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Denali Expedition: Champion and Team Cache at 10,000’

May 28, 2022

Posted by: Nikki Champion, Taylor Bickford, Emma Lyddan

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska

Elevation: 7,600'

We woke up to nearly perfect weather. Cool temperatures, clear skies and close to no breeze.

After a quick breakfast of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, we loaded up our packs and sleds with group meals, personal food, and some technical gear we wouldn't need over the next few days and embarked on our first carry. Yesterday was a long hard slog, but luckily the only time we move all our food and gear uphill, from here on our we will be carrying food and gear uphill, caching it, climbing past it to our next camp, and then doing a back carry to go get it. So that's exactly what we did today. We carried our gear from the base of ski hill, up towards our next camp and cached it near 10,000'.

Tomorrow we will hopefully move to 11 camp and go get the cache the following day. For now, we are all back at camp, resting in the shade, eating snacks, and prepping for our move tomorrow!

RMI Guide Nikki Champion and Team

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

One safe step at a time, Rob. You are impressive. What a breathtaking experience. Keep at it!
Sending you sisterly love, and support to you and your team!
Lynn.

Posted by: Lynn on 5/29/2022 at 8:24 pm

Rob go Rob Go. My the force be with you. Cheering you on in spirit from Gina Rae.

Posted by: Gina Rae Hendrickson on 5/29/2022 at 3:06 pm

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Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Fly to Kahiltna Base Camp

June 18, 2021

Posted by: Mike Walter, Nikki Champion, Ben Luedtke

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 7,300'

Friday, June 18, 2021 - 8:43 am PT

Good morning from Kahiltna Base Camp. We were packed and ready to fly all day yesterday, but the weather wouldn't cooperate with our plans. After playing the waiting game for most of the day, we finally loaded up the two turbine Otters and launched towards the Alaska Range. We arrived at Basecamp at around 6pm and set up shop here. We'll spend the day here today and move to the Base of Ski Hill tonight when the snow freezes back up.

RMI Guide Mike Walter

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Praying for safety. Thanks for the update!! Rob, Dad got your postcard today and was thrilled to hear from you. Praying you all make it to the Summit!

Posted by: Marg Millman on 6/22/2021 at 6:25 pm

Miss you Daryl! Looking forward to the updates! Everyone asking about you everyday

Posted by: Katie on 6/21/2021 at 11:02 am

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Mt. Rainier: Ammon, Halliday, and Teams Reach the Summit!

September 7, 2019

Posted by: Ben Ammon, Alex Halliday

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 14,410'

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Ben Ammon and Alex Halliday reached the summit of Mt. Rainier Early this morning. Ben reported steady winds of 15 - 20 mph with a cap forming. The team spent a short amount of time on the top before starting their descent. Congratulations to Today's Team!

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Thank you to our team leads Ben, Nevin and Grayson for getting us safely up and down. And for the stupid jokes, well, thanks for trying.

Posted by: Dawn on 9/8/2019 at 1:37 pm

Jason? You made it? Watched our amazing lightning storm last night and sent you encouraging thoughts! Congrats.

Posted by: Ruth on 9/8/2019 at 6:54 am

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Vinson Massif: Dave & Team Back at Camp After Summit

December 11, 2011

Posted by: Dave Hahn

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif

Elevation: 12,400'

Conditions today can only be described as having been perfect for a summit climb. It is tough to recall that we ate breakfast and geared up in cloud at high camp. But when we roped up and got going at 9:45, it only took us fifteen minutes to climb out of the cloud and into a world of bright snow, brighter sunshine and a big and brilliant blue sky. In our ten and a half hour round trip to the top, we barely noticed anything that could actually be described as a breeze. And so it is possible that the summit temps were the forecasted -38C but we sure didn't notice or mind the cold with the sun's super strong radiation at 16,067 ft above sea level. There did seem to be plenty of cloud down low -we couldn't see basecamp and a few hundred odd peaks were obscured. But a few thousand others were not. TA, Vlado, Mindy and myself all considered that we'd gotten extremely lucky... And so we made good use of the day in tagging Vinson's summit. We were back for a relatively early and relaxed dinner, and got to enjoy diving into the sleeping bags with plenty of good sun left on the tent walls. Tomorrow we'll head for basecamp on the Branscomb. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Everest BC Trek & Lobuche Climb: Dale’s Team Reaches the Lobuche Summit!

