Entries By stella johnson

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Move to high camp

Today, we moved camp from White Pass up to a beautiful spot amongst alpine lakes in Foam Basin right next to the White Chuck glacier. Getting up early, we said good morning to our fellow marmot friends, took in our first official view of Glacier peak, and set up high camp while enjoying lunch. After a short nap, we refreshed our glacier climbing skills, ate some tasty freeze dried meals, and called it an early night. Tomorrow is summit day. We will wake shortly after the sun disappears, but we are filled with excitement and we look forward to all the challenges tomorrow has to bring. Wish us luck!

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and Team

Thursday, July 24, 2025

The Glacier Peak Team led by RMI Guide Ben Luedtke reached the summit this morning a little after 8:00 am! With what little reception they had, the guides were able to call the RMI office from the summit and share the fantastic news that the entire team had made it to the top. They are now back at camp celebrating their accomplishment, they will spend one more night on the mountain getting some well-deserved rest before they descend back to the trailhead for the conclusion of their trip tomorrow morning.

Friday July 25, 2025

Summit day and walk out

Mountaineering is more than just a sport, a hobby, a vacation, or a summit. Mountaineering is about friendship, comraderie, beautiful views, unforgettable adventures, new experiences, and so much more. Yesterday, and for the entirety of this trip, we accomplished all of that which mountaineering offers. We encouraged each other with heavy packs, pushed one another with words of affirmation, and bonded over the stories of who we are. (And dad jokes). In the end, we summited Glacier Peak, together, as a team on Thursday, July 24, 2025. Some of us walk away with the success of another mountain complete, some of us with the completion of all 5 volcanoes, and some of us completing just 1 of many more objectives yet to come, but we all walk away with the memory of the people we shared it with, the laughs we had, the pains we felt, and the smile of what it truly means to be a mountaineer. Today, we walked out from high camp. Enjoying many a wild berry along the way, we are now basking in the sun that we are glad wasn't there on the twenty some odd switchbacks coming down. Cheers to all for tuning in. 

RMI Guides and Team

Monday, July 21, 2025

Hiya everybody!

Welcome to Glacier Peak, follow along at your own risk. Today was day 1, but we kept it simple. The day consisted of wrapping up our travel, arriving in the small town of Darrington, WA and completing our gear check and orientation for the beginning of our grand adventure. For some of us, this will just be the next major volcano in WA, and for others, this will be our 5th and final WA volcano! Woot woot! Tonight, we pack, unpack, and pack again making sure we have all the essentials. Tomorrow, we start our hike to Camp 1 at White Pass. Hold on to your seats as we venture into the deep wilderness of WA to attempt our hand at one of the coolest volcanoes around. 

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and Team

Tuesday July 22nd, 2025

Camp at White Pass

Our first day on the trail and we hit the ground running. Just kidding; we walked delicately through beautiful, lush forest, over rough, rugged terrain, and pranced among the wildflowers. It's all true, but today was a hot, long, and difficult journey to reach camp at white pass. Donned with heavy packs and all the snacks, we enjoyed a less dusty trail than usual thanks to the peaceful rain from last night. After our long day of friendly conversation, Marmot sightings, the fresh smells of mountain air, and beautiful views of the surrounding area, we enjoyed our first camp dinner huddled around our stoves and were very happy that we packed our head nets for the bugs. As we crawl into our sleeping bags for some well-earned rest, we can't help but glimmer with excitement for what comes next. Tomorrow, we head for high camp and training for the big summit day. Stay tuned in case the marmots attack...or become our cuddle buddies in the night... they're hard to read.

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and Team

The Any Mountain Five Day Climb led by RMI Guides Jess Wedel, Rosie Hust, Stella Johnson, and Margo Kerr reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The team spent about an hour on the summit enjoying the breezy weather before beginning their descent to Camp Muir. The team will spend one more night at Camp Muir before making their descent to Paradise tomorrow.

Congratulations climbers!

PC: Jess Wedel

The ALA Climb for Clean Air Team made an incredible push up Mt. Rainier, reaching the top of Disappointment Cleaver before high winds and a summit cloud cap made it unsafe to continue.

RMI Guide Jess Wedel reports the team is doing well and is now en route back to Camp Muir to regroup before descending to Paradise.

We’re proud of their strength, determination, and commitment to clean air for all.

Yesterday the Four Day Climb teams June 22 - 25 led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and George Hedreen  enjoyed a breezy and cool snowfield, good snacks and good company. Today they made an alpine start from Camp Muir and reached the summit of Mt. Rainier just before 7 am.  Breezy and cold temps made for a short stop in the crater and they began their descent from the crater rim around 7:30 am.  Once back at Camp Muir, the teams will repack and take a short rest before continuing the final 4,500' down to Paradise.

Congratulations to today's climbers.

PC: Tom Skoog

Day 1: We left Ashford at 7:30 this morning and enjoyed good views and generally cool weather on our approach to the kautz. We’ve made an excellent camp on the lower castle and are batoning down the hatches for rough weather tonight—an essential expedition skill. - RMI Guide Eric frank

Day 2: Today we practiced a variety of skills including fixed line travel, crevasse rescue and avalanche beacon searches. We even took a little time for yoga before our summit talk! - RMI Guide Tom Skoog

Day 5: SUMMIT!  The Kautz Seminar team left camp and ascended the Kautz Ice Chute and reached the top of Wapowety Cleaver before gaining Point Success and then contining across to Columbia Crest. The team enjoyed some time in the crater before starting their descent. The team climbed strong with 100% of the group reaching the summit. They will return to camp and enjoy some rest and a final tent night.  Tomorrow they will continue their descent to Paradise and conclude their program.

Nice work team!

Photos: Tom Skoog

The Five Day Climb June 7 - 11 led by RMI Guide Joe Hoch reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today with 100% of the team.  We started in full moonlight and summited 100 percent on a perfect morning!

The climbers will return to Camp Muir for a sort break and to repack before beginning the final descent to Paradise. They will conclude their program later today at Rainier BaseCamp.

Congratulations to the team!

Good morning! 

The Four Day Climb of Mt. Rainier led by RMI Guides Henry Coppolillo and Bailey Servais reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 5:20 am PT this morning. Both teams went 100% to the summit--an incredible achievement! The guides reported beautiful weather and a great climbing route! The teams are currently descending and will be back in Ashford at Rainier Base Camp later this afternoon.

Congratuations to today's climbers!

The Four-Day Climb from May 26–29, led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and James Bealer, was unable to make a summit attempt this morning due to sustained high winds and stronger gusts. The teams remained safely sheltered at Camp Muir and will begin their descent to Paradise later this morning.

The Five Day Climb July 19 - 23 led by RMI Guides Henry Coppolillo and Mike Bennett reached 11,300' today before strong winds forced them to switch their ascent to a descent. The teams have returned safely to Camp Muir. They will pack gear and enjoy the morning sunshine from 10,000' before continuing down the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise later this morning. There adventure will conclude this afternoon at Rainier BaseCamp.