Entries By dustin wittmier
"Hard weather says the old man. Wrap me in the weathers of the earth, I will be hard and hard. My face will turn rain like the stones." Cormac McCarthy
In our efforts of acclimatization our team enjoyed frosty wet winds, an in-depth tour of the grand interiors of a cloud. Our climbers bedazzled in rime; hooded migrants iced for a birthday. Happy birthday Nate! The summit of Volcan Malinche reached and no grand views but the middle floors of our gaseous estate. Soggy and satisfied we descended through scree, sand, and mud. Lungs and legs the better for it. Welcomed by the quadrupedal locals back to our interim homes at La Malintzi, we find the sub cloud world refreshing and rewarding. Another feast at 10,000 feet. Another cozy night in beds and cabins. Onward now to Iztaccíhuatl. Vamos viajeros.
RMI Guide Will Ambler
New Post Alerts:
Mexico's Volcanoes November 8, 2025
The Mexico Volcanoes team led by RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier and Will Ambler arrived in Mexico City on Saturday. The team headed out of the city the following morning to La Malintzi resort, located at 10,000ft. They enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and began their acclimatization process. Today the team stretched their legs and lungs on a hike to the summit of La Malinche, 14,636', it was cloudy and a bit cold. They will return to the cabanas at the base of the mountain for a second night. Tomorrow they will make their way to the base of Ixtaccihuatl.
New Post Alerts:
Mexico's Volcanoes November 8, 2025
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Mike Bennett, Avery Stolte, Layne Peters, Tate Hughes, Nina Bridges, Julian Kral, David Rathbun
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
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!
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Seth Burns, Layne Peters, Ben Thorneycroft, Erika Barrett, Mac Nolde, Julian Kral, Brooks Ordway Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI’s Four Day Climb, Aug 11-14 successfully reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today.
They reported 100% of the team was on top enjoying the calm weather and beautiful views this morning.
They are currently descending and will take a short but much needed break at Camp Muir before heading down to Paradise later this afternoon.
Congratulations to all of them!
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Tatum Whatford, Raymond Holt, Mac Nolde, Kayanna Hopkins, Jack Ritterson, Matt Tucker, Erika Barrett
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb August 7 - 10 led by RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier & Tatumn Whatford reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 6:30 am today. Tatum reported that it was a little windy and a little cold but it was turning into a beautiful morning on the mountain. The teams spent about an hour in the summit crater before starting their descent. Once back at Camp Muir they will take a quick break and repack their gear before contining the final 4.5 miles to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's teams!
PC: Tatum Whatford
Posted by: Casey Grom, Dustin Wittmier, Arianna Drechsler, Julian Kral, Kat Porter, Celeste Wilson, Stella Johnson, Annie Chapman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
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With calm and beautiful skies, the Four Day Climbs led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Dustin Wittmier reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams spent time on the summit enjoying the views of the 8,000' cloud deck blanketing the lower elevations. Currently on their descent to Camp Muir, the teams will be back in Ashford later this afternoon.
Congratulations climbers!
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Hannah Blum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 10,781'
Monday, July 21, 2025 4:37pm PDT
100% summits on the Coleman-Deming route. We summitted just after 9am and got back to camp before the rain!
It's been a chill afternoon waiting out rain showers in the tent and intermittently napping.
We plan to descend in the morning.
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier & Team
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Lacie Smith, Rosie Hust, Jack Ritterson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14, 410'
The Expedition Skills Seminar Team, led by RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier, reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today via the Emmons Glacier.
Over the past week, the team has been training on the upper slopes of Mt. Rainier, honing a variety of advanced alpine techniques. Today, they put those skills to the test and successfully climbed to the top of the mountain.
The team will spend one more night at Camp Schurman before descending and returning to Rainier Basecamp tomorrow afternoon.
Congratulations to the entire team on a successful summit!
Great job team! Thanks again Dustin, Lacie, Rosie, and Jack.
