The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Mike King and Hannah McGowan reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team started their climb in the clouds, but these quickly subsided to provide clear skies and a beautiful views from the top. The team has started their descent and will be returning to Rainier Basecamp early this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's team!
Congratualtions! So happy you all made it. I’m sure you had the most amazing view this morning. I’m so proud of you, Adam!
Posted by: Sarah May on 7/28/2018 at 9:05 am
Congrats on the memorial climb and summit! I’m really proud of the team and guides. Mike King is a certified badass! Adam and Garth, another notch. Booya!
At the end of this past April, eleven RMI guides came together in Washington to take the AMGA Alpine Skills Course, a prerequisite for the Alpine Guide Course, and a great continuing education opportunity for all of us to remain at the forefront of current guiding techniques. After a winter of far-flung adventures, Dave Hahn, Andy Bond, Mike King, Jenny Konway, Grayson Swingle, Hannah Smith, Gloria Roe, Nick Scott, JT Schmitt, Alan Davis, and myself converged on Ashford. These courses are an important chance for us to refresh our skillset and learn some new tricks from our peers and the instructors from the AMGA.
Over the course of 5 days at Paradise in Mt. Rainier National Park, and on Mt. Erie, outside Anacortes, WA, we reviewed snow anchor construction and multi-pitch techniques for snowy environments, belaying and lowering techniques, short roping and short pitching, and anchor station management. Success in our guiding often lies in not only being able to utilize a number of techniques to manage risk, but in being able to maintain efficiency and timeliness at the same time. As we worked through different transitions, techniques, and scenarios with our peers, we all walked away with a few new tools in our bag and I'm convinced will be better guides for it.
This was a fantastic event for the eleven of us, and many thanks go out to RMI and the AMGA for putting it on. Congrats to Dave Hahn, Andy Bond, Mike King, Jenny Konway, Grayson Swingle, Hannah Smith, Gloria Roe, Nick Scott, JT Schmitt, and Alan Davis for completing the course!
-- Alex Halliday
A bright and early summit this morning! The Mt. Rainier team, led by RMI Guide Mike King, reached the top at 4:50 a.m. With warm temperatures and a high freezing level forecasted, the team left Camp Muir early to get ahead of the heat. By 7:00 a.m. the team was well on their way back to Camp Muir after their summit success.
Congratulations to today's team!
This morning our Mt. Rainier Summit Climb teams reached the highest point in Washington in beautiful, clear weather. The teams also met up with our Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons team that ascended from Camp Schurman. After many high-fives and handshakes, they all began their descent down their respective routes.
A great job by all teams!
Great job Climbers! Can’t wait to hear all about it & see pics. We’ll have dinner for the team & Rick’s favorite cookies tonight. Your Mammas love you!! Mamma Kerr :)
Monday June 25, 2018 - 2:11 PM PT
We woke at midnight for a 1:35 AM start down from 11K camp. What originally looked like a cloudy day in whiteout navigation mode turned into a beautiful clear morning with alpine glow on Mt Foraker’s Sultanna Ridge. We took some breaks, dug up a cache, and finally walked up ‘heart break hill’ to finish the self propelled portion of our expedition. We waited for 3 hours plus for the weather to clear between the Alaska Range and Talkeetna. Finally, K2 Aviation swooped in with the stunning Turbo Otter ski planes to whisk us back to a rainy Talkeetna. Food, beverages, showers, and sleep are in order... for some of us, in that exact order. Thanks for following along and what a great team to climb Denali with!
RMI Guide Mike King
Monday, June 25, 2018 - 12:14 AM PT
This is Mike, checking in from 11,000' Camp as the team continues their descent to the airstrip. We woke at 17,000' Camp this morning after a long summit day. The team packed up and headed down the West Buttress with spectacular views of the Alaska Range. Once on the fixed lines we baking in the mid day sun and were looking forward to getting our cache sorted and headed to 11,000 Camp for some dinner and rest. We got water and high fives from the other RMI Teams and turned in for some rest, not sleep. We'll plan on hitting the road at 2 am in hopes of getting an early flight to Talkeetna. The weather isn't promising so an extra night or 2 at the airstrip might be in our future.
RMI Guide Mike King
Congratulations on your successful climb and descent…..... Lot’s of good memories, pretty pictures and the satisfaction of a job well done….......My granddtr and her husband are with the Hauger team, Lindsay and Matt…
Barbara Jones
Posted by: Barbara Jones on 6/25/2018 at 8:42 pm
Mike, congratulations to the team. We know everyone is anxious to Talkeetna. Hopefully, you will get some rest before meeting us in Colorado. Mom and Dad.
RMI Guide Mike King and his team reached the summit of Denali, 20,310' today around 6:35 PM PT. Their June 4th Expedition met in Anchorage and has spent the last several weeks, acclimatizing, climbing and waiting out the weather. Their patience and perseverance paid off today.
Congratulations to the team!
Awesome work to the whole team!! We have done our best to follow the hike and send good vibes to Alex and the team. Make it back safe so we can hear about the adventure ~ Matt & Malin
Posted by: Matthew A Lewis on 6/24/2018 at 6:53 pm
Friday, June 22, 2018 - 7:45 pm PT
It's been a Tale of Two Camps, either the Camp all sits together or they rally up the same piece of terrain at the same time. We were second on the fixed lines and after an initial moment of flailing we got to 16,200' for a break. The remainder of the day had us climbing the West Buttress into 17 camp with amazing views of the Peters Glacier and North Summit of Denali. Light wind made some of the exposed ridge sections feel more exposed. Today was a good lesson in keeping toes and fingers warm because we didn't set any records for the 14-17 leg. Everyone is nestled in their tents drying out boots and gloves. Dinner, hydration, sleep and hopefully we'll be heading for the summit on Saturday.
RMI Guide Mike King
Thursday, June 21, 2018 - 10:04 PM PT
Yup, just another weather day here at 14,000' Camp on Denali. Snow and calm air the entire day. Breakfast was ate, coffee drank and cards played throughout the day in the Posh. We were hopeful this low pressure system was breaking up tomorrow. Instead it looks to be a Saturday to Monday window. We'll wake up at 5 am and check the weather. Fingers crossed we can get to 17 camp and be on the summit Saturday.
RMI Guide Mike King
Woo hoo! Looks like you may get a break in the weather soon? No recent JT type 2 adventures to report.. Thinking of all you guys on the homestretch! Hopefully you’ll be on that summit soon. Hugs!
Wednesday, June 20th - 8:18 pm PT
We woke to clouds and snow at 14K Camp today. We were hoping for clear weather to make a carry to 17K Camp; unfortunately, the winds up high prevented us from getting on the fixed lines. We eventually went for a walk up towards 15,000' to stretch our legs and lungs. The Team got a spectacular view of Genet Basin and the lower Kahiltna Glacier. We are back in camp now and continue to hang out at 14K. The forecast has been accurate for 17K and above but not so for 14K Camp. We'll need to see decreasing winds up high to make our move and if we don't get that in a few days the only option will be to descend.
RMI Guide Mike King
Congratualtions! So happy you all made it. I’m sure you had the most amazing view this morning. I’m so proud of you, Adam!
Posted by: Sarah May on 7/28/2018 at 9:05 am
Congrats on the memorial climb and summit! I’m really proud of the team and guides. Mike King is a certified badass! Adam and Garth, another notch. Booya!
Posted by: Parker Ayers on 7/28/2018 at 8:37 am
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