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The Four Day Climb with Dave Hahn and Jess Wedel has reached the summit of Mt. Rainier!

The team enjoyed clear skies above a thick marine layer, with just a few clouds lingering to the east—a beautiful day to stand on top of the Pacific Northwest. They have begun their descent and are en route to Camp Muir, where they’ll take a break, reorganize their packs, and then continue down to Paradise.

Congratulations to the team on a successful summit!

RMI Guide Tatum Whatford and team reached the summit of Mt. Shuksan via the Fisher Chimneys route.  Tatum checked in from the summit around 9:30 am PT.  They will return to camp for some well deserved rest, enjoying another night on the mountain before descending to the trailhead tomorrow.

Congratulations to the team!

Wednesday, June 4, 2025 - 11:35 pm PT

Told you we were feeling optimistic, and it panned out. We were up this morning to light snowfall, but better visibility than we've had in days. We blasted stoves, and had a quick breakfast of oatmeal before taking down camp and packing everything back into our heavy packs and sleds. Once we were saddled up, we followed in line behind many other teams who had the same idea and weaved our way up Ski Hill, through the 9,500' camp, past our cache, and finally up the final hill into 11,000' Camp. Upon our arrival we saw many familiar faces, as weather has been especially bad at 11,000' and climbers haven't been able to move up or cache for over a week. So after some hellos, and searching the crowded camp - we were able to find a spot to settle for the next few days, built platforms and dug out a kitchen before having a filling meal of ramen, and crawling into bed. Tomorrow weather looks favorable for our back carry where we will be reunited with our other 2/3 of food and fuel.

Looking forward to sleeping in a little.

RMI Guide Nikki Champion

'Un clima raro' -strange weather- has been the theme of our Mexico Volcanos trip.

Though it’s the ‘dry season’ we had a full winter ascent of Ixta, and as we pulled into high camp at Pico de Orizaba with a forecast of a clear calm sky, we instead were greeted by a dark cloud deck streaming over the mountain at what we estimated to be 40+ mph. Not ideal for a 18500ft volcano. 

But Team Mexican Koala has proven quite hearty and as I poked my head out of the tent at 12am, a clear starry sky and a light breeze greeted me. Classic Orizaba!

We left camp with 6 of 9 climbers (something has been working through the group) and as we fought freezing winds and bone-chilling temps it looked like we would pull off a sunny summit!

Having not had a summit view yet, we spent almost 45 minutes on the Orizaba summit taking in the cloudless sky and expansive views of Ixta, Malinche and a sea of other Mexican volcanos. A perfect end to our week! 

Congratulations team Mexican Koala-3 for 3 on summits, and a full week of Mexican adventure!

RMI Guide Joe Hoch

1/11 Denali Team 7 dispatch.

Friday June 26, 2026 11:45pm PST

To those who visit the slopes of Denali: Be ready. Be prepared. Be patient. Climbing a mountain can mean a lot of different things for every single one of us. A mountain like Denali can draw us in by sight, it can draw us in with curiosity, or it can draw us in by the challenge it represents. What it won't tell you, however, is why. That is on our own to figure out or understand. Some things to consider:

1. Who will you meet? Whether arriving alone or with friends, we are sure to leave this place with a bond that will never fade. We need each other out here just to survive.

2. What will you learn? No matter your skill set, Denali will become your teacher. You will develop a whole new set of understanding of what it means to be a mountaineer.

3. How will I make it?! Well, that will take a lot of MDeal, a sprinkle of Farkle, cooking on high heat (always), some light yoga, a few walks down Main Street at 14k, and probably a dash of good luck when it comes to the weather.

4. What will I tell others? Tell them the truth. It is f-ing hard climbing this mountain. Right out of the gate, we drag sleds loaded with 22 days of food, fuel, and gear to live in an inhospitable place. We climb everything from 8,000 feet to 16,200 feet twice to make it all happen. All this, and then we wait. Sometimes longer than we want to, but we wait for the mountain to say "OK." It's a roller coaster of emotions. You freeze or fry; there's no in between. You worry. You wonder. You pace. You run through every possible scenario in your head. And then, if Denali says "go," you push yourself to a limit you never thought existed. If all goes well, finally, you stand at the highest point in North America.

