Entries By nikki champion
Posted by: Mike Walter, Nikki Champion, Ben Luedtke
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 7,800'
Saturday, June 19, 2021 - 2:30 pm PT
We woke at 1am this morning and fired up stoves for a quick breakfast and a cup of coffee and then we set off down Heartbreak Hill to the Kahiltna Glacier and up the the base of Ski Hill. By traveling in the wee hours of the morning we were able to take advantage of firm snow conditions and comfortable temperatures for climbing, before the glacier turned into a solar oven.
The traveling was pretty straight forward, climbing over some crevasses and skirting around others. We made quick work of the mission, and four hours after setting out we found ourselves making camp.
After "brunch" we retreated to our tents for some rest and to get out of the searing sun.
We'll stay on the alpine start schedule for now and hope to carry a load of food and fuel up to somewhere close to 10,000' tomorrow before returning back down to our current camp. We'll let you know how it goes.
Posted by: Mike Walter, Nikki Champion, Ben Luedtke
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 7,300'
Friday, June 18, 2021 - 8:43 am PT
Good morning from Kahiltna Base Camp. We were packed and ready to fly all day yesterday, but the weather wouldn't cooperate with our plans. After playing the waiting game for most of the day, we finally loaded up the two turbine Otters and launched towards the Alaska Range. We arrived at Basecamp at around 6pm and set up shop here. We'll spend the day here today and move to the Base of Ski Hill tonight when the snow freezes back up.
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Nikki Champion
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
Summit! Today's Mt. Rainier teams, led by RMI Guides Hannah Smith and Nikki Champion, reached the top this morning. After spending some time on the summit, they began their descent at 9:00 a.m.
Congratulations to the teams!
Posted by: Robby Young, Dominic Cifelli, Camille Leininger, Joe Hoch, Nikki Champion, Axel Ryd
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,200'
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Robby Young and Joe Hoch were turned around at Ingraham Flats due to high winds and blowing snow. The team returned to Camp Muir and enjoyed a brief break in the weather. The team left Camp Muir around 9:30 am en route to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Ben Luedtke, Leif Bergstrom, Nikki Champion, Alan Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 11,200'
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir May 16 - 21, 2021 met on Sunday for their first day of training led by RMI Guides Hannah Smith and Nikki Champion. On Monday, May 17th they loaded their packs and ascended to Camp Muir. They have spent the last four days and nights at Camp Muir, training and practicing skills needed to climb big mountains. Today they put that training to test and made their summit attempt on Mt. Rainier. Unfortunately wind and new snow thwarted their effort. The team is safely back at Camp Muir and will do some additional training this morning before packing their gear and descending from 10,000'. We hope they learned a lot and enjoyed their experience even with the uncooperative weather.
Posted by: Brent Okita, Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello, Dominic Cifelli, Nikki Champion, Camille Leininger
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir led by RMI Guides Brent Okita, Hannah Smith and Avery Parrinello reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. Brent reported a beautiful day with windy conditions and challenges. The group has spent the last several days training at Camp Muir. Tonight will be their final night at the 10,000' camp and they will descend to Paradise tomorrow. We hope the team enjoyed their time on the mountain. Congratulations on reaching the summit!
Posted by: Steve Gately, Nikki Champion, James Bealer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Incredible experience! We had a great team and fantastic leadership from the guides. I learned so much of the basic mountaineering skills needed for future climbs. Thank you RMI for an amazing trip!
Posted by: Beechard McConnell on 9/14/2019 at 12:01 pm
Way to go, everyone!
Chandra….FINALLY! 4th time was a charm!
Love you to the mountains & back!
Mom
Posted by: Kari on 8/19/2019 at 8:02 am
Posted by: Mike Walter, Nikki Champion
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
Congrats Team! Way to go Andy! \o/
Posted by: Darla on 7/31/2019 at 11:16 pm
Congratulations Team! And special congratulations to our buddy Andy Booth for making the summit this morning. You earned it!!!
Posted by: Tideworks Mountaineers on 7/31/2019 at 8:45 am
Posted by: Mike Walter, Nikki Champion, Taylor Bickford
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
On The Map
Talk about dining with a view!! I always love hearing about the food :-P
Have a safe trip down!
Savannah
Posted by: Savannah on 7/1/2019 at 11:02 am
I’m sure they’d rather celebrate with their new friends at Club 14 than rush home.
Posted by: Keith and Regine on 7/1/2019 at 9:08 am
Praying for safety. Thanks for the update!! Rob, Dad got your postcard today and was thrilled to hear from you. Praying you all make it to the Summit!
Posted by: Marg Millman on 6/22/2021 at 6:25 pm
Miss you Daryl! Looking forward to the updates! Everyone asking about you everyday
Posted by: Katie on 6/21/2021 at 11:02 am
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