Entries By ben luedtke

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.

Congratulations to the Four Day Climb team, led by RMI Guides Stella Johnson and Dustin Wittmier, on reaching the 14,410-foot summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning!

Despite cold temperatures and strong winds, the team was rewarded with clear skies above the cloud layer surrounding Paradise. They are currently descending and expect to arrive back at Camp Muir shortly.

Well done, Team!

8.22.26

Mountains, marmots, and bears, oh my. What an adventure. Huge shout out and thanks to our climber Josh for an incredible trip. We laughed, we almost cried, and we had the time of our lives.  After a few thunder showers and some park requests that may have been answered, we finally got the meal of Mexican food we deserved. Until next time, thanks for tuning in!

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and Josh Osborne 

8.21.26

Today was a day for adventure. We took off in the morning and climbed a very loose, but entertaining piece of rock called Tepeh Towers. We then roamed the vast snow covered slopes of the Inspiration and McAllister glaciers, poking our heads in places maybe no one has ever been?! A bit smoky, quite warm, and weather looming in the future, we decided to bump back down to our low camp and keep yogi company for another night. Did I mention our nap?! We're productive AND efficient. One last request for the park service would be a water slide at the base of the Eldorado glacier; people would love it, and so would we. Off to bed, early to rise.

- RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and Josh Osborne

8.20.26
1. Blueberry pancakes for breakfast with 2 black bears. Check.
2. Move to high camp and enjoy lunch with an epic view. Check.
3.Summit Eldorado and enjoy a sunset dinner there. Check.
It's all about the meals y'all. Oh and we got a bathroom with a killer view and a toilet seat. We are living large.

-RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and Climber Josh Osborne

8.19.26
Just 2 guys out looking for an adventure. Josh and I quickly found one trying to cross the creek 1 min from the parking lot. Given the steep nature of the trail for the first 2 miles on this trip, we have come up with a list of suggestions for the Park service:
1.Keep the air on please, it's too hot.
2. A lot of the steps are too big, can we make them shorter?
3. More shade, where did all the trees go?
4. What's with all the loose boulders in the boulder field?

All jokes aside, we ate some berries, stole a marmot's lookout to enjoy dinner with a view, and we can't get over the pure beauty of this place. Tomorrow we move up to high camp for further exploration and at least a summit or 2, maybe more.

-RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and Climber Josh Osborne

8.17.26

Summit Success!

8.16.26

What initially looked like a potentially stormy start on day 1 of our climb turned out to be a beautiful and very warm day. We made our way to beautiful Lake Ann and set up a camp down low for the night. Tomorrow, we wake up early to make our attempt for the summit up the infamous Fisher Chimneys. Wish us luck, we will provide an update on our day tomorrow!

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke 

August 14th - 1:43pm PST

Back once more for your final Glacier Hunter dipatch. After an incredible day of Hunting with great success, we had returned to high camp just in time. With rest and relaxation on the to do list, the weather decided different. Instead of a swim in the alpine lake with sasquatch, a hail storm ensued. It was light, but the naps that followed were hard. Enjoying one last dinner we turned in early for the long journey out today. Awoken amongst the final night's stars, we wished upon a shooting one that sasquatch was doing well. An early morning start apparently meant all the marmots came out to play. "Our hunt is over, you're too late for tuna time," we said, but they didn't seem to care and kept asking for more. Enticed by blueberries we were, but the trailhead brought so many more gifts. Back in Darrington, we reminisce. Come back next year when we do it again. The hunt may be successful, but it never truly ends.

Cheers!

-Your 2026 Team of Glacier Hunters

August 14, 2026 1:43 pm

Back once more for your final Glacier Hunter dipatch. After an incredible day of Hunting with great succes, we had returned to high camp just in time. With rest and relaxation on the to do list, the weather decided different. Instead of a swim in the alpine lake with sasquatch, a hail storm ensued. It was light, but the naps that followed were hard. Enjoying one last dinner we turned in early for the long journey out today. Awoken amongst the final night's stars, we wished upon a shooting one that sasquatch was doing well. An early morning start apparently meant all the marmots came out to play. "Our hunt is over, you're too late for tuna time," we said, but they didn't seem to care and kept asking for more. Enticed by blueberries we were, but the trailhead brought so many more gifts. Back in Darrington, we reminisce. Come back next year when we do it again. The hunt may be successful, but it never truly ends.

