Entries By mitch valaitis

The September 1 - 5 Five Day Climb reached the summit of Mt. Rainier led by RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli and Sam Hoffman.  Climbers reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 5 am and were able to enjoy some time in the summit crater.  The skies are clear and it's a bluebird day.  The teams left the crater rim at 6:10am and are currently on their descent to Camp Muir.  Once back at camp they will get to rest and enjoy the views and will spend tonight on the mountain. Tomorrow they have another 4.5 miles to descent in order to reach Paradise. There program will conclude tomorrow with a celebration of their adventure.

Nice work team!

Led by Sam Hoffman and Mitch Valatis, the RMI team summited mid-day Thursday. With the anticipation of poor weather, the climbers adapted and climbed a day-early. The push paid off and we enjoyed sunshine on the top! 

Congrats team.

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier reached the summit of Mt. Rainer early this morning. The team climbed above the heavy marine layer, and Dustin reported clear skies and calm winds. It took the team 6 hours and 35 minutes to reach the summit from Camp Muir, and they are now on the descent. 

Congratulations Team! 

The six day Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise August 1 - 6 led by RMI Guide Jackson Breen has enjoyed beautiful weather for their week of training, climbing and camping on Mt. Rainier. Yesterday, after several days of practicing anchors, crevasse rescue, glacier travel and snow camping the team packed up gear and ascended to Camp Muir. Today the teams left Camp Muir with an early alpine start and reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 5:30 am.  They enjoyed an hour in the crater before starting their descent back to Camp Muir. The team will continue down to Paradise later today and conclude their adventure with a celebration of their accomplisments. 

Nice work team!  We hope you enjoyed your time on the mountain.

Roland Scott an Team reached the Summit of Mt. Baker!

The team decided to take advantage of a beautiful day on the Easton Glacier and climb reaching the top in time to watch a beautiful sunset at the top of Mt. Baker!

Congratulations Team

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Joe Hoch and Leif Bergstrom were turned on their summit attempt of Mt. Rainier due to route conditions and high winds. The team is back at Camp Muir and will descend later this morning.

After several days of training and climbing, the Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz July 14 - 19 team, led by RMI Guides Walter Hailes, Calvin Jiricko, Bailey Servais and Mitch Valaitis, put it all together and made their climb to the summit of Mt. Rainier. Walter reported a beautiful day with light winds and good climbing conditions.  The team started their descent from the crater rim around 7:30 am.  They will return to their High Camp for their final night on the mountain. Tomorrow they will finish up any training, descend to the trailhead and return to Rainier BaseCamp to conclude their adventure.

Congratulations to the team!

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz July 5 - 10 led by RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier, Lacie Smith, Mitch Valaitis and Robert Whyte reached the summit of Mt. Rainier just before 8 am today. Dustin reported a beautiful day and warm temperatures. The team was going to spend a few minutes in the crater before starting their descent.  They will return to their high camp for one more night on the mountain and some additional training.  Tomorrow they will retrace their steps to Paradise and conclude their program at Rainier BaseCamp in the afternoon.

Congratulations to today's Kautz team!

The Four Day Climb June 30 - 3 July was unable to reach the summit today due to high winds.  RMI Guides Joe Hoch and Tatum Whatford left Camp Muir with an alpine start but were turned back at Ingraham Flats due to extremely high winds.  The teams returned safely to Camp Muir where they spent the rest of the morning. They plan to start their descent from Camp Muir to Paradise around 9 am.

The Four Day Climb June 17 - 20 led by RMI Guides Leif Bergstrom, Mitch Valaitis and Arianna Drechsler enjoyed nice weather over the course of their climb but unstable snow conditions on the upper mountain prevented the team from ascending above Ingraham Flats.  The team enjoyed some additional training and spent the morning at Ingraham Flats.  They plan to descend from Camp Muir at 10 am en route to Paradise.