Entries By brent okita
Posted by: Brent Okita, George Hedreen, Tom Skoog, Stella Johnson, Miles Watson, Simon Kearns, CJ Rogers, Julian Kral
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
Yesterday the Four Day Climb teams June 22 - 25 led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and George Hedreen enjoyed a breezy and cool snowfield, good snacks and good company. Today they made an alpine start from Camp Muir and reached the summit of Mt. Rainier just before 7 am. Breezy and cold temps made for a short stop in the crater and they began their descent from the crater rim around 7:30 am. Once back at Camp Muir, the teams will repack and take a short rest before continuing the final 4,500' down to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's climbers.
PC: Tom Skoog
Posted by: Brent Okita, George Hedreen, Nicole De Petris, Sam Marjerison, Hannah Billings, Annie Chapman, Fitz Elder, Julian Kral
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb June 16 - 19 led by RMI Guides Brent Okita & George Hedreen reached the summit of Mt. Raineir this morning around 7 am. It's a beautiful day with blue skies, light winds and cool temperatures. The team enjoyed about an hour in the summit crater before starting their descent from the crater rim shortly after 8 am. Once back at Camp Muir the climbers will have a short rest and repack, then continue 4.5 miles down to Paradise. They will have a short celebration at Rainier BaseCamp later today to conclude their adventure.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Posted by: Brent Okita, Jess Wedel, Raymond Holt, Brooks Ordway-Smith, Josh Geiser, David Rathbun, Miles Watson, Tate Hughes
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
Yes, it's official—Brent Okita has reached his 600th summit of Mt. Rainier, setting a world record for the most successful ascents of the iconic 14,410-foot peak! This incredible milestone was achieved during a Four-Day Climb led by Okita and fellow guide Jess Wedel. The team reached the summit early this morning, and they’re expected to return to basecamp this afternoon for a well-deserved celebration.
To put this into perspective, 600 summits equates to approximately 5.4 million feet of elevation gain—and that’s only counting successful climbs. It doesn’t include the countless additional feet from training, attempted climbs, or even biking from Ashford to Paradise. Brent’s dedication, endurance, and passion for mountaineering are truly legendary.
Congratulations also to the RMI Clients that were able to climb and share the rope with Brent and Jess today. It was very important to Brent that he accomplish this record while guiding RMI Clients to the top.
Posted by: Brent Okita, George Hedreen, Nicole De Petris, Mitch Valaitis, Margo Kerr, Fitz Elder, Mark Tucker, Imogen Von Mertens
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb June 3 - 6 led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and George Hedreen reached the summit of Mt. Rainier. The ropes teams were walking into the crater rim around 6:30 am PT. It's a beautiful day with clear skies. This marks summit #599 for RMI Guide Brent Okita. Wow!
After enjoying some time in the crater the teams will descend to Camp Muir and then Paradise later today.
Congratulations to all of today's climbers.
Brent is awesome!!! xox
Posted by: Jill Caven on 6/6/2025 at 10:02 am
Amazing!! Congrats !!
Posted by: Hélène Coulombe on 6/6/2025 at 8:47 am
Posted by: Brent Okita, Henry Coppolillo
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb with Brent Okita and Henry Coppolillo reached the Summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Brent reported a clear, calm, and beautiful day on top.
The team spent time on the summit signing the summit registry, taking pictures, and celebrating before starting their descent back to Camp Muir.
Congratulations Team!
Thanks for guiding my girl (Lily) to the summit and back down safely!!! WooHoo!!!!
Posted by: Mary Benson on 5/30/2025 at 3:30 pm
Posted by: Brent Okita, Dustin Wittmier, Dylan Anderson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb from May 19–22, led by RMI Guide Brent Okita, reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning!
At 7:40 AM, the team was at 13,500 feet and continuing their ascent. Conditions were snowy, but the team was doing well. Camp Muir reported high clouds and no wind at that time. By 9:15 AM, the team had successfully reached the summit.
They will return to Camp Muir to pack up their gear before continuing their descent to Paradise later today.
Nice work, team!
Posted by: Brent Okita
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Our last full day of our safari did not disappoint. After a morning of souvenir hunting we arrived at Tarangire National Park ready for more action, and got it within minutes of going through the gate.