Cheers!

- Your 2026 Team of Glacier Hunters

August 13, 2036 7:37 pm

Welcome back once again! Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, people of all ages, the Hunt ended due to technical difficulties...we're kidding. It is with great congratulations that we award this team with the official summit of Glacier Peak. The hunt was successful, the views were beautiful, and the rope legs were real. Sasquatch, however, is yet to be found. Thank you one and all for tuning in to our program, Alas!! We are not done yet. Tomorrow we venture towards home, where the grass isn't greener but the toilets have seats. Until then our friends.

-Your 2026 Glacier Hunters

August 13, 2026 11:00 am

100% Summit Success. Ben & Team just called from the summit of Glacier peak with the entire team on top!

Augsut 12, 2026

Thank you for that brief, day long commercial break, we are back on Glacier Hunters and boy howdy do we have a story for you. Last night, the wind howled loudly over and through our tents, covering us in a film of fine silt but it didn't ruin our (questionably) healthy game of euchre. We rose early in the clouds wondering if sasquatch was preparing to pounce. No dinner bells on us, so we think we're safe. We then climbed through the mist of water vapor mixed with smoke to our high camp. We called out to the marmots along the way, enticing them with tuna time, but had no success. They must have been sleeping in.

Suddenly, there was a break in the clouds. "Glacier peak, is that you?" The broken mist made it hard to tell. To prep for our continued hunt, we waddled out to school like a bunch of penguins and played on the dry shores of the white chuck glacier. Refreshed by some of the high-quality H20 it had to offer, we returned to camp.

"There it is!" We're sure of it. A silhouette of Glacier Peak hangs in the distance. Tonight we rest. This is it. Tomorrow we will climb. Will our nerves keep us in check? Do we have the courage to complete the hunt? Does this volcano have what it takes to give us a shot? Sure does. Don't go anywhere because we'll be right back after another break with the results of this journey.

-Your 2026

Glacier (Demon K-pop) Hunters

August 10, 2026

Hello one and all and welcome to another episode of Glacier Hunters (copyright infringement expected).

This week, we journey once again in search for the infamous, desolate, and awe-inspiring volcano known as Glacier Peak. "Did I pack enough food? Where's your extra pair of underwear? Why is there only one blue bag in my blue bag? Is this where sasquatch lives?"

These are the questions we've been asking ourselves from the start. Last night, 9 of us met as total strangers (mostly), 3 of them rummaged through everyone else's stuff like it was Christmas morning (gear check), and then we all met this morning at a remote location (trailhead). As the team made their way to camp 1 of the trip, it was beautiful, and then it was hot. It was easy and then was all uphill. It was conversational, and then it was quiet (not really).

Will this group become friends? Will they find sasquatch or the missing pair of underwear? Will the hunt for Glacier Peak end in success?

As we sit at camp eating freeze dried macaroni, rice, and other unknown substances, we hope you'll stay tuned to find out. Anything could happen.

Goodnight.

-Your 2026 RMI Glacier Hunters

Luedtke and team enjoyed a successful ascent on Mt. Shuksan via the Fisher Chimneys. The team had 100% summit success on a blue bird day, nice work!

Sunday, July 19 - 9:40pm PST

Luedtke and team made it to the summit of Mt Baker for a sunset climb, with 100% of the team at the top. 

Great work team!

RMI's four-day climb, led by guides Nikki Champion and Ben Luedtke, reached the summit of Mount Rainier this morning at 6:30 a.m. The team reported high winds on the mountain, so they tagged the summit and promptly began their descent toward Camp Muir at 7:00 a.m.

After regrouping at camp, they'll continue their descent to Paradise and return to Ashford later today.

Congratulations to all the climbers and guides on a successful summit!

Tuesday, June 30, 2026 - 9:37 pm PT

Hey daily blog readers,

For whoever you are reading this blog for… well now is the time to call them. Ring them. Yes now. 

They have a story for you. 

Thanks for following along ✌️

That’s a wrap. 

❤️

RMI Climber Devon Levesque