RMI Expeditions Blog

Our final program of the Mt. Rainier season wrapped up with an action-packed Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir! The team experienced a true taste of mountain conditions, with a wide variety of weather—including fresh snow—providing excellent opportunities to learn.

Throughout the seminar, climbers practiced essential skills including crevasse rescue, rappelling, glacier travel, and rope techniques, building confidence and gaining valuable experience on the mountain.

The team also made a summit attempt but ultimately turned around due to route conditions. While the summit wasn’t in the cards this time, the experience provided some great lessons in mountain decision-making and safety.

As we close out another season, we want to extend a huge thank you to all of our climbers and guides who made this year so memorable. We appreciate your hard work, enthusiasm, and commitment to learning and adventure. We’ll see you on the mountain next season!

We caught a nice sunny day for our move out to Shira Camp. Kibo -Kilimanjaro’s central peak- was shining in the morning sun when we took off from Machame Camp. The team seemed to have no trouble with the steeper hills we confronted right off the bat.  We climbed up rocky steps through a forest of Giant Heather to attain a ridge crest, then we walked straight toward Kibo for a while before making a turn to the west.  We got to use our hands on the rock in a few places as we traversed some cliff bands on the way out to the Shira Plateau.  By 1:30 PM we were in our new camp.  It was a relaxing afternoon of eating, drinking and resting at this new and significant altitude.  The team is getting ready for a beautiful sunset out towards Meru, the fifteen thousand foot volcano on our western horizon. 

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Sunday, September 6, 2026 - 8:30 am PT

Machame Camp, 10,000 ft.  Our team of nine set off precisely on schedule this morning at 8 AM.  Our bus driver negotiated the busy highway to get us to the Machame Gate of Kilimanjaro National Park in a tidy two hours.  There were papers to be filed and permits to be issued and finally we set out walking through the big forest at 11 AM.  The team crushed it today, cruising from 6000 to 10,000 ft in 5 hrs, 20 min.  We took a few breaks, listened to a few birds and surprisingly, saw the mountain.  We began the day under thick clouds but they dissipated as we climbed and we ended up with blue skies and great views in our new home.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Saturday, September 5, 2026 - 10:10 pm PT

We’ve got the makings of another fine expedition to the highest point in Africa.  Nine of us got together at Rivertrees Inn yesterday to plan and pack for the mountain.  This morning we are setting out!

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

We woke way out in the bush of Tarangire to find fresh lion tracks in the dirt around the landcruisers.  It felt good to be out early and looking for game with no other cars around.  We didn’t see too much wildlife until we were relatively close to the gate on our exit.  A family of lionesses and their cubs were dozing by a waterhole.  And then we were out of the park and making our way back to Arusha.  We stopped once more at the cultural heritage center and then arrived back at Rivertrees. A shower, a repack, and a last dinner together fortified the team for departure.  Most left that evening, the rest the next day.  All pretty pleased with some great weeks in Africa together. 

RMI Guides Dave Hahn, Dominic Cifelli & Team

The Five Day Climb led by RMI Guides Ben Luedtke and George Hedreen were unable to travel above Camp Muir due to stormy weather and low visibility. During their two days on the mountain, the team received a few inches of new snow. Despite the challenging conditions, the climbers made the most of their time on Mount Rainier before descending.

Close Encounters

We came down into the great rift valley today and made our way to Tarangire National Park.  The place is known for elephants, Baobab trees and a great chance for nearly every thing else.  It wasn’t a big cat day for us… we saw a couple below a tree, but they were sleepy.  But it was a big day for elephants.  Close up and personal elephants.  Well one at least.  We’d stopped to watch a family of pachyderms cross the road.  They all crossed; moms, babies, aunts, sisters.  Except for one big bull who, instead of crossing, suddenly came to check out one of our Landcruisers.  We were trying to guess his intentions as his trunk found its way into the car. He then pulled back a step, took a rumbling dinosaur deep breath and shook his head violently a few feet from the car.  Then he stared down into it good and hard before pushing a tusk against the window.  Richard, our driver/guide turned the key and pressed smoothly on the gas at the same time, quickly moving us to safety as the big bull elephant then danced into the road.  We couldn’t believe how close we’d been to an enormous and confused animal.  It was a little terrifying and thrilling all at once. 

We then went on our way, deeper into the park, enjoying seeing giraffes and hyrax’s and elands.  Our lodge for the night is a tent camp way out in the wilds of Africa.  We shall see what beasts wander through. 

- RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

We fought through weather & cold conditions on Mt. Baker this weekend,  but had a successful summit day followed by beautiful sunshine on our decent from Baker! 

RMI Guide Hannah Blum

The August 28 - 1 September Glacier Peak climb led by RMI Guide Avery Stolte reached the summit this morning around 9 am.  The entire team stood on top today.  Nice work team! The group will descend to camp and spend another night on the mountain. Tomorrow they will return to the trailhead and conclude their program.

The day started out just so-so.  It was cloudy, it was raining.  When we drove up onto the rim of the Ngorongoro caldera it was still raining, still cloudy and the road was rough.  Down in the immense valley it was still a little miserable but at least we were seeing wildlife.  Then it got amazing. 
We considered ourselves lucky to have spied a few lions at some distance.  But then we started coming on prides of them at close range.  When three rhinos walked toward our vehicles, we were over the moon.  Such a thing doesn’t happen.  And it did.  They came into iPhone range.  Whole trips pass without a rhino even at great distance.  We moved a few miles away and considered ourselves ridiculously lucky then to see a different pride of lions on a zebra kill. And then a rhino casually walked within a few feet of the pride and the kill… again, so close that a phone was all the camera needed for capturing it.  Our guides had never seen such a thing before.  We were simply amazed.  We drove off to the lunchtime picnic grounds shaking our heads in wonder.   After lunch we made our way up to the crater rim again and stopped in for a tour of a Maasai village.  We danced we watched them throw spears and make fire. We toured their homes and tried to understand their traditional way of life in an otherwise modern world. 
Then we drove back down the bumpy roads to Plantation Lodge and the lap of luxury for another evening. 

RMI Guide Dave Hahn