Entries By christina dale

The Emmons Seminar team, led by RMI Guide Christina Dale, summitted Mt. Rainier this morning.  At 12:20 pm the team was back at Camp Schurman where they will stay for the night and descend tomorrow.  Christina reported that 100% of the team reached the top!  Congratulations!!!

On Sunday, the Five Day Summit Climb team hiked out of Paradise to the training area to learn the necessary skills to summit Mt. Rainier.  The following day the team hike to Camp Muir for their first night on the mountain.  They spent time yesterday gaining more experience cramponing and working as a rope team then return to Camp Muir to prepare for their summit attempt.  All of their training paid off and the team enjoyed the views from the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning, reaching the crater rim around 5:30 am.  After celebrating their accomplishment and taking photos, they will descend to Camp Muir to rest and repack before continuing their descent to Paradise.  They will end their program with a celebration at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.

Congratulations to today’s Five Day Summit Climb Team!

The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Eric Frank and Christina Dale reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Christina reported beautiful clear skies and great route conditions.

Congratulations to today’s teams!

At 7:45 this morning, RMI Guide Dave Hahn radioed as he and his team crested the Mt. Rainier crater rim.  He reported a 10 mph breeze from the Southwest and a great day to be on Washington’s highest point.  His team as well as RMI Guide Christina Dale’s team began their descent to Camp Muir at 9:00 a.m.

After a week on honing their alpine mountaineering and expedition skills on the Paradise Glacier,  RMI Guide Christina Dale and the Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise team successfully reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Christina reported clear skies, warm temperatures, and light winds on the summit. The team started their descent and will be back at Ashford Basecamp later today.

Congratulations to today’s team!

RMI Guide Brent Okita called from the Mt. Rainier crater rim with the news, “We are on the summit on a Bluebird Day!”  Clear skies, no wind, and views for miles- can’t beat a summit like that.  The teams spent an hour on top before starting their descent at 7:00 a.m.

The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb teams, led by Christina Dale & Robby Young, reached the summit at 5:50 a.m.  The guides reported calm winds and warm temperatures.  After spending an hour on the summit and crossing the crater rim, the teams began their descent at 6:50 a.m.

Congratulations to today’s summit climbers!

RMI Guide Christina Dale led the Five Day Summit Climb June 15-19 on Mt. Rainier.  The team ascended to Camp Muir on Saturday and spent the following day training at Camp Muir.  This morning they made their summit attempt but due to new snow over the last few days the conditions today did not allow their team to summit.  They have safely returned to Camp Muir.  They will repack their gear and continue their descent to Paradise later today.

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