Entries By brent okita

RMI Guides Brent Okita and Chase Nelson lead their Five Day Climb Teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Brent reported a clear and beautiful morning with winds around 20 mph on the crater.  The teams were beginning their descent from the crater rim around 7:30 AM PT. Once back at Camp Muir, they will pack up their gear where they have spent the last two nights and complete their descent to Paradise. 

Congratulations to today’s climbing teams!

RMI Guides Brent Okita and Jenny Konway radioed down from Columbia Crest, the true summit of Mt. Rainier, this morning to let everyone know that the team reached the summit. Brent reported clear skies, a calm breeze, and perfect weather for a day of climbing. The team began their descent from the crater rim of Mt. Rainier at about 7:30am PT and will be back in town for a celebration dinner later today.

Congratulations to today’s team!

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Chris Ebeling reached 12,600’ today before deteriorating weather and snow conditions forced their decision to turn back.  The teams will return to Camp Muir and then continue their descent to Paradise.  We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Bryan Mazaika reached 11,200’ on Mt. Rainier today. New snow from the last few days and high avalanche danger kept the team from going any higher on the mountain. The team is back at Camp Muir and will start the descent to Paradise shortly.

Congratulations to today’s team!

The Four Day Summit Climb Teams May 9 - 12, 2019 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning.  RMI Guide Brent Okita reported a windy and cold morning but with sunshine and clear skies.  The teams began their descent from the crater rim around 7 AM.  They will return to Camp Muir for a short break and to repack, then continue down to Paradise.  We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later today.

Congratulations to today’s Summit Climb teams!

The Five Day Climb led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Bryan Mazaika reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Brent reported clear skies, but a constant wind of about 35 mph keeping the temperatures cool.

Congratulations to Today’s Team!

Our hike up to Camp Muir yesterday was beautiful.  The nicest day of the season!
This morning we climbed the first 1,000’ of the route to Ingraham Flats as part of our acclimatization for the climb. Reports from other guides suggest our route is the nicest, most direct route we could ask for. We’re all excited!
We’ll have a meeting to go over preparations for the climb tonight then get to bed before our pre-dawn departure.
Wish us well.

RMI Guides Brent Okita, Bryan Mazaika and the crew at Muir

What a few days it’s been.  After a productive and fun day at our climbing school on Saturday we were excited about the perfect day we had yesterday for our hike up to Camp Muir. At times it was almost too hot as the sun’s radiation backed. But we all persevered and made it to Camp Muir doing well. 
Unfortunately,  today we received some bad news when the guides kicking in the route discovered a crevasse preventing forward progress up to the higher reaches of the mountain. That, coupled with some not insignificant avalanche hazard from a couple of unexpected evening snow storms has forced us to temper our ambitions for the summit this go around.
While disappointed, the team was understanding and in full agreement that getting down safe and sound was our priority.
While a handful of folks opted to descend to the comforts of life at sea level, the rest of us explored the upper mountain as much as we could and had a great day enjoying the glaciers and crevasses of Mt Rainier. Later, as the now normal afternoon snow storm continues to dump snow at Muir here, we’re passing the afternoon and evening talking about mountains, climbing and the tall tales that take root in such firmament.
We’re planning on an early departure tomorrow morning when we hope the skies will have cleared and the sun will shine on our descent.
See you soon.

RMI Guides Brent Okita,  Dustin Wittmier, James Bealer and the team

The storm hitting us at Camp Muir originated in the tropics and we wouldn’t have been surprised to see palm fronds waving in the breeze given how unseasonably warm it is up here. Yes, it’s still snowing, but just.  And for being at 10,000’ that’s warm!
We started our day discussing numerous topics in the Bunkhouse,  but ventured out by mid morning.  Equipped though we were with full on Gortex storm gear it took less than an hour for the moisture in the cloud enveloping our world to permeate the vaunted membrane of our rain gear.
But we persevered and got some great training in,  developing our expertise in handling running belays and evaluating snow stability through studying snow pits. Lunchtime found us back inside, thankful for the plywood protection of our bunkhouse and trying to dry out our external layers through our bodies natural internal combustion.  It does work, but slowly.
There was plenty to talk about through the afternoon,  and when queried whether anyone wanted more outdoor training a decided no was the response. A smart group!
The evening culminated with war stories of Everest and beyond.
Now that we’re back in our old sleeping bags the weather gods are unleashing a tempest like no other.  All we can hope is that this big bad storm is blowing itself out. Dreams of a pleasant descent tomorrow morning might allow some well deserved sleep tonight.

Goodnight from Camp Muir.
RMI Guide Brent Okita

Everyone is doing great on day four of our seminar.  A hard day up to Muir was followed by a full day of training on Tuesday in increasingly challenging weather conditions.
Today dawned sunny but quite windy.  As forecasted, the winds stayed strong throughout the day.  Not being one to let a little wind get in the way of some great training, we did have to moderate our plans to cope with the 40-45 mph sheets of blowing snow that swept thru Muir all day.
Sticking close to camp allowed us to bail back to the bunkhouse for the occasional break.  There were no complaints about not getting out on the glacier for the day.  An earlier exploration by Mike and me proved the winds were just as strong out there as at camp.
Anchors, crevasse rescue, fixed rope work and rappelling filled the day completely.  And for the evening: mountain medicine and mountain weather is on the docket.
We’re looking forward to another good day of training tomorrow, though we might have to deal with another little storm to keep us honest.
Alas, I’m afraid a summit bid has been shelved due to the increasing avalanche hazard up high.  We’re safe here at camp, and that’s how we’d like to keep it.
All for now.
The crew at Muir