March 31, 2019

Posted by: Christina Dale

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek and Lobuche

Elevation: 20,075'

Congratulations to the strong and determined team for reaching the summit of Lobuche this morning at 11:30am (Nepal Standard Time). They earned every step to 20,000 feet in the Himalayas! RMI Guide Christina Dale

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So proud of you Michael and Bruce! Love you and miss you dearly Michael. Xoxo

Posted by: Rebekah Holman on 4/1/2019 at 8:50 am

Congrats! This is an incredible and amazing accomplishment! It looks like all those OTF double sessions paid off (Sherry and Ed). Safe travels back to us. Love you guys! xo

Posted by: Colleen on 3/31/2019 at 6:13 pm

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Mt. Rainier: Climb for Clean Air Summits!

July 14, 2016

Posted by: Win Whittaker, Leon Davis

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier

Elevation: 14,410'

Led by RMI Guides Win Whittaker and Leon Davis, American Lung Association and their Climb for Clean Air reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The team enjoyed sunny skies and gorgeous views from the summit. We look forward to seeing the climbers in Ashford when their return from their descent this afternoon. Congratulations team!

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I don’t know if I have the right team. Saying hello to Joi and everyone else.

Posted by: Jette roberts on 7/15/2016 at 3:26 am

Great work, Team! What an amazing achievement after a year of training. Congrats to everyone of you and I look forward to future climbs with you.

-Jason

Posted by: Jason Lathrop on 7/14/2016 at 10:09 am

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Mt. McKinley: Okita & Team take walk towards summit

June 10, 2012

Posted by: Brent Okita, Leon Davis, Lindsay Mann

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 17,200'

Well, we're still here at 17,200', day 7 up here and no summit in sight. In my 22 years of doing this I've never stayed here over seven days. I guess there's a first for everything. But the team is still strong and committed to tagging the summit despite our little weather delays. And it's still only day 17 for us, so we're still well within our time frame for these trip. This morning was nasty, so we relaxed in our tents until 11:00am and had the brunch that has become all too familiar these days. At that time the wind and snow abated somewhat and I entertained for the first time doing an evening climb of sorts. With a bit of a cloud cap over the summit conditions were not ideal, but we had been having some rather consistent clearing in the afternoon and evenings, and with daylight throughout the evening, late starts are not unheard of. So, we set out for the summit knowing full well that if we encountered worsening weather we'd simply turn back. The important thing for us was to get in some walking to maintain out strength, acclimatization, and mental health. The route that we had punched in the day before was gone, so we had to plow through 1-2' of snow to establish the route. Luckily the snow was quite stable and allowed us to reach almost 18,000' before I made the tough call to turn back in the face of some increasing winds and certainly not improving conditions. But, we had reestablished the route and gotten in a little exercise. And everyone had climbed well! We'll be ready when the weather gods finally allow us to climb. Back at camp over dinner we discussed just how long we might stay here at 17,200' waiting for our opportunity. Wednesday seemed like a date that would be reasonable to make our last day here. We have food and fuel to go beyond then, but for those of you wondering when your loved one will be coming back, I would say a few days after that would be reasonable. That being said, we do have some on the team that are willing to stay on beyond then. And for them, I guess I'd have to say that I too would be willing to stick around. But... Let's not go there quite yet. Kristen would like to wish Billy a happy birthday. And Gary would like to send Angela hugs and kisses from 17,200' camp. All for now. Thanks for reading our dispatches! RMI Guides Brent, Leon , Lindsay and the rest of the team

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Kristin, We are rooting for all of you !...keep us posted…..safe travels…..Debbie, Rich, Sean and Jen

Posted by: Debbie Collins on 6/11/2012 at 10:56 am

Brent and Kristen, keep it up! You’re being thought of by many down here at sea level.

Posted by: Bob Maher on 6/10/2012 at 8:13 pm

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Mt. McKinley: Okita & Team at 9,500’ Camp

May 26, 2012

Posted by: Brent Okita, Leon Davis, Lindsay Mann

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 9,500'

Today marked our last day pulling full loads, and I think we're all pretty psyched about that! Our five hour climb began after waking up to three inches of snow and white-out conditions. But such conditions are certainly not unusual on the Kahiltna, and so after a hearty breakfast of fried bagels, cream cheese and bacon we tackled Ski Hill. Pulling huge sleds and shouldering monstrous packs is a given when climbing Denali, but is no small measure of character and sheer physical tenacity of the climber who accepts that challenge. And it is by meeting that challenge today that this team has really demonstrated a strength of will that will serve them well on this trip. Tomorrow begins the time in the trip when we start splitting up our loads and ferrying them up the mountain in stages. We're looking forward to this, but I know that these first two days have only made us stronger, and in the end, better prepared for the demands that lie ahead. We'll move camp up to 11,200' camp tomorrow and finally enjoy setting up a camp where we'll be for at least three days. I think the crew is going to welcome finally being able to build a 'proper' mountain home, replete with protective walls around the tents and enclosed commodes. What an energetic and motivated team. I'm a lucky guide. RMI Guide Brent Okita

