Entries By daniel may

June 17, 2023 8:56 PM PT

The weather had other plans for us up here at the base of ski hill. We woke up to wet snow hitting the tent and an ominous cloud staring at us from our intended path.

When Denali speaks, we listen. After a lot of watching and waiting, we turned our move into a rest day. We ate, slept, played cards, and read books to pass the time. Luckily, it’s in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Tomorrow, we’ll try again. Wear your pajamas inside out for us.

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli and Team

June 16, 2023 10:20 PM PT

Day 2 started with a much enjoyed few extra hours of sleep as light snow delayed our alpine start. The skies cleared quickly though, and we were able to begin our work for the day - carrying a load of gear and food to cache just below 10,000’.

Everyone put in a good effort, and we were back down to out tents just as light snow began again. The rest of the day was filled with naps and relaxation in preparation for our move to 11,000’ tomorrow.

-RMI Guides Seth, Dom, Dan & Team

Thursday, June 15, 2023 - 9:20 pm PT

Day one on the climb is always a tough one. The excitement is swirling, the nerves are high, and the bar for entry is even higher. There is a lot to get used to during expedionary life, especially one as remote as Denali. We have to pretend we could lose our gloves at any gust of wind, lose our gear during the next snowstorm, or rip our homes if we’re careless. The mountain is tough, but today proved that we can be just as tough. The first day is one of the only days that you’re carrying everything you brought all at once. The road to Camp 1 is just too long to do the typical; carry and cache, move camps, grab the cache. So we must make the long slog to the base of Ski Hill. With cold temps, clear skies, and crunchy snow we weaved through the crevassed Kahiltna glacier and made camp at around 8:30 this morning. We’re at camp now, waiting for weather updates and refueling for tomorrows effort. We’ll cache up at Kahiltna pass.

Thanks for following along,

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

Tuesday, June 13, 2023 - 11:57 pm PT

The team has arrived in Talkeetna with all of our bags! 

Yesterday, we spent the day doing the hard work of packing for a three week expedition. It is hard to visualize how much you will actually need and hard to come to terms with the sheer weight of the equipment needed for a Denali Expedition. There are no porters here. We have to carry everything we need on our own backs, but that’s what makes Denali special. You can’t pay your way to the top. 

At the moment, we’re waiting in a dreary Talkeetna for a weather window to fly. We’ll be hanging out in the hangar, practicing and refining the skills needed to climb “ The Big One”, and crossing our fingers for an opening. 

Wish us luck!

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Avery Parrinello and the Four Day Climb May 11 - 14 were unable to leave Camp Muir for their summit attempt due to high winds.  Dave reported winds gusting 60-70 mph.  The teams waited, ready to climb, for the winds to dissipate, but no such luck.  

The teams will return to Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon to conclude their climb.

The Five Day Climb May 4 - 8, 2023 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier yesterday afternoon led by RMI Guides Ben Ammon and Dominic Cifelli. The team had a nice day with the clouds below until they reached about 13,500', then they were enveloped by a cloud cap but were able to push through to the summit.  They did quick high fives, hugs and quickly started their descent. They returned to Camp Muir for a well deserved rest.  The team began their descent from Camp Muir at 9am.  We look forward to their return to BaseCamp this afternoon.

Congratutions to the team!

The Five Day Climb April 28 - 2 May led by RMI Guides Andy Bond and Dustin Wittmier are descending from Camp Muir this morning.  The team made the most of their time on the mountain getting in a Climbing school to learn cramponing, rope travel and ice axe arrest techniques.  They then ascended to Camp Muir, 10,080', where they spent two nights and were able to do additional training.  Lightning near Camp Muir and high winds kept the team from making a summit attempt this morning.  We look forward to seeing them back at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.

From Dan May

At the beginning of April a crop of RMI guides including myself, Leif Bergstrom, Henry Coppolillo, Lacie Smith, Tatum Whatford, and George Hedreen, headed off to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to work on honing our alpine guide skills with the help of the AMGA. We split our time between Boulder and Estes Park, Colorado while completing the Alpine Guide Course. Often in these courses, you are amongst colleagues spread across other guiding companies, however in this instance, we had the opportunity to work and learn together. Being able to sharpen our guiding skills in alpine terrain amongst our peers that we work with in the North Cascades, Denali, and South America was a great opportunity.

These courses offer us the chance to add additional tools to our ever-growing toolkit as guides while being reviewed, critiqued, and taught by the AMGA instructors. While romping around the Flat Irons, Eldorado Canyon, and Tyndall Gorge of Rocky Mountain National Park, we took turns climbing rock, ice, snow, and mixed routes while guiding each other through the terrain. These chances and skills as a guide are invaluable. It is easy to convince your friends to go climbing with you, but to convince your friends to let you guide them through peculiar terrain to practice your techniques and skill sets is another story.

At the end of the nine days, all RMI guides successfully completed the course and had a great time doing so. Now we are all turning our sights to Ashford and Mt. Rainier in preparation for another great summer of climbing.

Good day faithful readers,

We have concluded our 17 day Aconcagua Expedition. With a final 8mile walk out to the park entrance, we have made it start to finish. Our final night was spent bellies full of Carne asada and a crisp starry night to glance up at intermittently as we rolled in our sleeping bags. It's surreal feeling having been sleeping hypoxic at 19,600' and then in 48 hours on the valley floor. Three hours of walking brought us back to where we started and a quick wait brought us back to our clean clothes at Penitentes. Once back in Mendoza the team cleaned up and became new people. It's crazy what a shower, new clothes, and shave can do for someone's appearance. We enjoyed bottles of wine and listening to everyone tell their highs and lows of the trip. It's been an amazing time in Argentina from the people, the food, the scenery, and the company. On behalf of all three guides, we would like to thank our team for a great expedition. Thier commitment to train and be ready for this trip showed and their ability to adapt and bond as a team has made these three weeks truly enjoyable. So congratulations team, hope to see you all on the next mountain!

That's a wrap,

RMI Guides Hannah, Ben, Dan, and Team

Howdy howdy,

We woke up for the last time on the mountain.

We opened our eyes to a frosty dome tent as we packed up our sleeping bags and got ready for breakfast. Today, we headed down the valley towards the park entrance. 8hrs and 17miles later, we arrived at Lenas, our first camp we stayed at 16 days ago.

We started our expedition with a carne asada dinner and ended it the same way. Bellies full of steak, potatoes, veggies, red wine. Our bellies no longer rumble and are now instead very full. The team earned this glorious meal cooked by a spectacular chef. With a light breeze we are headed to our sleeping arrangements, some in tents, others sleeping under the stars.

It's a surreal moment looking back at being at 19,600' just yesterday and now sleeping on the valley floor. Tomorrow, we finish our trek out to the gate entrance, concluding our 17-day trip up and down Aconcagua. Everyone is ready and excited for the hotel amenities - top on the list is a shower, a reliable toilet, clean clothes, and a comfy bed.

For now, we are content laying in the dirt after a long day hiking.

Buenos noches,

Hannah, Ben, Dan, and Team