RMI Expeditions Blog

The Four Day Climb May 24 - 27 led by RMI Guide Mike King reached the summit of Mt. Rainier via the the Ingraham Direct route this morning just before 8 am.  Mike reported windy conditions and a lot of hard work by the team.  They are currently on their descent to Camp Muir. Once back at Muir, they will take a short break before continuing to Paradise. Their program will conclude later this afternoon at Rainier BaseCamp.

Nice work team!

Tuesday, May, 26, 2026 - 11:05 pm PT

A perfect first day to our trip!

Everyone was on time and ready to go at the Anchorage airport. After a nice drive from Anchorage to Talkeetna with a short stop in Wasilla for some last minute fresh food purchases we moved into the K2 Aviation hanger and into our hotel rooms at the Swiss Alaska inn. We had a team dinner at Denali Brew Pub and talked about our busy day to follow. With full stomachs and open minds we look forward to everything tomorrow brings as we lay down for bed!

RMI Guide Jackson Breen

Tuesday, May 26, 2026 - 11:22 pm PT

Yesterday evening listening to our nightly broadcast weather report via FRS Radio brought to you by the KIA (Kahiltna International Airport) Base Camp manager was a grim affair. It was calling for cold temps, high winds and lots of snow at the 14k elevation band and above. Thus it felt like a minor miracle when we awoke to clear and calm skies! The team was fully prepared to add another storm day notch on their belts but was equally happy to pivot to a more active day!

After a snappy breakfast of granola, dried blueberries and powered milk we geared up to head to the top of the fixed lines! This day trip would consist of gaining 2,000 feet of elevation over a relatively short distance with a little over 500 of those feet on the legendary Denali fixed lines. After the team scooted up the snow booter, we were looking straight up the fixed lines. Hard blue ice underfoot required strong and purposeful crampon work. The thin air of 16,000 feet required deep breathing. Yet our slow caterpillar of ascending mountaineers finally topped out the pale blue ropes of the fixed lines!

We were greeted with panoramic views of the Alaska Range. Our time was limited as the temperatures were cold and the wind was biting. The descent was a fully engaging endeavor down the firm ice but the team did it with style and grace. A relatively short descent down the remaining snow slope brought us home sweet home for a dinner of ramen and an early bedtime. Tomorrow we continue to acclimate and rest so that we are in ideal condition 

should we get a chance to climb to high camp and the summit!

Cheers,

RMI Guide Jack Delaney and the Team!

Tuesday, May 26, 2026 - 10:36 pm PT

The orange snake slithers slowly in front of me, at a mountaineers pace I follow it knowing it is going where I can find shelter, food, and water. Flexing left cheek, right cheek, then left again. We stop for a break and laugh and smile at each other as we check for signs of our faces getting too cold. Puffies on, stay warm, move your fingers and toes. Breaks over, both too short and too long as we are tired but need to move to stay warm. 

I'm following the orange serpent to wherever it takes me next.

RMI Climber Wayne

Tuesday, May 26, 2026 - 10:27 pm PT

Woke up to bagels

Empty packs down to the cache

Set up for rest day

RMI Guide Nikki Champion

Tuesday, May 26th 11am PST

An early dinner with early bedtime made for an early morning start out of Camp 1. Our team woke up at 5 am and were headed back up ski hill by 7. We got our first glimpse of the top of Denali on our way out of camp.

In our current game of cache or carry - today was a carry day. We set out with sights set on 11 camp. We hauled sleds, did maths in our heads, and considered would you rather have constantly rotating or eternally damp socks. Our bluebird day turned cloudy, eventually giving way to snow and wind at 9500 feet.

We were happy to arrive at camp at 11,200 ft and after a quick group effort our camp was up and functioning again. We tucked ourselves in our cook tent with hot tea out of the wind and snow, and entertained alternative uses for tea bags. Now waiting for our impending delicious dinner from our amazing guides, we look forward to tomorrow and what the weather will have in store for us. I leave you with a quote I often utter as I hoist my body up this cold mountain. As a wise Mexican chihuahua once said “With my bean and my sombrero, the candy is never far away”

-RMI Climber Julia (aka Juls/Jube)
 PS - Shout out to my mom and dad, who are currently watching my dog so I can run around Alaska for 4 weeks, my family/my best friends/my girls at Pennsy following along/my child dog Coco.
 

