Entries By pete van deventer
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Nick Sinapius, Ben Thorneycroft
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
It was a pretty full day, prepping everything for a few weeks of glacier living and making sure we get it right. We started with an orientation from the Park Service this morning, before diving in to unpacking our kits, and repacking them for the flight to base camp, where we will unpack them again, to pack for climbing. It's a lot of shuffling but we're feeling confident that everything is set to go. And everyone was buoyed as the skies were clear as could be all day. These clear days are when Denali (McKinley) shows off, encased in white and gleaming brightly on the skyline. Weather continues to look good for tomorrow, so we are prepped to fly first thing and get this expedition truly underway!
RMI Guides, Pete, Ben, Nick, and Team
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition May 8, 2025
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Nick Sinapius, Ben Thorneycroft
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
The team all made it without snags yesterday, and we hit the ground running, packing into the shuttle and heading for Talkeetna. After dinner, we ambled down to the river - the mountains were socked in but the icebergs floating by provided the ambience. The amble then magically led our feet to the doors of the Fairview, for a quick pint and an acoustic rendition of despacito. Then to bed in the arctic daylight. We’ll pack tomorrow and things look good for flights on on Saturday!
RMI Guides Pete, Nick, Ben and Team
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition May 8, 2025
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, George Hedreen, Raymond Holt, Tom Skoog, Miles Watson, Hannah Billings
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Five Day Climb August 23 - 27 led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer & George Hedreen reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams enjoyed clear skies, a funky cloud and a light breeze for their climb and were able to enjoy some time this morning in the summit crater. The team began their descent from the crater rim around 9:30 am. They will return to Camp Muir and enjoy another night on the mountain. Tomorrow the teams will pack their gear and descend the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise.
Congratulations team!
PC: George Hedreen
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Raymond Holt, Mac Nolde
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb August 17 - 20 led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Raymond Holt and Mac Nolde reached the summit of Mt. Rainier just before 7 am today. Pete reported winds 10-20 mph and a descending cloud cap. The team spent a short time at the crater before starting their descent. They are en route to Camp Muir and once there will take a quick break before continuing down to Paradise. The group will end their adventure with a short celebration later this afternoon.
Nice work team!
Posted by: Joe Hoch, Pete Van Deventer, Raymond Holt, Jack Ritterson, Nicole De Petris, Tom Skoog
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Joe Hoch and Pete Van Deventer reached the summit of Mt. Rainier Early this morning. The team enjoyed the views and spent about an hour on the 14,410' summit before starting their descent. The team will be back in Ashford this afternoon to celebrate their success at Rainier Basecamp.
Congratulations Team!
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Joey Manship, Nick Sinapius, Ben Thorneycroft, Mac Nolde, Avery Stolte
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb August 1 - 4 led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer & Joey Manship reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 4:30 am today. The teams are currently working their way back to Camp Muir with sunshine and blue skies. They will continue their descent to Paradise later this morning.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Yaasssss! Way to go Jared and team!
Posted by: Julie B on 8/4/2024 at 10:52 am
go Jared! woot
Posted by: Brandon der Blatter on 8/4/2024 at 10:48 am
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Ben Luedtke, Tatum Whatford, Felipe Guarderas, Celeste Wilson, Arianna Drechsler
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Five Day Climb July 4 - 8 led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer & Ben Luedtke reached the summit of Mt. Rainier with 100% of their teams. The teams enjoyed clear skies and warm temperatures and lots of great photo opportunities.
Nice work everyone and congratulations!
PC: Ben Luedtke & Pete Van Deventer
What an amazing experience! Fun, safe, encouraging. I couldn’t quit smiling. The team was great, and the guides brought out the best in everyone. A transformative experience, and one I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. Training for this climb changed my life, and standing on top of the world for a few moments changed me forever. Truly grateful!
Posted by: Glory Dole on 7/15/2024 at 11:10 am
I could not thank enough to our RMI guides and team members who contributed and shared this lifelong memories. I really enjoyed the stores behind each climber on why dreamed the summit of Mt. Rainier and how to take efforts to make the dream become true.
I know I made a right choice to pick RMI as my guide service. I will definitely refer RMI to my friends for future mountaineering adventures.
Posted by: Shirley Zhang on 7/9/2024 at 7:51 pm
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Jackson Breen
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 7,600'
Monday, May 27, 2024 - 11:30 PM PT
Our descent is well underway. We woke up a bit leisurely this morning and let things get a bit warmer, then packed our belongings and started down the West Buttress. Before long we were in the relative warmth of 14,000', wearing much less than all the 14,000' Camp dwellers themselves. Something about coming down from somewhere that's been - 25 to change perspective. We packed more belongings at 14 Camp, and started down towards 11,000'. We had a plan to see how low we could get. We made it to 11,000' Camp in great time, so the team decided to take a minute to brew up some more water, then keep going to the base of Ski Hill, our first camp of the expedition. We are there now, where things feel truly balmy. We're going to take a quick snooze, then wake up early and walk the last bit to Kahiltna Base Camp, where we hope planes will be flying first thing!
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition, May 7, 2024
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Jackson Breen
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 20,310'
Sunday, May 26, 2024 - 10:56 pm PT
The break in wind we had hoped for materialized and this morning was gorgeous. We got going early to take advantage. The Autobahn was chilly as always, but good walking thanks to the efforts of the multicompany guide effort yesterday. We had a bit of wind as we approached the Football Field, and were a bit worried about the winds streaming over the summit ridge. A passing friend described the ridge as savage. As we climbed Pig Hill in relative protection, they seemed to abate and as we crested things were relatively pleasant. We worked our way along the exciting terrain of the summit ridge and around 15:30, stepped onto the top of Denali. We shared some hugs and photos, and then scooted back across to beat the onrush of traffic still coming up. We had a pretty casual walk back, and 12 hours after we started we were back in camp in sunshine, recovering from a mighty day. We'll sleep well tonight, and then start to work our way to the airstrip tomorrow. We will be moving quite a bit with little rest until we reach base camp and the planes arrive to bring us to town. We'll try to stay in touch, but we will be home soon!
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition, May 7, 2024
Congratulation…Bravo…Well done Pete and crew.
From hoop courts and race ovals of flat IN.
Posted by: Waltero Glover on 5/28/2024 at 1:10 am
Wonderful news! Big congrats to you all!
Posted by: Lisa Hankin on 5/27/2024 at 2:29 pm
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Jackson Breen
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 17,000'
Saturday, May 25, 2024 - 5:35 pm PT
This morning wasn't quite what we had ordered up. The wind was moving quite a bit of snow at Denali Pass, and it was immediately clear it wasn't the day for us. New forecasts also showed the wind rising this afternoon, but letting off tonight and tomorrow, so tomorrow sounded like the better day anyways. Big shout-out to RMI Guides Andy Bond and Henry Coppolillo for the constant weather updates now that we are in go mode. Camp was calm and pleasant, with snow falling lightly in the afternoon, but warm overall. In a showcase of camaraderie and teamwork, guides from several different teams, including ours, took the opportunity to get into the Autobahn and ensure the pickets and walking are ready for us tomorrow. On to tomorrow!
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition, May 7, 2024
Get some Batch!!!!!!
Posted by: Jasyn Voshell on 5/26/2024 at 4:17 am
Get it Scott Lico! You got this!!!!! Good job everyone.
Posted by: Priscilla Littmann on 5/25/2024 at 10:07 pm
Good luck on this climb of a lifetime!
Posted by: Maxine Hill on 5/10/2025 at 7:47 am
Keep her lit!
Posted by: Sinead on 5/10/2025 at 2:26 am
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