Entries By josh geiser

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Hello followers!

Today was a big day! Skies were clear which meant we would be flying. The team got their last lattes and drip coffees before making their way to the hanger. The pilot told us half the team would fly then he would come back for the rest of us. This gave the team time to get dialed with sled rigging and tent set up before arriving on the glacier and for those on the glacier time to learn too. As always the flight in was amazing. The views are stunning. The peaks of the Alaska Range are rocky and snowy and big. A bumpy landing got the team all safely on the glacier. The pilots are truly amazing at what they do. After some quick work shuffling gear and rigging up we hit the Kahiltna glacier running. Well not running. Slowly waddling in our snowshoes and heavy packs. We crushed the downhill and made smooth work of the uphill. You can tell the team did great training and it sure paid off with the smooth sailing we had getting to camp. It's all a learning curve right now, trying to get in a groove setting up camp. In a couple days we will be smooth as butter at it. Pizza for dinner always makes the heart and stomach happy. Our outdoor seating had amazing views of the surrounding peaks. Tomorrow we will hopefully do a carry to 9,600' give or take. We are hoping the storm stays away or at least gives us the morning/early afternoon. As for now, we are all getting our gear organized and into our sleeping bags for a well deserved rest.

Goodnight everyone!

RMI Guide Hannah Smith

Tuesday June 4, 2024 3:05pm PDT

Hannah Smith & Team are flying onto the glacier, and will officially start their climb!

Monday, June 3, 2024

Hello readers,

Today was jammed pack with packing and sorting. The team went through their gear making sure they have all the crucial items to safely climb the mountain. Along with those crucial items is 22lbs of snack food. Everyone has a good mixture of salty, sweet, crunchy, chewy items to make them happy on the mountain. Once we knew we had all the right gear, we sorted it into our packs and duffles to be weighed for the plane. We ended our day with some souvenir shopping and a team dinner. The team is excited to get on the glacier and begin their expedition they have been training for. Fingers crossed the weather holds!

Goodnight,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team

Sundy, June 2, 2024 - 10:20 pm PT

Hello readers!

Welcome to RMI's Denali Expedition #5. Today is day 1 of our expedition. The team traveled from near and far to get to Anchorage. Quick introductions and a brief run down over the gear list and we were out the door and piled into a van for our drive to Talkeetna. Before arriving to Talkeetna we made a pitstop in Wasilla to purchase fresh food items like cheese, meats and breads to enjoy on the mountain. We off loaded all our duffels in the airplane hanger for tomorrow's gear check and packing, then made our way to the hotel. Tonight was informal to allow people time to relax or unwind before a busy day tomorrow. Some of the team made their way down to the river and man was it a view. The mountains were out in all their glory. Denali looks so huge, even from a far. What a good start to our trip to have such a spectacular view. As for now we are going to enjoy being in civilization and sleeping in beds. Tomorrow will be a busy day of prepping so we can (fingers crossed) fly onto the glacier on Tuesday. 

Goodnight readers,

RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team 

The Five Day Climb May 25 -29 led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Ben Ammon reached 13,200ft on Mt. Rainier today before high winds forced them to turn back. The teams have safely returned to Camp Muir where they may do some additional training and enjoy a final night on the mountain. The team will descend the remaining 4,500' to Paradise tomorrow and conclude their program.

PC: Dave Hahn

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Dominic Cifelli reached 12,300' on Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team reached the mid-point of Disappointment Cleaver, but the strong winds of 40 - 50 mph forced the team make the decision to descend safely back to Camp Muir. They will return to Rainier Basecamp in Ashford later this afternoon. 

Congratulations Team! 

The Four Day Climb May 16 - 19 led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Hannah Smith climbed halfway up Disappointment Cleaver before conditions required them to turn around.  Hannah's team climbed to Ingraham Flats and worked on some ice climbing. The teams descended to Camp Muir and will be packing up and starting their descent to Paradise later this morning.

Our team woke to winds high enough to hold you still and push you around. We pushed to first break at Ingraham Flats where we decided that would be our high point. A lot of steep terrain above would not have been fun to be on in any amount of wind. Everyone has been enjoying a bit more rest before making our way back down to Paradise later this morning. 

On a bright side, a fox was spotted in camp. It appeared to be healthy and quite quick at running across glaciers. 

RMI Guide Hannah Smith

The Four Day Climb August 7 - 10 led by RMI Guides Andy Bond & Jess Wedel did not reach the summit today due to gusty winds.  The teams left Camp Muir on their alpine start but turned around at Ingraham Flats due to wind.  The teams returned to Camp Muir and climbed Muir peak to enjoy the sunrise. Photos above are from RMI Guide Calvin Jiricko.

The teams plan to descend from Camp Muir after 9 am today.  We expect them to return to Rainier BaseCamp in the early afternoon.

RMI Guide, Henry Coppolillo checked in from the summit of Mt. Baker this morning. The team enjoyed a great climb and will enjoy their evening at camp before they pack up their things and head back to their cars.

Nice work team!