Entries By brent okita

RMI Guides Brent Okita, Jenny Konway and Matt Rosenberg led the Four Day Summit Climb of Mt. Rainier June 17 - 20, 2017.  The team arrived at Camp Muir yesterday afternoon.  They began their alpine start around midnight and climbed to 13,500’ before deteriorating weather and poor visibility forced them to turn around.  The team will return to Camp Muir and then continue to Paradise.  We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later today.

Special thanks to RMI Guide Jenny Konway for providing photos of today’s climbers!

A leisurely, big breakfast of eggs, bacon and hash browns was had after sleeping in fairly late yesterday. When we finally got out of the posh we were surprised to find that planes might be flying soon. Yes, we were keeping an eye on the weather, but it wasn’t really that good yet. At first we couldn’t really believe it and the team indulged in some leg wrestling antics (which the women handily won).Then we heard the words, “RMI Okita, two Otters are in the air for you”.So we went from slow mo to go go as we tore our tents down and packed in a matter of about twenty minutes! I think some folks were motivated to leave. As we brought the last of our stuff the fifty yards to the glacier landing strip we saw the planes come into view. By 1:00 we were in town, unpacking group gear and trying to dry stuff that was soaked from the unseasonably warm temps and rain. We’ll not discuss our evening affair in much detail except that the food was good and the libations rather excessive.

We’re on our way to the airport now, twenty three days after flying on to the mountain. No summit to boast of this time. But looking back on it all, it’s the people we climb with and share adventures with that inspires me to live the life of my dreams. Summits may be nice but are somewhat ephemeral. Friendships formed while climbing mountains last a lifetime. Thanks to the wonderful group of climbers with whom I’ve shared the past three weeks. You’re the best!
And now they are on their way back to you, with stories to tell and memories to share. Indulge their eccentricities. Should they reach for their pee bottle in the middle of the night or ask for a “swirl” after dinner, don’t worry. They’ll recover from these mountain habits in time.

Thanks for joining us these past three weeks!

Goodbye,
RMI Guides Brent, Christina and JT

June 10, 2017

The sleep of the dead finally hit me this morning just after my last post. An hour later JT asks, “Should we get up? It’s 1:04 am and the alarm on my phone hasn’t gone off!”

The night hadn’t brought the hoped for cooling, but it was time to leave and make that trip to Base Camp. Breakfast and hots were served in the remains of our old Posh site, sans the actual Posh, then we were off. As we turned the corner at 10,000’ heading down the Kahiltna we were treated to the amazing view down glacier of the jewels ad the Alaska Range. Hunter, Foraker, Crosson and other peaks were starkly defined in shades of black and white, along with some other hue that seemed hard to place. Unusually dark clouds prevented the pinks and reds we often see at 3:30-4:00 am, but this view I’ve never seen before, and may have been even more spectacular. 6+ hours of hard walking finally brought us back to Base Camp. Reflective of the poor snow year in the Alaskan mountains this year, there were a number of sketchy crevasse crossing to be negotiated. Then white out conditions kept us from seeing the landmarks that would otherwise tell us exactly where we were, but the track in the snow of others gave us something to follow. Then, low and behold, the tents of Base Camp popped into view and we knew we were done. Unfortunately, these same clouds have prevented planes from flying and landing here, so we are again captive of the weather gods and just waiting to be released from Denali to return to civilization where we might wash the twenty one days of toil off us and sit in chairs at a table and eat food that requires more than just a spoon.

I just hope that, when we do get to that restaurant, some social graces return to folks and we don’t see them licking their bowls clean in anticipation of the next course.
I’ll of course advise everyone to bring a pee bottle to their hotel room, and perhaps even a CMC (clean mountain can), because some habits might just be too difficult to break after these twenty one days.

Goodnight from 7200’ camp, where I hear the snow hitting the tent walls in increasing intensity. Oh well, at least we need walk no more, for now.

