Entries By ben luedtke

The Four Day Climb with RMI Guides Casey Grom and Ben Luedtke climbed to Ingraham Flats early this morning. The team enjyoyed the sunrise and a beautiful morning soaking in all the views. They are back at Camp Muir and will be starting their descent to Paradise soon. 

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise August 8 - 13 team met last Tuesday at Rainier BaseCamp for their first day of Technical Skills training.  On Wednesday, led by RMI Guides Ben Luedtke, Jackson Breen and Joey Manship they headed to Paradise and hiked to their first camp.  The team spent the next several days learning and practicing glacier travel skills, crevasse rescue and expedition style climbing.  Yesterday they bumped camp to 10,080' Camp Muir and with an alpine start this morning they reached the summit of Mt. Rainier.  The team is safely back at Camp Muir where they will have a short break to repack and re-fuel for the remaining 4,500' down to Paradise.  They will conclude their program with a celebration at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.

Congratulations to the team!

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Ben Luedtke reached the summit of Mt. Rainier and were greeted with Snow!  A summer storm with clouds, snow, and low visability kept the team from spending too much time on the summit. The team is on the descent, and in route to Camp Muir where the weather is currently a mix of rain and sleet.

Congratulations Team!

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Steve Gately and Ben Luedtke reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. RMI Guide Ben Luedtke captured the team in this photo on the upper mountian as they were ascending under clear blue skies. They are on the descent in route back to Camp Muir. 

Congratulations Team! 

RMI Guide Mike Haugen and the Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier via the Katuz Route early this morning. Mike reported great climbing, clear skies, and light winds. The Kautz Route is a great adventure for physically fit climbers ready for a slightly more technical adventure on Mt. Rainier, and today's team climbed strong! The team will be descending the Disappointment Cleaver Route, taking a short rest at Camp Muir before returning to Paradise.

Congratulations Team! 

The Five Day Climbing team with RMI Guides Abby Westling and Ben Luedtke climbed last night and reached the summit as the sun was setting. The team spent their first day on the mountain with an acclimatization climb to Ingraham Flats. On day two they took advantage of a full night’s rest and chose to do a sunset climb, a rare and special treat for the climbers to see the stunning alpenglow on Mt. Rainier. 

Congratulations Team!

The Four Day Climb July 3 - 6 led by RMI Guides Hannah Smith and Ben Luedtke enjoyed a beautiful morning on Mt. Rainier.  The teams reached the summit at 6:15 am under clear skies and great route conditions.  The team enjoyed an hour in the crater before starting their descent.  Once back at Camp Muir the climbers will have a quick break and then continue the remaining 4,500' down to Paradise.  We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon.

Nice work team!

The Four Day Climb with RMI Guides Casey Grom and Ben Luedtke were on top of Mt. Rainier at 6:30 am. It was windy morning, but a good 6 hour and 15-minute climb of the Disappointment Cleaver route to reach the 14,410’ summit.  The team is on the descent and in route to Camp Muir.

Congratulations team!

RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier & Ben Luedtke led their Five Day Climb teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning.  Dustin reported broken clouds and light to moderate winds as the teams were ascending the Ingraham Direct early this morning.  The teams enjoyed some time in the crater before beginning their descent.  The climbers will return to Camp Muir for a short rest and to pack their gear before descending the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise later today.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

The Four Day Climb May 18 - 21 led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Ben Luedtke reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning.  Dave reported broken clouds above with some sunshine coming through and warming the team as they started their descent from the crater rim. There is also a cloud deck below them at around 8,000' this morning. Once back at Camp Muir the teams will repack and take a quick break before continuing down to Paradise. We look forward to their return to Rainier BaseCamp later today.

Congratulations to today's climbers!