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Thursday, May 28, 2026, 9:21 p.m. PDT

Day 1

Today we awoke to blue skies, so we rushed to the hangar, where we played the ‘hurry up and wait’ game. We got the text around 11 a.m. that we were flying on! We all rushed back to the hangar and lathered ourselves in sunscreen and smiles. We had moments of doubt about flying on, but climber Patti insisted we all share a piece of her Kendal Mint Bar. This famous candy delight was brought to London with the intention of being consumed before Denali. The treat is a ritual Patti practices for every climb. Alas, we are here at the airstrip, where we will sleep for the night. While enjoying our expansive views and the roars of the mountain, we enjoyed a delicious pad Thai dinner. Tomorrow, we plan to make our first big move to Camp 1!

RMI Guide Jackson Breen & Team

Day 3 – Sunday, May 10, 2026

Hang time in Talkeetna! 

With unflyable weather, the gang spent the whole day on standby. We practiced the critical Denali skill of hurry up and wait, and also practiced our ping pong (table tennis for those who are serious) skills. 

K2 Aviation lost the Talkeetna ping pong tournament to TAT (Talkeetna Air Taxi) last year, so luckily the RMI team was there to train with the K2 pilots. Hopefully, K2 will take a win in 2026!

We also reviewed our sled rigging and had an excellent team dinner at the Lattitude 62.

All eyeballs are looking towards the weather forecast for tomorrow for flyable weather!!

RMI Guide Calvin Jiricko & Team

On the evening of May 31st, the Mount Baker Easton climb went 100% to the top! We enjoyed calm and clear conditions, with the route all to ourselves. The sunset was around 9:00pm, transitioning into a beautiful full-moon which illuminated the sky to the East. 

Thanks to the team for all the effort and hard work to make it happen. 

- RMI Guide Sam Hoffman and Kat Porter
 

Thursday May 21, 2026 - 9:44pm PDT

Welp, we woke up to drifting snow, heavy winds, and the sun outlook of yet another weather day. Today haiku was brought to you by Adam, because it was his favorite day ever.

Wizards of the stove

Waving wands of ice and snow

What will you do next

Adam’s favorite day ever consisted of his two favorite meals. The day started with Cinnamon Toast Crunch and the day wrapped up with Zatarain’s (Jambalaya). The in-between times were filled with cribbage, rotating in your sleeping bag like a hot dog in a gas station and some more story times. The snow continued to fall throughout the day.  We are still set up to carry to 13.5 whenever weather allows.

Check in tomorrow!

RMI Guide Nikki Champion and Team

RMI's four-day climb led by guides Henry Coppolillo and Sam Hoffman reached this summit of Mt Rainier this morning around 5:15am. They reported cold temperatures and moderate winds. They are currently on their descent back to Camp Muir and will return to Ashford this afternoon. 

Saturday, June 20 - 10PM PST

We started the day with hot Cinnamon Toast Crunch. That was unique. It fueled us for our cache above the fixed lines at 16,500.’ A challenge I believe we were all ready for and eager to accomplish. Now the waiting game. In moments like these, I reflect on Nick’s question about three things that describe why we are here and/or why we climb. The obvious ones come to mind - pushing yourself, doing hard things, and accomplishing a-typical goals. But when I think on it further what an expedition like these most rewarding are the people I get to meet and this trip is proving to be no different. Our team contains inspiring people. My tent mates: Hudson - an excellent listener, always supportive of others, thank you for introducing me to ibuprofen gel. Devin - our daily dose of laughter, energy and great story teller. Our teammates, Matt - has solid music taste, great work ethic, and a fellow Ohioan. Jimmy - sound leadership skills, insightful, and strong like bull. Allison - Smart, calm, and also strong like bull. Amanda - always with a smile, social, and has a great laugh… shoutout Jimmy’s Angels. Nick - our resident doctor the one we go to for all medical questions, a team player, and another Ohio brethren. Ben - we thank you for letting me borrow your boot warmers and the group your solar panel - shoutout Ed.

And of course our guides, our fearless leaders. Ben L.- el jefe, keeping our team motivated, providing us with your climbing knowledge, and making sure each of us are heard. Mike Bennett - killer Hawaiian shirt, dominant at Monopoly Deal, and can’t wait to hear about your future wife from Austin, TX. Avery -  a wonderful person to have a conversation with, hard worker, and does wonders with super glue on helmets. I am grateful to spend this experience with each of you. This is my second attempt of Denali and after meeting each of you I wouldn’t have it any other way. All that said, the jobs not done, but the sun will come out… tomorrow!! And to end with some inspiration from Big John Morrison - “Be in the moment” and “go be great.” #touchofdutch

- RMI Climber Ethan
 

The Four Day Climb June 14 - 17 led by RMI Guides Joe Hoch and Jess Wedel were turned around by high winds at 10,300'.  The telemetry at Camp Muir is showing wind gusts up to 48 mph. The teams returned to Camp Muir and enjoyed a bit of rest and perhaps a nice sunrise.  They plan to descend from Camp Muir around 9:30 am.  We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.

Friday, June 12th - 12:20AM PST

Woweewow! What a day. As planned, we made it onto the glacier this morning. The views flying in? Epic. The mountain?  Stunning. The plane flying away and leaving us here? Welcomed. We are ready. And in fact, we already moved. We arrived at Camp 1 just in time for dinner and "sunset."  After a long hard day carrying ALL of our gear, we feel ecstatic. But the work to climb the tallest mountain in North America doesn't stop. Tomorrow we will carry and cache just below our next camp. Sweet dreams y'all, update you tomorrow!

-RMI Guide Ben Luedtke & Team
 

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier and team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today via the Emmons Glacier.  The team met at Rainier BaseCamp on Saturday May 23 for a full day Orientation, Equipment Check and pre-climb prep.  The following day the team spent the day training above Paradise practicing glacier travel, ice axe arrest and cramponing.  Packed and ready at 7 am on Monday morning, the team left Ashford headed for the White River Trailhead. The team ascended to the Inter Glacier where they set up camp and spent the night.  Yesterday, the team bumped to Camp Schurman and then launched their summti attempt early this morning.  By 7 am they were at 14,000' on their descent.  They will return to Camp Schurman to spend the night.  Tomorrow they may do a bit more training before they retrace their steps to the trailhead and make the drive back to Ashford.

Way to go team!

Sunday, May 10, 2026 - 11:19 am PT

Hello bloggateers!

Today was a busy day. The name of the game in Talkeetna is "Hurry up and Wait" - and hurry up we did. It was flurry of packing and organizing. The key to making sure you have everything for climbing Denali is pulling every item out of your bags, looking at them one by one, making sure you really need the item and then repacking them. After thoroughly examining everything we had and shedding any excess weight, we began weighing our bags. The pilots need the weights of all our gear and persons so they can calculate how to evenly distribute the weight amongst the planes and the gas needed to fly into the Alaska range. Finally we were able to able to call it a day and head to dinner. We enjoyed the fine ales and delicious food of the Denali Brew Pub. It was then off to another early bedtime in the hopes of flying off the next morning. 

Cheers,

RMI Guide Jack Delany and the Team