Entries By leon davis

Tuesday, May 3, 2016 - 9:31 p.m. This morning we woke up to a few inches of light snow and little visibility. Our goal today was to fortify camp with walls cut from snow and our team worked fast together. By early afternoon the sun cast a blue light down glacier and the north buttress of Hunter made itself present with its steep rock and ice. The team finished by 1300 and relaxed for a short while under a warm sun. Before dinner we sat together to review some knots and hitches and prepare for a climb up Radio Tower tomorrow morning. Every once in a while I catch the team standing quietly, shovels in hand, pausing to take in the surrounding splendor before returning to their work. All is very well here in our snowy castle. RMI Guide Leon Davis

Monday, May 2, 2016 - 10:03 p.m. Greetings Blog Followers! Our first Alaska Mountaineering Seminar - Expedition is doing fine at Kahiltna Base Camp! Our morning in Talkeetna, AK was anything but slow and leisurely as we performed many logistic moves in order to get ahead of the changing weather forecast. We made it onto K2 Aviation's Otters by noon and made camp quickly in great weather. Despite being thrust into action on a compressed time schedule, the team worked very well together displaying great work ethic and sense if humor. It's 9:00 p.m and we are all warm and happy in tents looking forward to fortifying camp tomorrow. Good night friends and family from the southeast fork of the Kahiltna Glacier; we'll check in again tomorrow. RMI Guides Leon Davis and Mike King

On The Map

The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Leon Davis reached the top of Disappointment Cleaver on Mt. Rainier before route conditions forced the team to descend. Leon and the team descended back to Camp Muir to rest and pack up. At 8:45 am the team left Camp Muir to begin their descent to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them in Ashford this afternoon.

The Four-Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Mike Walter reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 6:40am this morning. The Five Day Summit Climb led by Leon Davis also reached the summit today. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb teams!

The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Leon Davis were unable to summit Mt. Rainier this morning due to avalanche hazards, poor weather, and difficult route conditions. The teams reached 11,600' before making the prudent decision to turn around. The teams left Camp Muir at 8:05 am to start their descent back to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp in Ashford later today.

RMI Guides Casey Grom and Leon Davis along with their Four Day Summit Climbs remained at Camp Muir overnight due to high winds. The teams were unable to make a summit attempt and will start their descent from Camp Muir later this morning. We look forward to seeing the teams at BaseCamp later today. 9:00 am PST Guide Casey Grom checked in with the RMI office. With a bit of a break in the weather the team was going to take a walk on the upper mountain and plan to depart Camp Muir at around 11:30 am today.

The Four Day Summit Climbs led by RMI Guides Brent Okita & Leon Davis reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning at 6:35AM. They reported windy conditions upon approaching the crater rim and a chilly morning but overall good climbing conditions. After enjoying the views from the summit the teams will begin their descent to Camp Muir and then continue to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them in Ashford later today. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams!

The Four Day Summit Climbs led by RMI Guides Steve Gately and Geoff Schellens reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at about 6:45 this morning. Steve reported winds of about 30mph at the crest, but overall a beautiful day. The team has started their descent and are en route to Camp Muir. RMI Guide Leon Davis called at 7:30 AM this morning from the Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons. He and the team are back at camp. They reached 11,600’, then turned due to a large crack. Later today they will take a walk to spend more time training about 500’ above Camp Schurman.

The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Mike Walter and Leon Davis stood on the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Mike reported great weather with no clouds and light winds. The teams began their descent at 7:45 am. We look forward to seeing everyone back in Ashford this afternoon. Congratulations Climbers!

The Four day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Billy Nugent reached the summit of Mt. Rainier along with climbing teams led by RMI Guides Leon Davis and Lindsay Mann. All teams were descending from the crater rim as of 7:50 am PST this morning. The teams will return to Camp Muir for a short time and then continue down to Paradise. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb Teams!