Entries By seth burns

The Mt. Baker - Easton Glacier September 11 - 13, 222 led by RMI Guides Seth Burns, Tatum Whatford and Nicole De Petris reached the summit of Mt. Baker yesterday.  The team reported smoky conditions but they were able to practice their glacier travel skills and make it to the summit.  The team descended from Sandy Camp today and are back at the trial head.

Congratulations to the team!

RMI Guide Mike Walter called from the top of Mt. Shuksan this morning. The team enjoyed a beautiful, hazy morning at 9,000' ft. The team made it back to camp and will enjoy a night's rest before they head back to the trailhead tomorrow.

The Four Day Climb August 28 - 31 led by RMI Guides Avery Parrinello and Jack Delaney were unable to summit today.  Climbers reached 12,300, the top of Disappointment Cleaver, before deciding to turn back due to unfavorable route conditions and warm temperatures.  The teams were back to Camp Muir just after 7 am.  They took some time to repack before beginning their descent from Camp Muir back to Paradise. We expect the groups to be at Rainier BaseCamp in the early afternoon.

The Four Day Climb August 25 - 28 was approaching the crater rim of Mt. Rainier at 6:40 am led by RMI Guides Alan Davis and Seth Burns.  Alan reported climbing time from Camp Muir to the summit was 6 1/2 hours for the teams this morning. It's a beautiful day to be in the mountains with clear skies and light winds. The teams will enjoy some time at the summit today before retracing their steps and returning to Camp Muir. After a short time at Camp Muir, they will continue the final 4,500' to Paradise and conclude their program at Rainier BaseCamp later this afternoon.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

RMI Guides Matias Franics and Seth Burns led their Four Day Climb August 16 - 19 teams to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams reported good conditions with a bit of increased wind and some light precipitation on their descent.  Once back at Camp Muir they will have a short break before continuing the final 4,500' down to Paradise to complete their climb.  They will conclude their program at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon with a celebration ceremony.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

RMI Guides Seth Burns, Josh Geiser and Michael Murray reached the summit of Mt. Baker today with 100% of their team.  Seth reported a nice sunrise climb this morning via the Easton Glacier.  The team will return to camp for their final night on the mountain.  Tomorrow they will walk out to the trailhead and conclude their program.

Congratulations to the team!

It was a successful summit for all team members on the Mt. Baker Easton Glacier Climb July 22 - 24.  RMI Guide Seth Burns reported a beautiful day filled with lots of smiles!

Nice work team!

We are happy to report that the entire team stood on top of Mt. Baker this morning. We had clear skies and spectacular views of Washington’s volcanoes to the south. The team climbed strong. We're on the descent and headed back to the trailhead.

RMI Guide Seth Burns and Team

Thursday, July 7, 2022 - 11:52 am PT

We are calling ourselves lucky.  Very lucky.  The clouds moved away long enough for the glacier surface to freeze up for our nighttime ramble down the lower Kahiltna.  We started walking down from 11,000 at 12:30 AM.  The midnight sun was beautiful on the peaks around us as we cruised down in the cool shadows.  The first hours, to the base of Ski Hill, were straightforward… then things got complicated.  Lots and lots of crevasse crossings.  But that is where the freeze helped immensely.  It also didn’t hurt that other teams preceded us, breaking into holes and showing us where not to walk.  In the end we made it through without any collapsed bridges.  It took about seven hours to get to the airstrip.  Half the team flew off in a K2 Otter just before 10 AM but before the plane could make it back for the other half, clouds rolled in.  They didn’t roll away until mid afternoon, at which point the Otter swooped in to get the job done.  We were the last team on Denali for the 2022 season… and then we were just a bunch more tourists in Talkeetna with funny tans.  The team had a celebratory dinner at Mile High Pizza Pie, and then a late night Cornhole tournament in the beer garden of the Fairview Inn.  A little live music and a nightcap (or two) put a finish on an excellent expedition.  Thanks for following. 

Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Photos courtesy of Dave Hahn

Tuesday, July 5, 2022 - 8:25 pm PT

We pulled out of 14,000' at 10:30 this morning.  Winds were still blowing up high, it certainly wouldn’t have been a summit day, but much of the low cloud had cleared out.  The couple of hours down around Windy Corner, across the Polo Field, down Squirrel and Motorcycle Hills were the usual insane sled rodeo.  The sleds don’t like being heavy or on a side hill and so they flip a lot and we all just try to keep smiling and pulling.  We set up camp -possibly our last- in early afternoon and dove in for naps.  We’ve just eaten dinner now and we’re napping once more.  The plan is to get up in three hours (at 10 PM) and to set off around midnight toward the airstrip on the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna.  We’re hoping the surface of the lower glacier freezes up hard and that our timing is just right for taking advantage of that freeze.

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn