Entries By ben luedtke

The North Cascades continue to deliver! RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and team ventured to the Picket Range in North Cascades National Park over the weekend for a successful climb of West McMillan Spire. They enjoyed great climbing conditions and blue, windless skies.

The Four Day Climb August 16 - 19 led by RMI Guides Leif Bergstrom and Ben Luedtke reached 12,800' today before high winds and a descending cloud cap forced them to turn around.  The teams returned safely to Camp Muir around 8 am. They will repack and continue the remaining 4,500' to Paradise later this morning.

Monday, August 11, 2025 -- Descent to Trailhead

Yesterday, Sunday, August 10, 2025, Johnny, Behrang and I summited Mount Shuksan via the Sulphide Glacier and SE ridge. What. An. Adventure! We are all so happy and ecstatic. I am especially proud of Johnny and Behrang for tackling some fears, developing their inner perseverance, and grinding through a long day in the Alpine. We started early from our low basecamp at the park boundary, waddled our way across the sulphide, and climbed (paddled) our way up the amazing and awe inspiring SE ridge. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset, ate one last freeze dried meal, and had a beautiful night of sleep before walking out today. Here's to the next one!

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and Team

Sunday, August 10, 2025 -- Climb Day

We topped out on Mount Shuksan via the Sulphide Glacier route at 2 pm, and made our way back to camp. We had a light breeze and were in full sun during the climb--an absolutely gorgeous day! :) 

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke 

Saturday, August 9, 2025 -- Approach to Camp

Arriving late last night in Sedro-Woolly, we had a fine dinner that consisted of pizza and a dilemma on which sauce is best for the base, but we just put buffalo sauce on all of it to be sure. Today, we got up early and hiked in to our base camp at the edge of the North Cascades National Park Boundary, and we are still awestruck by the views we have of Mount Baker. We journeyed up on the first stretch of our route to practice some skills in preparation for our big summit day tomorrow. Taking in the amazing views of the pickets and so many other peaks, we topped off our water and are back at camp. As we enjoy our tasty freeze dried meals, we are ecstatic for the countless more views we will get tomorrow. The weather looks good, our packs are ready, and our skills are sharp. Lets go!

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke

We had high hopes as we left Camp Muir for our summit attempt. But as we crossed the Cowlitz Glacier, a misty rain started, which turned into a stout blizzard at Ingraham Flats. 

The team climbed well through the weather, but we started losing the fight to stay dry. We returned to Camp Muir safely.

We will be leaving Camp Muir around 9:30 am for our final walk down to Paradise.

RMI Guide Joe Hoch

PC: Joe Hoch

Today, the Four-Day Climb, led by RMI Guides Joe Hoch and Joe Crawford, successfully reached the summit of Mt. Rainier!

In a fun twist of trail magic, both groups were guided by not one, but two Joes, two Hannahs, and two Bens — in addition to Bailey and Simon, who helped keep things from getting too confusing! With this strong and experienced team at the helm, the climbers were in great hands every step of the way.

The teams pushed through some smokey conditions on their ascent and were rewarded with beautiful clear skies upon reaching the crater.  After soaking in the views from the top, the climbers began their descent to Camp Muir, where they’ll pack up before continuing the remaining 4,500’ down to Paradise this afternoon.

Congratulations to today’s climbers on an incredible accomplishment!

The Five Day Climb July 26 - 30 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today!  Led by RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli and Ben Luedtke, the team reached the crater under blue skies and excellent conditions.  They enjoyed some time in the crater before starting their descent.  The teams will return to Camp Muir for a well-deserved night's rest before contining the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise tomorrow.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

PC: Ben Luedtke

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Move to high camp

Today, we moved camp from White Pass up to a beautiful spot amongst alpine lakes in Foam Basin right next to the White Chuck glacier. Getting up early, we said good morning to our fellow marmot friends, took in our first official view of Glacier peak, and set up high camp while enjoying lunch. After a short nap, we refreshed our glacier climbing skills, ate some tasty freeze dried meals, and called it an early night. Tomorrow is summit day. We will wake shortly after the sun disappears, but we are filled with excitement and we look forward to all the challenges tomorrow has to bring. Wish us luck!

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and Team

Thursday, July 24, 2025

The Glacier Peak Team led by RMI Guide Ben Luedtke reached the summit this morning a little after 8:00 am! With what little reception they had, the guides were able to call the RMI office from the summit and share the fantastic news that the entire team had made it to the top. They are now back at camp celebrating their accomplishment, they will spend one more night on the mountain getting some well-deserved rest before they descend back to the trailhead for the conclusion of their trip tomorrow morning.

Friday July 25, 2025

Summit day and walk out

Mountaineering is more than just a sport, a hobby, a vacation, or a summit. Mountaineering is about friendship, comraderie, beautiful views, unforgettable adventures, new experiences, and so much more. Yesterday, and for the entirety of this trip, we accomplished all of that which mountaineering offers. We encouraged each other with heavy packs, pushed one another with words of affirmation, and bonded over the stories of who we are. (And dad jokes). In the end, we summited Glacier Peak, together, as a team on Thursday, July 24, 2025. Some of us walk away with the success of another mountain complete, some of us with the completion of all 5 volcanoes, and some of us completing just 1 of many more objectives yet to come, but we all walk away with the memory of the people we shared it with, the laughs we had, the pains we felt, and the smile of what it truly means to be a mountaineer. Today, we walked out from high camp. Enjoying many a wild berry along the way, we are now basking in the sun that we are glad wasn't there on the twenty some odd switchbacks coming down. Cheers to all for tuning in. 

RMI Guides and Team

Monday, July 21, 2025

Hiya everybody!

Welcome to Glacier Peak, follow along at your own risk. Today was day 1, but we kept it simple. The day consisted of wrapping up our travel, arriving in the small town of Darrington, WA and completing our gear check and orientation for the beginning of our grand adventure. For some of us, this will just be the next major volcano in WA, and for others, this will be our 5th and final WA volcano! Woot woot! Tonight, we pack, unpack, and pack again making sure we have all the essentials. Tomorrow, we start our hike to Camp 1 at White Pass. Hold on to your seats as we venture into the deep wilderness of WA to attempt our hand at one of the coolest volcanoes around. 

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and Team

Tuesday July 22, 2025

Camp at White Pass

Our first day on the trail and we hit the ground running. Just kidding; we walked delicately through beautiful, lush forest, over rough, rugged terrain, and pranced among the wildflowers. It's all true, but today was a hot, long, and difficult journey to reach camp at white pass. Donned with heavy packs and all the snacks, we enjoyed a less dusty trail than usual thanks to the peaceful rain from last night. After our long day of friendly conversation, Marmot sightings, the fresh smells of mountain air, and beautiful views of the surrounding area, we enjoyed our first camp dinner huddled around our stoves and were very happy that we packed our head nets for the bugs. As we crawl into our sleeping bags for some well-earned rest, we can't help but glimmer with excitement for what comes next. Tomorrow, we head for high camp and training for the big summit day. Stay tuned in case the marmots attack...or become our cuddle buddies in the night... they're hard to read.

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and Team 

At 7:02 AM, the Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides guides Brent Okita and Ben Luedtke reached the summit of Mt. Rainier!  

Brent reported clear skies, a light breeze, and warm temperatures—a perfect morning to walk the crater rim and take in the breathtaking views from 14,410 feet.  

Huge congratulations to the climbers and guides for a safe and successful ascent!  

Tuesday, July 1, 2025 - 2:53 am PT

We are back on flat ground.  After descending 10,000 feet in just over 19 hours, with 2 hours of “sleep” in the middle, we arrived at basecamp at 8:30 am, and our hearts leapt to see the red K2 planes bank sharply left and land at the lower landing field about 9 am. Seemingly landing on the lower landing area never occurs this late on the season (it’s good to know Dom is wrong sometimes, and that damned 20” of snow brought us some good luck).

As we descended through the snow and the rain, I thought how little we knew about what we were undertaking, as we begun our journey just 20 days ago.  Did we understand the physical challenge, the might of this great mountain, the real beauty of the Alaska range and the wild vistas and beauty we were about to experience, the hardships, the dangers, the nerve tingling emotion and anxiety of traversing the West Buttress?   Did we know our true physical and mental strength, whilst knowing how effectively useless and powerless we were on this extreme place?  Did we know that none of what we achieved could have been achieved without our three amazing guides - Dominic, Ben and Mike?  They are the true heroes of this journey. 

They have received passing words of praise from my team mates in the recent blogs. However, no words can describe their role, their effort, their workload, their expertise.  

If we carried 70 lbs in our backpacks, they carried over 100. If we pulled 50 lbs in our sleds, they pulled 100.  When we bolted to our tents after caching gear at a higher altitude, they went immediately and prep’d dinner and hot water. They prep’d, served, clean up after every breakfast and dinner. Bagels and bacon, bagels and smoked salmon, burritos, quesadillas, cheesecake, tortellini and chicken (and Aardvark!), ramen, and never to forget Mac’n’cheese with bacon bits - I never knew how many dishes could have bacon bits- OR CINNAMON!!

They dealt with faulty gear, our mental and physical challenges - “Ben, I have a blister” which would be followed with Ben applying a gel pack to my pinky toe.  “Mike what layers should we wear on this next leg?”  They were positive and honest at all times, cheerleaders and coaches, story tellers, fun facters, and quiz masters.  Without them the last three weeks could not have happened.  I think it is fair to give special mention to Dominic. He gets to make the big calls, to say when to move, when to stay, and finally when not to proceed on safety grounds.  I have met and observed many leaders, -the good, the bad, and the ugly -, in my career. I can say without hesitation that Dominic’s leadership skills rank with the best I have seen.  

We are honored and fortunate to have spent the past 3 weeks with Dominic, Ben and Mike.  They make dreams come true. 

RMI Climber Myles O'Neill