RMI Expeditions Blog

The Five Day Climb led by Andy Bond reached 13,200' on Mt. Rainier. The team turned around due to route conditions. They are back at Camp Muir and will be descending to Paradase later today.

Congratulations Team! 

Thursday, May 16, 2024 - 12:11 am

We are camped at the base of Ski Hill, planning to carry tomorrow.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

Wednesday, May 15, 2024 - 11:01 pm PT

We'd like to start today's blog with a special hello from Jackson to Grandma Carol.

Things looked perfect when we first got out of the tents this morning to carry up towards 14,000'. As we exited the cooktent though the winds had started to crank up high, sending lines of snow skyward. We slowly packed, staring uphill trying to make up our minds. After an hour or two the plumes got smaller, and winds seemed to be calming, so we went for it. Turned out well for us. We had at most light breezes all day, and cruised around Windy Corner to the cache spot, deposited our loads of food and accessories, and cruised back to camp, light as a feather. It was a good days work. We're going to look for our best opportunity to move to 14,000' Camp, weather permitting and that will be the next big step. Maybe tomorrow, maybe after. As with all things, we'll see.

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

Wednesday, May 15, 2024 - 2:51 pm PT

With our cache established around Windy Corner, our team is resting at 11,000' Camp. It's a bit breezy in camp, much windier up high. A good day to chill.

RMI Guide Mike Walter

Tuesday, May 14, 2024 - 7:47 pm PT

We had a stellar day of rest and recovery today at 11,000' Camp. The skies were blue as could be and camp was calm and warm. We waited to leave tents until the sun hit, and lingered over blueberry pancakes and coffee. The midday was time for naps, movies, wet wipe baths, fresh clothes, etc. Then we did a quick hour long practice session of cramponing, arrest, and rope travel practice, before a couple more hours of lounging. We're now properly setup for a carry around Windy Corner tomorrow. Ever higher we go!

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

Tuesday, May 14, 2024 - 8:42 pm PT

We had great weather today and got a cache established up around Windy Corner at about 13,700'. We are all back at camp now. Keeping it brief. Still lots of work to do tonight before we can get horizontal. We'll check in again tomorrow. 

RMI Guide Mike Walter

Tuesday, May 14, 2024 - 9:44 pm PT

Hello everyone! It's been a hectic couple of days packing and prepping for flying on today. We arrived at Kahiltna Basecamp following a smooth and scenic ride from Talkeetna. The team spent the day acquainting themselves with life on the glacier and enjoying this beautiful place. Tomorrow we plan to head for the base of Ski Hill. Everyone still smells pretty good and we are feeling motivated to start moving.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

Our team woke to winds high enough to hold you still and push you around. We pushed to first break at Ingraham Flats where we decided that would be our high point. A lot of steep terrain above would not have been fun to be on in any amount of wind. Everyone has been enjoying a bit more rest before making our way back down to Paradise later this morning. 

On a bright side, a fox was spotted in camp. It appeared to be healthy and quite quick at running across glaciers. 

RMI Guide Hannah Smith

RMI's May 12th Denali Expedition led by RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier, Dan May and Lacie Smith have spent the last few days traveling to Talkeetna, Alaska, packing gear and weighing all the gear.  They are now at the K2 Aviation hangar and getting ready to fly to the Kahiltna Glacier and get this expedition started.

Good luck team!

With today's move to 11,000' complete, we are done pulling sleds uphill, and are retiring the snowshoes until we come down! There was much celebrating. It was sunny in camp this morning and we let that dry tents and sleeping bags for a bit, then pulled it all down, packed it all up, and started walking back up Ski Hill. It was an incredibly pleasant day and we trundled along to 11,000' in good time. The team is clicking at getting stuff done, and tents were up in no time. Good thing to, as a big black wall approached from the west and enveloped us in fat snow flakes. It's incredibly calm, but we are building an inch or so of snow an hour, falling quietly, straight down. At another time of year it would evoke holidays, wood stoves, and cozy winter vibes, but right now it's making summer feel quite far away. Our intention is to take a rest day tomorrow at 11, refresh some climbing skills for the terrain above, and get ready to cache higher the next day.

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer