Entries By david rathbun

The Four Day Climb teams for June 20 - 23 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning around 6:40 am.  The team reported great conditions and a beautiful day. They will descend to Camp Muir, take a short break and continue down to Paradise later this afternoon.

Congratulations to today's climbers.

Photos: Seth Burns

RMI Teams led by guides Dustin Wittmier and Tom Skoog made it to the top of Mt Rainier this morning around 6:15am. After several days of extremely high winds, they reported light winds and nice temperatures. They will return to Ashford this afternoon. 

Great work, team! 

The Four Day Climb June 13 - 16 led by RMI Guide Sam Marjerison turned around at 12,200' today due to high winds. The teams returned to Camp Muir around 6:30, they enjoyed a bit of a rest and then started their descend from Camp Muir to Paradise around 8:45 am.  They will return to Rainier Base Camp around noon today and complete their program.

RMI teams led by guides Henry Coppolillo and Nick Sinapius attempted to summit Mt Rainier this morning, but turned around at 11,500', just above Ingraham Flats due to deteriorating route conditions.They returned to Camp Muir and are on their descent back to Paradise. They will be back in Ashford this afternoon. 

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier and team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today via the Emmons Glacier.  The team met at Rainier BaseCamp on Saturday May 23 for a full day Orientation, Equipment Check and pre-climb prep.  The following day the team spent the day training above Paradise practicing glacier travel, ice axe arrest and cramponing.  Packed and ready at 7 am on Monday morning, the team left Ashford headed for the White River Trailhead. The team ascended to the Inter Glacier where they set up camp and spent the night.  Yesterday, the team bumped to Camp Schurman and then launched their summti attempt early this morning.  By 7 am they were at 14,000' on their descent.  They will return to Camp Schurman to spend the night.  Tomorrow they may do a bit more training before they retrace their steps to the trailhead and make the drive back to Ashford.

Way to go team!

The Four Day Climb May 13  - 17 reached Camp Muir yesterday afternoon weathering the difficult conditions with smiles on their faces dispite the snow flakes whipping through the air.

Once the team reached Camp Muir, they were treated to clear skies above and a cloud deck below 9,900'.  The team was unable to make a summit attempt due to the weather including several feet of new snow causing unsafe conditions. They are descending from Camp Muir and will return to Rainier BaseCamp in the early afternoon.

The Four Day Climb August 17 - 20 led by RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier and Mike Bennett reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning.  The teams delayed their departure from Camp Muir a bit due to the colder tempertures, with a 2 am departure, they reached the summit around 8 am.  They enjoyed some time on the summit before turning around and retracing their steps.  Once back at Camp Muir the team will repack and continue their descent to Paradise.

Nice work team!

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise team led by RMI Guides Tom Skoog and David Rathbun put their week of training to the test this morning and climbed to the summit of Mt. Rainier. The team has spent the last several days climbing and training. They pushed up to Camp Muir yesterday and with an alpine start this morning enjoyed the sunrise from the upper slopes of the mountain.  The team started their descent from the crater rim around 7 am.  Once back at Camp Muir they will take a quick break and continue down to Paradise to conclude their climb. They will celebrate their accomplishments later today in Ashford.

Nice work team!

PC: Tom Skoog

The Four Day Climb August 2 - 5, 2025 led by RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli and Joe Crawford reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning.  The teams reported a beautiful day on the mountain with a little wind a little precipatation while they were on the summit. They enjoyed a bit of time in the crater before starting their descent.  The teams are heading back to Camp Muir, and after a quick break will continue the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise to complete their climb.  Once back at BaseCamp they will enjoy a bit of celebration to conclude their adventure.

Nice work today team!

PC: Dominic Cifelli

This morning at 5:30 AM PDT, the Four Day Climbs led by RMI Guides Avery Stolte and Mike Bennett reached the summit of Mt. Rainier. Avery reported beautiful weather with no wind. With the early morning summit, the teams are currently descending back to Camp Muir where they will pack their bags before descending the Muir Snowfield to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them in Ashford later this afternoon.

Congratulations climbers!