Entries from Expedition Dispatches

The Four Day Climb August 9-12 led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Sam Hoffman reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today with all of their climbers.  It's a beautiful bluebird day and the teams climbed strong. They started their descent from the crater rim around 7 am.  Once back at Camp Muir they will take a quick break before continuing the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise team led by RMI Guides Tom Skoog and David Rathbun put their week of training to the test this morning and climbed to the summit of Mt. Rainier. The team has spent the last several days climbing and training. They pushed up to Camp Muir yesterday and with an alpine start this morning enjoyed the sunrise from the upper slopes of the mountain.  The team started their descent from the crater rim around 7 am.  Once back at Camp Muir they will take a quick break and continue down to Paradise to conclude their climb. They will celebrate their accomplishments later today in Ashford.

Nice work team!

PC: Tom Skoog

It was a day without sun.  Mostly.  We had it for a few minutes this morning as we walked to the base of the Great Barranco Wall. But then we were swallowed in cloud and mist just as we started to get serious on the wall.  Perhaps that helped those of us with a fear of heights to concentrate solely on the rock and the path ahead.  Our guides, Freddy, Naiman, and Thomas kept us moving well and guarded us on the tricky steps.  We’d prepared for traffic jams on this normally busy section of the route, but there were none.  We cruised the wall in just over an hour’s time -about half of what it might have taken with normal traffic.  Our amazing dining tent “waiters”, Hamedi and Shwahibu, had scaled the wall even faster and had tea and snacks out within moments of our arrival at the 14,000 ft “summit”. Although we had no view whatsoever from this normally stunning viewpoint, we lingered for forty five minutes anyway, enjoying the snacks and the swirling mists. The remaining hours to camp were easy by comparison. We took the time to review efficient hill-climbing techniques on our way up the final steep path into Karanga Camp at 13,200 ft. Now, in early evening, we’ve yet to see the place. The visibility is perhaps 100 ft although the weather is not unpleasant. Just a little static. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

PC: Dave Hahn

Monday, August 11, 2025 -- Descent to Trailhead

Yesterday, Sunday, August 10, 2025, Johnny, Behrang and I summited Mount Shuksan via the Sulphide Glacier and SE ridge. What. An. Adventure! We are all so happy and ecstatic. I am especially proud of Johnny and Behrang for tackling some fears, developing their inner perseverance, and grinding through a long day in the Alpine. We started early from our low basecamp at the park boundary, waddled our way across the sulphide, and climbed (paddled) our way up the amazing and awe inspiring SE ridge. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset, ate one last freeze dried meal, and had a beautiful night of sleep before walking out today. Here's to the next one!

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and Team

Sunday, August 10, 2025 -- Climb Day

We topped out on Mount Shuksan via the Sulphide Glacier route at 2 pm, and made our way back to camp. We had a light breeze and were in full sun during the climb--an absolutely gorgeous day! :) 

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke 

Saturday, August 9, 2025 -- Approach to Camp

Arriving late last night in Sedro-Woolly, we had a fine dinner that consisted of pizza and a dilemma on which sauce is best for the base, but we just put buffalo sauce on all of it to be sure. Today, we got up early and hiked in to our base camp at the edge of the North Cascades National Park Boundary, and we are still awestruck by the views we have of Mount Baker. We journeyed up on the first stretch of our route to practice some skills in preparation for our big summit day tomorrow. Taking in the amazing views of the pickets and so many other peaks, we topped off our water and are back at camp. As we enjoy our tasty freeze dried meals, we are ecstatic for the countless more views we will get tomorrow. The weather looks good, our packs are ready, and our skills are sharp. Lets go!

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke

Climbers on the Four Day Climb August 9 - 11 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today.  They enjoyed a bit of time on the summit and began their descent from the crater rim just after 7 am. Once back at Camp Muir, they will repack and continue the remaining 4,500' descent to Paradise.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

We broke a bunch of personal altitude records today.  The team stood at 15,200 ft by the Lava Tower and didn’t seem much worse for the wear.  In fact we had a picnic lunch up there before dropping down below the stunning and immense south face of Kilimanjaro to descend to Barranco Camp at 13,000 ft.  We took seven hours from Shira Camp (including the picnic) which is just what we were aiming for.  The team enjoyed walking through the Giant Senecios and Lobelia plants that guard the approaches to Barranco.  It was breezy in camp as we rested and recuperated.  We ate another of Chef Tosha’s excellent dinners and told each other mountain ghost stories to finish the day. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

PC: Dave Hahn

The Four Day Climb August 7 - 10 led by RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier & Tatumn Whatford reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 6:30 am today.  Tatum reported that it was a little windy and a little cold but it was turning into a beautiful morning on the mountain. The teams spent about an hour in the summit crater before starting their descent.  Once back at Camp Muir they will take a quick break and repack their gear before contining the final 4.5 miles to Paradise.

Congratulations to today's teams!

PC: Tatum Whatford

Shira Camp!
We made it up to 12,400 ft and reached our westernmost camp. Actually, we climbed even a little higher before dropping down to finish the day. We left the big trees behind and ascended steeply through Giant Heather, eventually passing our first senecios and lobelias. We were above a sea of clouds—and sometimes below an upper deck of clouds as well. Conditions were pleasant: not too hot, not too cold, and not too windy.

Today, we got our hands on the rock in a few places. It was great to spice things up with the short rock steps we needed to traverse and scale. But ultimately, the best part of the day was finishing the climb and turning the corner at the edge of the Shira Plateau.

We had an easy afternoon in our new camp—eating, drinking, resting, and watching the sun set.

—RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

Early this morning, the Five Day Climb team, led by Seth Burns and George Hedreen, reached the summit of Mt. Rainier via the iconic Disappointment Cleaver route. The ascent was graced with stunning views and crisp mountain air.

As they stepped onto the summit, smiles and cheers filled the air.  

At 7:00 AM, they departed the crater rim and began their journey back to Camp Muir. From there, they’ll continue to Basecamp later this afternoon, bringing with them stories, memories, and a well-earned sense of accomplishment.

Congratulations to Seth, George, and the entire team on a successful summit and a safe descent!

We’ve begun!! After so much anticipation and travel and preparation, today we finally started walking. Getting from Rivertrees to the Machame Gate of the National Park all went smoothly, as did the final steps of getting permitted for the climb. We began walking at 11 AM, following Freddy, one of our local guides, through cloud and light mist. The day was spent winding through big trees, at first in a rain forest. Over the course of six hours the trees got smaller and things got drier as we eventually climbed through the clouds into sunshine. At 10,000 ft we strolled into a perfectly constructed camp and moved right in. We even got a brief view of Kibo, Kilimanjaro’s central peak, just before the sun went down and the full moon rose. Our team was excited to sit down to a great dinner and then just as excited to hit the sleeping bags--folks are still feeling the jet lag of shifting all those time zones in short order. But somehow it is better to be feeling it in a camp under the stars, partway up a beautiful mountain. 

Best,

Dave Hahn