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Sunday, June 1, 2025 - 10:11 pm

Another solid day in the books!

After our late night yesterday, we slept in a little bit, had a quick breakfast of cheese grits and then packed up about two thirds of our personal and group food to lug up the mountain halfway between the base of Ski Hill and 11,000' Camp. Today we settle into a rhythm of caching. Where we pack up some of the food and gear we don't expect to use for a bit, and bury it somewhere between our current camp, and our next camp. Then we climb, past the cache, to our next camp, and then we go back and pick up the cache. With so much food and gear, caching gear between camps allows for more manageable loads and also allows for us to climb high, and then sleep low before moving camp. So today, with the two thirds of our gear back we walked out of camp, made our way up Ski Hill, past the 9,500' Camp some people stay at, and to our cache site near 9,800'. Weather had taken a turn since we woke up, with strong winds and light snowfall. Temperatures were cold and visibility was poor but we were able to make the day count, and set ourselves up to hopefully move tomorrow. After the long weathery day, we made it back to camp where we shared some good music and a round of quesadillas.

RMI Guide Nikki Champion

Expedition Skills Seminar – Kautz Update:

Led by RMI Guide Tatum Whatford, the team made a strong push up the Kautz Route on Mt. Rainier, reaching an impressive altitude of 12,900 feet. Facing the technical challenge of the Kautz Ice Chute and incoming cloud cover, the team made the prudent decision to descend back to camp.

They’ll spend one more day on the mountain refining their mountaineering skills before returning to Rainier Basecamp in Ashford, WA.

Great effort by all involved!

Today we visited the famous Ngorongoro Crater, and considered by many to be the 8th natural wonder of the world. The crater is what remains of a once massive volcano that erupted and collapsed on itself, leaving behind a giant caldera that's almost exactly 100 square miles. Every time we've visited the crater it's been excitingly different, and today was the same. 

We were able to see several lions up close and two still feasting on last night dinner! As we made our way around the crater we saw tons of other wildlife, zebras, Cape buffalo, wildebeest, jackals, Giselles, countless large birds. It was an incredible day to say the least, and I'm certain one that won't be forgotten by anyone. 

We finished the evening here at the Plantation Lodge and are looking forward to what tomorrow may bring as we head to Tarangire National Park. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari crew

Wednesday, June 18, 2025 - 8:49 pm PT

Cripes alfrighty we did it! We finally made it to Camp 3 at 14,200 feet. Pardon me and my french, we are just a little excited. And don't let those tabloids play tom foolery on you, we're 14,200 feet, not 14,000 feet; those silly newsfolk, they'll really get ya. Anywho, we got to tinkering with our stuff last night for the move and got up real early. You know what they say, early bird gets the cheese. So there we were at 11,000 feet, we scootered up Motorcycle Hill, squirreled our way around the next, galloped through the polo fields and then roasted our tushies off like when grandma leaves the pop tarts in the toaster for too long. See what I did there? I'm just joshing yous. Anyways, so now here we sit at 14,200 feet and you might be thinking to urself, what's so darn important about that? Well we'll tell ya. Gosh the views are something else, but ya, so, now that we're at camp 3, we're sitting pretty good to, ya know, get acclimated and stuff before we launch like a potato from a spud gun and get our bums to the summit of this thing! So ya, we're pretty excited and all that. Thanks so much for tuning in. Tomorrow we gotta walk back down and get our goodie bags we left just below camp, but gosh, it'll be a lot easier than today was. Okay, thanks for listening, tell your folks we says hi and watch out for deer. Ok, bye now.

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and Team 

Here at camp 2 (18,000’) while enjoying the views of this Sentinel of Stone - There’s a moment on every expedition that I live for - we’ve reached it. 

When Strangers Become a Team

It happens somewhere between the initial introductions and the summit push we have ahead of us, in that subtle shift when a group of strangers transforms into something more. We’re not just individuals sharing a mountain anymore. We’re a team.

You can feel it in the way we move now. Tasks that once required coordination or instruction just happen. The little things that make life at altitude manageable—we just get done, because we’ve all started thinking as one unit rather than separate climbers. We have the same goal in mind, but it takes a team to reach it.  

And when someone struggles—whether it’s battling altitude sickness, fumbling with tying a tent knot in 40 mph wind, or simply having a rough day—the response is immediate. We help each in those moments. There’s no judgment, no hesitation. Just hands reaching out to help, encouragement offered freely, and the quiet understanding that today it’s them, tomorrow it might be me.

This is what I love most about mountaineering. Not the summit, not the views (though both are incredible and Yes, the ultimate goal). 

It’s this: the alchemy of shared hardship that turns strangers into teammates, and teammates into something that feels a lot like family.

RMI Climber Andrew Hall 

Climbing High 

Ultimate Battle

Reaching Up & Beyond

Sunday, June 1, 2025 - 7:20 pm PT

We have arrived at the base of Ski Hill after flying on yesterday evening. Due to our late arrival, we setup at Basecamp and spent the evening reviewing skills and learning how to build an expedition glacier camp. Now our heaviest move of the trip is complete and we are hoping to carry tomorrow.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

The rain delay yesterday didn’t take the wind out of our sails. We woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to start our trek. On the way to the trailhead we enjoyed (yerba) mate, empanadas, and Carlos’s 80’s rock playlist. The meat and Malbec of Mendoza felt like an oasis but getting on the trail today reminded us of why we had travelled all this way.

A cool breeze and breathtaking views helped us up the Vacas Valley and a condor soaring high above the snow capped peaks was a good omen for the start of our trip. We are now sitting at Las Leñas patiently awaiting an asado from our kind Argentine hosts. We had a lovely first day and are excited for what is to come.

Peace, Love, Gratitude.

RMI Guides Ray Holt, Ben Luedtke, and Team