And that's what we did. A HUGE congratulations to this team for sticking it out, working their asses off, and standing on top of Denali. We will walk away from this climb knowing that we did something extremely difficult. We are grateful. Grateful for the opportunity. And best of all, a Twinkie never tasted so good over 20,000 feet, but only one of us got to see what the inside of a glacier looks like up close.

RMI Guides Ben, Mike, Avery, and Team.

It’s rest day here. The last day at Plaza Argentina Basecamp before we assail the defenses of the Sentinel of Stone, Aconcagua. Little left to do. Everything in our possession either comes with us or goes to Mulas. Eat, rest, see the doc, stretch our legs. Wait. As I sit here in anticipation, I am struck by a simple fact: There is no control on the mountain.  

I’d love to tell you that there is control on the mountain, but there are only degrees of influence and occasionally getting what we intended. But control? El no existe. 

I’d love to say we control our actions, but if we had control of our actions we’d simply sprint up the mountain to the summit. If we had control we’d never bend or slacken to lack of oxygen, muscular fatigue, or the dangerous effects of high altitude sickness. 

I’d love to say we control our thoughts on the mountain, but if we had control of our thoughts on the mountain we’d never doubt ourselves, never experience the effects of low oxygen on our thinking skills, never need checklists, never need an encouraging word from another to keep us focused on the task at hand.

I’d love to tell you we control our emotions on the mountain, but if we controlled our emotions we’d never fear failure. It wouldn’t hurt to miss our mark. We wouldn’t experience angst watching a fellow climber getting airlifted off the mountain via helicopter. Our confidence would never falter no matter how much snow, ice, wind, or elevation Aconcagua throws at us. 

Control is not a concept that exists on the mountain. There is only influence. And our lack of control is not a problem. In fact, our lack of control is an essential part of the challenge. The unknown, the lack of control, the formidable defenses of the mountain, are precisely why the challenge of Aconcagua is so tantalizing and coveted. 

Aconcagua, sacred mountain, Sentinel of Stone, Centinela de Piedra, what defenses will you throw at us? What toll will you ask? What price will you require us to pay? 

Ask what you will, Aconcagua, despite our lack of control, we are prepared to do what we can. 

We are ready to climb with a great plan, the best damn guides a crew could hope for, and tremendous support staff.

We have trained our asses off to make your summit, and we will fight fatigue with a tenacious spirit and love for the challenge you present. 

We will find a way to replace momentary doubt with the confidence that we have an indomitable will to put one foot in front of the other again and again and again. 

Most of all, we will climb with joy in our hearts from all the support we share in this group, and the tremendous sum of support we have from home. We are ready to pick each other up and find a way no matter what defenses you present to us. 

Are you ready, Centinela? Here we come.

RMI Climber Jared Wood

The Early Gaunaco catches the Mula.

It was an early start, but an exciting start for the team. Today, we made our trek to Base Camp to start our next phase of our expedition.

We said goodbye to our amazing Grajales Stone House hosts at Casa de Piedra and started our pilgrimage to the base of this awe inspiring mountain.

Nothing wakes you up quite like your trip’s first frigid river crossing. Switching our crocs in 4x4 mode, we quickly made the crossing. It was a refreshing way to continue our journey through this mystical country. From the beautiful valley scenes, the curious Guancos, to the Arrieros wishing us a safe journey while passing us on their way down from delivering our gear to base camp; these are only a few highlights of what we experienced leading up to BC.

Spirits were high as we made the 6 to 7 hour trek (that’s for you Wells) to accomplish today’s Plaza de Argentina. We are now settled in at 13,800’ preparing our minds and bodies for the climb ahead. It’s time to strap up, clip in, and go full send.

