Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Dustin Wittmier, Sam Marjerison, Michael Murray
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 20,310'
July 2, 2023 - 4:16 am PT
Summit!!! On a fine day. A little bit of a long one though -fifteen hours round trip. We got tangled with a couple of other guided parties. Those other teams were breaking trail, so it is tough to fault them for being slow. We were on top at 8:30 PM and back to 17,000' Camp just after 2 AM. The weather was very nice, but it wasn't the warmest day on top. Most of us had on all the clothing we had.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Seth Burns, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 17,000'
People like to throw around the word ‘Conquer’ in reference to the mountains they climb. As if they defeated the mountain when they touched its apex. I find this to be a distasteful representation of summiting a mountain and as we crawled into our sleeping bags in the crisp, cold air of Denali’s 17,200K we certainly didn’t feel like conquerors. Tired, cold, and atrophied from the last 18 days on the mountain we slept knowing that Denali had granted us the opportunity to touch its peak and not that we had bested it.
The team awoke to clear skies and one of the first green lights we received from Denali, it was time to climb. At 10:25, we started our journey upward not reaching the summit until a hard, but well fought, ~10 hours. We are back down at High Camp; tired, sore, but satisfied with the effort and accomplishment. We start downward tomorrow in search of all of the cravings we have been fantasizing about.
RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Seth Burns, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 17,200'
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Friday, June 30, 2023 11:47 pm PDT
The gods of Denali blessed the team with the weather window needed to begin the hardest three days of our lives. We began our assault up The Wall and eventually the fixed lines. The sun was surprisingly warm and persistent. The black rocks jutting from the frozen snow reminded me constantly of the Oreo McFlurry I will no doubt consume when I get off here. We are thinking of you all as we attempt to summit tomorrow.
RMI Climber Travis and Team
Lisa and Blair wishing you luck!!!
Posted by: Blair Johnson on 7/2/2023 at 7:16 am
Peace, gratitude and mental toughness…you’ve got it!!!
Posted by: Kim on 7/1/2023 at 9:35 pm
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Dustin Wittmier, Sam Marjerison, Michael Murray
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 17,200'
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Saturday, July 1, 2023 1:12 AM PDT
Right on schedule, the clouds cleared out and the wind dropped down. First nice day we've had, actually. We used it well. The team made the jump to 17,200' feet. It was tough climbing and the packs got even bigger and heavier when we stopped at 16,200' feet to add yesterday's loads. But we got 'r done. The views were amazing, considering that the team really hadn't seen much of our surroundings yet. We have a forecast of fine weather tomorrow. Perhaps we go up.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team
So exciting for you Mitch & your amazing team. Stay strong & know that we are all praying for you!
Posted by: Pam Cashion on 7/1/2023 at 1:24 pm
A really exciting day for everyone! Thinking about you all and hoping it’s a summit!
Posted by: Leslie Vance on 7/1/2023 at 11:08 am
Posted by: Casey Grom, Ben Luedtke, Mike Bennett, Will Nash, Leif Bergstrom, Evan Redman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb with RMI Guides Casey Grom and Ben Luedtke were on top of Mt. Rainier at 6:30 am. It was windy morning, but a good 6 hour and 15-minute climb of the Disappointment Cleaver route to reach the 14,410’ summit. The team is on the descent and in route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations team!
Congratulations everyone! It looks absolutely gorgeous up there. Can’t wait til I get the details from Joseph Rodriguez “Joey”
Again congratulations.
Posted by: Lisa on 7/1/2023 at 7:01 pm
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Dustin Wittmier, Sam Marjerison, Michael Murray
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
Thursday, June 29, 2023 10:25 pm PDT
Not much of a break in the weather today but we made the best of it. We watched, waited, and slow-rolled and then went for it, leaving camp at noon. There was still snow falling, but the wind had quit. We trudged up to the fixed lines and then ascended them with little difficulty, reaching 16,200 ft. Nobody got to enjoy the spectacular views as we were still locked in cloud and snow, but we cached our supplies and dropped back down, reaching camp at 6PM.
Hoping for some clearing tomorrow (as usual) we would like to move to 17,200ft.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn and Team
Sending Best wishes for a break in the weather for you Dustin and Dave and Team!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 7/1/2023 at 7:23 am
Keep up the great effort team! Hoping for a window so you can top this off soon and get down safely.
Posted by: Dan Murray on 6/30/2023 at 2:49 pm
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Seth Burns, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
As we arose from our tents again at 14,000’ camp, fresh snow covered everything as if a frozen Baja Blast machine broke in the middle of the night and began spewing as far as the eye could see.
Today marked a choice, go for it, and continue up beautiful Denali, or stay here at14,000’ Camp for another night, and wait for a better window. Upon first view of the surroundings, the choice was clear, spend one more day resting. This journey has been largely about patience, especially these last few days, but we are on the home stretch now, also just days away now from returning to civilization…
All the fish tacos, burritos and fajitas, Doritos, and Fritos, and Cheetos, pizza, burgers and glizzies and frozen margaritas All these and more, await at Talkeetna
Climber Joey Myers & Team
Posted by: Mike Walter, Henry Coppolillo
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Mike Walter and Henry Coppolillo reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Mike Walter reported moderate winds, clear skies and a solid climbing on their way to the top. The team is on the descent, and will be celebrating with cold beverages and at Rainier Basecamp by the early afternoon.
Congratulations Team!
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Josh McDowell, Ellison Boord, Josh Geiser, Hannah Blum, Raymond Holt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The June 26 - 29 Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer & Josh McDowell reached the summit of Mt. Rainier just before 6 am today. Pete reported a very nice morning on the mountain. The teams enjoyed an hour in the summit crater before starting their descent from the crater rim. The teams will return to Camp Muir for a quick break and then continue the final 4,500' to Paradise. They will celebrate their achievement at Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon.
Nice work team!
WOOO great work on a successful climb! Congrats to Becky and the rest of the team :)
Posted by: Corey on 6/29/2023 at 8:55 am
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Seth Burns, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Wednesday, June 28, 2023 - 10:39 pm PT
Our climb yesterday earned us a well deserved rest day. After sleeping in we were awoken to some delicious extra cheesy breakfast burritos. This was followed by a musical production of “These Boots Were Made For Climbing” by the soon to be famous Denali 10 (look for us on TikTok). Stay tuned for our upcoming show “Dancing on Denali”, which will include some tasteful nude scenes as well. The rest of our day was spent relaxing as we look forward to beginning our summit push either tomorrow or Friday.
RMI Climber Mark Kulow
Congratulations Mitch!!! Such an inspiration at, dare I say, 61!
Safe travels back down and thank you to ALL the team for keeping making it happen.
Posted by: Marcelle Flowers on 7/3/2023 at 12:57 pm
Well done team! Cheers to a tremendous accomplishment. Special props to Dustin and Sam for their guidance on Rainier last month. Safe travels my friends!
-Joe
Posted by: Joseph Mueller on 7/3/2023 at 7:51 am
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