Entries By hannah blum
Posted by: Sam Hoffman, Hannah Blum, Brooks Ordway-Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 9,131'
6:30 pm August 18th
Around 12:30 today, our entire team stood on top of Mt. Shuksan. Today the weather was mostly cloudy, but we were rewarded with a break in the clouds on our descent. Tomorrow morning we will pack up camp and head into town to celebrate. Congrats to the team!
RMI guide Sam Hoffman, Hannah Blum, and Brooks Ordway-Smith
Posted by: Brent Okita, Jackson Breen, Hannah Blum, Raymond Holt, Miles Watson, Fitz Elder, Oliver Shapiro, Ben Porter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climbs August 10 - 13 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Jackson Breen. It's a beautiful day with clear skies and great views. The teams enjoyed some time on top before starting their descent from the crater rim around 6:40 am. Once they reach Camp Muir they will take a short break and then continue the final 4,500' to Paradise.
Nice work team!
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Joe Crawford, Hannah Blum, Hannah Billings, David Rathbun, Matt Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
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
Posted by: Joe Hoch, Joe Crawford, Bailey Servais, Hannah Blum, Ben Porter, Ben Luedtke, Hannah Billings, Simon Kearns
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
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Today, the Four-Day Climb, led by RMI Guides Joe Hoch and Joe Crawford, successfully reached the summit of Mt. Rainier!
In a fun twist of trail magic, both groups were guided by not one, but two Joes, two Hannahs, and two Bens — in addition to Bailey and Simon, who helped keep things from getting too confusing! With this strong and experienced team at the helm, the climbers were in great hands every step of the way.
The teams pushed through some smokey conditions on their ascent and were rewarded with beautiful clear skies upon reaching the crater. After soaking in the views from the top, the climbers began their descent to Camp Muir, where they’ll pack up before continuing the remaining 4,500’ down to Paradise this afternoon.
Congratulations to today’s climbers on an incredible accomplishment!
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Reading this update with tears of joy in my eyes!! I am just SO so happy for you all but especially my awesome husband, Christoph!! I am so very proud of you, you made this dream, 13 years in the making, come true! Ich liebe dich überalles! Du bist meine Liebe meines Lebens
Posted by: Anna Graf on 8/1/2025 at 11:24 am
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: Joe Crawford, Hannah Blum, Julian Kral, Kat Porter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
Led by RMI Guides Joe Crawford, Hannah Blum, Julian Kral, and Kat Porter, the Five Day Climb reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The team reported beautiful windy weather from the Mt. Rainier summit crater. The team has descended to Camp Muir where they will spend one more night on the mountain. They'll finish their descent back to Paradise tomorrow.
Way to go climbers!
Posted by: Casey Grom, Jackson Breen, Hannah Blum, Layne Peters, Miles Watson, Margo Kerr, Erika Barrett, CJ Rogers
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Five Day Climb July 5 - 9 led by RMI Guides Casey Grom & Jackson Breen reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. The teams enjoyed clear skies, nice walking and a bit of wind. They began their descent from the crater rim just after 7 am. Forecasts for tonight show higher winds, so the team chose today for their summit attempt and it seems to have worked out nicely. They will return to Camp Muir for their second night and enjoy a full nights rest before descending the final 4,500' to Paradise tomorrow.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
PC: Layne Peters
Congratulations on a successful summit! What a great achievement!
Posted by: Alison Thornton on 7/8/2025 at 10:04 am
Posted by: Seth Burns, Tom Skoog, Hannah Blum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The snow school day of our seminar was a great success! Our team came in with a lot of previous mountaineering experience, with most climbers having summitted Mt. Rainier via the Disappointment Cleaver route in the past. As a result, we were able to quickly refresh basic techniques and then get more in depth about movement on steep snow and ice, building snow anchors and crevasse rescue. A high pressure system is moving in just in time for our climb, and the afternoon was beautiful at Paradise!
On Sunday, we enjoyed a beautiful day of weather during our climb to high camp on the Kautz Glacier route. The sun was warm, but a persistent breeze kept us relatively comfortable, even under heavy packs. We arrived at the Upper Castle in great style and set up camp. Our spot has running water and warm rocks. We’re all smiles.
Yesterday, the team enjoyed another day of training, working on crevasse rescue techniques and ice climbing near camp. This morning the team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 8 am with the entire team. They will return to camp for their final night on the mountain and descend to the trailhead tomorrow. Their program will conclude with a celebration at Rainier BaseCamp tomorrow afternoon.
Nice work team!
PC: Tom Skoog and Seth Burns
LEW CREW did it!!
Posted by: Amy Lewis on 7/1/2025 at 6:12 pm
Posted by: Jess Wedel, Hannah Blum, Arianna Drechsler, Annie Chapman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The June 23 - 26 Four Day Climb is made of climbers associated with Black Diamond Equipment and led by RMI Guide Jess Wedel. This all women's team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today putting together their skills, training and equipment. Although the forecast was not stellar the team awoke to good conditions with clear skies above and moderate winds. The cloud deck below sits at around 9,000' but that was not of concern as the team ascended the upper mountain. Reaching the summit around 7:45 am the team enjoyed a bit of time in the summit crater before starting their descent. The team will return to Camp Muir for a short stop and then continue the final 4,500' down to Paradise. Their program will wrap up this afternoon with a celebration at Rainier BaseCamp.
Congratulations to these Black Diamond Climbers!
Congratulations!! This is freaking awesome!! Enjoy the views and journey home.
Posted by: Brittani Smoot on 6/27/2025 at 5:40 am
Way to go!!! Congratulations on all the hard work
Posted by: Sally Bowlby on 6/26/2025 at 5:07 pm
Posted by: Nikki Champion, Leif Bergstrom, Hannah Blum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 348'
Wednesday, June 17, 2025 - 10:20 am PT
Well, like all good things, this too must come to an end. Sorry we’ve been a bit MIA since summit day—those final days all start to blur together. You don’t get much downtime until you're either sitting at the airstrip waiting out the weather or lucky enough to fly straight to Talkeetna.
Three days ago, on June 14th, we stood on top. The following morning, June 15th, the team packed up camp and began the long, challenging descent. We dropped down the West Buttress around noon, descended the fixed lines, and stopped at 14,000' Camp for a brief six-hour nap.
After our rest, we had a quick dinner at midnight, then loaded up all of our gear from the last two weeks and began the march back to basecamp. We made our way around Windy Corner, down Squirrel and Motorcycle Hill, and finally back to 11,000' Camp. There, we whispered hellos to Dom’s team—who were sound asleep—grabbed our cache, transitioned back to snowshoes, and continued past Camp One to basecamp.
By around 9 a.m. on the morning of June 16th, we arrived at basecamp to good weather and the chance to fly straight off the glacier. By noon, we were back in Talkeetna wearing flip-flops, and by 2 p.m., we were sharing beers and laughter, wrapping up our expedition at the Brew Pub.
It’s all been a bit of a haze—amazing, exhausting, unforgettable. In the moment, it felt like it moved slowly, but now that we’re back on dry land, it’s hard to believe how fast it all went by.
If you've been following me for years, you know I'm a fan of Hiakus...
Fresh socks, frozen boots
Glacier sunburn, summit views
Fly me to a beer
RMI Guide Nikki Champion
Inspiring experience (yes, a 1997 reboot, well sort of!), and lots of gratitude to be a part of this RMI team!
A great big thank you to all the guides - you shine!
Posted by: Catherine Nelson on 8/21/2025 at 5:50 pm
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