Entries By megan budge

May 30, 2017 After a full day packing up, weighing our gear and some serious duffel shuffling we are all set to jet into the Alaska Range tomorrow! Weather permitting we should head in mid morning and take stock of a most beautiful set of mountains. Our fingers are crossed for a grand adventure and we will keep you all posted on our journey. Take care everyone! RMI Guide Jake Beren

RMI Guide JJ Justman and the Four Day Summit Climb team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier under cold and gusty conditions. The team began their descent shortly after 8:00 a.m. PDT. On their descent, the team will stop at Camp Muir to rest and repack before continuing their descent to Paradise. They will return to Ashford and Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon. Congratulations!

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise led by RMI Guide Mike Haugen reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Mike said that it is a "BEAUTIFUL day" on the summit of Mt. Rainier. Mike also reported that 100% of the team reached the summit. The team began their descent before 8:00 a.m. PDT. We are excited to see them in Ashford this afternoon and hear stories of their adventure! Congratulations climbers!!

The Five Day Emmons Climb led by RMI Guide Mike King reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning via the Emmons Glacier Route. It's a beatiful day with little wind and clear skies. After spending some time on the summit the team started their descent around 6:30 am PT, they will return to high camp for their final night on the mountain. Congratulations!

May 22, 2016 - 4:02 pm PT So things were looking pretty grim for flying out yesterday morning. We woke to more snow and a complete whiteout, keeping us locked in camp. We kept ourselves occupied with some games of trivial pursuit, stories and eating. As the day wore on a bit of sun shone thru the clouds and after dinner we heard the unmistakable drone of a DeHaviland Otter. Things were a blur after that. We broke camp in record time and moved our gear to the airstrip and loaded the planes before the weather moved back in. Once in the air we witnessed the skills that make these glacier pilots some of the best around. The clouds were heavy and thick all around us and once Patrick found a hole with some ground below, a few 360 degree diving turns put us under the cloud deck so he could navigate back to Talkeetna by sight, flying just a few hundred feet above the Alaskan tundra. So here we are back in town among the green trees and mosquitoes. A great time in the Alaska range with a fantastic group of people! RMI Guide Leon Davis

May 21, 2016 - 10:52 am PT Well today our team got to practice a Denali soft skill that may be one of the most crucial; How to occupy your mind when the weather keeps you stagnant. We woke up inside a Ping pong ball and this strange snow that turned to rain as soon as it touched us. The team spent most of the day inside the kitchen telling stories, laughing and tying 50 meters worth of knots on our climbing rope. At times it was a tough lesson but the team stood strong. After dinner the skies started to break and eager for some activity, we broke camp and made a move back to base camp. It was eerily calm to have the glacier all to ourselves in a whiteout. It's just past midnight now and we have just crawled into our tents. Tomorrow we are really hoping for some sun! RMI Guide Leon Davis

May 19, 2016 - 9:44 pm PT Hello from Farine basin, This morning under cloudy calm skies our team ventured onto the east ridge of Farine, an old remnant of perhaps a volcano comprised of very black rock. Fun climbing on a ridge overlooking Camp 1 took us to a series of crumbling rock spires. We were stopped by bad snow in a steep gully capped by some very bad rock. As we descended in whiteout conditions to clearing clouds we got some great views of the surrounding valley. Back at camp with some time to kill, many folks grabbed some sleds to race down a slope just above our camp. Lots of belly laughing and memorable moments to behold as spectator or participant. It's getting quite cold now so we are headed back to our tents to warm up. Goodnight all. RMI Guides Leon Davis, Mike King and Megan Budge

May 18, 2016 - 10:22 p.m. PDT Hello all who may be reading! A beautiful morning made for a pleasant exercise in breaking down our large camp and preparing our sleds for hauling up glacier. By 11:00 a.m. the team made their way down Heartbreak Hill to the main Kahiltna Glacier and upstream we paddled in snowshoes. Veering from the main trail we split off further west into a small basin tucked between a long black ridge and a peak known as Farine. We made camp on a high snow roll overlooking the Kahiltna to the south and it is a truly awesome sight. Tomorrow we will wake early for an attempt on the west ridge. Good luck and good night! RMI Guide Leon Davis and Team

May 17, 2016 - 9:52 p.m. PDT While we had hoped for sunny warm skies, we were delivered a snowy cloudy morning. After a nice pancake breakfast we set out to do some training in the area. Avalanche education and crack rescue took up our entire day and folks picked up the skills pretty quickly. The clouds lifted long enough for us to drop a few folks into the hole and let their teammates pull them out. That certainly was a comical and educational experience for the team. Just before dinner the temps dropped off significantly and it started to snow again. Seems to be a bit manic weather here at 7000' but everyone is rolling with it in style. Tomorrow we hope to move up glacier for some exploring. Stay tuned, RMI Guide Leon Davis & Team

May 16, 2016 - 3:07 p.m. PDT Hello Everyone, Despite a bleak forecast we woke to sunny blue skies today. This morning the team ventured further up the SE fork for some glacier travel and exploring around Radio Tower. While Base Camp below was busy with planes dropping off more climbers we enjoyed a birds eye view of the lower Kahiltna, and a direct view of the north buttress of hunter. The air was hot and surrounding slopes reacted with constant wet slides and rockfall. Returning to camp was a sweltering affair, all of us sun baked by the relentless sun. Tomorrow we will stick around the area for some more skills training. We are still hoping for more of those sunny skies. RMI Guide Leon Davis & Team