On The Map

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Hi Brent:

Wishing you and your team good luck and a successful trip to the top of Mt. McKinley. Considering the miserable condition of your trip, please stay safe and healthy. We are proud of what you are attempting to accomplish. Keep up the good work!!

George & Fujiko Okita

Posted by: George and Fujiko Okita on 5/30/2012 at 9:17 pm

Phil- Wishing you and everyone a safe and good climb. You definitely have earned it with all the training you have done. Have fun. Stay warm. Carol and Jon Holmquist

Posted by: Carol Rank on 5/27/2012 at 6:53 pm

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Denali Expedition: Champion & Team Cruise to 11,000ft Camp

May 29, 2022

Posted by: Nikki Champion, Taylor Bickford, Emma Lyddan

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley

Elevation: 11,000'

Sunday, May 29, 2022 - 3:45 pm PT

We woke up to yet another splitter morning. We enjoyable clear skies, and cool temperatures while eating our oatmeal around 4 AM. After enjoying the quick breakfast, and some hot drinks we made quick work of breaking down camp, and caching anything we didn't need to bring uphill. By 6 AM the teams were all roped up, and we had begun our trip up Ski Hill. With the sun not finally making an appearance until about 9500', the snow surface remained firm and supportable, which made for another day of fast, efficient movement. In no time, we were rolling into our new home at 11,000' Camp.

RMI Guide Nikki Champion

Mt. Everest: Resting, Playing Games and Watching the Weather

May 11, 2013

Posted by: Dave Hahn, Mark Tucker, Seth Waterfall

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest

Elevation: 17,575'

Another quiet but interesting day at Basecamp. Everything seems a little different now with the news that climbers made the top yesterday... And indeed, a few more went there today if the radio grapevine is correct. The mountain is not impossible. But we do hope those most recent summit climbers got down fast, since by late afternoon we've experienced a thunderstorm and a few inches of quick new snow. And that roar is back... The one that sounds like Niagara Falls as a ribbon of the jet stream does battle with the parts of these mountains that dare to stand out and in the way. We are all watching weather and weather forecasts now and there is plenty of interest in the calendar. Many climbers are still down-valley taking a vacation, but they are starting to trickle back by helicopter and by foot with summit dates in mind. Some are packing bags and heading up in the next day or two. We are biding our time. Waiting out the cough. Hiking and exploring and playing games in camp. We'll have to pick summit departure days soon enough, but for now it just isn't right for our team. We get a little anxious to know that the route is open, but we also know that it wouldn't be a bad thing to let a few hundred other climbers have their way with it first. Things get a little warmer with each passing day in May and we hold out hope that calmer days materialize. And we cross our fingers that cyclone O1B -spinning menacingly down in the Bay of Bengal- fizzles out and finds a place to go that doesn't interfere with climbers... or with humanity in general. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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I love keeping updated on the climb. Keep up the great work boys.

Posted by: Tyler on 5/13/2013 at 4:28 am

We are all “climbing Everest with you,” vicariously of course. But none-the-less,truly enjoying your posts and certainly rooting for your success and safety. Meteorology and your knowledge in that area will keep you safe as well as successful. You are now in the time frame of saying “yes” or “no” and we all know how difficult that can be. Bill Bussey

Posted by: Bill Bussey on 5/12/2013 at 5:23 am

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Most Popular Entries

Denali Expedition: Champion and Team Cache at 10,000’

Denali Expedition: Walter & Team Fly to Kahiltna Base Camp

Mt. Rainier: Ammon, Halliday, and Teams Reach the Summit!

Vinson Massif: Dave & Team Back at Camp After Summit

Everest BC Trek & Lobuche Climb: Dale’s Team Reaches the Lobuche Summit!

Mt. Rainier: Climb for Clean Air Summits!

Mt. McKinley: Okita & Team take walk towards summit

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Mt. McKinley: Okita & Team at 9,500’ Camp

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Denali Expedition: Champion & Team Cruise to 11,000ft Camp

Mt. Everest: Resting, Playing Games and Watching the Weather

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