Most Popular Entries

We finally had a good weather day!

Everyone was stoked that we got to cache near 14,000' Camp. We lugged extra food, some empty poop buckets, summit clothes - such as the super warm mittens (or as Jenn calls them, the "oh shit mitts") and our ascenders a few thousand feet up the mountain. The weather was spectacular. A stark difference from the cold, windy, snowy weather we had the last few days. There were dozens of rope teams out and about caching or moving camps. We made it back to tent city at 11,000' and some of us finally got to change into clean underpants! It's a good day.

Hi to Goose (the best dog) Matt, Betsy, mom and dad!

RMI Climber Katie

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guide Joe Hoch reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning with 100% of their team.  Joe reported a very good route, sunshine and cooler temperatures. They enjoyed some time in the crater before starting their descent. Once back at Camp Muir they will pack up and continue downhill to Paradise.

Way to go team!

After several days of poor weather and high winds, the Four Day Climb June 27 -30 led by RMI Guides Seth Burns, Ben Thorneycroft and Tom Skoog reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today.  They reported a beautiful day on the mountain with the cloud deck below them around 7,500'.  The teams were walking into the crater shortly after 7 am.  Once they spend a little time there, they will begin their descent to Camp Muir and then continue down to Paradise later today.

Congratulations to today's climbers!

5/15 - What a splitter morning! We woke up to clear skies, and the entire mountain on display. We had spent the evening before going through our gear. So we were set up to have a quick breakfast, pack up everything we plan to cache, and begin our way up Ski Hill for the first time of the trip.

With much lighter packs and sleds, the climb in the clear weather flowed by and in no time we were pulling into our cache site, right around 10,100'. We took a break, shoveled a deep hole, and dumped about 1/2 of our food and fuel in the hole to see at a later date.

We then turned around with empty packs and sleds and made it back to camp 1 for a night of beautiful views, and mac and cheese with bacon. When weather allows we will pack up, and make our way up past our cache all the way to 11 camp.

RMI Guide Nikki Champion & Team
 

Saturday, June 6th - 8PM PST

Late last night, the guide team received news of the passing of an NPS ranger in a tragic accident. The morning greeted us with crystal clear skies, sunshine and the mountain shining and glowing extra special. The day was spent reflecting and remembering the fallen Ranger. A mountain guide, Ski patroller, Nurse, and Denali NPS pro Ranger, she dedicated her life to selflessly serving others in the front country and in some of then most austere environments. She will be missed and celebrated. Also in our thoughts today are the RMI guides currently on NPS volunteer ranger patrols, all previous volunteers, the Pro rangers and pilots. These folks give their time, effort, and sometimes lives to make Denali the special and life changing place that it is.

The team had smooth move day to 11 camp.  We dug in Camp deep in anticipation of a short storm. Now at 11 we are looking forward to starting the acclimatization process and setting ourselves up to move further up the mountain.

-RMI Guide Team

The Expedition Skills Seminar – Muir Team, led by Dave Hahn, ascended to Ingraham Flats this morning and determined that the new snow along the route lacked sufficient stability to safely continue higher.

The team has one remaining day on the mountain for training and will descend to Paradise tomorrow.

The Four Day Climb July 24 - 27 led by RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli turned around 13,000' due to high winds and a cloud cap above them. The team is enroute to Camp Muir and after a short break will continue down to Paradise later today.

The Private Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Sam Hoffman and Nina Bridges made the cautious decision to turn at 12,800' due to high winds and poor weather conditions. After taking a quick rest at Camp Muir, they continued their descent to Paradise and arrived safely at our Ashford Basecamp late this morning.

Today, we got an early start and walked over to the base of the Root Canal Glacier and climbed a small 800’ gully adjacent to the West Ridge of the Moose’s Tooth. We had expansive views of Denali, Mount Barille, Dickey, Bradley, Wake and Peak 11,300’. Warm temperatures forced us down early and we enjoyed an afternoon of avalanche viewing across the East Faces of Dickey and Bradley.

We are back at camp and enjoying another overcast night with hopes to fly out of the Range tomorrow!

RMI Guide Sam Marjerison

The Expedition Skills Seminar Team stood on the summit of Mount Rainier yesterday morning. Over the past week, the team has been honing their expedition mountaineering skills through glacier travel, route finding, and crevasse rescue training on the slopes of the Emmons Glacier. Their dedication and hard work helped them develop into a strong, capable, and successful team. This morning, they packed up camp and began their descent. They are expected to return to Ashford Basecamp this afternoon.

Congratulations Team!