Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Friday June 19th - 6:30PM PST

Perfect day for climbing to the head of the Kahiltna Glacier.  We woke at 2:30 AM, happy to find that we had new neighbors -Dan May’s RMI team, fresh from summit success, had set up next to us in the night.  We congratulated them (although they were still trying for a little sleep) and set out on our carry to 10,000 ft.  Conditions were excellent for travel, the surface had frozen up just right and our sleds were gliding effortlessly… except for when we were going uphill, which was most of the time.  We traveled well at any rate, reaching our target elevation before 9 AM, just as the first rays of sunshine were creeping over the end of the West Buttress. We dug a deep hole in the snow and cached food and fuel. The walk down was relatively easy with light packs.  Looking South we could see all the way to the Tordrillo Mountains on the horizon.  By late morning we were diving into our tents to beat the midday heat.  We hope to move up tomorrow.

-RMI Guide Dave Hahn
 

May & team land back in Talkeetna with big smiles!

June 18th - 10PM PST

This mountain is work. But not the kind of work that we do back home. Not the expediency of email after email, reacting to task to task.  Not back-to-back zoom calls.  Not Monday morning meetings, nor PowerPoint presentations. That’s the job that allows us to do this other kind of work—the work Denali requires.

The work up here is different. Waking up in the morning is work. It takes 15 minutes to get dressed and another 5 minutes to get our boots on. This morning was our first sub-zero wake up.  Avoiding the frost on the inside of the tent while putting on a shirt is work —you can’t let it touch your bare back. Rice Krispie treats are no longer for pleasure, but for performance. Today, after organizing her food bags for 2 hours, I heard Amanda say, “it’s hilarious how much work is required just to get by up here.”

Drinking water is work. It requires digging sacks of fresh snow, lighting the camp stove and waiting for the snow to melt  in a big pot. It takes a lot of snow to fill the water bottles of 9 climbers 3 times per day. Our guides handle this job. As climbers, we do a lot of work and it still only amounts to about 40% of the work our guides handle. We could not do this without our guides: Ben, Mike, and Avery.

Moving up this mountain is work. Every step is slow and heavy. Yesterday we covered 3K feet of gain up frozen glaciers as steep as double black diamond ski slopes. We pulled heavy sleds and carried heavy packs. Every patient crampon step was work. This is work that we get to do. Work that we choose to do. Do not feel sorry for our cold toes and sunburnt lips. This work makes us happy.

Yesterday’s effort took us 5 hours and 40 minutes as we moved from 11K camp to 14K camp. No music. No conversation. Sometimes the silence of the snow, and other times the shriek of Denali’s winds as she lets us know she’s aware of our presence on her west buttress. So far she’s welcomed us with beautiful weather, but we’re ready for when she changes her mind. We have lots of time to think on these long days. A luxury that we do not have back home when we’re in the daily grind. Out here I find myself thinking about the people I love and miss. My eyes fill with tears of joy as I think about my favorite memories we’ve made together. I find myself planning the next time we’ll see each other. The stories we’ll share, the laughs we’ll have, and the memories we’ll make. Today I thought about Nonnie. I promise I’ll come visit you as soon as I get back. I thought about Aunt Sandy’s Christmas Eve stories and my mom’s tendency to exaggerate her boys’ abilities. I thought about how Jake and Jordan would hate it in this tent, but they could do it if they had to. I thought about my boy Braxton and his upcoming Walmart meeting—go get it done, sir. I thought about Angela; Miss Chaosa, keep doing great work and you will be happy with the outcome. I promise. I thought about all of you guys and the strength of the hugs we will soon share.

Until then, it’s back to the work. We have a mountain to climb. This morning we back-carried to 13K feet to retrieve our cached gear and food. That was 2 hours of work. This afternoon we trained on the fix lines. We buffed out camp, built igloo walls with snow blocks, and we rested. We are preparing our minds and recharging our bodies. We are doing the work that is required to touch the top of North America. We feel lucky that we get to do this work. We are sharpening ourselves. We will make you all proud.

With love from 14,
- RMI Climber Jimmy D

PS: Happy big 6-5, John Morrison! We’ve been thinking about you every day. You inspire us to do this work with pride, with grit, and with determination. We will stand on the summit for you soon.
 

June 18th - 7PM PST

We started stoves at 12:30 AM today and hopped into our climbing boots.  Conditions looked to be perfect.  It was a clear night and the glacier surface had frozen up just right to make walking and sled dragging easy.  Or easier, at least.  As expected, it took a good while to get geared up, to break camp, get breakfasted and rigged for glacier travel. We were moving by 3:45 and watching the first sun way up on Mt Foraker’s 17,000 ft slopes. In contrast, we were still in deep shadow as we worked along the immense Kahiltna glacier.  By a little after eight, we’d already reached our destination for the day The base of Ski Hill at 8000 ft.  It took a few more hours to build a secure camp and then we made good use of it, diving in tents to avoid the midday sun.  We will carry a load up the glacier tomorrow and return to this camp.  All are feeling strong and enjoying the scenery.

