RMI Expeditions Blog

Monday, June 3, 2025 - 7:22 am PT

We awoke to low visibility and fresh snowfall on our tent.  We waited a few hrs in hopes that the clouds would rise and visibility  would improve . We never left camp to start our carry and we are thankful we didn’t because the weather deteriorated more that afternoon and into the evening. While staying at camp we snacked, napped, read and organized camp. We then had some delicious, spicy  burritos for dinner and talked about writing a guide book for hot sauces. 

Shout out to all our friends and family back home!

Best,

RMI Guides Lacie, Dustin, Will and team

Monday, June 2, 2025 - 11:25 pm PT

We woke up to the muffled sound of snowfall on our tents. Once we made our way out of the tents, it was obvious that a challenging morning would be ahead of us. Seeing if weather or visibility would improve enough to break trail back uphill, past our cache, and to 11,000' Camp. After wandering around camp, chatting with all the other guide teams and sipping a cup of coffee. We began breakfast, a mellow morning of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and fig bars. As we ate, we waited to see if weather improved, and waited, and waited some more. Sadly weather did not improve, snowfall just became more heavy and the winds began to increase. Around 10A we officially made the call that it would be a weather day. So everyone made their way into the tents and hunkered down. Movies were watched, books were read, and world problems were solved. Finally around 7P we all came back to share dinner. World famous jambalaya chef'd up by Hannah, and made a game plan to hopefully move tomorrow.

Fingers crossed.

RMI Guide Nikki Champion

Monday, June 2, 2025 - 11:07 pm PT

We slept soundly last night despite strong winds and snow thanks to the fortress our team built. After breakfast, we discussed the intense stormy weather we are currently experiencing and the forecast that has no adequate weather windows in site. This lead our team to the tough decision that we need to start heading down the mountain. The team took this in stride as they have taken everything throughout our program. With any luck we will start our journey down the mountain tomorrow picking up caches and shaking hands with other RMI teams along the way. Once back at Basecamp we will wait patiently for our brilliant pilots at K2 to come whisk us away and take us back to Talkeetna!

RMI Guide Jackson Breen

Monday, June 2, 2025 - 3:45 pm PT

We woke up at 17 Camp to large plumes of snow sublimating off Denali Pass. We slow rolled putting on every layer of clothing we had waiting for water to boil, hoping the wind would subside by the time breakfast was ready. To no avail. By the time we were packed and headed downhill the wind had reached our front door and we were blown down the West Buttress back to 14 Camp with our tails between our legs. Reuniting with friends back at camp and worsening weather reassured us that we had made the right decision. 

We have gained a lot over the last couple of weeks; new friendships, good conversations, silly jokes, and some peace from the fast pace of modern life. Though reaching the summit isn’t out of the cards yet for our team, we are beyond satisfied with what the mountain has given us so far. Climbing brings people to their best and their worst, it can cause great joy and great fear. It is a very vulnerable and intimate relationship.

In this world of rat races and anonymous faces it is refreshing to be with good people in a beautiful place. Thank you Mt. McKinley for brining us all together.

Peace, love, gratitude--
RMI Guide Ray Holt

Monday, June 2, 2025 - 10:30 am PT

After our last post after descending to 11,000', things happened quickly. We went to bed to moderate snowfall on the tents and woke to something of the same. With clouds all around, and a cloud cap above on the mountain, and after three big days, we didn’t rush out of 11,000' Camp, but took the time to get some coffee, breakfast, and repack into sleds, duffels, and packs for the snowshoe to Base Camp. By midmorning we were ready, and started out. That walk is always special, as the clouds and light played on the lower peaks of the range, there is a certain quiet and reflectiveness to the descent as we contemplate all we have just done, and how soon we will hopefully be home and this will all start to feel like a bit of a dream. We passed several teams headed uphill, still looking fresh, stubble only a day or two old, excited for everything to come. We made a brief stop at the base of Ski Hill to pick up our cache, then continued through the long flat stretches of the lower Kahiltna. Finally it was time for one more burn, the roughly hour stretch up Heartbreak Hill that would bring us to our destination. All day we had walked in and underneath clouds and didn’t hear much in the way of airplane traffic. Quite truthfully as we took our final steps into Base Camp, a message arrived via inReach from K2 asking if we were at Base Camp yet - weather hadn’t been flyable that day, but things were turning. So we arrived, but rather than sit and recover, we continued the movement and prep, quickly pulling apart sleds and bags, organizing, digging up our Base Camp cache, and shortly thereafter we got the news that two planes had launched to come get us. Just before 7 pm, the two red otters dipped out of the sky on the final approach to Base Camp. We loaded, and before we knew it, were being whisked back to town. Just as we seemed to swing into a stroke of luck with our summit day window (there hadn't been one since), we walked into quite a bit of luck with flying off as well. By 8:45 pm that evening, we were showered and sitting on the deck of the Denali Brew Pub enjoying a meal that hadn’t been boiled in water. 

