Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Sunday, May 25, 2025 - 10:16 pm PT

We continue to hang at 14,000' Camp, acclimatizing, resting, going on small walks to stretch our achy legs, and working on the skills that we will need to ascend the higher reaches of the mountain. After a leisurely morning, our guides had us practice using our ascenders, clipping in and out of anchors, clipping in and out of anchors, and descending the fixed lines using the trusty arm wrap. We repeated until Seth was confident that we could perform these drills with cold hands.

As the pace of life has slowed during this phase of the expedition and we have many (many) hours in the tent with our own thoughts, I’ve curated my top 5 life hacks from the top of North America:

      1. Say goodbye to dish detergent and sponge - fresh powdery snow makes a great all-natural scrub for cleaning your single bowl, mug, and spork. Just step outside, grab a handful of nature’s Dawn, and get to work! Please be sure you select a patch of snow that is indeed white.

       2. Alternatively, forget the dish washing routine altogether and embrace the complex layerings of flavor that can only be experienced when you brew tea in the same mug as last night’s corn soup, or slurp Cinnamon Toast Crunch with undertones of Madras Lentils.

      3. Worried that your sticky-fingers roommate will take your last slice of leftover pizza, or a sneaky coworker will swipe your oat milk creamer AGAIN? Here’s what you gotta do: wrap your precious perishables in a trash bag and bury it deep in the snow! Your goodies will stay cold and fresh, and hidden from greedy scavengers. Just budget a good 20 minutes to dig it up when you need it.

      4. Too lazy to take dry clean only items in for a proper cleaning? Just set dingy laundry like sleeping bags and boot liners out in the sun to sanitize. At least, we think it’s working - our noses have become desensitized to our collective eau de parfum naturel.

        5. Lastly, to all my nocturnal urinators: A pee bottle is the greatest luxury you can add to your life. Not only does the pee bottle save you a trip outside the tent in the middle of a cold night, but you can then tuck it in your sleeping bag as a sort of cozy hot water bottle. Just make sure it has a spill-proof lid. 

In all seriousness, we love and miss you all back home! Sending so much love to ma and pa in Vancouver, David in NYC, Grammie and Granddad and family in Nova Scotia, all the fam in Toronto and Boston, and our supportive friends in Seattle!

A special shout out to our youngest reader, Gene, burgeoning outdoorsperson and super rad human! Say hi to your mom for me!

Love,

RMI Climber Grace

Monday, May 26, 2025 - 12:07 am PT

Summit success for the Mt. McKinley May 8th Expedition!  Yesterday Pete Van Deventer and team reached the highest point in North America.  Pete checked in when the team had safely returned to 17,000' Camp.  More details will be coming soon (we hope).

Congratulations team!

Sunday, May 25, 2025 - 9:48 am PT

We are all set up at 14,000 Camp acclimating and waiting for our weather window.  After a breakfast of bagels and bacon we went and picked up our cache at Windy Corner.  The next few days look to hold plenty of rest as we expect some weather to move in.

RMI Guide Seth Burns
 

Saturday, May 24, 2025 - 9:03 pm PT

We made the big move and started the final push. Things looked good this morning so we got things running early, packed all the necessities for going up high, and walked out in the shade. Soon the sun was on us, and cold became very hot. We made good progress up the fixed lines, across the West Buttress and into 17,000' Camp. We’ve got camp built, stoves are roaring towards dinner, and we’ll wake up and see what tomorrow brings.

Best,
RMI Guides Pete, Nick, Ben, and team

The Four Day Climb led by Dave Hahn and Joe Hoch reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 7:30 AM today!

It’s a beautiful, sunny day with light winds, allowing the team to spend about an hour on the summit soaking in the views and celebrating their accomplishment.

Congratulations to all!

Friday, May 23, 2025 11:08 pm PDT

Happy Friday Everyone!

To our family and friends back at home, I’m excited to share that we have made it to Camp 3—14,200’—a huge milestone in our journey! This is where we will call home for the next week or so while we acclimatize and hit the fixed lines around 17,000’ to prepare for summit attempts.

Today we woke up to a cool, crisp, bluebird sky, and that meant one thing: we were packing up Camp 2 and headed to Camp 3. After a quick breakfast, we packed up our camp, stuffed our packs to the breaking point, and loaded a couple of sleds with all our gear and food.