RMI Guides Brent, Christina, JT & Team

June 10, 2017 12:07 am PST

It was a day of decisions. The team sadly broke apart today, with the main group heading down, and two strong and driven individuals opting to stay on the mountain to give ‘er another try. Caught in the middle I was torn between sticking with the two and going for the summit, or sticking with the main part of the team. After anguishing over the decision, I chose to finish off the expedition with the team, rather than lead our two erstwhile members to the top.
A sketchy forecast helped me in my decision, and I think my two climbers will have a better chance of summiting with the groups I left them with. They’ll be joining Tyler and Jake’s teams, who have a bit more time than I to wait for good weather.
So here we are, in our tents at 11,200’ camp waiting for the night to referee the glacier so we can travel over its frozen surface to minimize the risk of crevasse falls that have been occurring much more than normal lately.
It’s sad separating from our two teammates, and leaving the mountain without a summit under our belts. For me it’s been twenty five trips since I’ve not summited. But folks are in good spirits.
I think we all really appreciate the time we’ve spent here, the friendships developed, the hard times as well as the fun times.
In two hours we awaken for one last day on the glacier. That is, as long as the air service can pick us up in the morning.
With any luck, next time I chat with you I’ll have had a shower, eaten a big ol’ steak and perhaps consumed an adult beverage or two.
Good night from 11,200’.

RMI Guides Brent Okita, Christina Dale and JT Schmitt

On The Map

June 9, 2017 12:55 a.m. PT

Every fifteen minutes another gust would pummel the side of the tent. Of course, it would have to be on my side. The moisture inside our precious shelter, frozen to the walls of the tent would fall on us with each gust, forcing us deeper into our bed of down.
Day five at 17,200’ turned in to a real doozy. The forecasts have actually been fairly good lately, and no good news was to be had with the latest issued. In fact, a high wind alert was posted for the upcoming four days with winds into the sixties. This had camp on edge, including my wise assistants Christina and JT, upon whom I rely so heavily to help make our trip the best and safest, My initial optimism that the weather would surely improve with time was tempered by the latest info coming out. A decision to retreat to the relative safety, protection and comfort of 14,200’ camp was made by all in camp, even though the strong winds are cause for concern as we need to navigate the technical terrain of the West Buttress.
Taking down tents and packing up went well even in those conditions, a testament of the ability of our veteran and tested team. The climb down to camp went well, besides the inevitable traffic of perhaps fifty people leaving camp simultaneously.
To our delight, the RMI teams at 14,200’ got into our cache and had camp all set up for us when we pulled in, What incredible work, A huge THANKS to https://www.rmiguides.com/blog/expedition/denali_5_23_17/desc, Jake and their teams!!!
So now, at day 19 we have a number of folks feeling the pull of home and a life put on hold while we take part in this incredible experience. A couple of others are still excited to finish off the climb and willing to put in a few more days. An updated forecast in the morning might help us see if we actually have a realistic chance of getting a good enough break on the weather in a few days time. We’ll make some final decisions in the morning, but right now we might not even have good enough weather to leave camp.
Goodnight from 14,200’ camp (revisited),

RMI Guides Brent Okita, Christina Dale and JT Schmitt

On The Map

June 7, 2017
“Ok, I know we’ve been climbing for three hours straight, but let’s get a quick bite to eat and drink and get out of here and back to camp.”
“Brent, there’s like over thirty people behind us on the route.” JT exclaims, trying to be heard over the winds that have just picked up.
This was the scene at Denali Pass a few hours ago, high point of our midday sojourn to kick in the route, reset the anchors to the current route and mostly get some exercise so we do not waste away up here.
After passing a windless evening last night I was optimistic of our chances to summit this morning. But, as our typically poor luck would have it, around 7:00am the first ripples of wind tickled the tent walls. By 9:00 we had 40 mph gusts pushing the tent walls into our faces. Yes, we were all ready to go if the weather improved since it wasn’t horrible outside besides those pesky gusts.
Finally, 11:45 rolled around and we decided to go for a little walk.
By 12:30 we were climbing to Denali Pass. This is typically later than we’d like to start for the summit, but we didn’t have the summit in mind anyways. What took me by surprise was how our little walk inspired the entire camp at 17,200’ to gear up and climb.
Our team really climbed well today, especially impressing me on how well everyone descended.
The weather forecast is not really inspiring, but we’ll hang in here for a couple more days anyways to see if we can catch a break. The team is still smiling, and we had a great experience today. All it takes is one nice day to finish this thing off.
Good night,
RMI Guides Brent, Christina and JT

