Entries By celeste wilson

The four-day climbing teams, led by Nikki Champion and Mike Bennett, reached the crater rim just before 7:20 a.m. this morning. After a brief touch-and-go at the summit, the team reported clear skies and a windy ascent.

The teams are now descending to Camp Muir, where they will reset, pack their gear, and continue down to the trailhead. They are expected to return to Ashford later this afternoon, concluding a successful four-day climb.

Way to go, climbers!

A thunder and lightning storm rolled through the area yesterday evening which kept the Four Day Climb July 20 - 23 from making their summit attempt.  The teams led by RMI Guides Mike Bennett and Sam Hoffman were able to ascend to Ingraham Flats around 8 am to see a bit of the route and use their glacier travel skills.  They will descend from Camp Muir later this morning.

The Four Day climb led by RMI guide Mike Bennet and Ray Holt reached the summit this morning. They reported strong winds at the summit, depsite low wind speeds throughout the climb. They were leaving the crater around 7:55am and are currently on their descent back to Camp Muir. They will return to Ashford this afternoon.

Great work up there!

The four-day climb led by RMI guides Sam Marjerison, Celeste Wilson, and Oliver Kendall reached the summit of Mt Rainier this morning around 5:10 am. They reported sunshine and a fantastic climbing route. They are currently on their descent back to Camp Muir and will return to Ashford this afternoon. 

Way to go climbers!

RMI's four-day climb led by guides Joe Hoch and Felipe Guarderas reached the summit of Mt Rainier this morning around 6:20am. They reported sunshine with a light breeze and a trace of new snow. They are currently on their descent back to Camp Muir and will return to Ashford this afternoon. 

Great work everyone!

Climbers were greeted with clear skies and calm winds as they made a successful ascent of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams reached the summit under beautiful conditions, led by RMI Guides Tom Skoog and Felipe Guarderas.

After spending time on the summit, the teams have begun their descent and will return to Camp Muir before continuing down to Paradise later today.

Congratulations to all of today's climbers and guides on a successful summit day!

Mount Baker season is here! We met at Bingham Park and got right into it. We framed our climb around team work and risk management, so we spent our morning setting that up with a thorough gear check and packing lesson. We laid out our plans and previewed how each segment plays into our team risk management strategy. The first day would be all about learning the pace and self-care we would need on the upper mountain. We quickly found a pace that could only be described as relentlessly moderate. After a couple hours of hiking in the cool temps we got to our rock outcrop at Sandy Camp. After a brief break to take in the views of the Sisters Range and the Puget Sound, we made a robust snow camp. Snow camping, we determined, is a craft best learned in the warm temps and long days near the Solstice. 

The following day we used our Snow School to fill out our risk management plan by learning the skills to handle moving through snow and ice. Our morning hours were cool enough to provide the firm snow that makes school most rewarding. We learned to walk like French mountain guides (upright with a baguette in hand) and to climb in the heavy metal style of German technique. In the afternoon we roped up and learned to stop each other from falling down the mountain. A small, steep roll in the terrain provided the perfect place to develop trust in our teammates by flinging ourselves down the slope.  

In the wee hours, we awoke and prepared for the climb ahead. We put our plan into play and began the climb uphill with the same group pace we learned on the way to camp. Our team was at the front of a line of 50 or so climbers. While some would pass us for a moment here and there, we managed to keep astride of all comers with our diligent, steady pace. After two of our comrades ended their climb at the crater rim, we carried on up the Roman Headwall. This final steep step tested our new cramponing skills as the boot track was crawling with people. We decided to step out of the track and were rewarded with perfect Styrofoam conditions for cramponing. At the summit, which we had to ourselves, we had a group dance party and took all the pictures. 

Motivated by thoughts of Steak Fajitas and Margaritas, we descended swiftly through punchy snow, and down sandy trail to our cars at Park Butte TH. A short hour later, we shared a final meal at the ever-classic end-of-trip spot Lorenzo's. 

- RMI Guide Joe Crawford

The five-day climb led my RMI Guide Mike King summitted Mt Rainier this morning around 6am PST. They reported a warm night of climbing and light winds. They are currently on their descent back to Camp Muir and will be back in Ashford tomorrow. 

Great work team!

The first RMI team of the 2026 Mt. Rainier season has reached the summit! 

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke led the first Five Day Climb April 29 - 3 May. The group met Wednesday for their Orientation and Gear check, completed their Mountaineering School on Thursday and asended to Camp Muir on Friday.  Yesterday the team trained near Camp Muir and this morning launched their alpine start.  Ben and a small group of climbers reached the summit around 7 am.  Ben reported sunny conditions with a light breeze and a beautiful day.  The climbers will return to Camp Muir and then continue to Paradise this afternoon.  We look forward to celebrating with them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.

Congratulations team!

The Paradise Seminar August 22 - 27 led by RMI Guide Nick Sinapius is completing their training and their program today. After several days of training on the lower slopes of Mt. Rainier, the team bumped their camp near Camp Muir yesterday and was ready to put their training to the test. Unfortunately, the weather and route didn't quite cooperate for them to make a summit attempt.  The team is now descending to Paradise.  They will conclude their program this afternoon with a small celebration of their adventure.

Nice work team!