Monday, May 25th 11:30pm PST

Today was a tough day. We woke up to clear skies, and the signs of high winds at upper elevations. We quickly tore down camp and finally started the move to 14 camp. The first stretch was pleasant, but by the top of motorcycle hill we were met by strong winds the winds only persisted up squirrel hill and across the polo fields, but it was at windy corner where we were met by the worst of the weather. A cloud overtook us, winds increased and visibility decreased, but the team pushed through and gained visibility by the cache site. Eventually, we made it to 14 camp and set up our new home. We wrapped the night up with pad thai.
 

RMI Guide Nikki Champion & Team

Monday, May 25th 11pm PST

Hey ya'll, it’s Haley!
Coming to ya from 14 camp. It feels like we are in a Katy Perry song because the overwhelming description is “it’s hot then it’s cold.” We have experienced very chilly nights followed by sweaty tent afternoons but we take it all in stride. Something I love about Denali is that it’s anti-alpine start. We woke up around 9:30 to stunning views of Mt Foraker and clear skies all around. Our first order of business is to fill our empty water bottles from the night which includes applauding those who kept them warm in their sleeping bags and publicly chastising those who let them freeze. It’s called efficiency bullying up here! After a lovely breakfast of egg hash, we tromp off to get some much needed fixed line and picket clipping practice. The result is a cacophony of yelling “ANCHOR!” & “CLIMBING!” while each of us is managing the war between our mega mitts, the rope, and a wiregate carabiner. All in all, it bolstered our confidence to take on the challenges that come ahead if we get our summit window. We were hoping to spend an afternoon of clear skies touring other parts of the famous 14 camp such as the Edge of the World Overlook and the Poop Cravasse! But just like the guy at the bar you don’t want to talk to, the clouds sauntered over and blocked our views of all things good. So instead, we traded snacks from our recently recovered cache and relaxed. With three solid days of acclimating at 14 camp, all that’s left is for the mountain to decide if it will let us go up. So fingers crossed for a weather window in our future! Too blessed to be stressed,

RMI Climber Haley

Love you Kevin!! Thanks to everyone sending encouraging notes and support our way!
 

5/24 - Our team woke up to beautiful views back down heartbreak hill which we had conquered the day before and cloudy skies up the mountain towards which we set our sights. Breakfast consisted of granola and powdered milk and as much hot coffee as we could get down before rigging our sleds and packs.

With lighter loads than day 1 we slowly made our way up ski hill, eventually reaching our cache site around 9800'. Our guides dug a large 6-foot hole and we piled in bags filled with our extra clothes, gear, and food that we will grab in a couple days for the higher mountain. The cache was then topped with the extra snow and plenty of bamboo pole flags to mark it and we headed back down with empty sleds and lighter packs. 

Cloudy skies when we arrived back at camp broke and we again had some sun. A couple of us started charging our batteries with solar panels we brought and we relaxed, snacked, and dried our gear in the greenhouses of our tents.

We just finished a delicious early dinner of hearty pan fried burritos and cookies. Tomorrow we will cache some of our extra food and used clean mountain cans (CMCs) which we’ve taken turns using after meals here at 8k feet and make our way to 11k camp.

Denali continues to loom large across our camp above us, occasionally peeking out to show off its raw majesty. While we usually can’t make out the top above the clouds, we continue to set our sights there as we make our way closer and closer, day by day.

RMI Climber Climber Treavor

P.S. Hello to all our friends, family, and coworkers following our progress!

5/24 - Today's haiku brought to you by Candice.

Signs of clearing skies

Brings us hope as days count down

May the weather hold.

While we are geared up to move to 14 camp, we sadly woke to another day of poor visibility and light snowfall. We used the down day to prepare camp to move tomorrow, but most of the day was filled with time in the chaos cantina. The favorite Mexican joint around 11 Camp. Where we enjoyed breakfast burritos in the morning, and beef and bean burritos for dinner. We wrapped the evening up to the sweet melody of Gasolina (let's go Daddy Yankee), and some friendly tortilla wars with our neighboring camps. Let's hope for tomorrow.

RMI Guide Nikki Champion & Team