Entries from Expedition Dispatches

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Robby Young and Andy Bond reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team reported warm weather, and a great route. They spent some time on the top enjoying the views before starting their descent at 8:00 am PDT. 

Contgratulations to Today's Team!  

May 16, 2021 - 12:41 am PT

We hit the ground running today. At 8 am the weather looked good to fly, so we hustled to the hanger, changed into mountain clothes, and loaded gear on the two K2 otters that would ferry us to Basecamp. The flight in is always a highlight, as the tundra gives way to foothills, and then to the craggy peaks and ridges of the Alaska range, with cracked up glaciers carving channels between.

We took an hour or two to get our gear sorted, sleds loaded, and ropes setup, and then struck out from Basecamp to make our way up the lower Kahiltna to the base of ski hill. Often the first hour of moving with sleds has some hiccups, but not for us today. The group moved well, enjoying firm enough trail conditions that we could eschew the snowshoes.

We're settled into camp, feed, and tucking into sleeping bags for our first night in the mountain. We'll be in touch tomorrow!

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer & Team

May 15, 2021 - 7:26 pm PT

Our team had another big day today, moving camp from 7,800' to 11,200'. The weather was beautiful; the morning was nice and cool and the afternoon was hot and we couldn't buy a breeze. It took us 6 1/2 hours to make the move today, and another few hours of work to establish camp. We got our camp established with enough time for an afternoon nap for everyone while the guides melted snow to replenish water bottles.

Tomorrow we'll have a leisurely morning and head back down hill to retrieve the cache that we left at 10,000' yesterday. Weather permitting it should be a light workload tomorrow and we will able to get some good rest.

RMI Guide Mike Walter & Team

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Adam Knoff and Alex Halliday reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today on the newly established Disappointment Cleaver Route. Guide Adam Knoff reported clear and windy skies. Tempratures were cool in the morining, but starting to warm up, so the team will have a pleasant descent back to Camp Muir.

Congratulations to Today's Team!

Friay May 14, 2021 - 6:44 pm PT

The team spent a good day packing and prepping everything to be ready to fly into the Alaska Range tomorrow. Coffee and crepes to start the morning, orientation with the National Park Service, then digging into gear and packing for the planes: all went smoothly. All our bags are weighed and sorted, waiting to be loaded in the morning weather willing, and we'll trust the awesome pilots at K2 to tell us if and when it's time to fly.

With a bit of luck, we'll be checking in from tents on the Kahiltna Glacier tomorrow! 

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer & Team

Friday May 14, 2021 6:36 pm PT

Our team had a great day today, waking up to cloudless skies after a good night's rest. We hauled our backpacks and sleds laden with supplies up to 10,000', just shy of "The Corner" below Kahiltna Pass. After digging a deep hole in which to cache our gear, we returned back to our camp at the base of Ski Hill, 7,800'.

We returned to camp in the afternoon after the six hour round trip with time to lounge before firing up the stoves for dinner. The plan for tomorrow is to pack up camp and move up to the 11,200' camp. We'll keep you posted.

RMI Guide Mike Walter & Team

Thursday, May 13, 2021  - 9:57 pm PT

We had warm and sunny weather today and we took advantage of it to single carry all of our loads to the Base of Ski Hill. It took us 5 hours to get here, traveling on the Kahiltna Glacier with heavy packs and pulling heavy sleds.

The plan for tomorrow is to bump a load of supplies up Ski Hill to around 9800' and create a cache. Then we will return to our current camp for the night. The weather is looking good and everyone is doing well.

RMI Guide Mike Walter

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Dustin Wittmier began on Sunday May 9th with the team meeting at Rainier BaseCamp for a full day orientation.  With gear checked, sorted and packed they departed Paradise on Monday morning en route to Camp Muir.  For the last two days they have based out of Camp Muir working on mountaineering techniques to prepare them for a summit climb of Mt. Rainier and more.  Today they got their chance to test their skills climbing to the summit of Mt. Rainier.   Just before 8 am PT, RMI Guide Dave Hahn radioed that the teams were ten minutes from the crater rim.  He reported perfect conditions with light and variable winds, and an overall nice and sunny day.  After they enjoy some time in the crater and get all the photo ops, the group will start their descent and return to Camp Muir for their final night on the mountain.  Tomorrow the teams will descend to Paradise and return to Rainier BaseCamp.  The weather has been great all week and we hope they enjoyed their time on the mountain.

Congratulations to today Seminar teams!

Wednesday, May, 12, 2021 - 10:04 pm PT

We got a break in the weather this afternoon and were able to fly in to Basecamp on the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. Camp is all set up and we have starting sorting out equipment for (hopefully) moving up glacier to the base of Ski Hill tomorrow. It was warm and sunny here today, although a cloud has settled in now and it's snowing lightly. We'll touch base again tomorrow as we start our long adventure of living on a glacier.

RMI Guide Mike Walter

We spent yesterday packing and going through all of our equipment for our Denali Expedition. Our gear is all packed and ready to be loaded onto the glacier planes, two DeHavilland Otters flown by our amazing pilots at K2 Aviation. We’ll meet at 8am and get an update on the current weather and flying conditions. The forecast is for snow today, so it is still uncertain if we will be able to fly in to Base Camp today. We’ll keep you posted as we prepare to live on a glacier for the next few weeks. Fingers are crossed…

RMI Guide Mike Walter