's go Daddy Yankee), and some friendly tortilla wars with our neighboring camps. Let's hope for tomorrow.

RMI Guide Nikki Champion & Team

5/24 - We had an active rest day as our bodies slowly adjusted to the new altitude. The active part was heading down to the cache garden to recover all the gear we had left earlier in the week. The rest part was spending the afternoon in the sun fueled warmth of our tents. Books read, snacks eaten and naps had. The team is slowly getting stronger as we adapt to this new height. Tomorrow brings more rest and training so we can be ready to strike should the weather provide the opportunity to set forth for the summit.

Cheers,

RMI Guide Jack and the Team

We woke up to full-on winter on Huayna with several inches of snow outside and more coming down- quite the contrast from the summer-like conditions we experienced on Pequeno Alpamayo just a few days prior. We dragged out feet a bit and drank some more coffee to give the skies time to clear. Finally at 2:30 am we geared up and headed outside. It was still snowing lightly but without much wind the temperatures were honestly quite pleasant for climbing.

After scrambling through a few hundred feet of rocky terrain to the toe of the glacier we roped up and began a gradual ascending traverse. The snow continued falling steadily, but the winds remained minimal and everyone settled into their hypoxic headlamp bubble as we trudged up the glacier. Hannah, our local guide Marcello and I were constantly digging small hand pits in the snow and assessing the potential avalanche conditions- we were pleasantly surprised to find the storm snow well bonded to the surface and generally unreactive, so we continued climbing as into thinner air despite the snow becoming gradually deeper the higher we got. Finally at around 18,600' we were faced with a steep traverse and a change in the snow- what was previously benign fluff had changed to a fairly concerning wind slab. Add in the increasing severity of the terrain and a gaping crevasse underneath the traverse and the decision to turn around was disappointing, but easy to make.

We turned tail and made quick work of the descent, stepping off the glacier onto the rocks just as the sun crested the horizon. The snow had stopped and the skies remained clear for a few minutes, and we were treated to an absolutely stunning sunrise as we made our way back down to the hut. More coffee, a second breakfast and a brief nap for some followed, and before long we were making our way down the steep and rocky trail to the base hut. While always disappointing not to reach the summit, our team did everything in our power to make it happen, and I'm confident that with more favorable conditions we would have summited in great style. We're back in La Paz now getting some well earned rest.

RMI Guide Henry Coppolillo & Team

May 23, 2026

The weather was on our side today. Broken skies and light snow in the morning gave way to sunshine as we made our first move of the trip. We left base camp and descended down to the Kahiltna carrying heavy packs and fully loaded sleds. The weight on this first day is always a rude awakening to the trip but the team took it well and soon got into a groove. After several hours of true work we arrived at the base of ski hill and set up camp. We hope to carry to 10,100' tomorrow and are happy to have the first day behind us.

RMI Guide Seth Burns & Team

Hello friends and family! This is Karen (in the yellow jacket from the latest picture) and I’ll be taking over the daily dispatch from Nikki tonight (Hi Mom and Dad!!).

We woke up to silence which usually means no/little wind. I strained my ears to hear what I call the “meeting of the minds” aka Nikki, Rosie, and Nick deciding what the plan is for the day. At around 8:30am we got the call “hots and breakfast in 10min.” IT WAS A MOVE DAY, WOOHOO!

After a nice oats and blueberry breakfast we started to pack our bags and decide what food we wanted to cache just below 14k camp. Nikki came around and asked everyone if they wanted to add the most important piece of gear, GLITTER! At around 10:45 am our bags were packed, our faces full of glitter, and we were off like a heard of racing turtles.

We climbed Motorcycle hill then Squirrel hill, then crossed the Polo Fields before a break to put our helmets on before rounding Windy Corner. To my disappointment, I didn’t see a single motorcycle, squirrel, or person riding a horse, but it’s ok because there was also a lack of wind at Windy Corner. When the sun peaked through the clouds, the views were breathtaking up there.

After 4 hours of hiking, we arrived at our cache site around 13.5k ft. After our cache, we were off, back down to camp at 11k. We took some time to chill before a dinner of creamy potato soup with chicken sausage. If weather allows, we will head to 14k camp tomorrow!

With that, I leave you with tonight’s Haiku:

Move day, move day, yay!

Rope teams so strong as we go.

Champion leads all!

Karen, RMI Guide Nikki Champion, and Team  

Well it’s safe to say no one expected that we would make 11k camp our home for 9 days but the mountain is our mistress and the weather has the final say. Finally our patience paid off and the weather was ideal for moving to 14k camp.

This morning we packed slowly, waiting for the sun to hit camp and raise the mercury to positive digits. It took a significant effort to dig up and breakdown camp since we had weathered multiple storms here. Our team wasn’t the only ones prepared to move in the good weather. Almost the entirety of camp emptied out and ascended up the mountain, either to move to 14k camp or to cache supplies to prepare for their own move in the following days. It’s safe to say we were in and out of conga lines of mountaineers all throughout the day.

When we finally rolled into camp - the team was tired but elated to finally be at our new home. The mantra was slow and steady as we built camp in the thin 14,000 foot air. The ambient air temp is chilly willy as we snuggle into our large down sleeping bags and think warm thoughts. We will not leave these cocoons until the sun hits our tents tomorrow.

Cheers,
Jack and the Team

The Private Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Sam Hoffman and Nina Bridges made the cautious decision to turn at 12,800' due to high winds and poor weather conditions. After taking a quick rest at Camp Muir, they continued their descent to Paradise and arrived safely at our Ashford Basecamp late this morning.

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guide Dave Hahn reached a high point of 12,000' when they made the cautious decision to turn due to some tumultuous weather. After making it safely back to Camp Muir, they took some time to rest and refuel before starting the walk back down to Paradise. They will return to Rainier Basecamp this afternoon.

We're all settled in up Huayna high camp. Yesterday we enjoyed a mellow morning at Condoriri Base Camp, and then made our way back to the bus with the help of the mules once again. From there it was back up and over the pass separating the eastern side of Huayna from the Condoriri zone and down Refugio Vista Panorámica Huyana Potosi, a lovely and comfortable mountain lodge with stunning views of the route we're climbing tonight. Everyone got a long and welcome night of sleep, and we moved well up the steep and rocky trail to the high hut at almost 17k'. Our wonderful cook staff from Andean Summits has prepared a delicious lamb and rice lunch for us, and now everyone is having a siesta ahead of another alpine start tonight!

RMI Guide Henry Coppolillo & Team