Warthogs, elephants and a bunch of other critters came our way in the first hour. A lot of close up encounters with giraffes and elephants stole the show, with the finale happening in the final minutes as we drove adjacent a huge and incredibly green swamp area and had a herd of elephants cross in front of us and proceed to cover themselves in mud and even dunk themselves in the water like kids at a pond. An amazing site!
Our 'camp' in the middle of the Park is pretty cool too. Like all these camps in the bush, our living quarters are screened in canvas tents enclosing some high end furnishings. Kind of swank and kind of fun.
One last morning of safari awaits us as sadly our trip comes to a close.
Until tomorrow.
Jambo!
RMI Guide Brent Okita
PC: Shout out to Jeff Tracy, on his 3rd Kilimanjaro climb, for the beautiful photos!
New Post Alerts:
Kilimanjaro Climb & Safari, July 27, 2024
Posted by: Brent Okita
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
A spectacular day! But this doesn't even do justice to what we saw in the crater. Besides the thousands of animals we saw all day, we were especially lucky to see three black rhinos, which are exceptionally rare. And better yet, we got up close to a pride of lions. Like 30 or so feet away! Wildebeast, zebras, ostriches and a bunch of other critters also a close up show.
Following our safari we visited a Masai village which helped us understand better their culture and life.
And tomorrow ... Tarangire!
All for now since I'm falling asleep.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Brent Okita and Team
New Post Alerts:
Kilimanjaro Climb & Safari, July 27, 2024
Posted by: Brent Okita
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Tuesday, August 6, 2024 - 8:09 am PT
Today was the first day of our safari following a well-deserved night of sleep. Our drive to Lake Manyara offered up the sights of Arusha and the Masai land the lie between the Park and our hotel. Life and commerce is just so different from what we have at home. So much more personal and social. So much happens on the street.
Our safari guides, Jafari and Comfort, are huge reservoirs of information and ready to speak on just about anything. But of course, they shine when they speak of the flora and fauna we're seeing.
Jafari indicated up front that the rains and flooding of winter and spring have led some animals to leave Lake Manyara National Park, and have forced the closure of some roads elsewhere, but that didn't keep us from being entertained by baboons and elephants, up close and personal. (Have you ever heard an elephant pass gas? A first for me!). Monkeys, cool birds, more elephants and an excellent lunch followed. And now we're at our hotel, the Plantation Lodge. Check it out. It's wonderful! So nice to be able to relax in perfect weather at this amazing lodge.
Truth be told, I'm writing this from a comfy chair poolside where Jeff, Alan and Kevin just stopped by after their run.
Next up: an early start for the Ngorongoro Crater, which is truly a wonder of the world for the wildlife that calls the crater home. We're psyched!
New Post Alerts:
Kilimanjaro Climb & Safari, July 27, 2024
Posted by: Brent Okita
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Monday, August 5, 2024 - 7:47 PM PT
After a slippery walk down from Mweka Camp we made it to the Mweka Gate in good shape. Legs were feeling the 13,000' descent of the past two days but smiles were broad as we knew we had done it.
A celebratory lunch and fun farewell festivities with our mountain crew closed out this wonderful climb. Riding back to the hotel thought of a shower was not the only thing on the team's mind as I know I wasn't the only one thinking back on our time on the mountain.
After we exhausted the hotel of all its hot water washing off layers of dust from our bodies, we enjoyed a dinner celebration to recognize our huge accomplishment. Yes, we climbed a big mountain but more, we had an incredible experience where we made new friends, shared time with folks from a very different culture and maybe even learned a little something about ourselves too.
Then we headed to the soft, cushy bed our tired bodies craved after a week of sleeping on a 1" pad. What luxury!
And now... another beginning: the safari!
RMI Guide Brent Okita
That is Incredible Brent!! Congrats!!! I was lucky to have climbed with you a few years ago.
You Rock!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 6/14/2025 at 3:29 am
Holy smokes. That is a lot of Rainier summits. Congrats to Brent! (I probably will have to drink a Rainier beer on his behalf.)
Posted by: Some guy from Puyallup on 6/13/2025 at 2:04 pm
View All Comments