Posted by: Paul Morgan on 7/5/2025 at 4:53 am
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Lacie Smith, Will Ambler
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 0'
Wednesday, June 18, 2025 - 10:16 pm PT
Well, this one is a couple days late. Like most members of the team, I have also been through quite a time warp. As I sit here tonight and am thinking about the trip, it occurs to me that just four nights ago we were still making our way back down to 17,000' Camp from the summit. Time flies when life is just a series of naps in between hard walking, unpacking, repacking and digging up caches. Truly the final 72 hours of a Mt. McKinley expedition is one of the hardest pushes most of us will make in the mountains. In that amount of time we: move from 14 Camp to 17 Camp, sleep, have our summit day, sleep, descend from 17 Camp to 11 Camp, sleep just a couple of hours and then descend from 11 Camp to Base Camp. All of that is assuming good weather.
This time around we had the fortune of great weather for a summit day and for our exit. Upon our arrival to Base Camp we waited only a short amount of time for the planes carrying Dave Hahn's team onto the glacier to arrive and take us off. It's quite a funny position to be in, tired and haggard from 17 days on the glacier and looking at another team with fresh clothes on, perfectly packed and with a bunch of empty CMCs (poop cans) just arriving. It feels like there is so much to tell them, but they will all learn their own lessons in due time.
Anyhow, the next moment you find yourself in a small plane, diving through a hole in the clouds and speeding along at the edge of a cloud ceiling about 1,000 feet above the Tokositna Glacier, which your pilot is using as a handrail as you take a long exit from the range. Your cell phone finds service and depending who you are and where you work, you have some incredible amount of unread messages and emails and normal life comes roaring back in an instant. There is still unpacking to do in Talkeetna, checking out with the National Park Service, returning the full CMCs and a celebration dinner in a town full of tourists, at which I could barely keep my eyes open, the past few days catching up to me.
The next day we all headed for the airport in a van driven by the only guy keeping it low key at the Fairview the evening before. I think Bill is mostly there to sing karaoke and may have just been having a cranberry juice, straight. Having booked a flight just a day prior, both Will and I sat in middle seats for the flight back to Seattle, the people to my right and left having to deal with the sunbaked guy next to them sleeping open-mouthed.
Finally, most of us had our first day back at home or first day of an extended vacation in Alaska today. I'm sure we all tried to find our way back in to some routine, just to be reminded by the burnt lips, tongue and nostrils that we just had one of the wildest and most memorable experiences of our lives. I know that for myself, those nights walking down the lower Kahiltna Glacier to basecamp are forever etched in my mind as some of the most rugged beauty I have ever witnessed.
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier
New Post Alerts:
Mt. McKinley Expedition May 29, 2025
Congratulations Dustin & Team! Proud of your accomplishments and inspired by your grit!
-Joe
Posted by: Joseph Mueller on 6/20/2025 at 7:57 am
It is Great to read this Dustin!! Your Team was lucky to have an Awesome Guide!!! (You)
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 6/20/2025 at 3:56 am
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Lacie Smith, Will Ambler
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 20,310'
The RMI Team led by Dustin Wittmier climbed strong from 17,000' Camp to the summit of Mt. McKinley. They gained the summit ridge at 4:45 pm local time and continued to the summit at 20,310' arriving at 5: 28 pm Alaska time on Saturday, June 14th.
After enjoying some time on top, the team descended to 17,000' Camp reaching camp around 10 pm local time where they spent the night.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
New Post Alerts:
Mt. McKinley Expedition May 29, 2025
Caroline and the team. I always knew you all could do it. Celebration time. Love you
Posted by: Page Evans on 6/16/2025 at 3:20 pm
That is Awesome Dustin!!!! You and your Team Rock!!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 6/16/2025 at 3:30 am
Awesome Dustin!!!
Very Cool Pictures!!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 8/21/2025 at 3:45 am
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