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Posted by: JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Posted by: Dave Hahn, Solveig Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
On The Map
Richard,
In this morning’s devotion..sending prayers & optimism
your way. Silver linings in the clouds are not hard
to find, on the way to dreams coming true. Warmth & perfect weather from
the center of the heart of a Santa Barbara girl is yours. One step at a time….
SOUL, Denise:.
Posted by: denise:. on 7/12/2012 at 7:17 am
Mark, what an adventure. So proud of you and the Team. Keep that sun tan lotion on. Stay safe. Bill
Posted by: Bill Hill on 7/11/2012 at 6:36 pm
Sunday, January 16, 2022
After a quick breakfast in the Hotel Geneve, we said goodbye to the bustling streets of La Zona Rosa at 07:40 to get some much needed time to acclimatize in preparation for the objectives that lie ahead. We were greeted with sunny skies and mild morning weather on our hike of La Malinche which tops out at 14,640. The trail was in good shape and feral dogs were good company at times. After moving into our Cabana and just missing the evening thunder and rain, we are on our way to enjoy an nice family-style meal of carne asada, complimented with hot sizzling veggies and queso to end a great first day.
The pictures are amazing. What an incredible experience. Stay safe!
Posted by: Tracie Bush on 1/17/2022 at 12:41 pm
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Lacie Smith, Will Ambler
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska
Elevation: 0'
Wednesday, June 18, 2025 - 10:16 pm PT
Well, this one is a couple days late. Like most members of the team, I have also been through quite a time warp. As I sit here tonight and am thinking about the trip, it occurs to me that just four nights ago we were still making our way back down to 17,000' Camp from the summit. Time flies when life is just a series of naps in between hard walking, unpacking, repacking and digging up caches. Truly the final 72 hours of a Mt. McKinley expedition is one of the hardest pushes most of us will make in the mountains. In that amount of time we: move from 14 Camp to 17 Camp, sleep, have our summit day, sleep, descend from 17 Camp to 11 Camp, sleep just a couple of hours and then descend from 11 Camp to Base Camp. All of that is assuming good weather.
This time around we had the fortune of great weather for a summit day and for our exit. Upon our arrival to Base Camp we waited only a short amount of time for the planes carrying Dave Hahn's team onto the glacier to arrive and take us off. It's quite a funny position to be in, tired and haggard from 17 days on the glacier and looking at another team with fresh clothes on, perfectly packed and with a bunch of empty CMCs (poop cans) just arriving. It feels like there is so much to tell them, but they will all learn their own lessons in due time.
Anyhow, the next moment you find yourself in a small plane, diving through a hole in the clouds and speeding along at the edge of a cloud ceiling about 1,000 feet above the Tokositna Glacier, which your pilot is using as a handrail as you take a long exit from the range. Your cell phone finds service and depending who you are and where you work, you have some incredible amount of unread messages and emails and normal life comes roaring back in an instant. There is still unpacking to do in Talkeetna, checking out with the National Park Service, returning the full CMCs and a celebration dinner in a town full of tourists, at which I could barely keep my eyes open, the past few days catching up to me.
The next day we all headed for the airport in a van driven by the only guy keeping it low key at the Fairview the evening before. I think Bill is mostly there to sing karaoke and may have just been having a cranberry juice, straight. Having booked a flight just a day prior, both Will and I sat in middle seats for the flight back to Seattle, the people to my right and left having to deal with the sunbaked guy next to them sleeping open-mouthed.
Finally, most of us had our first day back at home or first day of an extended vacation in Alaska today. I'm sure we all tried to find our way back in to some routine, just to be reminded by the burnt lips, tongue and nostrils that we just had one of the wildest and most memorable experiences of our lives. I know that for myself, those nights walking down the lower Kahiltna Glacier to basecamp are forever etched in my mind as some of the most rugged beauty I have ever witnessed.
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier
New Post Alerts:
Mt. McKinley Expedition May 29, 2025
Congratulations Dustin & Team! Proud of your accomplishments and inspired by your grit!
-Joe
Posted by: Joseph Mueller on 6/20/2025 at 7:57 am
It is Great to read this Dustin!! Your Team was lucky to have an Awesome Guide!!! (You)
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 6/20/2025 at 3:56 am
Posted by: Andy Bond, Jack Delaney, Joey Manship
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
Wednesday, June 14, 2023 - 11:19 pm PT
Greetings from 14,000' Camp. We packed up 11,000' Camp this morning and climbed up Motorcycle Hill and Squirrel Hill passing the Father and the Son wall. We strolled along the Polo Field and climbed past the 13,000' cache garden where we left supplies yesterday. The terrain on the route is steep and strenuous. The Bond Girls were carrying heavy loads with our sleeping bags, tents, personal gear and one piece of group gear each. But the reason I asked to do to the blog today was the loads carried by Andy, Jack and Joey. Their packs were overloaded beyond imagination and the sleds they dragged were piled high with gear! More than twice the weight any normal person could move. I worked on the railroad most of my life and have witnessed people doing extraordinarily hard jobs under extremely difficult conditions many times but the efforts of these three men today left me in disbelief! I stand at 14,000' Camp tonight looking at the beautiful sight of Mount Hunter and Foraker humbled by the efforts of the men that made it possible.
Jeff Ebeling aka Trashman
Hello to Andy Geldean and the rest of the group. I’ve been following the blog and am exhausted just reading about your journey. You all amaze me. So proud of you Andy. Can’t wait to see pics.
Posted by: Dawn riewe on 6/15/2023 at 2:50 pm
Moving on up! Go, Scott go!! Congrats guides and team on conquering a long, hard day! Hot cider cheers from Nashville! CKP
Posted by: Christine Perkinson on 6/15/2023 at 11:33 am
Posted by: Mike King, Jack Delaney, Tatum Whatford
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guide Mike King and the Four Day Climb July 7 - 10 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning at 5:20 am. Mike reported really good route conditions and clear skies. There are many climbers on the mountain today and the team made good time. After spending about an hour in the crater the team began their descent. Once back at Camp Muir they will take a short rest before descending the final 4,500' to Paradise.
Good work today team!
Congratulations to my oldest son, Christian Rainier! Summiting your namesake middle name. What an accomplishment. We look forward to greeting you down at Paradise on your return from Camp Muir. Thank you to Lead Guide Mike, and Guides Tatum, Jack, and Liam.
Posted by: Geoff Culbert on 7/10/2021 at 10:46 pm
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Adam Knoff, Robby Young
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Shishapangma
Elevation: 20,990'
Hey Gary, Looks amazing. Hope you are enjoying the view and there is plenty of coffee. Good luck and hope to see picture from the summit.
-Jeff
Posted by: Jeff Resnick on 9/30/2016 at 7:40 am
Building a wall certainly sounds interesting. No doubt many or most of you are experts at that having made snow forts as kids! (Or adults). Good luck everyone.
Posted by: Betty (Art's sister) on 9/30/2016 at 5:32 am
On The Map
Hi Dave,
Great post. Glad you guys are playing it safe. Been reading a lot of reports about all the rockfall and lack of snow this year.
Zachary Zaitzeff
Posted by: zachary zaitzeff on 5/5/2012 at 5:34 pm
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Jackson Breen, Charlie Harrison, Robert Whyte, Avery Stolte, Claire Pennell
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli and Jackson Breen reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning and were walking off the crater rim at 6 am PDT. Dominc reported clear skies above 7,000' feet, and no wind. The team is making their way back to Camp Muir and will be back at Rainier Basecamp to celebrate this afternoon.
Congratulations Team!
Great news, congrats to all!
Posted by: Brent S on 8/16/2024 at 10:07 am
CONGRATS Maurine Braddock (Mom)—you are officially a badass! Love, Keith/Lindsey/Linus/Elaine
Posted by: Lindsey & Keith on 7/31/2012 at 5:50 pm
Congratulations Elsie, Charlotte, and the whole team. We are so proud of you! Can’t wait to hear more about it.
Posted by: Corell and Lucy on 7/31/2012 at 1:44 pm
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