Nick, Ben, and myself would like to thank this team for the incredible dedication they showed throughout this expedition, to themselves, to each other, and to us. That teamwork and selflessness was the key component in the success of our climb and it was such a pleasure for us to climb with this team.

Signing off for this year,

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

Sunday, June 1, 2025 - 10:11 pm

Another solid day in the books!

After our late night yesterday, we slept in a little bit, had a quick breakfast of cheese grits and then packed up about two thirds of our personal and group food to lug up the mountain halfway between the base of Ski Hill and 11,000' Camp. Today we settle into a rhythm of caching. Where we pack up some of the food and gear we don't expect to use for a bit, and bury it somewhere between our current camp, and our next camp. Then we climb, past the cache, to our next camp, and then we go back and pick up the cache. With so much food and gear, caching gear between camps allows for more manageable loads and also allows for us to climb high, and then sleep low before moving camp. So today, with the two thirds of our gear back we walked out of camp, made our way up Ski Hill, past the 9,500' Camp some people stay at, and to our cache site near 9,800'. Weather had taken a turn since we woke up, with strong winds and light snowfall. Temperatures were cold and visibility was poor but we were able to make the day count, and set ourselves up to hopefully move tomorrow. After the long weathery day, we made it back to camp where we shared some good music and a round of quesadillas.

RMI Guide Nikki Champion

Sunday, June 1, 2025 - 7:20 pm PT

We have arrived at the base of Ski Hill after flying on yesterday evening. Due to our late arrival, we setup at Basecamp and spent the evening reviewing skills and learning how to build an expedition glacier camp. Now our heaviest move of the trip is complete and we are hoping to carry tomorrow.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

RMI Guide Casey Grom led the Four-Day Climb from May 30 to June 2, reaching the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning.
Casey reported breezy and cold conditions, but the team was rewarded with a rare and stunning view of the northern lights. The group climbed well, with six of the eight climbers successfully reaching the summit.

At approximately 7:15 a.m., the team began their descent from the crater rim, and is making their way back to Camp Muir. After a brief rest and repack, they’ll continue the final 4.5 miles down to Paradise. The team is expected to return to Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon.

Great job, team!

PC: Layne Peters

We’re excited to share that the Four-Day Climb led by Tatum Whatford and Eric Frank reached the summit early this morning! The team reported encountering some wind but otherwise enjoyed a beautiful morning high on the mountain.

After taking in the views from the summit, the climbers began their descent and are currently en route back to Camp Muir. They’re expected to return to Basecamp in Ashford, Washington, later this afternoon.

Congratulations to the entire team on a successful climb and summit!

Sunday, June 1, 2025 12:25am PDT

Everyone’s weather dance must have worked, because we finally made it onto the mountain. After two and a half days of waiting, the stars aligned, and we got the call to load up around 1 PM. Everyone put on their mountain boots, threw their duffles into the conex for the next 20 days, took one final team picture, and boarded the planes.

After a flight above the clouds, we quickly descended to basecamp and unloaded into a pocket of sunshine. We went through group gear, repacked our duffles, and rigged the sleds to set out on our journey. Around 3 PM, we were finally walking and beginning the long-awaited climb.

We inched our way across the lower Kahiltna until we made it to Camp One, with the sun still above the mountains. This was our first chance to practice the craft of camp building—everyone set up their tents, crawled in, and waited for a late-night dinner of pesto tortellini. Finally, close to midnight, we wrapped up our day and prepped for tomorrow, when we hope to cache somewhere above 9,500 feet.

We’re excited to finally be climbing!

RMI Guide Nikki Champion & Team