-RMI Guide Dave Hahn
 

June 19th - 6:20AM PST

After a hard fought summit day 100% of the team made it to the tallest point in North America! The following day we descended all the way from 17,000 ft to our very first camp: ski hill at 7,600 ft. We got a quick nap in and now are beating the heat and walking into the early morning cold to the airstrip  to return back to Talkeetna!

-RMI Guide Team

Great News!

Dan May and 100% of the team reached the summit of Denali! 

Received June 18, 2026 - 2:45 am PT

Denali Dispatch June 17th 2026

Did you know your brain has to make around 250,000 decisions per week.

and did you know that… if bees were to be taken off this earth humans would only have 4 years left on earth to live, Einstein said that. and did you know a single tomato plant can yield around 

100 tomatoes per year…AND did you know…that if hypothetically…YOU were to stand at the bottom of a mountain OF THIS extensiveness, this height, this coldness, this atmosphere.…well…a ticking time bomb goes off… a build up of emotions…that have been sitting inside you for months.. just soaking in… mentally preparing for this place in the middle of Alaska on the cusp of the artic circle…the time bomb of emotions is different for all …For some it’s freedom, for some it’s fun, for some it’s a confidence boost, for some it’s to clear their head, for some its to test themselves, for some it’s to prove something, for some it’s just a break … A break from society, the world, the noise. And hypothetically when you start to put yourself in these environments…these untraditional, uncomfortable environments.. it’s beats the therapist 10/10 times, it lowers your cholesterol, its heightens your senses, it makes you feel alive and OVER ALL in the end ….it adds happiness to your life.  But also… this place is cold af, we’re carrying a ton of gear, shoulders are throbbing, everyone’s aching somewhere, it’s 24/7 sunlight … which is trippy, and honestly… a quick hot shower would be kinda nice.  So I guess what I’m saying it’s kind of a double edged sword… it’s hard… but it works. It works for whatever you need it for. the climb is medicine in a way… not the pharmacy drugs … I’m talking the good stuff. It’s the best kush you ever smoked... Figuratively  it’s the ” sour diesel mountain kush" (Might take that out) It gets you high…i mean we’re already 14k ft…I’ll speak on all of our behalfs, at this very moment on June 17th 7:15 PM Vibes are high, We just got to 14 camp like a bunch of dogs that just ate a big breakfast. carbed up. 5 hours 45 min… of pain cave. but The Team cooked. Ruff ruff it’s about to get real though…weather girl goes “high of 30 ….. below” who says that? For real… have you ever heard your local weather person say “high of 30… below” NO…it’s barbaric…it doesn’t even make sense… what person in there right mind would...anyways… vibes are high. If you’re a family member reading this.. just know you got one hell of a person in your family…if they chose to come out here and attempt this thing. they got a different switch in their brain, a switch you can’t buy for any amount of money. it’s a God given switch.  It’s the type of person you wanna be around. Absolutely blessed to be able to spend this climb with some real characters. Everyone has a story all you gotta do is ask.

Quote of the day: Life becomes beautiful when gratitude becomes louder than stress

PS: The word “sled” has given me full ptsd

RMI Climber Devon

The Four Day Climb June 15 - 18 led by RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli and Felipe Guarderas reached 13,600ft this morning before high winds and route conditions turned them around. The team had descended to the top of Disppointment Cleaver, 12,500', by 7 am and are continuing to make their way back to Camp Muir. After a short break, they will continue from Camp Muir to Paradise. We expect them to return to Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.

Wednesday, June 17, 2026 - 9:24 pm PT

Just like clockwork.  We ate a great Swiss Alaska breakfast, walked to the hangar, put on our boots and flew in to Kahiltna Base Camp.  It was a stunningly beautiful flight.  There were some clouds but our pilots found ways between them and put the ski equipped Otters down as gently as possible onstunningly beautiful flight.  There were some clouds but our pilots found ways between them and put the ski equipped Otters down as gently as possible on the SE Fork.  We were on by 10 AM which made for an easy day of building camp and conducting a review of glacier travel techniques.  We are surrounded by gigantic cliffs of ice and rock and by glaciers stretching for miles.  The guides served up a phenomenal burrito feast in our dining tent and the team turned in early.  We intend to get up in the middle of the night to go climbing.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn 

Tuesday, June 16, 2026 - 11:11 pm PT

As expected, today was a busy one.  We talked over our priorities and strategies. We sat with the National Park Service rangers for our required orientation.  We dialed personal gear, group gear and food quantities.  We packed and prepped and checked our systems.  Then we went into town, relaxed and ate pizza.  We are ready. We hope to fly in first thing tomorrow morning. 

RMI Guide Dave Hahn