Entries By dominic cifelli

Saturday June 18th - 11:52pm PT

The Denali team formed up in Anchorage this afternoon.  We flew from Seattle and Frankfurt and Johannesburg and a few other places.   Not every single piece of luggage made it through, but we have high hopes for getting it all together soon.   

It was cloudy in central Alaska today, but we could see hints of mountains as we drove up toward Talkeetna.  We made the traditional stop in Wasilla to round out our expedition food supplies, and then got on board the Denali Overland van once again for the final 90 minutes into Talkeetna.  A brief stop at K2 Aviation around 6 PM allowed us to offload gear, and then we checked into our rooms at the Swiss Alaska Inn.  The team made the short walk into town to relax with outside beers and pizzas.  Town was busy and bustling on this endless summer evening.  We went to the banks of the mighty Susitna River to see if Denali was visible, but the clouds stayed put and made us guess at what we were missing.  

Tomorrow morning, we’ll meet over breakfast and dive into the details of packing and prepping for our Denali West Buttress Expedition. 

Best Regards,

Dave Hahn and Team

The Five Day Climb June 11 - 15 led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Dominic Cifelli was unable to make their summit attempt due to avalanche danger.  The teams enjoyed two nights at Camp Muir with some good weather which allowed for training opportunities.

Photos: Dominic Cifelli

RMI Guides James Bealer and Bryan Mazaika led their Five Day Climb teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning.  The teams reached the crater rim at 6:15 am.  It's a beautiful day with blue sky and no winds. After taking in the views and getting all the photos the team started their descent.  They will return to Camp Muir, pack their gear and continue the remaining 4.5 miles back to Paradise.  We look forward to greeting them at Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon where they will celebrate their efforts and good fortune before completing their program.

Tuesday, May 31, 2022 - 6:39 pm PT

This day won’t be forgotten soon by our team.  It was longer than most, to begin with.  We were drinking coffee at 10:30 PM and loading the buses at 11.  The rough road took us plenty high, but then we were out and trudging uphill by headlight for hours. It was cold and a little breezy, but we were looking at stars… and Jupiter and Neptune.  We stopped in a hut long enough to put on helmets and harnesses and then marched up to the snow, where we donned crampons and ropes.  The walking got easier on the snow, except it was all getting to the kind of heights that are just plain hard to climb and breathe in.  We transitioned onto a glacier, still in pitch darkness.  By daybreak the team had reached above 18,000 ft.  All of the magnificent volcanoes of Ecuador were lined up for our viewing pleasure.  There were plenty of clouds at different levels but it was evident that we were going to get lucky.  Things steepened for the final 800 ft to make the team dig down deep for energy.  But by 8:40 the gang was on the summit of Cotopaxi at 19,347 ft.  13 of our 18 climbers made the top, along with 6 of our excellent Ecuadorian guiding staff.  The team was back at the lodge by midday and packing for departure.  By 2 PM we were in our buses and headed for the jets.  Now -at 6:30 PM- we’re high over Cuba, pointed toward Miami and a celebration on the water.  A big day indeed, much of our team shattered personal altitude records and found inner strength they hadn’t imagined. 

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Today was nice and easy… a chance to sip coffee and stare at the big volcano out the window.  It changed every few minutes, with clouds and light increasing, decreasing and doing just what clouds and light always do.

We took it easy to enhance our acclimatization and to prepare for tonight’s climb.  There was a small and easy training and gear session out in the grass.  But that was balanced by naps and meals. 

We’re ready!  Awake in just a few hours for our Alpine start. 

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Sunday, May 29, 2022 - 6:33 pm PT

Today we climbed Iliniza Norte to it’s quite pointy summit at 18,818 ft.  The entire group made the top in a mere two and a half hours from the hut.  We began at 6:30 AM in partly cloudy conditions.  It was a little cold and windy at first, on icy and slippery rock and dirt, but things improved.  We got amazing views of Cotopaxi and Iliniza Sur, but the rugged rock scrambling required to get up Iliniza Norte kept us well focused on the task at hand.  We hit the top at 9 AM and spent 30 minutes before beginning a careful descent.  The team moved well, with excellent help from our local guide staff, and we were at the base of the mountain by midday. 

We enjoyed a celebratory steak lunch at a restaurant on the way to Cotopaxi National Park and then made our way uphill and into the park to the Tambopoxi Lodge.  Clouds cleared from the mountain at sunset and we had amazing views of our big objective of the next few days. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

May 28 5:15pm PT

Checking in from Nuevos Hortizantes Refugio!

The entire team, 20 of us plus 5 local guides, are in place for a summit attempt on Iliniza Norte. This is an important part of our preparation for Cotopaxi. Today we climbed three hours and 2700 ft under cloudy skies to reach the hut. We'll set out at 6 AM to go toward the 16,818' summit. Hoping for clear skies and grand views. Perhaps we'll get some good exercise.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn and Team

Our team made it down to Ecuador yesterday and this morning.  By midday we were together in Quito and ready to stretch out after travel.  We need exercise and altitude to get prepared for our climb of Cotopaxi in a few days.  We took a bus ride through the bustling and vibrant city to the tram onto the slopes of Rucu Pichincha.  The teleferico got us way up to 13,500 ft in a hurry.  It was cloudy, so we only had glimpses of the bases of the great volcanoes, but conditions were just fine for strolling along the trails.  We enjoyed seeing Caracaras (colorful hawks) and went close to 14,000 ft in altitude.  By then the hour was getting late and we decided to call it good for a big first day in Ecuador.  We had an easy walk down, a few coffees and donuts for the tram ride, and then a trip back to the hotel.  We finished with a fine dinner and a plan for setting out for further altitude training in the morning. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn and Team

What a difference a day makes. 40mph snow and wind at Camp Muir. A perfect day to train inside. 

After a cloudy walk up the Muir Snowfield on Monday we enjoyed two gorgeous, sunny days of training on Tuesday and Wednesday, learning the basics of snow and ice climbing, glacier travel, crevasse rescue and ice climbing. 

This morning the weather has changed! Blowing snow all night and day has us thankful for the shelter of the bunkhouse at Camp Muir where we're learning about avalanches - how to avoid them, use the tools of the trade and perform a rescue.

We'll continue with other topics of interest and get out for some hands on training if and when we can do it safely outside. 

Everyone is doing great and happy we got so much training in even though our summit aspirations are no longer realistic after finding serious signs of avalanche hazard on the slopes leading to the summit.

We'll be headed down tomorrow morning after some training and packing up in the morning. 

RMI Guide Brent Okita

The team met for one last breakfast this morning. Recalling our climb of Pico de Orizaba and our other exploits from the trip while laughing and drinking coffee. Only 24 hours ago we were standing at the summit and oh what a difference a day makes. It’s a great way to end a great trip and seems like yesterday that we met up in Mexico City as strangers. I’m impressed and proud of this group on and off the mountain. I look forward to climbing with each and every one of them in the future, but for now, we’re excited to get back to our families and friends. This is the RMI Mexico team signing off for the last time of the trip and season.

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli