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Hello world, it’s us the Camp Muir Seminar!

Yesterday, we awoke early, donned our technical gear and launched towards the Ingraham flats to train before the next storm system hit in the mid afternoon. Sadly the storm had other plans and hit Camp Muir around 9am. We retreated in a white out with winds averaging 58mph during our time on the Cowlitz glacier. The storm has been impressive in its power and consistency. It is not snowing so much as it is launching ice pellets at us with high velocity. Moral stayed high as we continued to practice various technical skills in the bunkhouse. The team took brief forays into the violent snow globe that was the outside world to shovel out the bathroom. We were highly motivated to maintain our access to the facilities.

We are excited to find a lull in the weather to head down hill, dry out and enjoy some pizza and beer at the Basecamp Bar and Grill. 

All is well - The Muir Seminar Team

Our team is all tucked in at Mt. Everest's Camp 1. Myself and Lam Babu attended an all expedition meeting to sort out details for upcoming upper mountain rope placement. In itself there is a mountain of rope to be carried up the hill. Great to see all the cooperation amongst the teams to get this job going. Dave Hahn called in from Camp 1 after the team was settled in. Listen to his audio report below. RMI Guides Mark Tucker and Dave Hahn

On The Map

The Shishapangma team left a voice mail message with the RMI office yesterday saying everything was going well. It was a little hard to decipher which is understandable coming from half way around the world via satellite. Here is what we were able to understand: “Hey guys it is the Shishapangma crew. All doing well here at Basecamp after carries from/to Camp 1. Heading up to Camp 1 again in a few days. Wanted to let you know we are well. We will be heading up again soon.”

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

The Four Day Climb Led by RMI Guide Brent Okita reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Brent reported clear skies above and a great climbing route.

Congratulations team! 

The Four Day Climb June 6 - 9 spent a windy night at Camp Muir last night.  High winds and deteriorating weather kept the group at Camp Muir and unable to make a summit attempt.  RMI Guides Seth Burns and Grayson Swingle reported consistant winds 30-40 mph with gusts up to 50 mph.  The teams started their descent from Camp Muir around 8 am and will be returning to Rainier Basecamp later this morning.

Our Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz June 30 - 5 July has enjoyed sunshine and clear skies during their time on Mt. Rainier. Today they made their summit attempt via the Kautz Glacier and stood on the summit of Mt. Rainier around 7:30 am. RMI Guide Jake Beren reported good conditions and light winds. The team will return to their High Camp today and spend a final night on the mountain. Tomorrow they will pack up camp and descend to Paradise. Congratulations to today's Kautz Seminar Team!

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

On The Map

Thursday, May 26, 2022 - 1:09 am PT

Today started with a classic case of the Denali waiting game due to another snowy morning at 11,000' Camp. After breakfast we waited (mostly packed) in our tents to see what the weather was going to do.

As we waited in nervous anticipation, the only sounds you could hear was the flit, flit, flit of snow falling against the tent, the occasional clang of a pot from somewhere in camp, and the ziiiiiip of a tent opening just enough for a restless head to peek out and look up the mountain.

At around 930 the clouds broke enough for us to see that the winds were not blowing around the newly fallen snow, so in organized chaos we finished packing up and departed camp.

We then spent the day in and out of the clouds which saved us from the heat we have become quite accustomed to trying to avoid.

And now we are all set up at 14,000' Camp and looking forward to some rest after a hard week!

RMI Guides JT, Matias, Jackson and the rest of the RMI team.

Wednesday, May 24, 2023 - 11:03 pm PT

Another big day in the books. After waking up to snow lightly falling at our 11,000ft camp, we had a quick breakfast and began breaking down camp. Around 10:30AM we finally began our way up Motorcycle Hill. At the top of Squirrel Hill we were met by some brutal winds and blowing snow. We worked across the Polo field, adding layers to combat the wind and blowing snow and worked our way through Windy Corner. After Windy Corner, luckily the winds died down and we were able to roll into 14,000' Camp in slightly better conditions. We joined the other RMI teams, and built our camp before making a rewarding dinner of ramen. Weather looks a bit moody tomorrow, good thing we've got a rest day on the docket.

RMI Guide Nikki Champion