Thank you to our amazing RMI guides and our local Grajales crew for making this a special experience. But more importantly, thank you to all our families and friends at home who are taking up the slack while we are on this amazing expedition. (Particularly Lauren, Winn, & Wells)

Till tomorrow.

RMI Climber Andrew Hall

We started the day in our fancy hotel, enjoying eggs and sausage and coffee as well.

The van had arrived, the gear was all packed and our guides diligently made up for what we lacked

The bus swayed and vistas were scanned, 3 hours more to begin what we planned

But when we stopped to pee we heard the news, one weather day we had to lose.

We decended the highway trying not to be crass, Aconcagua had told us, you shall not pass

The city came close and I remembered my luck, I was in South America no other place I'd rather be stuck

Another night in the land of sun and good wine, another joke about chubrub would not be out of line

RMI Climber Colin Young

Due to heavy rains the Aconcagua National Park closed today. (Jan. 8) The team will start their trek tomorrow to Base Camp.

We just got as wet as I can imagine a person can possibly be. It may be dryer standing in the shower. 

Skeptical of the day's forecast (as always in Ecuador), but also based on the pattern that was observed prior to our arrival, we headed into the cloud and rain on Rucu Pichincha. It was one of those hard shells all day kind of days. Actually, the rain let up for one moment, we took the hard shells off and it immediately began raining profusely and never let up. The weather was in fact so wet that the gondola never reopened for our ride down and we took a steep, slippery trail down an extra 2700'. That was honestly pretty neat with water cascading down the trail and by that point, we couldn't possibly have gotten any wetter, so it was nicer to be warm and wet than cold and wet (waiting for the gondola to reopen).

The team was patient, flexible and overall got a decently nice hike in. In a region that doesn't have centralized heating in buildings due to the stable, comfortable weather, our hanging backpacks, jackets and hiking clothes will surely still be somewhat wet in the morning when we depart the hotel and head for our next acclimatization hike. Oh well, everyone is taking it in stride and at a minimum, today was memorable.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier & Team

Ben, Ray and team carry to Camp 1. 

In a way, today was the official start of the climb portion of this adventure. Each of us has different motivation and reason for being here. Each of us, a different climbing background. Each of us, a different training regimen. However, today more than ever it was apparent that we are in total unison in moving toward our shared goal of standing atop South America. 

Teamwork was on full display with the fist bumps, high fives, and words of encouragement throughout our entire 4 hour ascent to cache gear and food at Camp 1. Walking up the last section of very loose scree and dirt is indescribable. Every step you took, the ground gave way beneath your feet. With my seriously heavy pack, I struggled to get footing. The frustration was high inside my head as I felt like a hamster in a wheel. Before I knew what was happening, Big Scree cut in front of me and kicked the most glorious steps I have ever seen as he turned his head and said “I got you”. Team work made the dream work. 

As we rolled into Camp 1 we all eagerly emptied our packs into the cache sacks and took a seat on the camp chairs inside the Grajales dome tent. When all were seated around the table, we were presented with a challenge to move as quickly but as controlled as possible down the scree fields. We were told it was a test and we were all down to take it. With a little bit of excitement in the air at the challenge at hand we took off for base camp. Scree skiing was just the fun we needed after our heavy push uphill. There was giggling, laughing, more encouragement and a feeling of freedom I can’t really explain. With the test behind us and A’s all around, we got the afternoon to relax and celebrate our own little personal victories today. 

You never know what the mountain is going to give you on any given day, or what Mother Nature is going to present you with. Heck, you don’t even know what your own body is going to throw at you. We have learned this firsthand as a group. Every day we get to spend on this mountain is a gift, including the hard and heavy days like today. We are all so grateful to be here and to be with two amazing, positive and encouraging guides- Ben and Ray. 

Jojo, CMan and IzBiz- I want you to know that what I did today was hard, but I did it. And I’ll do it again and again and again because there is no better feeling than not giving up on your goals. They’re worth it! Shoot for the moon and see where you land. BPerk- thanks for ALWAYS encouraging me, you are the best thing.

RMI Climber Christine Perkinson