On The Map

June 6, 2017
The cocoon of warmth and comfort provided by our sleeping bags is tough to leave sometimes, especially when the mercury is hovering well below zero outside. But starting at 6:30am that is my job: to look outside and check the climbing conditions for summit worthy weather.
The winds around camp had settled a little, but blowing snow was obvious above us around Denali Pass. Although better than yesterday, I was still rather leery of bringing the team into conditions like that. With improvement by 7:30 we had hots on for breakfast and the team prepared all they could by being all dressed and ready to go, but hanging out in their tents and staying warm.
At decision time there was still blowing snow off the higher ridges and the Pass, and I made another tough decision not to go for the summit, As soon as it warmed up a bit we continued with the home improvements started yesterday and are now proud owners of a roofed and enclosed bathroom. Ok, basically it’s just a place for us to pee and poop, but we’ll now have some privacy and a little protection from the gusts of wind and snow we’ve had to deal with the past few days. Up here, it’s the little things that help make this tough life at 17,200’ just a little nicer.
It was good for all of us to move and work a bit, and many blocks of snow were cut in the construction of our masterpiece. I believe we impressed our neighbors to no end, with many people coming over to garner building tips for making on of their own, or just taking pictures and marveling at the energy we put in to our humble commode.
As these days pass by even the most patient of us are getting antsy for the summit, but there’s one thing we don’t have control of is the weather. So, we just make the most of what we have. Life on this beautiful mountain in the company of some pretty cool people. Things could be a lot worse.

Bye for now.

RMI Guides Brent, Christina and JT

On The Map

June 5, 2017
Day 16 of the hostage crisis and negotiations are at a standstill. Apparently, those that hold the key to the summit have not been impressed with our payment so far. Climbing through a cold and snowy first week and a half impressed no one. Then they would not recognize the currency of toil that got us and all our food and gear to 17,200’. We missed a golden opportunity by a day, as the winds picked up last night, shaking the fabric of our tents and blowing light plumes of snow higher off the mountain.
These conditions entitled the team to breakfast in bed this morning, considering that we left our Posh House at 14,200’ to reduce our loads a bit.
But, the sun is shining, we have plenty of food and fuel, and our spirits are still high. After a post breakfast siesta we’ll get to work building walls around our new home to keep the tents a little more protected.
We’ll be ready to rock this mountain just as soon as she gives us a chance,

Staying warm enough, 
RMI Guides Brent, Christina and JT

On The Map

June 4, 2017
Excitement, nervousness and apprehension are some of the emotions running through the group right now as we try to relax and get some sleep before going for the summit in the morning.
The sky is clear, winds are light and it’s warm right now as the sun is still shining at 9:30pm. The morning will be quite different though. Sub zero temps will make getting out of these tents hard at best.
No need for an alpine start here on Denali. We’ll rise around 7:00-7:30am since we really don’t need to stop get back to camp early like on normal alpine climbs.
The crew is ready, and so are we!
Wish us luck.
RMI Guides Brent, Christina and JT

On The Map

A day of rest was slated for today after our big day yesterday, and we took full advantage of it. Feasting on another breakfast of smoked salmon, bagels and cream cheese, we chose to stretch the legs with a short walk to the “Edge of the World”, where you can look down into the NE fork of the Kahiltna Glacier some 6000’ below, and also see our first camp at 7800’. That seems so long ago that we were there, maybe because it was.
It’s been two weeks now that we’ve been climbing this mountain. And although it’s time to ‘get ‘er done’, spirits are pretty high. We’re all excited to get into position at high camp, even though we know this means a much less comfortable existence that our digs here at 14,200’ provide.

The forecast calls for an end to the high pressure we’ve been enjoying after tomorrow, but no real significant bad weather coming in either. I’ve certainly summited when the forecasts have been like this, but it would be nice to have a couple days like the past two. What I do know is that everyone is rested, strong and ready for what comes.

Wish us luck! We’ll take all we can get. Talk to you from 17,200’ camp.

RMI Guides Brent, Christina, JT & Team