Entries By dominic cifelli

Climbers on the Four Day Climb August 9 - 11 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today.  They enjoyed a bit of time on the summit and began their descent from the crater rim just after 7 am. Once back at Camp Muir, they will repack and continue the remaining 4,500' descent to Paradise.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

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

The Five Day Climb July 26 - 30 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today!  Led by RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli and Ben Luedtke, the team reached the crater under blue skies and excellent conditions.  They enjoyed some time in the crater before starting their descent.  The teams will return to Camp Muir for a well-deserved night's rest before contining the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise tomorrow.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

PC: Ben Luedtke

At 5:45 am this morning, under a canvas of clear skies and the first light of dawn, our Four Day Climb team—led by Ray Holt and an incredible group of climbers—stood on the summit of Mount Rainier.  

The team encountered some wind while navigating the Disappointment Cleaver, but by the time they reached the summit, the winds had eased, offering a calm and peaceful moment at 14,410 feet.

Now on their descent, the team is making steady progress back to Camp Muir.  

Congratulations to all the climbers and guides on this unforgettable achievement!

Early this morning, the Four Day Climb teams, led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Dominic Cifelli, successfully reached the summit of Mt. Rainier!

They were treated to a stunning sunrise and clear skies as they stood at 14,410 feet, taking time to celebrate their achievement and soak in the incredible views. After savoring their moment at the top, the teams began their descent to Camp Muir around 7:00 a.m. and are now continuing down to Paradise.

We look forward to welcoming them back in Ashford later this afternoon and celebrating a safe and successful climb!

Congratulations climbers!

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!

Tuesday, July 1, 2025 - 2:53 am PT

We are back on flat ground.  After descending 10,000 feet in just over 19 hours, with 2 hours of “sleep” in the middle, we arrived at basecamp at 8:30 am, and our hearts leapt to see the red K2 planes bank sharply left and land at the lower landing field about 9 am. Seemingly landing on the lower landing area never occurs this late on the season (it’s good to know Dom is wrong sometimes, and that damned 20” of snow brought us some good luck).

As we descended through the snow and the rain, I thought how little we knew about what we were undertaking, as we begun our journey just 20 days ago.  Did we understand the physical challenge, the might of this great mountain, the real beauty of the Alaska range and the wild vistas and beauty we were about to experience, the hardships, the dangers, the nerve tingling emotion and anxiety of traversing the West Buttress?   Did we know our true physical and mental strength, whilst knowing how effectively useless and powerless we were on this extreme place?  Did we know that none of what we achieved could have been achieved without our three amazing guides - Dominic, Ben and Mike?  They are the true heroes of this journey. 

They have received passing words of praise from my team mates in the recent blogs. However, no words can describe their role, their effort, their workload, their expertise.  

If we carried 70 lbs in our backpacks, they carried over 100. If we pulled 50 lbs in our sleds, they pulled 100.  When we bolted to our tents after caching gear at a higher altitude, they went immediately and prep’d dinner and hot water. They prep’d, served, clean up after every breakfast and dinner. Bagels and bacon, bagels and smoked salmon, burritos, quesadillas, cheesecake, tortellini and chicken (and Aardvark!), ramen, and never to forget Mac’n’cheese with bacon bits - I never knew how many dishes could have bacon bits- OR CINNAMON!!

They dealt with faulty gear, our mental and physical challenges - “Ben, I have a blister” which would be followed with Ben applying a gel pack to my pinky toe.  “Mike what layers should we wear on this next leg?”  They were positive and honest at all times, cheerleaders and coaches, story tellers, fun facters, and quiz masters.  Without them the last three weeks could not have happened.  I think it is fair to give special mention to Dominic. He gets to make the big calls, to say when to move, when to stay, and finally when not to proceed on safety grounds.  I have met and observed many leaders, -the good, the bad, and the ugly -, in my career. I can say without hesitation that Dominic’s leadership skills rank with the best I have seen.  

We are honored and fortunate to have spent the past 3 weeks with Dominic, Ben and Mike.  They make dreams come true. 

RMI Climber Myles O'Neill

Sunday, June 29, 2025 - 12:24 am PT

1 step, 1 breathe. 2 steps, 2 breaths. On and on, the rhythm continues as we leave 14,200 feet, move up the fixed lines, around Washburn's thumb, over the exposed yet beautiful West Buttress, and crest the hill to grandma's. Kidding about that last part, but we did finally arrive at 17,200 feet. Again, the tabloids misconstrue, do not listen to them, listen to us! :) it has been a long wait at Camp 3, but a huge shoutout to our entire team for sticking it out; Together! Its hard to wait for the right window while hanging with a bunch of strangers, but this Brady's bunch ain't no strangers no more. So, we're not done just yet. Tomorrow will test the reason we came here in the first place. Making it to the top of North America has already proven itself difficult. We're either gonna bring it home hot or bring it home cold. It's up to us. Cheers to everyone back home following along, we miss you, we're close, wish us luck, and we'll see you soon.

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke & Team 

Friday, June 27, 2025 8:21pm PDT
 

Blog Denali – Day 19

Bonjour à tous!

Today marks day 19 since we all met in Anchorage, and day 17 on the mountain. Since the first week went so well, many of us believed we’d be off this frozen rock after 15 days... However, Mother Nature had different plans for us. I now understand why Denali has such a tough reputation: the freaking weather!

Today is our 10th day at 14k camp, and the 6th day of weather delay. We’ve endured two snowstorms, and the last one—lasting almost 36 hours—brought 40 cm of fresh snow. Although the weather is finally on our side today, we still can’t move due to avalanche hazards.

Over the past week, no one has summited, and the few teams that made it to high camp were stuck in even worse conditions than we’ve experienced. I’m grateful to our responsible and professional guides for making the decision to stay put.

On a more personal note, this has been one of the hardest weeks of my amateur climbing career. I’ve never waited this long in full winter camping mode, with almost nothing to do. Mornings are cold, and many toes in the team are freezing. On top of that, I feel weaker every day at this altitude. I’ve lost weight and am probably missing plenty of essential nutrients like vitamins and soluble fiber. (Also, the fact that I ran out of food and entertainment played a big role—LOL.)

On the bright side, my amazing team is kindly helping me survive—special thanks to Andrew for the Kindle, Tait for two bags of beef jerky, and Mikaila for letting me use her InReach. I’ve also gained valuable experience for future adventures. I’ve learned about clothing layers (my thin ones suck), baby Nalgene bottles, Leuko tape, pressure breathing, how much toilet paper to bring, glacier travel, gnarly supplements, and more.

Overall, it’s amazing that all 9 team members (and 3 guides) are still here, holding onto hope of reaching the summit. We’re also lucky, in a way, to have a weather window this weekend for a summit attempt. Many teams haven’t even gotten that chance this year.

À ma famille et mes amis, j’ai hâte de vous revoir! J’espère que vous passez un beau mois de juin, plus chaud qu’ici! Même si je manque une partie de l’été montréalais, je profite énormément du plein air, et les paysages glaciaires sont à couper le souffle. J’ai hâte de vous montrer les photos! Évidemment, je suis très stressé pour les deux prochains jours... Envoyez-moi des ondes relaxantes, haha!

Étienne XOX

EAT.

SNOW.

LAY.

Today, is another rest DAY.

But, tomorrow we will PLAY.

RMI Climber Andrew