Entries from Locations
Posted by: Jess Wedel, Alan Davis, Jackson Breen, Will Ambler, Dylan Anderson, Rosie Hust, Celeste Wilson, Erika Barrett
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
This morning at 6:15 AM, the Four-Day Climb teams, led by RMI Guides Jess Wedel and Alan Davis, reached the crater rim of Mt. Rainier. The teams were rewarded with perfect weather and improved route conditions, allowing for a safe summit experience.
After taking in the views and celebrating on the summit, the teams made their way back to Camp Muir. There, they took time to rest, refuel, and reflect on the morning’s achievement before continuing their descent.
Now en route to Paradise, the teams are expected to arrive back at RMI Basecamp later this afternoon.
Congratulations to today’s climbers for their determination, teamwork, and a successful summit.
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Mike Bennett, Avery Stolte, Layne Peters, Tate Hughes, Nina Bridges, Julian Kral, David Rathbun
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb August 17 - 20 led by RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier and Mike Bennett reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams delayed their departure from Camp Muir a bit due to the colder tempertures, with a 2 am departure, they reached the summit around 8 am. They enjoyed some time on the summit before turning around and retracing their steps. Once back at Camp Muir the team will repack and continue their descent to Paradise.
Nice work team!
Posted by: Sam Hoffman, Hannah Blum, Brooks Ordway Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 9,131'
6:30 pm August 18th
Around 12:30 today, our entire team stood on top of Mt. Shuksan. Today the weather was mostly cloudy, but we were rewarded with a break in the clouds on our descent. Tomorrow morning we will pack up camp and head into town to celebrate. Congrats to the team!
RMI guide Sam Hoffman, Hannah Blum, and Brooks Ordway-Smith
Posted by: Joe Crawford, Hannah Billings
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 12, 800'
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise August 14 - 19 led by RMI Guides Joe Crawford and Hannah Billings will conclude their program today. After several days of training and a wet start the team enjoyed four days of good weather and nice training conditions as they gradually ascended the mountain. Yesterday, they bumped up to Camp Muir for their launch point of their summit attempt. Unfortunately the high winds and deteriorating weather on the upper mountain this morning forced them to turn back. The team is safely back at Camp Muir. After a quick break they will continue the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise. They will celebrate their adventure this afternoon at Rainier BaseCamp.
Posted by: Leif Bergstrom, Ben Luedtke, Will Ambler, Mac Nolde, Fitz Elder, Kat Porter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 12,800'
The Four Day Climb August 16 - 19 led by RMI Guides Leif Bergstrom and Ben Luedtke reached 12,800' today before high winds and a descending cloud cap forced them to turn around. The teams returned safely to Camp Muir around 8 am. They will repack and continue the remaining 4,500' to Paradise later this morning.
Posted by: Casey Grom, Raymond Holt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,200'
The Five Day teams led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Ray Holt were unable to make a summit attempt due to unsafe route conditions. Recent rain and low temperatures brought significant snowfall and created icy conditions on the upper mountain—conditions that a couple warm days will improve.
Instead of summiting, the teams spent two days at Camp Muir focusing on additional training, including a skills session up at Ingraham Flats. They are currently descending from Camp Muir and are expected to arrive back at our Ashford Basecamp later this afternoon.
Hey team,
I’ve been thinking about y’all. I’m sorry you didn’t get the chance to summit, but there will be other days and opportunities. I’m glad everyone is safe.
Randy
Posted by: Randy Salo on 8/19/2025 at 6:34 am
The Mt. Baker - Easton Glacier August 15 - 17 climb team led by RMI Guide George Hedreen reached 9,700' today before freezing rain turned them around. They descended safely to Sandy Camp. Once back at camp they were planning to continue their descent to the trailhead and conclude their program.
PC: RMI Guide Avery Stolte
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hate to brag, but our days just keep getting better. Tarangire National Park is delivering. We are still in the park -by the way- in a tent camp miles and miles away from the park entrance. There are no fences between our tents and the animals we were lucky enough to see all day long. Supposedly, the lions haven’t figured out how a zipper works yet, so we’ve got that going for us.
We saw good lions today, but they were the sleepy kind. Five lionesses taking naps in a riverbed. We saw distant and sleepy cheetahs -two of them- but they were too far away and too sleepy for photography. Just when we were thinking that was a little unfair, we got to see a mother cheetah feeding a gazelle to two of her pups… up close. It was stunning. Our team enjoyed giraffes up close. We particularly liked elephant families frolicking in mud. The team got used to seeing massive baobab trees, easily sixty feet around and possibly thousands of years old. A high point of the day, for certain, was when Johnson took us along an immense swamp shoreline at the golden hour when the light was magical before sundown. None of us could believe how many animals and birds we were seeing and how few humans. We’d given all the other cars the slip and Africa was beautiful all around us. It is our final night of Safari… we still haven’t seen a leopard but we are certainly open to a little luck for the morning commute.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
New Post Alerts:
Kilimanjaro Climb and Safari August 5, 2025
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elephants are among the “Big Five” most dangerous animals to hunt—if you’re into that kind of thing. We simply wanted to see the five, and Ngorongoro Crater was our best chance of accomplishing that. So there we were, up on the rim of the giant caldera, bouncing like crazy in the Land Cruiser on a washboard road. We came around a blind corner in the fog and skidded to a stop because an enormous bull elephant was squarely in the middle of the road—and not inclined to move for us. In fact, he made it quite clear that we needed to show some deference to resolve the situation. Johnson, our driver and guide, wisely put the cruiser in reverse while the big guy took a victory walk. So we had one of the five before even dropping into the gigantic “crater” full of wildlife.
We’d barely hit the crater floor before notching up numbers two and three. We immediately saw Cape buffalo and sleepy lions. Then came gazelles, zebras, wildebeest, warthogs, jackals, hyenas, ostriches, and hippos. It was a bit overwhelming.
By afternoon, we were trying hard to spot rhinos. We scored number four by spotting four sleeping rhinoceroses at a distance. Full disclosure: we saw them because a bunch of other Land Cruisers were stopped and pointing. But we also got to see a rhino that no one else saw, thanks to Arthur’s sharp eyes.
We tried to find a leopard—number five—on our way back out of the crater, but didn’t luck out. A visit to a Maasai village on the rim rounded out our big day.
Best regards,
Dave
New Post Alerts:
Kilimanjaro Climb and Safari August 5, 2025
Posted by: Henry Coppolillo, Bailey Servais
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 10,080'
After two days of heavy rain kept the Five Day Team hunkered down in the hut at Camp Muir, conditions finally began to improve around 7:00 AM this morning. Although the team was unable to make their summit attempt, they made the most of the break in the weather by venturing out onto the Cowlitz Glacier for a scenic walk and additional mountaineering training.
Led by guides Henry Coppolillo and Bailey Servais, the team is now departing Camp Muir and heading back to Paradise. They’re expected to arrive in the early afternoon, wrapping up their adventure with resilience and camaraderie despite the challenging conditions.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Awesome Dustin!!!
Very Cool Pictures!!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 8/21/2025 at 3:45 am
View All Comments