RMI Expeditions Blog

Friday, June 19th - 10:50PM PST

Let's begin with the obligatory summary of the day. Today was a rest and training day at 14k camp.
Our guides saw fit to bless us with a late start to the day, allowing a couple more hours of sleep until the sun peeked out over the mountain to bathe the camp in warmth. As the frost on our tents (on everything, really) melted away, we enjoyed a team breakfast, which included a rousing discussion of the best rom-com, as well as efining a dude vs chick flick. After attaining peak caffeination (and an additional discussion of the best methods of caffeination) we gathered our climbing gear and buttoned up camp before heading up the hill for some training. On the hill, we practiced using our ascenders for the fixed lines on the route above, as well as techniques for the descent. Personally, these skills sessions are one of my favorite parts of the climb. The team especially appreciated Mike's "hot knowledge" tips. Once training was complete, we descended back into camp for a relaxing afternoon with a breathtaking view of Mt Foraker and the expansive Alaskan wilderness stretching out below us.

Now that the summary is complete let's reflect. A rest day is a perfect opportunity for these introspective thoughts. I decided to poll the group to help write this portion of the blog, which is admittedly a pretty lazy way to write a blog, but hey, it's my post and my rules.
Living on the coast of Lake Erie just barely above sea level, I frequently get asked: what's it like climbing a mountain? I always struggle with this question to be honest. I'm not a wordsmith or a poet, and I often fail to find words to do the mountains justice. So I asked my team to do it for me! I asked them to describe in about three words, what it's like to climb mountains. These words could include the reasons why they climb, their favorite aspects of climbing, challenges, etc. Here are their answers:
Our fearless guides go first. Ben: For the people

Mike: Engaging, rewarding, purposeful

Avery: Community,  physical, hands-on.

The guides had an additional three words: Pete,
send money.
On to the clients:

Matt: To feel alive

Devin: Devin broke the rules and gave me three 30 word phrases, so I picked my favorite. Misogi. Which is Japanese for challenging yourself on an experience that has a 50/50 chance of completing
that experience.

Ethan: Moving goal posts

Jimmy: Type 2 fun

Allison: Here I am

Amanda: Wanting for nothing, I am whole.

Hudson: Exploring the limits of ourselves

I won't presume to interpret or explain these deeply personal words and phrases but I will tell you about mine (it's my soap box after all): Challenge, joy, and gratitude
Challenge: I've always been a very goal oriented person and l've always loved a good challange. The mountains challenge me to be disciplined. Disciplined in my training, my planning, and in my mindset on the climb. The mountains challenge me physically, occasionailly pushing me harder than I've ever worked before. The mountains challenge me mentally, Being away from family and friends is challenging. Not showering for weeks is challenging. Entering a tent that smells absolutely rank is challenging.

Joy: I've experienced some of my happiest moments in the mountains. Tagging the peaks of the 5 Washington stratovolcanoes with my brother ranks up pretty high. He just made me an uncle last month, so he's got a pretty good excuse for skipping this climb. There's joy in making new friends, joy in pushing through a tough day together, and joy in inside jokes (hypothetically speaking, or screaming WHERE ARE YOU in a Tom Delong voice from various points in camp). There's obviously joy in reaching the summit, but the whole climb is filled with joy from start to finish

Gratitude: I firmly belive that nothing teaches you gratitude like the mountains. I'm grateful for a job that funds and allows time for trips like this, grateful that Matt brought all the Austin Powers movies, grateful for my family who cheers me on (even if my mom thought there was a Starbucks at basecamp), grateful for a loving wife who is supportive to a fault (love you Molly!), and I'm grateful for my health and ability to climb. I'm also grateful for Denali. She has allowed us to  experience her beauty and power. She has allowed us to climb, but frequently reminds us that this is a privilege. With wide crevasses, ever changing weather, and the thunder of distant avalanches and rock fall, she urges us to never take our time on the mountain for granted. I'm grateful that Denali has given me permission to be here, to climb to this point, to experience the challenges and joys of climbing, and grateful that she reminds me to always appreciate my time in the mountains.
So there you have it. As best as my team and I can explain, that's what it's like to climb.

RMI Climber Nick Lukens
 

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!

RMI Teams led by guides Dustin Wittmier and Tom Skoog made it to the top of Mt Rainier this morning around 6:15am. After several days of extremely high winds, they reported light winds and nice temperatures. They will return to Ashford this afternoon. 

Great work, team! 

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.