It was time to trade in our snowshoes and put on our crampons. That’s right—it was time to go climbing, finally! As we headed out with an ice axe in one hand and a trekking pole in the other, we stared up at Motorcycle Hill. It was time to go to work.

We had a 35-degree pitch with roughly 1,000’ of gain. From there, we made our way to Squirrel Hill—another 30-degree pitch—then up to the Polo Fields, where we finally got a bit of flatter terrain. The views are like no other and bring grace to the grind.

Then it was up and around Windy Corner, which didn’t disappoint, greeting us with some lovely wind :). We continued to embrace the day as we made our last push into Camp 3. We are home! Our biggest push in one day with 3,000’ of vertical gain.

As I sit here and write this—and I know the team feels the same—with a sunburnt face, a back that feels like it carried an elephant, and feet that feel like they ran an ultramarathon, I couldn’t be more grateful and proud of this team and all we’ve accomplished over the past six days. Getting to Camp 3 took everything we’ve got—congrats, team!

To our guides: every day you continue to inspire us, nail the weather reports, and keep us moving upward. Thank you for all your efforts!

That’s all for now—time for dinner (bacon mac and cheese!) and some much-needed rest days. Onward and upward this team goes! Keep sending the positive vibes and prayers our way—they’re working!

- Will

Friday May 23, 2025, 6:48 pm PDT

After yesterday’s big effort, we took today to rest and recover. It’s been a beautiful, warm, and sunny day here at 14,000 feet. We treated ourselves to a brunch of bagels and smoked salmon, and spent the day stretching, reading, and drying out gear in the sun.

With our carry complete, we’re fully focused on the summit window now—and hopeful that it comes soon. All the preparation is behind us; now it’s just a matter of timing. Once the push begins, things will move quickly.

Send us all your summit-weather vibes!

—Pete, Ben, Nick, and the Team

Friday, May 23, 2025 - 2:24pm PDT

Yesterday It was a cold, clear morning that promised to warm quickly with the sun. The ridge above looked calm, and everything pointed to a great day to go climbing. We watched a few other teams with similar intentions start out as we packed, and then set out ourselves. We made smooth progress to the fixed lines and then up to the ridge at 16,200. Surprisingly, we found ourselves effectively at the front of the pack, and feeling spry, we continued on along the West Buttress to 17k camp. It is some of the most engaging and interesting climbing on the route, and the views were stunning. We dropped our small caches at 17 and headed back for 14. It was a long, big-effort day, but 9.5 hours of work got the job done and got us back to camp happy and hungry. We’ll take a rest day tomorrow and then start looking for our summit window.

RMI Guides Pete, Nick, Ben, and Team

The hottest new restaurant in Alaska is Maureen’s, currently located at the 11K camp on Denali. Started by a trio of up-and-coming chefs (Jackson, Ray, and Seth), who also happen to moonlight as mountain guides, Maureen’s serves up delicious Tex-Mex fare with Asian and Creole inspirations, reflective of the chefs’ diverse backgrounds. “Corn is pretty much my greatest inspiration; I can turn a tortilla into just about anything,” says Chef Jackson, citing his Iowan roots. The pop-up restaurant is small, seating 9 and squatting 1.

On a busy night of service, guests can hear Chef “Sweet Baby” Ray rapping to OutKast with an inexplicably thick Eastern European accent while whipping up a jambalaya in the open kitchen. The portions are generous, much appreciated on big efforts such as caching heavy packs of gear up to 13K ft.

When not working the breakfast shift, Chef Seth runs front of house, chatting up the regulars and offering sweet words of affirmation, which they desperately need to wake up each morning. There is relatively little to complain about, except maybe the limited beverage list (despite the chefs’ weird insistence on tasting the glacial terroir — it’s just hot water), the overpowering red polyester decor (reportedly Maureen’s favorite color), and the ever-present undertones of body odor. Dress code is casual, although insulated down is highly recommended. Gluten-free options are available upon request.

– Jason

The Four Day Climb from May 19–22, led by RMI Guide Brent Okita, reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning!

At 7:40 AM, the team was at 13,500 feet and continuing their ascent. Conditions were snowy, but the team was doing well. Camp Muir reported high clouds and no wind at that time. By 9:15 AM, the team had successfully reached the summit.

They will return to Camp Muir to pack up their gear before continuing their descent to Paradise later today.

Nice work, team!